Friday, January 23, 2009

The People did what seemed right in their own eyes

What a fresh word I received last night during Thursday Night Amplified... I have to thank God for his goodness and the illumination he gives to his word... I believe that ALL scripture is used to teach, admonish, instruct and encourage us Christians, and sometimes when I read a passage I think "What in the world does this mean" or "Why would God allow this to be in the Bible." So it was with the scripture passage last night...

I'll try to be brief but it's so good, I have to share it with you... We're in Judges 17-21...

Right off the bat, the story opens with a women who has cursed the person that has stolen 1100 pieces of silver from her... Her son heard her curse and he came to her and said, It was me, I stole the money... Here it is...

Now this is how I received this... God is the woman here... He has spoken to us through his word that we are cursed in our sin.... For the wages of sin is death... Romans 6:23

We are the son... We can come to him and admit we are sinners and that we have done wrong... "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Now the story goes a little cock-eyed here... She takes some of the money and dedicates it to the Lord by making an IDOL with it...

What's wrong with this picture?

Do we take what is a gift from God, which in this case is forgiveness, and make it into an idol? Do we have right intentions, but wrong motives? Is church an idol for you... Something that takes up space in your life but doesn't really live in your heart?

Well, this story just prefaces the story that we were actually studying last night... This verse sets the tone for the following mindset in Israel at this time...

Judges 17 Verse 6 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.


Jump ahead to Judges 19... It's an AWFUL story about a concubine who was beaten and raped and killed in an Israelite town by a bunch of renegade Benjamites... She belonged to a man who didn't even love her much less care that she was attacked, but because this injustice was done TO HIM through something he owned, he blew the thing right out of proportion...

Yes it was bad what happened to this woman, but people, please, when an injustice is done to us don't we do the exact same thing he did... We take that injustice home with us, we chop it up into 12 little pieces, then we send it out to all of our friends or people we influence and call for battle 'Just LOOK what so and so did to ME" we cry and cry over and over to as many people who will listen to us...

WOW what a word I received, and I have to refer you to the scriptures yourself to read the whole story... It's Judges 19-21...
Some things just need to be left at the threshold, dead, and done with...

But instead we pick them up and carrying around the dead weight of our past grievances... Let's leave them on the doorstep of God's grace and mercy.. and let GOD be our avenger... Let God handle the injustice... Let God help us through the pain and loss of whatever was taken from us through the injustice...

This was an eye-opener for me... I hope it changes your life as well...
Go bury some dead weight today!
Lea Anne

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Can't we all just get along?

Sometimes I think we get a little competitive in the ministry world because to be honest, aren't we always looking at others to see how God is blessing them, or comparing ourselves to others to see if we are better than they are? Do you find yourself looking at other Christians and wishing you were more like them?

It is up to us to become a better student of the word or to just stay where we are and never grow... It is our responsibility to be more diligent in becoming more like Christ... God is always on our side, drawing us to him, but we have to take the initiative to study and know him more...

Deuteronomy is full of promises from God... If you do this.... then I (God) will do this... Wouldn't you like God to set you "high above" the problems of the world... set you apart from the wickedness in our midst... rise above the pettiness of daily gossip... Wouldn't that be wonderful to know that God is in control of everything and when we trust him with everything, he will lead us into the place of peace and rest?


"If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. . . The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you" (Deut 28:1-8).

My heart has just been broken this week by the realization that some people are just plain mean...I came to the point over the last few days where I let God take me on his wings to a higher place...I stopped worrying about what others were doing and I asked God to show me what I should be doing to know him more... I focused on God and stopped looking at those that dissappointed me.

I want to issue a challenge to you for the next 6 weeks... Ready? If you aren't interested then stop reading, but if you are interested in being taken to a new height with God then read on...

Instead of talking about someone, tell someone what Jesus is doing in your life...

Instead of listening to others talk about someone, share with them a prayer that you are trusting God to answer in your life...

If I were to come up to you and ask you, "Tell me what Jesus is doing in your life today?" and you don't have an answer... then search out what the Lord is doing for you that is good and promoting you to another level and have that answer ready to share with others...

If you can't for the life of you answer this question... Then ask God to reveal to you what you need to change in your life in order to trust him a little more with something so you can share with others what you need them to pray with you about...

Let's FIND a reason to get along...
In Christ,
Lea Anne

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Have you Faced a Demon today?

I've already established that I'm a little weird and I have complete humility where this is concerned because I am just down right crazy where Jesus is concerned so what I share with you today is just an example of me being assured that God is on my side...

