June 30, 2012

A Hot Mess




Oil Painting: Candace Huffmaster
Title:  A HOT MESS



Since everything that has been made was made by God, came through His power and nothing returns to Him void, how do we ever cross over to the point where we have an attitude of entitlement instead of gratitude?  Often I pause to think about these things.  Sometimes I imagine everything having a power cord, so to speak, which actually comes up from within God as if plugged into Him.  This power cord is like an extension cord which every other thing has the ability to plug into which will generate its light, movement etc.  The cords are also retractable but God just hasn’t pushed the button yet to reel it into Himself. 
Other times I think about what would happen if the “God Generator” were to cut off the current, or not be grounded as to blow all the circuits during an electrical storm.  This leads me to think about the verses which speak of being grounded in His firm foundation and how we live in the protection of His presence through Christ.  2 Peter 3:10 states:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:10


 When I think of this verse in light of those other thought, I think about how the challenges and refinement we go through in life almost short circuit us at time.  I think about His promise that nothing shall in anyway harm us; we are protected from destruction.  It is like His blanket of love is covering us which makes me so humbly grateful for His mercy and grace.  Sometimes it grieves me deeply as I look around.  I know that many of those we interact with and care for might choose not to believe God is real or that His son died, rose and came back to Him in order that we might receive the fullness of His holy spirit.
Those of us who DO believe know God will in creating us was for us to care for and subdue the world around us. Everywhere we turn there are angry, hateful, bitter, deceptive, broken, lonely, hurting, deceived people. Have we spoken truthfully seeking to help them? Have we reached out to cover them with His love? Have we sprinkled our environments as a witness of His presence? Have we paused to have compassion and fervently pray? 
Pause and think: carbon dioxide, salt and blankets put out fire. If there is nothing left but the combustible elements because the blanket of love, salt of the earth and God’s truth being spoken are no longer active, what is left to hold back wrath, judgment and justice? All the works of evil will simply fulfill their desire which is to kill, steal and destroy everything God created!  While the fire is bad news, good news follows bringing fresh new life and liberty.
So today, let’s pray …….let’s step out fully plugged into our source……THE source which gives all His power to save the universe from destruction!
With the Love of our Christ,
Kisses,
Candace

June 28, 2012

Did You Choose the Good Gift or the Perfect Gift?


James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
If we think about this verse in James we see that God gives good and perfect gifts.  We know that His word tells us sometimes we do not choose “His best”.  We also know that God said even evil men can give good gifts.  Be aware, Satan also gives gifts; all his gifts are evil for the purpose of destruction.  He came to kill steal and destroy, therefore he gives in the spirit of fear. 
If both gifts are being extended which will we choose?  Will we be able to discern?  Absolutely everything that we have came from somewhere; someone before us. Think about it:  There are NO self made people.  Some people want to tout “I got here by myself”, “no one helped me”.  We have to realize that even in the  bleakest of situations, the truth is, without someone sustaining your conception, carrying you to full term and giving you the bare necessities for a period of time, you would not be here.  But it didn't start there; before that, all things came from God and through Christ or they do not exist.  (John 1:3)
We have been studying 2 Timothy 1:7 this and last week: For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  
Below I am pasting the definition of the Greek word Dunamis, which is where we get our work dynamite.  But in the verse above it is translated to mean power.  This is only one of the three qualities of God’s gift.  It has three sides just as a triangle: power, love, sound mind.  In case you are speed reading let me connect those 3 pieces for you: 
·         Power / Love / Sound Mind
·         Power is the spirit, God is Love, Christ is the truth and the truth renews our mind.
·         Each of us were created as three dimensional beings

 Dunamis :

  1. strength power, ability
    1. inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
    2. power for performing miracles
    3. moral power and excellence of soul
    4. the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
    5. power and resources arising from numbers
    6. power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

Up to this point, we have looked at:
In the past we covered many topics on fear:  type fear in the search box or look in the Labels on the left.  Click fear, phobia for example.

I pray for each of you to have an keep your peace so that you may live in the liberty Christ died and rose to afford us.

