Category: faith

GIVE UP

Give up. Yes, you read that correctly, give up.

A few weeks ago God was dealing with me on some things and as I was going about my morning routine I was praying and conversing with the Holy Spirit. I opened the cabinet to grab a mug for some tea and I grabbed this one:

When I looked at it I automatically read it out of habit and then I heard the Holy Spirit say. “Give up.”

My response naturally was, “What?”

Then I heard it again, “GIVE. UP.”

So I asked, “God, what do you mean?”

The things I had been praying about and talking to God about were things I was carrying that I didn’t need to. The constant scenarios in my head of how things could/should/would go and trying to control it all with my mind, (which by the way does not work) were consuming my time, causing me unnecessary worry, and putting me in a bad mood.

God was telling me to give up my control and put these things in His hands.

“Lord, how do I do that? I’m really good at analyzing things in my head, over and over and over…”

Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

That was the verse that came to mind.  How many things do we pray about and continue to carry?

When I was in first or second grade I took a tap and ballet class. There was a group of girls, four of them, that I became friends with, or so I thought. They were nice starting off but as class went on, one of them started being not so nice to me. She would talk to me but she would be rude and sometimes she would take the other three girls and walk off saying she needed to tell them something and would leave me out. I wasn’t naive, I knew she was a bully, but at the same time didn’t understand why because I had never done anything to her, I was always nice to her.

She used to carry this satchel type bag that cinched at the top with a drawstring. It wasn’t very big, the kind you wear around your wrist. One day she said she had stuff in there she wanted to show us but then she looked at me and said, “Except you, I’m not showing you,” and she took the other girls off a ways and had her back to me as they stood in a huddle. While she took things out of her bag to show them, she kept looking back over her shoulder at me to make sure I wasn’t trying to peek at it.

I remember standing there thinking how stupid she looked. Just being honest.

So class started and we always put our things up along the wall. This was in the school gym right after school had let out for the day so we always had our book bags, coats, etc.

Well that day my mom was running behind picking me up so I was the last one waiting with my teacher. She picked up the satchel that the girl had earlier and asked me if I knew who it belonged to.

I responded with, “Yes, it’s so-and-sos, I can take it home and give it to her at school tomorrow if you’d like.”

I honestly don’t remember any of the girls names now but I remember trying to hold back my excitement of taking that stupid bag home so I could see what it was she was hiding from me.

My teacher agreed and I took the bag and could not wait to get home. When I did, I ran upstairs to my bedroom, threw my things down in the corner and hopped up on my bed still clutching the satchel. I felt my heart racing and the excitement building even more. I stood up and set the bag on my bed, staring at it. All the scenarios played through my head:

  1. Don’t look because she didn’t want me to and just give it to her tomorrow.
  2. Would she even believe me if I said I didn’t look?
  3. Just throw the bag away and pretend like I never saw it…then remembered my teacher knew I had it.
  4. Look in the bag and give it to her tomorrow at school and if she asks, tell her I didn’t look.
  5. Look in the bag and give it to her tomorrow and tell her I DID look…

I remember standing there forever trying to decide what I was going to do. I was a conscientious child and even though she was mean about it, she didn’t want me to know whatever she had in there and I felt like if I looked, I would be commiting a sin. I struggled with that thought all evening. I hid the bag under my bed when I went down for dinner and mulled over my options as I got ready for bed that night.

I pulled the bag back out and set it on my bed and finally decided I was going to look. I remember dumping the contents out on the bed and looking at a handful of charms (the plastic keychain charms we used to collect in the early 80s), some erasers, and a couple of other trinkets and thinking, “That’s it?” 

I turned that bag inside out to make sure I didn’t miss something and sure enough, that was it. I don’t know what I was expecting but I know I was disappointed. I scooped the stuff up and put it back in the satchel  and tucked it into my school bag.

The next day at school I found her before class started and handed it over saying, “You forgot this yesterday at dance class.” She snatched it out of my hand with a look of fear and immediately asked, “Did you look in it?”

I said,”No, I promise I didn’t, I have no clue what you have in there,” with the biggest smile on my face. I remember the look of unsureness on her face as I walked away. I committed the sin I was so worried about the night before.

Next dance class I arrived with a bag of my own with some of my favorite trinkets in my bag and told the group of girls I wanted to show them what I had, except for “her”. She tried to bargain with me and offered to show me what she had in her satchel if I showed her what was in my bag. I politely declined. I already knew what she had and I wanted her to know what it felt like to be left out on purpose.

I remember the look on her face. She was hurt. At the end of class I went up to her and said, “If you’ll stop being mean to me I’ll show you what I have in my bag and you can show me what you have in yours.” She agreed and we dumped our treasures out to find out we collected a lot of the same things.

I wish I could say we went on to become best friends but we didn’t.  We did however remain friends through the duration of that year in dance class and she stopped being mean to me.

All that to say this…

How many things do we carry around in our “satchel” that we refuse to give up to God? Things that are the most important to us but we hide them away from Him? Things that we won’t even let Him look at?

