The Good Shepherd has broke my chains

The wind is blowing in the trees.
I hear the sound of the morning dove bidding me hello.
I wonder what has happened
Where did the time go?

 You filled me Lord so long ago.
I felt your cleansing touch.
Forgive me, Lord, for I have forgotten what you did for me.
When you reached down from heaven and rescued me.

My life a vapor, a whisp of wind, for I have sinned so much.
The enemy bargained for my soul, I'm sure he plead a good case.
But you looked him squarely in the eye and said you leave this place.

This one I have plans for her, plans you do not know.
Each chain you have used to bind her.
I am breaking one by one.
Chain of shame
Chain of fear
You have no claim on her
Chain of pain
You have nothing to gain.
For she is free in Jesus name.
I am covering her
I am sheltering her under my wings.
So satan you are finished
It is time for you to leave.

For I am her deliverer
I have set her free
This child has always belonged to me
So satan you must leave.

I look up, and I see the Shepherd.
He is looking down at me.
He takes my hand, and lifts me up, and wipes the dirt away.
He takes the old garment that I once wore and sets it to the side.
I feel his nail pierced hands on my shoulders, and almost shudder away.
Do I deserve this Lord, I have sinned in many ways.

Yes, my beloved, I am your Shepherd, I have laid my life down for you.
Look at my hands look at my feet.

For I have felt each of your defeats.
For I have chosen you to be my daughter
For I am your King.
Come join me in my Father's kingdom
See what I have prepared for you.

I am giving you a new garment, this one is not stained.
Come now my beloved, for you now bear my name.

As I take the new garment, and bow to my King
I finally remember, and now I can sing.

You have given me beauty from the ashes
The oil of joy, instead of mourning.
A garment of praise instead of heaviness.
Come, my beloved,
I hear his voice, above the crashing waves.
Waves of mercy, waves of grace.
Fill me, Lord, for I seek your face
You are returning me back to clay
A child of the King
An instrument of praise.

Let us become like little children

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them. Gen 1:27

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven . Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives Me. Matt 18:4-5

We come into this world with our eyes shut, and our fists closed, crying out. We came out of the womb afraid, not fully understanding , why we had to be pushed out of our quiet refuge. We were sheltered, connected ,all of our basic needs cared for. Then our eyes begin to open, and we start to focus on the one that created us, and provided our home. We come out craving, needing love, and warmth from our providers. "   God was there." For  you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-14
He whispers in our heart, " I love you dear one, you are cherished.

We start to trust, start to love, start to thrive. Our journey has begun, and as we grow, we look to our parents for answers, and  guidance. Everything we know, and start to attain comes from them in the beginning. Our eyes are opening more. We are taught discipline, and that the only way to have peace is to accept it, even if it seems painful at the time, it is in our best interest. But we must remember they are parents still learning too, and they don't have all the answers, they will make mistakes. This becomes more clear as we get older, and start to experience pain, and disappointment, and rejection. Our vision becomes blurred, as we cry out why God, don't you love me, don't you care. And we stop listening to the voice of love, and replace it with the voice of fear. We start to forget who we are, and why we are here , and doubts start to fill us.

My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are . They follow me, and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me. My Father , who gave them to me, is greater than anyone else, and no one can tear them away from my Father. The Father and I are one. John 10:27-30

A Father lays in bed, holding his babe in his arms, she is cradled, sheltered, she is loved.
As he holds her close,  he whispers into her ear, you are mine.

Oh how much the Father of lights is waiting with His arms wide open to carry us. Our parents are there to provide for only a short time. But the Good Shepherd has always been there. He is the One that has been carrying us, as our parents walked beside Him.

Let us stop  listening to the voice of doubt, and begin again to start to listen to the voice of Truth.
Only His perfect love can cast out all fear. Nothing can snatch us from the Father's hand, nothing can separate us from his love.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5

Let us come to Him as little children, with our hurts, and casts them at His feet. Let us trust the One that made us, and be conformed again to His image. The image of the Father, the image of Love.

Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God He reigns from heaven and earth with wisdom, power , and love, our God is an awesome God - lyrics by Michael W Smith


When I find myself drowning, and can barely get my head above water, my God is an awesome God.
When I don't know how I am going to pay my bills, my rent, what do I do, I usually fret. But When I cry out to Him, He hears me, and delivers me from all of my fears. When I feel myself being totally consumed by troubles, I cry out, and I cry our, and I cry out, My God is an awesome God.

When I think of the past, my failures, the things I should have said no to, but did anyways.
The lost time with my child, worrying to much if I am a good parent, and not trusting that God will help guide me. When I have allowed myself to struggle, and fret, and doubt God's goodness, I look, and what do I see outside, rain, thunder, and lightening, but the sun is shining, a rainbow comes into the sky, because I am supposed to walk by faith, not sight. I am supposed to trust, not doubt.

Why do I doubt, because of fear, why do I fear, because I have not allowed Him , to perfect me in love.  I have allowed my pain to become my identity, to define me, instead of identifying with Him.
I am a new creation in Christ, all things have passed away, and behold, all things are becoming brand new. I am a child of God, saved by the blood of the lamb, and by His stripes, I am healed. I am the woman at the well, I am the woman, diseased for years, I am the man born blind, but Jesus has opened my eyes, He has looked at my accuser the devil, and says to me, " Do not be overcome by evil , but overcome evil with good"  How do I overcome evil I cry out, and in my distress, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven. 

How do I glorify you Lord, I press on, In order to gain life, you must lose it. How do I lose it?
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

 My faith has been stretched over , and over. And God has always, been faithful, even when I was faithless. He has provided for all my needs, and even though my future is uncertain. I know He is holding me, in the  palms of His hands. He is my security when all seems uncertain. He is my Rock, and my refuge. He is the one that speaks over the storm, and turmoil, in me, and says Be still, and I am flooded with His peace. He says in this world, I will have trials, and tribulations, but I am to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world.
He has overcome every fear, He has overcome every hurt, every hangup, every rejection, every time loneliness creeps in , and I feel the isolation , He has overcome that too. He says Come to me , all you who are weary, and burdened , and I will give you rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matt 11:28-29

So as I cast all my cares at His feet, something beautiful happens. Ashes are turned to beauty, the oil of joy is being poured on me, and filling me with hope, and I no longer  carry in my spirit heaviness .
Because Jesus has taken it, and replaced it, and everything that was once cracked , and broken, becomes whole. I take His hand, and He speaks abide in me, and I will abide in you, for apart from me you can do nothing. I am betrothed to Him forever, I am my beloveds and He is mine. He reaches down, picks me up, and I am lifted, I am well, I am His.

Cry out to the Lord and He will deliver us!

A voice cries in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plane. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. - Isaiah 40:3-5

I, Lord, am a voice that is crying in the wilderness, surrounded on all sides, crushed and brought low. My strength is weak, and my heart is troubled. I need you dear Lord to lift me up, and carry me away, far away from all these troubles. Then a still small voice, I hear so gently whispers, you will have troubles, and you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. 

A little bird sits on a tree branch, the storm is raging all around her, and her song echoes through the woods, with a hunger, and longing to reach higher, so  that her song might resonate in her Master's ears. The storm is starting to pick up, and the wind is howling more violently around her, she becomes hesitant. Overcoming her fear she starts to stretch her wings, aching from lack of use. She hears her beloved call to her, when you are weak, I am strong, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness.

Standing on her shaky perch, she takes off,  soaring within the storm, to a higher ground, a safer ground. She struggles desperately to find a safe place to be hidden, until the storm passes. Finding none she finally gives up, her wings start to droop, and she feels herself falling. But just before she hits the ground, she hears again, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, and two strong arms catch her, hold her tenderly, and place her in the cleft of the rock.

Rocking back and forth, she wonders if she has been abandoned, and starts to fall into despair, and she hears again, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you, beloved, I have called you by name, you are mine. She turns around, fixing her eyes at last on her Creator, the one who fashioned her, molded her, gave her wings to fly. Love has sealed her, love has found her, and love will never let her go.