I've heard it said that if you haven't encountered Satan or one of his demons in a day, then you probably aren't doing enough for Jesus... Is that safe to say?

Satan leaves alone those that aren't a threat, right? So if you aren't sharing your faith, or witnessing to others, or taking a bold stand for Jesus at work, at home or at CHURCH, then it's probably safe to say that Satan will leave you alone...

Well, I faced a demon yesterday that appeared in the form of a man... He looked like a regular man, he talked like a regular man, well borrowing the fact that he talked a little like a crazy man instead of a regular man, but that's okay, because I'm a little crazy too, so that doesn't bother me or scare me at all... I know what I believe and I'm not afraid to hear what someone else believes... so I say bring it on...

That is until my spirit quickened within me so greatly that I felt the intensity of a demon... When I asked to pray for the man, with witnesses around, I just flat out asked the Lord to reveal to us the motivation behind the words and to take off any blinders that we may have on ourselves so we could see the truth, then I prayed that if any other spirit was present, that that spirit be bound and cast out and revealed as well...

I'll have you know, that within 90 seconds of the prayer, that the spirit of satan, jumped out of that man's mouth in a way that I thought, Be careful what you ask for because God ain't fooling around... His clear intentions were presented and the real reason he was there was revealed...

When I heard that demon speak, I rebuked it in the Name of Jesus and do you know what it did? It backed down and started crawfishing out of his statement.. He didn't have the guts to stand up and battle, he crumbled and cowered like the bully that Satan is.. He only talks a big talk but he has NO POWER over the name of Jesus... SPEAK THE NAME OF JESUS over your enemy today... It will flee because Satan is a liar and a bully and when you call his bluff, he has nothing...

People... there is an enemy and he is alive and well on the planet earth... He comes through the mouth of men, or women, (this isn't a feminist thing) and he wants to divide our homes, our churches, our relationships... He wants to kill, steal and destroy our lives... HE HATES JESUS... do not be deceived here.. If you are in the presence of someone who constantly complains, argues, divides, has dissension, or is just plain mean spirited... Do not listen to them... Walk away and do not argue with them.. They don't want to listen and learn, they only want to divide...

If this is you and you HEAR me today, then just ask God to forgive you and humble yourself, and then STOP TALKING about everything and everyone...

Share with people what Jesus is doing in your life today... Reveal a side of yourself that is humble...

I have to tell you, I got down on my knees last night, this morning, and then again in Sunday School and said, "JESUS HELP ME... forgive me. Thank you for loving me."

Are you a contructive person, or a destructive person... Decide today and then ask God to be your guide and your conscience... I will close with this scripture... May God Bless you and Protect you from the evil one.
HE DID ME YESTERDAY!!!

There is no one like the God of [you and me], who rides on the heavens to
help [us] and on the clouds in His majesty. The eternal God is [our] refuge, and
underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out [our] enemy before [us]
saying, 'Destroy him!' So [we] will live in safety alone; in a land of grain and
new wine (new Welch's for the Baptists), where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are
you, O [Child of God]! WHO IS LIKE [US], A PEOPLE SAVED BY THE LORD? He is [our] shield and helper and [our] glorious sword. [Our] enemies will cower before [us] and [we] will trample down their high places." Deuteronomy 33:26-29 NIV

Saturday, January 17, 2009

You can't stay where you are and Go with God... "Be warned, kind of a long blog this time, sorry!

In my quiet time this morning I was impressed with the need to write about our service to the Lord. I have had a lot of you tell me you read the blog and are encouraged by it and the ages of people that do so range from the very young to the much more mature in Christ... Through this blog, I want to be able to speak a clear word about what God is doing in my life that will demonstrate how I communicate with God as well as give insight into how God directs my decisions. So when I write in this blog, it is only because I feel God has laid it on my heart to speak to someone that day...

Today, I'd like to direct these thoughts to the mature in Christ.. Those that have been doing this thing called "Christianity" a long time. I'm talking as long as me or more, like 30 plus years... (oh, my goodness, I've been a Christian 30 years this June!) I can't believe where the time has gone and how fast it has flown..

Well, anyway, back to my thought...

In September-November of 2007, Dana and I went through "Experiencing God" By Henry Blackaby... Great study by the way... and one of the things that Henry said, was... "You can't go with God and stay where you are..." This sentence meant to me that we have to seize opportunity in ministry in order to go to the next level with God...