With love,
Candace


©Candace Huffmaster 2012, All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

    



June 24, 2012

From That Which You Have

You can only give from that which you have; think about it.  In order to give a gift you must purchase it, make it or give an IOU because you don’t yet possess it to give.  God tells us that we are able to love Him only because He first loved us.  If we had not been loved by God, with Agape love, we would not have had this love in our possession to give.  We discussed it a few weeks ago:  This is Love, not that we first loved God but that He first loved us. 
 
People struggle all the time with not having the ability to give what they perceive as a “good gift”.  Who doesn’t want to give the best gift, that’s the whole purpose of “the gift” right?  At what point did we cross the thresh hold of having guilt because we cannot give material possessions and yet we do not feel convicted as we withholding what God commands us to give each other each and every moment of every day? 

In case, if it isn’t obvious, I was alluding to love. It cost nothing, yet the price you pay is your self.  It is gives liberty, but if you cannot freely give it you are in bondage. You can live within it for eternity, but you have no exclusive rights of ownership and it is very hard to live without it.  You can never out give it, out last it, demand more than it is willing to give freely because it is the outpouring of our generous, merciful, righteous, holy and pure God.  He gave us the object of His undying love.  He sacrificed His love for those who didn’t know love, us, so that we could know love and indeed love and become lovely.  What a God we have; I can’t put Him justly into words.
 
I want us to look at the Friday’s scripture from 2 Timothy 1:7:  For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Some translations say “a spirit of fear” but I believe the KJV most correctly translated it to be “the spirit of fear” because it moves on to state “the spirit” which He did give us: the Holy Spirit which is power, love and a sound mind due to peace, hope and joy.
 
In order not to get too long winded here, we will leave off with the definition of the Greek word didomi.  Translated we best understand it as the word gift.  Here is Strong’s definition:

Didomi  / did'-o-mee
  1. to give
  2. to give something to someone
    1. of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage
      1. to bestow a gift
    2. to grant, give to one asking, let have
    3. to supply, furnish, necessary things
    4. to give over, deliver
      1. to reach out, extend, present
      2. of a writing
      3. to give over to one's care, entrust, commit
        1. something to be administered
        2. to give or commit to someone something to be religiously observed
    5. to give what is due or obligatory, to pay: wages or reward
    6. to furnish, endue
  3. to give
    1. to cause, profuse, give forth from one's self
      1. to give, hand out lots
    2. to appoint to an office
    3. to cause to come forth, i.e. as the sea, death and Hell are said to give up the dead who have been engulfed or received by them
    4. to give one to someone as his own
      1. as an object of his saving care
      2. to give one to someone, to follow him as a leader and master
      3. to give one to someone to care for his interests
      4. to give one to someone to whom he already belonged, to return
  4. to grant or permit one
    1. to commission
I pray that each of us receive this gift and allow God  through Christ, empowered by His life giving spirit properly and fully disclose all His many facets as we sojourn together toward Him.  Tomorrow we will do deeper in this one verse. 
May we all understand and be grateful that every day, no matter what things appear to be, we ARE blessed by the Lord God Almighty himself.
Shalom,
Kisses ~C

For more information the clickable blue links within the text above are as follows:
 1 - Magnificent Box
2- This is Love
3- Taking Our Frustrations Out on Objects
4- Does A Bully Even Understand?

©Candace Huffmaster 2012, All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 22, 2012

Does A Bully Understand?

  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7
 
The spirit of God is a power force to be reckoned with.  When human power wants to tango, so to speak, with the righteousness of God which indwells in His children, I must believe they do not understand or they would be too afraid to arrogantly, tauntingly, unconscionably puff up as they do. 

But what preserves and propels our ability to pity them as we should, and not fear or be angered by their actions is the power of the Holy Spirit; His indwelling love and sound mind.  Amen!

I am meeting  with a new mission group today so I will finish this when I return later.  I have much to share with you on this verse.  For now - meditate on the power of God we have received and the might which is bestowed through Christ in the dynamic presence of His most holy spirit.