Abide in me, she hears again, cast all you cares upon me, for I care for you. You have cried out to me, and I have heard you, and delivered you from all of your fears.

Trust in the Lord

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. - Isaiah 55:10-11

Trust me, the Lord says, I am not a man that I would lie. My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, says the Lord. So why do I fight to trust, why do I struggle with doubt? He has delivered me from death's door, he has pulled me out of many deep, dark pits. He has washed me clean, by the blood of the lamb. He is my burden carrier, the lover of my soul, so why do I fear? The Lord said, to enter the Kingdom of heaven, we must become like little children, what does that mean?

   
It means trusting him with a pure heart: "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt 5:8). My children trust me. When I say I am going to do something, they trust that I will follow though with what I say. He is our good shepherd, and we are the sheep of His pasture. Let us be still, listen to His voice, and be comforted knowing that He is a good Father, and the only one that can calm all our fears. 

Thank you Lord,

I am still now before you, my hands reaching out, my heart open as a child's heart, you are my Father, you wipe all my tears, and calm all my fears. Even in my distress, you never turn away, you are never too busy to hear me. I bow at your feet, and I praise you, that you are my Deliverer, and you will break and destroy every work of darkness that comes against me. Your banner over me is love.

In Jesus's name

Amen

Seek the Lord in Prayer

If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

 

  More times than I would like to admit, I have allowed worry and anxious thoughts consume my life.
I have felt ill from the stress and even needed to lay down.  But I simply cannot operate, and live my life like that any longer. I have children that are always watching me, always soaking up my patterns and behavior, good or bad. When I am anxious, they are anxious, when I am at peace, they are at peace . When I let my temper get the best of me, and let anger fill my heart, they follow in stride.
So I don't want my children to pick up on that; the solution, pray. Pray when I wake up in the morning, pray when their is a dispute among my children that I don't know how to solve, pray when I feel weak, pray when I feel like giving up on this whole Mother business, and skipping town. Pray when I don't feel like it, pray when I am even mad with God. God sees all my heart anyways, I can't hide anything from him. And when I pray something starts to happen, something starts to shift, and change, it's not the world, it's not my children, it's me. My heart becomes  open , all barriers are knocked down, the weapons that the enemy have tried to attack me with, are no longer effective. Jesus comes in, all present, all knowing, and floods my heart with his perfect peace. No weapon formed against me, or any of us will prosper, when we put on the full armor of God, and walk in victory, knowing that our Victor, has already fought the battle for us. Give it to Jesus, give it all and He will turn all your ashes into a beauty, that will never fade, never dry up, never die. The beauty of a contrite heart, that in turn becomes a fragrant aroma  to our Father in Heaven.    We can win every battle when we learn to fight it first on our knees to the Lord. He fights for us, and He will deliver us.

We Are Made to Worship Him

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chron 7:14

We are made to worship Him , we are made to praise His name, but many times in my life, I have allowed myself to be ruled, and controlled by fear. His perfect love has cast off, and removed all fear.
I no longer need to spend any more wasted time worrying if He loves me, worrying that I have disappointed Him, yet again. He loves me in spite of myself, in spite of all my faults, He has delivered me from death's grip, and the defeating lies, that I have listened  longer than I should have.
I am a daughter of the Most High, clothed in righteousness of Christ, and written in the lamb's book of life. He is my comforter, when I have no strength left in me. When the winds an the waves are crashing around me, He is there. He speaks be still, and I find I am hidden, safely away, under the shadow of His wings. When I lay my head on my pillow, and feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, I give my cares to my Lord, and He gives me His peace, my heart fills with joy overflowing.

Thank you Lord,

Father, I am always grateful for your love that gives me confidence, and security.
I am being renewed day by day, by the resurrected power of Christ. /I am being brought
into your kingdom of light, and I can say with confidence, I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Thank you for your mercy that is new every morning, that you are faithful when I have been faithless.
I love you, and I worship at your feet.

In Christ name
Amen