Let me try to explain this without messing it up... Are you still doing today what you were doing 2 years ago... 4 years ago... 15 years ago... 30 years ago? Are you in your comfort zone as far as service to God is concerned? You know you trust God to meet your needs, but are you trusting God to do more for you than just meet your needs? Are you EXPECTING God to show up in a mighty way and do something spectacular?

I think about the people in the Bible who God allowed to be used for his glory...

Moses.... Only one burning bush to my knowledge and Moses saw it...

The Parting of the Red Sea... Wow, Moses got to experience this too!! Lucky dog...

The Parting of the Jordan River... this seemed similar to the Red Sea, except the priest had to put their feet in the river first before it parted... and it happened in Joshua's time as leader so it is different than Moses experience...

Let's see... Gideon...Wow have you read the life of Gideon? In Judges 6-8... He defeated the whole Midianite Army with just 300 men!! You thought the movie 300 was made up, didn't you? Anyway...my commentary says that Gideon was slow to be convinced, but acted on his convictions... He asked for a sign from God and God did it... He asks for victory and God did it!

There are many other people who God used to do wonderful, exciting things in His name... He took them to places they would never have dreamed of going... All he asked from them was to "Trust and Obey" ... you may have the trust part down to such a close walk with God, but what about the Obey part? Is God asking you to do more for him than you want to right now? Is it because you are comfortable in what you are doing? You may be teaching Sunday School and have been doing so for years, but is that what God wants you to do for him today? He may want you to do a Bible Study with a group of people you don't know and don't feel qualified to teach, but He wants to use YOU to do it! "I'm saying a lot of this to myself, because I've recently volunteered to teach a Beth Moore study on Wednesday nights... and I've opened the college Department up on Thursday nights with a Bible study straight from God's word, so I trust every week for God to give me the material to talk on... It's very exciting right now and opportunity to share with others just seems to crop up all the time.

I would recommend the "Experiencing God" bible study... I learned so much and one of the things I learned was "God is always at work" and he uses his people to accomplish some mighty things in his name...

I just wanted to stretch you a little today and ask you to step outside of your comfort zone, maybe even step down from your comfort zone so God can raise someone else up in their faith, then trust that God has a new and better place for you to serve him.

God is Good, all the time...
I love you!
Lea Anne

Friday, January 16, 2009

We had such a great time of fellowship and worship and bible study last night at Thursday Night Amplified... Such a sweet spirit of believers there... God is so good and He loves us so much and I can't help but believe that he is honored when a group of people get together to praise and worship him. Thank you Angela and Miriam for leading us in song and I want to thank each one that participated in the Bible Study.
I will leave you this thought as I received it from God... We are studying Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and the first verse says "When you enter into the house of the Lord, keep your ears open and YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!" Says it big as day... Keep your mouth shut...

WOW!! That's hard for me to do... But God said for me to SHUT UP!

So you may ask, How do we deal with sin in the church if we're suppose to be quiet?

This is where accountability partners and admonishment comes into play and if you are a true friend to someone who may be doing things against the word of God, then you go to that person outside of the church in a one-on-one basis, IN LOVE, and talk to them about it...

You don't talk to everyone else about that particular person's sin you go to the person IN LOVE....

Isn't God's word so relevant to today's situations... If you are struggling with knowing what to do, then read God's word and let him reveal it to you through his word... It is alive, and it cuts to the quick when we need it...

I love you!!
Lea Anne

Thursday, January 15, 2009

If so and so is doing it.... it must be okay for me, right?

“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! Hosea 4:4
If you know that what you are doing is wrong and you continue to do it, it is sin...

Some people try to justify sin by saying, "Well, so and so is doing it and nothing has happened to her."

We aren't responsible for other people's actions. We have to do what we know is right for us.

If you find yourself in a situation where you know, without a doubt what the word of God says about it, and you continue to do it.. You are willfully being disobedient and you will not receive a blessing from it. The very thing that you are trying to obtain outside the will of God, will be snatched from you... but if you surrender your own desire for it, and return to God and let him lead you, he will then give you the desires of your heart.

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This is harder to do than speak... We have to take responsibility for our actions and our thoughts... If we think it or speak it or do it, It is then up to us to change it... We will serve something in our life.. We are built to have a sovereign ruler over us, it is the law of nature... We are submitted to something... why not choose God to be that Something... Then everything else will fall into the place that it needs to be... you will have Peace and contentment with the Lord... And only with him.

What do you need to surrender today?

Ask God to reveal it to you...

Love,
Lea Anne

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The things we think on...

I want to research a topic that has been coming up in my mind a lot lately... It's about our thought process...

Can we control what comes into our thoughts?

We can control what comes out of our mouths, I believe anyway... but can we control what comes into our thoughts?

