What Did You Expect?

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 KJ

How many times do we tell others we are waiting on God to show us what to do? Maybe we do not say exactly that; maybe we just do not know what to do and want to pray about it.  Maybe we do not pray about it, but rather speak with someone who we believe will pray about it or consult with us for directions.

Maybe we do this because we do not clearly discern what is ahead. Usually, it is to ease the uncomfortable situation of changing our minds when something better comes along. We do not have the advantage of being omnipresent; as if it would in anyway BE an advantage for even one human.

We all were submitted by the grace of God to the same limitation of futility. We rake others over the coals for not treating us "As THEY would want to be treated"; but what about when WE do not treat someone like we would want to be treated.  What should we expect?

God tells us the truth about it: you should forgive them and trust that I am a just God.

You do not have to tell me what is going through your mind right now - you can if you want....but I believe we all have exactly the same reaction.  After all, it was His desire to subject us all to the same futility, remember?  The common reaction discussed with me is this: I know that is what God desires and of course I forgive them and trust Him. But it is not that simple, I still have these "feelings" and I do not want to be "fake" around them.  If I am rude it will start a fight, and that is not Godly at all.

Our verse today stated: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you -  thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  If we are made in the image of God and filled with His Holy Spirit to empower us to be His witness / ambassador of His will, then it begins with our thoughts toward those individuals.  Will we extend thoughts of reconciliation with God and not worry about them reconciling with us till God has dealt with the end of those things? Will we chose NOT to enter into the coliseum where we will have to wield those evil weapons as expected?

If much of what we ask and do is miss guided, what is the answer? (not the simple God answer here, that is understood) ;) Have you ever paused to think about if all the time we are waiting on God to "order our steps and show us the way" He might be waiting on us to understand we do not listen and allow Him to show us all along the way moment by moment.  We just do not think it takes all that.  Much of the time we consider God more of an information desk, a crisis hot line or a travel agent.  I am sure there are many other hats we lay on His head.  

Remember this though, seriously....He does not wear hats; He wears crowns.  He is not man, He is God.  He does not build what we see, we are to see what He built.  He does not listen for our directives, He reveals His ways.  

Peter was always the first one wanting to go where ever Jesus went.  I am sure He was pleading with Him when He asked where He was going- as if he was all set and ready.  Jesus told him, you cannot go with me yet Peter, but you will.  God does not let us go into places which will give us an evil expected end.  That is death, and it is unnatural to God.  God is life and there is NO death in Him.

Let's stop killing people with thoughts and actions - it is unnatural for us in Christ.

To our New Nature, in Him and to Him be all the glory!

Kisses,

Candace

Copyrights Reserved ©Candace Huffmaster 2014

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc.®

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™

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™}