Selah,
Kisses,
Candace

Definition of Greek word Pneuma from which we derive the word used here: spirit
  1. the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
  2. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the \Holy\ Spirit)
  3. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of \Truth\)
  4. never referred to as a depersonalised force
  5. the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
  6. the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
  7. the soul
  8. a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting
  9. a life giving spirit
  10. a human soul that has left the body
  11. a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
    1. used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
    2. the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ
  12. the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
    1. the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.
  13. a movement of air (a gentle blast)
  14. of the wind, hence the wind itself
  15. breath of nostrils or mouth
©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 20, 2012

Provision of Stones

We have been speaking in group about God calling David and the battlefields he ran onto.  God also called Peter to a battle ground.  He forged his character and we saw a great transformation through many events he passed through.  We left off with questions for you to write about as you continue journaling your own stories:
  1. Can you see where God has called you to a battle line?
  2. How has YOUR character been forged now or in the past?
  3. Did you sink like Peter or trust as David?
Be sure to stay in the liberty of Christ, do not float down stream into condemnation as you think back.  Remembering this might help: Peter had no experience with walking on water, he simply had faith that it could be done because he was watching Christ.  David trusted God because he had experiential knowledge and had proven to himself that God would indeed save him.  Don't you think that Peter's big faith in Christs faithfulness to help him walk on water was as extraordinary feat as David using his skills and trusting God to hit the giant target?
Sometimes when things happen in life and we start floating down stream instead of walking in faith.  Our view of Christ starts to fade and all the distortion around us creeps on close.  We become frustrated, as the space closes in, the oxygen starts to die down, we get a bit sweaty and clammy.......then angry.

When we get angry it stems from fear.  When Peter feared, he sank.  Christ asked him this question:  Why did you doubt?  This must mean that fear comes from doubting God's faithfulness or not knowing his promise to rescue us in a given situation.  Sin moves us outside of God's presence and we are exposed to harmful elements.  You will notice it is very easy for you to get disturbed and angry when this happens.  When Peter became afraid, he simply called out to Christ.  Christ reached over and took his hand and gently spoke convicting words which could teach Peter to maintain his faith when being thrashed by an onslaught of evil.  

David had won many of the battles with fear.  God had trained him to be a warrior, to run to His battle lines and fight for the Lord.  David chose a stone to sling at Goliath.  There were many other choices made available - But the stone was Davids choice. 

There are times in life when we will have to walk out in faith on turbulent waters.  There will be other times when we will be asked to enter the battle field and run to the front lines and fight His fight.  How will you fare?  What weapon will you select, which fight will you enter?  Will you call out to Christ of sink like a perfectly weighted stone?

You intent to do God's will can only be fulfilled by the power of the holy spirit.  In and of ourselves we are no better than an ordinary mob mentality.  So we must pause to ask ourselves:   Are we seeking our own vengeance….or for God to do extraordinary things through His ordinary people and bring justice to all?

For Example:  
John 8:3-11
And the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and having set her in the midst they said to Him, Teacher this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women, what then do You say?  And they were saying this testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him.  But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.  But when they persisted in asking him.  He straightened up, and said to them.  He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  And when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and he was left alone, and the woman, where she was in the midst.  And straightening up Jesus said to her.  Woman where are they? Did no one condemn you?  And she said No one Lord, and Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you, go your way.  From now on sin no more.

What I found interesting is what “testing” in the Greek language actually means.  It means -attempting to entangle a person in sin.  It’s what Satan does to try and present someone as being unapproved. 
If you will notice, the Pharisees were taunting Christ to defend the law of Moses, but Christ stooped down and with His finger, wrote on the ground.
 
Now stick close with me for another point before concluding: The word “wrote” in Greek means to ponder.   It also has another meaning – appealing to the indisputable and legal authority of the passage quoted. 

This  made me ponder….    “What if Christ was writing a passage in the dirt that He was pondering?”

The scribes and Pharisees persisted, we're told; then Christ straightened up and stated – “He who is without sin throw the first stone”. In this verse he is not speaking of general sin.  This Greek word is “sin specific” it meant that these leaders were adulterers themselves.  Notice they did not bring the man before Christ, only the woman.  Weren’t they both adulterers?

Now look at this scripture from Romans 2  which will solidify this meaning:
1Therefore you have(A) no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For(B) in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.


So, may I ask......
What are we holding in our hand?
Peace or stones?
Are we stoning people?
Or are we kneeling down and allowing God to deal with the situation justly?