I was thinking about this because as I was praying the other day, and everyday since this happened, I have had some horrible thoughts just jump into my head, AS I WAS PRAYING... I mean how weird is that and as I ponder this topic, I wanted to ask if anyone else has ever had that happen to them?

I began to pray against the spirit of bad words and bad thoughts, because it had to be a spiritual attack to get me sidetracked from praying...

So I ask again, can we control the thoughts that come into our mind?

I think we can.... I just pray that we recognize an attack as it happens and then pray for the Lord to send us warriors to attack in the spiritual realm...

WEIRD... isn't it... I guess you could just say I'm weird...

I just always want to know that I'm recognizing a spiritual attack and be able to stand up against it...

The bible does say that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart (Matthew 15:18)... but if our thoughts never get to the heart, let's say they pop into our minds, then we get the chance to say, I receive this or I rebuke this, then it never gets planted into our hearts, which in turn never comes out of our mouth, then we can control our thoughts...

What do you think?
Love you!
Lea Anne

Monday, January 5, 2009

Do you Believe God!

I've heard a lot of people talk about how they believe in God, but some of those same people don't BELIEVE God... Do you really believe that God can do anything... That God did the things that the Bible talks about ... the big things like
Part the Red Sea... Lead the Israelites by a pillar of fire... Deliver the Israelites from Egypt and bondage... Came to earth in the form of a baby.... Raised the dead to life... Died and rose again to reign eternally in Heaven...
Okay so you may believe those BIG things about God... But do you believe the seemingly less important things about God? Do you believe that God loves you... That he cares about every decision you make... that he has plans for you, your present and your future... that he wants to meet your needs?
If you struggle with believing God for the Little things, I pray that you can start trusting Him today with a little more of your life... Instead of worrying about a little thing... Like where are the car keys... or what book do I start reading in the Bible... or why do my kids act this or that way... Why don't you pray about it first... Why don't you ask God what he thinks... Then Listen for his answer...

If you are new to the Christian faith, you may be asking, "How do I know if God answered those little prayers?"

You wait.... Until you know... Don't push ahead and answer it yourself... Just Be Still and wait... Then God, who is so mighty with exceeding greatness, will reveal it to you...

Ask God for peace and clarity for a decision you have to make today... Ask Him first, then wait expectantly for his answer...
I Believe..
Lea Anne

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!!! Changing of the Times!

As I start the New Year, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on all the things that I'm thankful for from this last year.
I'm thankful for Dana!
I'm thankful for the girls
I'm thankful for my new house
I'm thankful for my health...even all the aches and pains...
I'm thankful for my church and the college department
I'm thankful for my job...
I'm thankful for my Mom who gave me my values and brought me to church
I'm thankful for my brother and sister...
I'm thankful for my friends and co-workers

I'm just thankful that I am here and that I was placed in this day and age and that I know a savior like Jesus... I'm thankful for the joy that I have and the expectancy of good things in my future...

If you're like me, you don't want to live the kind of life where you are just barely hanging on. You don't want to merely eke out an existence, find a way to cope with your misery, or just get by... You want to have the abundant life Jesus spoke of when He said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" John 10:10.

I've just started reading "The power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie O'Martian and it has great insight into the way prayer can change us... Not other people, but US!! The change has to start with me (us) before God can work in the hearts of other people in our lives... If we harbor resentment or bitterness in our heart at all, our prayers are ineffective... We have to get rid of the hurt and anger and rage and pain in our own heart first... Only then can we offer prayers for others and they be heard... She even recommends that you get involved in a prayer group that has other people pray with you to relieve you of the junk that's in your life... You may be thinking... "Yeah, that's sounds wonderful... but how do I do that?" Here it is... brace yourself.... are you ready for this?...

You have to surrender the right to not feel hurt before you will ever feel better... (you may have even said before, "I'll never let anyone HURT me again." or something like that...)

If that's just too hard to do... If you are so miserable and just can't forgive... let me ask you something... Have you tried to? Have you said, "Lord, Help me to forgive?" "Lord, Help me to love"... It has to start with you.

I highly recommend the book."The Power of a Praying WIFE!!!".. Make this year a year of abundant living that starts with submission to Christ and laying down our right to feel the way we do... Tear down the walls that have been built to protect you from pain, and realize that we are made to feel things... sometimes it's pain, sometimes it's joy, sometimes it's love, sometimes it's sadness... In Ecclessiastes 3, it says there is a time for all things... Learn to recognize the changing of the times...
I love you!
Lea Anne