He wants us to share EVERYTHING with Him, big and small, stupid and important. He WANTS to help us with the things that worry us or cause us stress and WANTS to share in the joy of what brings us joy too! He wants this because it PROTECTS us. That’s how much God loves us.

I Peter 5:6-11 NKJV
[6] Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, [7] casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. [8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. [9] Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. [10] But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. [11] To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

https://bible.com/bible/114/1pe.5.6-11.NKJV

CENSUS

CENSUS

04.02.2020

Last night I had a dream that I was downtown in a city.  I don’t think the point of it was the specific city, but just being in a city setting, that I was to take notice of.

It was night-time. I was on my way to a special event. I don’t know what this special event was exactly, but I knew important people were going to be there. At one point, I was in an empty lobby of a what appeared to be a bank. I wasn’t sure why I was there, but I was looking around and caught my reflection in a window. I noticed I had no makeup on, and my hair wasn’t done. I found this odd for a couple of reasons. I used to be the type of person who wouldn’t leave the house without a shower, makeup on and hair done. Since having a child, this has pretty much gone out the door and I don’t really care anymore. So in this dream, I found it odd that I was bothered by the fact that I didn’t have makeup on but also bothered by the fact that I was supposed to be going to an important event and wasn’t “dressed up” for it other than a black ball gown.

I walked outside and there were some people on the streets, everyone on foot, not many compared to what it usually would be. I was heading to wherever this event was to be and as I walked around the corner of one block, I had the thought that I shouldn’t go that way being alone as it wouldn’t be safe. About that time, there were a couple others behind me that were also going the same direction. I then realized, it didn’t matter where I went, I would be safe because there were no other people out except those with the same mission – to get to this event. So, I continued on my way.

Those that were out and heading to the special event also were dressed nicely but I noticed they too had no makeup and the men weren’t groomed in the same sense that people going to a special event would be groomed. I remember thinking, “All of us are exposed.”

When I woke up I was saying key/trigger words associated with what is going on in the world, “COVID-19, corona virus, shelter at home, etc”  and as I recalled this dream, I asked God what the significance of it was because I felt this was a dream I needed to take note of. I knew the Holy Spirit was letting me know the dream had to do with the current events.

All this morning I’ve been talking with God and asking Him to reveal to me the meaning of this dream.

I was led to 2 Samuel 24. I encourage you to read this chapter for yourself.

In 2 Samuel 24, King David takes a census. This truly got my attention given 2020 is a census year. David took a census out of pride and not out of the command of God. There is some great commentary you can read at the following link in regards to this as it is too much to explain here:

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-samuel-24/

As well as the commentary for Exodus 30

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/exodus-30/

Numbering people takes ownership of them. David was trying to give himself credit for the growth in Israel. He was influenced by satan to do this, not God, which brought a three day-plague upon the people and thousands died.

Exodus 30:12 KJV states:

When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

When God ordered a census, the people had to pay a price to avoid a plague. They were only to be numbered if God requested it, not man. Back then, counting something (people, animals, etc) showed ownership. Israel didn’t own Israel, Israel was God’s. David took it upon himself to conduct a census in 2 Samuel thus bringing a plague upon the land.

Now, all of this takes place in the Old Testament. We know that Jesus was offered as the ultimate sacrifice and a New Covenant (New Testament) was made. It did not however abolish the Old Covenant, it FULFILLED it. So what does all of this have to do with current events?

God’s people are being tested right now. God will never tempt us, but He will test us. A test measures our weaknesses and our strengths. It is a way to show ourselves what areas we excel at and what areas we need to work on. God testing us is another way He shows His love towards us because it makes us grow.

Our faith is being tested. There are many who sit in a building at designated times of service and know nothing of God or Christ or the Holy Spirit. There are many who preach one thing and live another. There are many who say they believe but really don’t. I heard “threshing floor” in my time with God and the Holy Spirit today and immediately thought of Matthew 3:12 (Amplified)

12 His [j]winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom), but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”

 

My question was “God, are you clearing out your threshing floor?”. That is when I was directed to 2 Samuel 24. King David repents after conducting the census and buys the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and sets up an altar to God on that threshing floor, as directed by God. He offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God and God was moved to compassion by David’s prayer for the people and He held the plague back from Israel.

So I asked God for clarification on all of this as I pieced things together. Last week, I was going through a box of old items and came across a bookmark that I tossed to the trash pile. When I did, I heard in my spirit, “Pick it back up.” I did and written on the back side were two Bible verses. This was a bookmark I had used as a young girl in Sunday school in my Bible. The two verses were as follows:

Leviticus 27:2 King James Version (KJV)

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.

And the following:

Exodus 3:17 King James Version (KJV)

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

These two verses tie right back in to 2 Samuel and Exodus 30.

I believe God is exposing His people to themselves through all of this. Our faith is being tested. We are being shown what we reflect. There will be many who fall away from the church as they no longer go to a building. They will be shown the superficial persona of their faith, of their belief. Then there will be those who are strengthened in their faith, those who grow in it.