John 8
When we rise, are we casting stones or speaking God’s word?

Points to ponder on how to hand similar situations :

 Knowing we are ordinary people,  we have to have support and a new understanding to truly change how we handle things. 
·        Wisdom of the Lord for discernment
·        Prayerful consideration of all points
·        Use the examining table concept 
·        Seek peace above all else
·        Do not let the sun go down on your anger

Reflect on all this adding in "The Wind and A Stone" the previous weeks information.  We will not be meeting Friday, which gives each of you an extra week to write for group.
I will miss each of you, please feel free to e-mail me any of your stories to add to the one we are writing anytime.

Much love,
Candace

©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 16, 2012

I Will Meet You Right There; Don't Leave!

Today I was reading through old posts on fear since that is our topic for awhile.  I found a nugget from 2010 which was a great reminder for me personally.  I know you might laugh, seeing as I write these.  You would think that since I know AND truly believe all this, with everything that I am comprised of, that I would be different.....but I'm just not so different - Believe me!

The post was from our Emerge site which is for those caring for other,which I will link below. As I was reading through it I started thinking about how each of us come to Christ at different points of understanding and maturity and He doesn't care. All He cares about is that we desire to come. 

I started thinking about how He tells us to believe He will come when we desire Him to come.  Also, that we have to believe all He tells us in relationship to the end of times or we might not be there when He comes.  We can compare it to meeting a friend at a specific location.  When we get there first, sometimes we think we got things confused.  We might try to phone, text or sit patiently.  However, as time passes and they don't show up we go through all sorts of thoughts and take different actions don't we.

When we have friends that are consistent and trustworthy our actions are different.  We know something must have happened, we get concerned for their welfare.  The messages have a different tone don't they.  This is the way we should be every day as we wait on Christ to return.  We mustn't doubt, because He will be here.  We might not know the hour or day, but we must be where we are supposed to be so that He won't leave thinking we are inconsistent and not trustworthy.

As for the other posts it relates in this way:  As we are waiting, there are many people in need of knowing that the "last train to Clarksville" will be pulling out and we need to be on board.  Be careful how you treat others along the way, and remember when people are attempting to help you take it easy on them too.  You never know what they have been going through before you met up with them. 

If you are in Christ, remember that you have been given much and much is expected.  BUT that much isn't something YOU can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and give.  God gives you the much and He gives you the holy spirit to employ for the work at hand.  This is what maturing in Christ does for us, we have more to give because we enable HIM within us. 

God is delighted in you no matter where you are; no matter what state your in His train will be rolling through and He's calling your name to hop on board.  He'll help you with all the rest.  Come on it's a joy ride with sweet rest and great companion =D

My love to you all,
Candace

Enjoy "The Last Train To Clarksville"!



 Link for post on  KB's Emerge page:  If He Shrinks Back
I also posted on KBJourney the same day Meet Ya Right There...


©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 14, 2012

Liberty, Free Will...Fear

This month has given me many wonderful opportunities to glean understanding in regard to free will and liberty.  Just when I thought I understood both concepts to the fullest, another door was before me begging these questions: "Will you turn the handle?" "Will you turn away?" "Will you take a step of faith, release your your thoughts to take mine?"  "Will you pass through the doorway and let go of all you left on the other side?"

What choices do we have in relation to a closed door in front of us?  I'm sure we're listing the obvious:  stand staring, sit down at it, turn and go the other way, OR have a new experience beyond it.  As for me, I have lived a life of going through the doorways.  Sometimes it takes a bit before I muster up what ever it is that enables me to grab the handle.  At times, my palms are so sweaty the handle won't turn all the way the first attempt.  Sometimes, I trip through it (okay many times I trip through it, which is why I loved the opening of the Dick Van Dyke Show.  I have a lot of Rob's awkwardness in me) Other times, I fall flat on my face because I couldn't catch my balance from tripping. Usually, if none of those took place and I made it through, I seem to just pause.  I'm sure this is  probably due to the prior shocking experiences, and I am just surprised that I'm there and standing.  But look, I have proof, I am here in one piece and typing away! 