There are those right now who stopped tithing and giving offerings because they aren’t physically present in a worship building yet will sit and watch the services on line. There are those who are using this time as free ride to not pursue the Word at all believing they will once the church opens back up.

It may not appear this way, but God is pouring His love out on his children as a gardener would on his crops to help them grown. The weeds will be plucked. The weak will be strengthened. The strong will be harvested first.

His threshing floor has filled up and He is making room using what the enemy meant for harm and making it glorious. He is not redefining His Church but taking us back to what He intended it to be all along. Man has redefined it into something that has caused confusion and hard hearts. God is opening the threshing floor for those who choose to come closer to Him.

The message now is the same as it has always been. Repent. Repent. Repent.

People don’t want to hear the message of Repentance because it makes them examine themselves and admit what they already know, that they are not living according to His Word or even trying to.

Faith doesn’t mean a person has to be perfected in the things of God. Faith is seeking the things of God and His ways for a better life for ourselves and those around us. God is testing His children to expose them, to reveal them, to GROW them. Let yourself be tested. Examine your faith. Repent and turn back to God. He waits for us, for you. He has a land flowing with milk and honey for those who would heed His Word.

Repent, pray, give offering to God. Seek Him in what that looks like.

Be blessed.

Misty

 

 

 

 

NEW WORKBOOK AVAILABLE

The latest in my Bible Study Workbook Series, Galatians: Authenticating Christ, is now available through Amazon.

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GALATIANS FRONT COVER FLAT 052918

 

Other volumes in this series are also available here (or click the picture).

WORKBOOKS cropped

 

 

GET BLESSED!!

WHAT A BAG OF POPCORN TAUGHT ME

Many churches teach how to sow (tithe/offering) but not many teach how to reap.

There is this crazy generalized idea among Christians, and judgement by non-Christians that if you ARE a Christian, you should be poor.  Poor in every which way, not just financially.

I’m not one of those. I used to be. I used to think it was a sin to have things, to be happy, to enjoy life. Growing up I saw it all the time, if you were Godly, you were poor.

I don’t know of a single verse in the Bible that says we must be poor, sad or unhappy. I do know plenty of scripture that says we are to have and be just the opposite of all that.

Somewhere along the line, we got it all backwards. I’m not going to post every single verse here but John 10:10 sums it all up:

 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV

If what you have is destruction, death and things taken from you…Is your joy gone? Is Your happiness gone? Are you struggling financially? That’s the thief, that’s not God.

I know some will read this and try to justify the “lack” in life but you might as well just keep your doubt and unbelief to yourself. You can speak lack over yourself all you want, don’t speak it over someone else.

We have an active role in our faith. Our words determine our today and our tomorrow. You can choose love over hate. Joy over sadness. Prosperity over poverty. Belief over doubt. Health over sickness.

You choose what you have with the words that come out of your mouth. God himself spoke and created…read Genesis 1 and see how many times it says “God said…”

Your words create your today and tomorrow. You can change your future with the words you speak. You can change your moment right now with the words you speak.

So what does this have to do with a bag of popcorn? Let me tell you. Many people have no problem giving, whether it’s tithe/offering or giving to others when they see a need. That’s called sowing. But the majority of us in that category, have a problem when something is given to us. We don’t know how to receive. Receiving is the reaping side of sowing.

We feel guilty or unworthy when something is given to us. We will say things like “No, no, no, give it to someone who needs it more.” It doesn’t matter what “it” is, if we refuse, we interrupt God’s process of sowing and reaping.

I was in the grocery store one time and the Holy Spirit told me to pay for the woman’s groceries in front of me. She didn’t have much, maybe $25.00 worth. I stepped forward and told her, “God told me to pay for your groceries.” She visibly became upset and refused and said “No, I don’t need you to pay for my groceries.” I tried to explain to her that God wanted to bless her but she flat out refused. I said okay with a smile and backed off.

How many times has God wanted to bless us and we have refused? Is it pride? Is it lack of understanding?

I recently blessed a friend with a bag of popcorn at the movies. When I did, the Holy Spirit said to me, “Some people can receive from Me a blessing the size of a bag of popcorn and some can receive a blessing from Me the size of the theater.”

Wow.

When we refuse a blessing from someone, we block the blessing God has for them for their obedience. When that woman refused to let me pay for her groceries, she blocked a blessing God had for me not to mention the blessing of having her groceries paid for.

Think of it this way. If you plant a garden, sow seeds into good ground, then take care of that garden until the harvest comes in and reap from the garden what has grown, you are operating in God’s divine plan of sowing and reaping.

What happens if you plant the seeds and then never pull weeds or better yet, when the harvest comes in, you don’t go and pick all the vegetables? It becomes overgrown and eventually rots. Nobody benefits.

If you take care of that garden and reap when the harvest comes in, not only do you benefit but more than likely, you are going to have an abundance to share with others because if you don’t share your abundance, it rots too.

Your words create action and action produce your today and tomorrow. Read the following verse and focus on the last six words: he shall have whatsoever he saith

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23 KJV