As we've discussed many times, each moment is simply another experience.  There truly are no unusable ones.  It is not about being good or bad - it's about growth, maturity, having something to share with others in their time of need.  No one needs another person filled with knowledge but no skills in application.  We need people who have really messed up and know how to "get back up again" as Toby Mac sings, RIGHT?
As "they" say the only person who hasn't made mistakes is the person who never does anything - but in my opinion "there" IS their mistake!  So no one gets out of this life without one ;)


Which brings me to our topic, Fear.  We say fear is normal, but is it?  I want you to review the things we've been discussing so far.  Really, think about your fears.  Ask yourself, what is each fears purpose - because each of them has one.  We will talk more about this over the next few weeks.  Today, click these links and ponder a few sentences, scriptures, songs - what ever you feel led into.  It's only a doorway, remember this quote we discussed :

"I can throw open to you no picture gallery but your own soul. All I can give you is the opportunity, the impulse, the key. I can help you to make your own world visible. That is all". ~ excerpt from Steppenwolf

A very dear friend went to see the movie Tangled and said the character reminded her of me.  After seeing it I asked her why (not that I couldn't imagine many places which were obvious mind you).  She told me it was this scene. 



So, as you can see by this video clip, my description above about doors isn't out of character for me.  Where Christ is there is liberty, however, where human beings are there is coercion, manipulation and restraint of free will.  Are free will and liberty synonomous?  I am not going to answer that because I want you to come to your own valuable understanding of these topics.

Think on all this and we will take is one small bit at a time. 



There is such a disconnect within the body of Christ. There is so much self preservation, due to fear. His word tells us that there is no fear in love. His love casts out fear.

As I was thinking about all this yesterday I was very aware of how much we trust in our fear - to the point of paralyzing our selves. This is such bondage, and we are so used to it that we are unaware.

I pray for us all, that as we trust more in Christ to hold us in the palm of His hand and step out in the way He has prepare for us - that we will break free from the bondage and into His freedom. As He stated in 2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).

In Christ, With Love
Kisses ~ Candace


©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™



June 11, 2012

Are YOU That Confident?


 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ~ Galatians 5:10

Here we read of Paul’s confidence in those he was speaking of, but how can we be confident that we are seeing clearly and prepared for the battles we see?  Well, with experience comes confidence.  So God let’s us spar each other – after all, iron sharpens iron right?
These “spars” that we go through are not the battle, they are with flesh and blood opponents.  This isn’t to say that they are not equally being used by the enemy, as they are by the advocate, our Father who is for us and not against us.
The enemy tries time and time again, using his entire arsenal to deceive us.  He wants us to think the training IS the battle, so that we will exchange our view point, for his lie.  He is on a mission; “Mission Persuasion”.  He is attempting to tire us, wear us down and overwhelm our brain with his distortions and half truths.  He knows he can get us to digress and start chasing rabbits instead of following Christ.  When we get off track he feels confident that he will be able to obliterate our hope as we start to get tangles up in the forest of deceptions taunting us with God isn’t coming…….and you can’t hold on much longer so you might as well just lay down to defeat and be done with it.
But God tells us the truth with no distortions.  He tells us “I have come to fight these battles, you are weak against these evil schemes, but I am strong.  I have already won! “Mission impossible” is what Satan is fighting – it is impossible for him to have a comeback.  Remember, through Me ALL things are possible – this is your mission, Mission Possible!  When you believe and keep perceiving in hope through faith, no one or anything can persuade you of another view.
Yesterday we looked at taking the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and standing in the might and power of the Lord. So, when Satan and all who have joined his evil forces are tempting you to shrink back – Remember the only thing that counts in this battle is your faith expressing itself in love. 
Paul made a statement and asked this question to those who had hope in Christ and were combating these same forces:   
You were running a “good race”, who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?
He goes on to encourage them of the confidence he has that they cannot be persuaded to “take” another view.
We must beware and not overly confident though, because the real snare is being set up to catch us, Paul tells them: But watch yourself or you may be tempted, each one should “test” his own actions.  This is the duel; can you walk away taking pride in your victory without comparing yourself to anyone else?  Or will you go for the “flesh wound”?
I pray that each of us only spar with each other, not as to enter into the final battle, but knowing we are here to strengthen each other; making each of us the best we can possibly be.  After all, that is our Mission!

With Love ~ Kisses,
Candace

©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 10, 2012

Sheep Amidst Wolves, But NOT Slaughtered

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16


Christ told us, that in the world we would have tribulation, but not to fear because He overcame the world.  We can all vouch for the truth in this verse about the tribulation, but how are we doing with the fear?  God knew it would be hard for us to walk by faith when we have been given eyes to see.  He knew it would be even more difficult when lies are being flung into our ears. 

He sent Christ to live it out before our very eyes.  But He didn't stop there; Christ lived, and then died it out before our very eyes.  But wait there's more; He then rose up and out before our very eyes. 

Christ did all this to prove a point: It's impossible for God to lie!

 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. Hebrews 6:18

We've known since the beginning that Satan is roaming around attempting to get us to believe his lies.  In fact, we are told God is love and when we love each other we are perfected in His love.  He also tells us that perfect love casts out fear; but the one who fears is not perfected in love.

1 John 4:12 tells us this: 

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Then in Job we are told: 
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth IN him.  Whenever he speaks a lie.....he speaks from his own nature, for he IS a liar and the "father of lies!" Job 8:4

God did not leave us here helpless.  He did not say he was leaving us here as sheep to be slaughtered.  He simply said we'd be among wolves.  But he also said that nothing would in any way harm us in

God said:  Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 1 John 3:7

Do you think that God is going to just let His name be smeared by not showing up to save us?  He simply doesn't want us to get our hands dirty - remember this isn't our fight.  It is between him and Satan.  It is a supernatural battle ground. Ephesians 6 tells us more:


 
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.


Since we have a God such as this, what type of people ought we to be?  As for me, I am intent on being one who has no lie in her.  I will not fear, nor will I doubt and I will receive the peace which surpasses all understanding.  If I have no lie in me, it is not I but Christ who lives.  You see, without Him, I’m a liar and many more God forsaken things….how embarrassing and humiliating to type!  What about you?

For the Love of God, in Jesus my Christ’ name I pray for His righteousness to shine out from us all and unto all God forsaken spaces!

Kisses,
Candace

For More on These Topics

This is Love

Is Your Spirit or Your Soul Upright?



©Candace Huffmaster, 2012  All Copy Rights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 5, 2012

They Do Not Truly Love....And It Shows...

 They do not truly love who do not show their love ~ Shakespeare

Not everyone loves to delve into the depths of others ponderings as I do, but most everyone loves a strong one liner. These will keep standing when passing through time if they are truly wise.  They will be truly wise if they can be backed up by God's truth.  And Shakespeares statement will be standing when others have fallen away.  But what does the "Author of Love" has to say?
I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing. I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned........... But if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.
This is what Love acts like:
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done,but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
Can Love Go away?

God is Love.  He is the beginning and the end.  He has always been and will forever be; so love never comes to an end.   His word states this:
There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used.
There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself.
There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used.
Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete. But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways.  
Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly.
Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me. 
 So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

Yesterday we spoke about bringing a dodge ball to an egg toss.  We looked at how people are tossing love our way, but we don't get it.  I want us to pause on the topic and ask ourselves:
What is my Love angle?

In order to do this we have to clearly the object of our affections - so let's revisit our Love Angle information:

Loving people the way they need to be loved does not always coincide with the way they want to be loved. Agreement will necessitate maturity of discernment.

In thinking about loving someone as we should, there is a very important factor of love that is overlooked, in my opinion, and that is intent. We cannot truly love someone without our intent being to keep our commitment to care for their best interst.  In other words, whomever that intent is in favor of is whom the object of our “love” is directed at. This is how we discern if we are in love with someone else, or sad to say, simply in love with ourselves.

If our actions are ultimately neglecting the nurturing, encouragement, or support of the one we are in the relationship with, then whether our intent is to do that or not it is still happening to them. We cannot see how harmful our actions, words, etc are unless we are open to looking at our true love angle.

It is important to understand: neglectful behavior happens when we commit to a relationship, but then do not have the discipline or selflessness to follow through due to lack of discipline within ourselves. This has to do with areas in which we,  individuall, must address maturity principles as we seek wisdom.

God implores us to not only gain knowledge, but also to glean understanding.  Our word understanding is translated in scripture from a Hebrew word, BYIN; which means:  to discern , perceive, observe, pay attention, to be intelligent, to heed, to instruct, to teach, to attend to, to be sensible. It pertains to superior knowledge. An individual must know how to use information wisely while perceive through our senses.
 Jesus noted in Matt 13:13 that it is possible to hear without perceiving. BYIN /  understanding is a gift from God. We can pray for it and God can reveal it. Out of Love God will not give pearls of wisdom to people not stable enough to handle its power.  Proverbs 28:5 says: Evil people do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything.  Let us diligently seek justice, pursue it with His power and grab hold of what we find and share it as the wealth it surely is.


My Prayer for us all is that we mature into our head, which is Christ. Then our love will be complete; missing nothing!  Don't hyper focus on how much you have to grow, rest in Him to finish the good work He began in you.....just like the rest of us, you have some maturing to do!

Much love to you all~kisses
Candace
  
  
©Candace Huffmaster 2012, All Copyrights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™

June 4, 2012

This Is Love....

Far too many people want love, just not the love that is coming toward them.  Others, put on their sneakers and instead of playing dodge ball like those previously mentioned, run away in search of a "better" love.  No wonder God has to plainly tell us, in 1 John 4:10,


 This is Love:  not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.


Our society will say silly things like, I fell out of love.  Sounds like someone went overboard on the Love Boat - but it is more like "jumped ship".  Guess what makes us jump ship: selfishness, greed, unforgiveness, fear etc.


In John 13:34, God's word tells us:   "I'm giving you a new commandment:


Love each other in the same way that I have loved you.
Think about this:  If love could be perfect by simply obeying the letter of the law, honing our works and deeds toward someone and God, then He should not have needed to give us a NEW command.  But just doing the right thing is not love.  It has to be a gift, a gift which isn't earned or owed - it's just something that you can't stop whether it is received or not.  Rejecting it can't stop it.  Abusing it can't defeat it.  It is too encompassing to ever successfully cover it up; and you cannot out run it's ability to catch up with you, overtake you to do good unto you.  That is agape Love, this is God.



Roman 13:10 tells us why God made it simple for us:  Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law.   This love is from God, in and of our "self" we cannot fulfil the law.  Without Christ"s death and resurrection we would not have been able to do anything other than attempt to fulfill the laws.  However, as Christ was entering his position on high the holy spirit was reaching into us in order to properly love.....for Him, as Him, within Him.  This is Unity and such good news.



God loves us as He loves Himself.  He cannot possibly lie because there is no lie in Him.  We are to love others as we love our self......if we believe lies and distorted truths then due to the lies in us this love will never be possible.  Thank God that He tells us the reason He loves us and will never leave us, He created us for a special relationship with Him "first" above all else AND that He has planned a future for us filled with hope, goodness ....LOVE.



We know people, even the ones that love us well, will disappoint us and let us down.  Let use our first analogy of the person dodging your love.  Well if it is really love, it is gentle, fragile, delicate and yet encompasses something alive.  So it is more like an egg than a large, red, rubber,  air filled ball which smacks you,  and smarts a bit I might add, when it hits.  When you toss your lovely egg toward the one you love, if they have any compassion at all they will respect this life force and help care for it.  They will catch it carefully and help you carry it, nurture it anticipating what will come.
 


Knowing in advance the dependability issues of mankind doesn't it make the most sense to put your eggs in God's basket so that they are safe guarded. (Also you won't need new eggs) Now you can focus on being able to catch the eggs in motion if there isn't anyone around to protect it.  Knowing that the person tossing it needs it, you can gently toss it back and watch it grow.



What I am tossing around here is this:  If you are unhappy with the love you are receiving, I would have to ask what you've been tossing - a dodge ball or an egg.  Maybe it isn't the quality of the love at all, maybe it's your stance and focus.  If you are looking down complaining about all the stench of rotten eggs, crusty broken shells around you and how no body is loving you then I guarantee the problem is not them - think about it.



Because He first loved us.........
Kisses,
Candace


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©Candace Huffmaster 2012, All Copyrights Reserved
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc™