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™

Confidence In Numbers - by Oz Hillman

Continuing our thoughts on growing our faith think on what Oz has to say on our Deeply topic:
I have great confidence in all that God is doing within each of your lives. I know I will have great bragging rights as to how each of you encourage me to keep on with what I do by the way you grow in your understanding and stand tall in your faith.


I thank God for each of you,
Candace


Confidence in Numbers
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Wednesday, March 09 2011

"David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg You, take away the guilt of Your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.'" - 2 Samuel 24:10
It just seems to be human nature. As we grow in wealth and ability, our confidence moves from complete trust in the Lord to trust in our resources. King David decided one day that he needed to know how many fighting men he had in his army. This was a grievous sin in the nation of Israel. God always made it clear to the nation that He, not their army, was their source. It was against the law of God to number the troops. David's general, Joab, knew the serious nature of such an action.

But Joab replied to the king, "May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?" (2 Samuel 24:3)

Joab knew that David was treading in dangerous waters when he brought up the idea to him. But David had it in his mind that this is what he was going to do. And he did. The result: God judged David for this sin by smiting the nation with a plague that resulted in the loss of 70,000 lives.

Recently, I was having lunch with a former stockbroker who lost everything in the 1987 stock crash in the United States. He made an interesting comment. "You cannot know how to fully trust the Lord in the financial area until you really have to. When I lost everything, I was forced to trust Him when I knew I could not pay my next bill unless God provided. This was the time I learned to trust God. I never had to trust God before I lost my money because I had plenty. We don't willingly enter this level of trust with God."

Ask God today to keep you from trusting in your own resources. Ask Him how to balance trust and blessing from Him this day.

You Will Always Find What You Seek

 

Well it is a New Year guys.  2011; can you believe it?  Where did 2010 go. 

As for me, I have learned so much through this past year.  It was the largest year of growth for Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc, also known as KB, Inc now.  I am starting this year off with getting back to “101”.  You know what I mean, the basic of curriculums undergirding all else.  Our last Genesis post was October 26th.  That alone is enough to tell me to slow it down a bit. 

With growth comes restructuring.  With restructuring comes other individuals.  With other individuals comes delegation, and with delegation comes what to do when they move on.  Looking back, what I learned is that all individuals have to be seeking the same thing.  If not they do not stay.  We all know jobs are not forever.  However, what KB does is not a business it is a ministry so we always have to look at it in that light.  Ministries can only do what the flesh is willing to allow.  The spirit is always desiring to move.  But what is the flesh seeking?

Right now I am taking this opportunity to thank every individual and organization that has understood and extended so much mercy and grace toward our efforts at times.  We thank God for the grace and provision to be able to get to all that we do accomplished.  Sometimes God changes our time lines and circumstances, doesn’t HE? 

All this to get up back on track with a new year and a face set on Unity. 

In Matthew right after the sermon on the mount, Christ teaches the disciples the how to pray.  He follows this up with “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you”  He was speaking about clothing, food, relationships, business…..ALL THINGS.  Notice He did not say all things will be added to the Kingdom, He said all things will be added to “you”. 

In Genesis we stopped with “What do you See”.  This year I am picking it up with “What do you Seek”.  Huge difference!!  God tells us to “seek” him with all our heart, soul, and mind;  when we seek Him we will find Him.  We always find what we are seeking when we do this.  Let’s look at Genesis:

^{Genesis 3:5-9(GWT)}For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

We discussed in October that Satan was shifting our mind in order to shift our view.  We see only our heart seeks.  No matter what is there our heart and mind shifts it to fit our desire.  This is the paradigm shift I wrote about last month. 

Adam was no longer seeking God – He desired something else to be added.  Eve did as well.  If you go back and read our past studies you will see God has been seeking to provide for us, so that we may seek Him. 

The Lord God has been calling your name and saying to you, “Where are You?”  He sees YOU, He simply cannot get you to see Him.

I pray this today, January 3rd 2011, you will seek first God and allow Him to add all things to you.  That is His desire and good pleasure toward you. So If you have been hiding like Adam and Eve…..  “Olly, Olly Oxen Free”!

With Love,

Candace

The River Flows From It

Genesis 2:8-15 (NAS)



The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. That's where he put the man whom he had formed. The LORD God made all the trees grow out of the ground. These trees were nice to look at, and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the middle of the garden.  A river flowed from Eden to water the garden. Outside the garden it divided into four rivers. The name of the first river is Pishon. This is the one that winds throughout Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is pure. Bdellium and onyx are also found there.)  The name of the second river is Gihon. This is the one that winds throughout Sudan. The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one that flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it.

We see in verse 10 that a river flowed ”from” Eden to water the garden. We notice that once outside of the garden it “divided”. Once this was established “then” the Lord God took man and “put” him “in” the Garden of Eden – “Why?” So that man would farm the land and to take care of it.
This is our first life lesson where God was showing us what it looks like to “seek first the kingdom of God” because all else flow out of that. At least all Goodness does.

When I went back to Matthew to read the context of these scriptures in verses 20-34 I was amazed at what I now see.  I have a new understanding and appreciation for these words. After all when God had Adam in the garden he was perfectly clothed and in right standing with His creator. Nothing at all was between the two of them. Please read the scriptures below to prepare for where God’s story is leading us in the coming days.

I pray that we seek first His Kingdom, that we store up treasures for ourselves in heaven, and that we receive our protection for our hearts so that what flows out of it will cover the multitudes. I pray that our eye is unclouded so that we can be the light to disperse the darkness. I give thanks for our provision so that we can be filled with joy, peace, harmony, charity and show how great is our God.

In Christ, let it be done to us as He has desired,

Candace

Matthew 6:20-34 (GWT)

Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. 21Your heart will be where your treasure is. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light in you is darkness, how dark it will be! 24“No one can serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth. 25“So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? 26“Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27“Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying? 28“And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. 29But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. 30That’s the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrow it’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith? 31“Don’t ever worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. 33But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you. 34“So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

To Discern Accurately You Must First Know the Truth!

Proverbs 17:13-15 (GWT)

Whoever pays back evil for good—evil will never leave his home. Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before the argument gets out of control. Whoever approves of wicked people and whoever condemns righteous people is disgusting to the LORD.

From the very beginning God separated and contained the waters. He put boundaries on them. He differentiated entities by characteristics and then He lovingly let us know which of them was good.

Think about the correlation between all the things we have been discussing today.

Much love to each and every one of you, in Christ,
Candace

The Master of Spinning the Tale

For those of you that are not part of our monthly meetings if you would like the information so that you can be part of our groups we would love to have you.  We have another forum we utilize so that you have the freedom to speak your honest thoughts.  We encourage you to share all of them without fear of being right or wrong.  We are committed to encouraging you to be all God has made you to be...always...in all ways.

Send me an E-mail for more details.
candyhuff@aol.com or call us 404-432-0589
With Love in Christ,
From all the lovely women and children that make up Kaleidoscope Butterfly organization...
Candace Huffmaster, Founder
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc

Yesterday we looked at the first day or the intro to the storyline God has opened for us.   God imagined a day with light and darkness so He made it.  We do not make things come into being that we do not believe to be good.  God is no different.   
Today we are adding in another verse to the previous two.  It is from Psalm 23.

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The spirit of God was hovering over the water.

A new day will dawn on us from above because our God is loving and merciful. He will give light to those who live in the dark and in death's shadow.

Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no harm. (full chapter below)

Go back and review the posts on shadows (you can use the search area or click on the tags to the right side).  Randomly list your thoughts for a brainstorming session.  Go ahead and share them with each other if you'd like. 

As you are out and about today, look at the shadow you are casting and practice the presence of God..converse with Him.  You will be amazed at what He'd like to talk with you about.

I pray that we see beyond our ability as we thank God for imagining what "this day" would be like.  Seeing us all participating in it and believing that it was Good.
May each of you feel the warmth of His Son on you "while it is still called today"

Kisses,
C

Psalm 23 (GWT)

A psalm by David.


1The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside peaceful waters.3He renews my soul.He guides me along the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name. 4Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no harm.

Your rod and your staff give me courage. 5You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. 6Certainly, goodness and mercy will stay close to me all the days of my life, and I will remain in the LORD’s house for days without end.

The Cause is Love

There is only one cause and it is God ordained "Love". 

Each of us have a different effect on our world it is unique; something created within us to give.  Where ever you or your organization are wielding God's good will toward our fellow man, we would like to offer our hands and anything more that is available.  Give us a call, I pray we all unite for His glory and high calling.

Candace Huffmaster, Founder
Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc
a 501c3 in Georgia

It's Personal!

Personalize this as you read it. Might I suggest even being so bold as to say it out loud?

Father,
This is the day that you have given me; I will rejoice in it and BE GLAD!
You are all powerful, all wise and all love, You have equipped me for THIS day. This day is also the provision, for the day just up ahead, to train me and mature me, so all will go well.

For me to be all you desire, all I need is to persevere, my success is not my own, it is your hand forming the turns. All particles of the moments, radiate your love and light, your glory from the process, of me gleaning what you have taught. Nothing is ever wasted, no time will be cut short, that is the Love of the Father, and the culminating point. He merges all things together. He disperses in the need. The light into the darkness, the rescue into the pain, the deliverance into our bondage, the salvation into our soul, the spirit into eternity, the family into our home.

What are you now facing? Look into my face. See the moments before you, through the eyes of my love and grace.
Stand in the freedom I offer, take the peace and the joy. Release the pain and the bondage; the shards that cut your soul.
Put your hand in the one that was wounded~He was harmed that you might be free. No wound is deeper than His resurrection; no toil beyond my right hand.

Today Remember what you are facing, is the chance for Him to live. Allow His breath to overtake you. Allow His body to be released. Pray for Him in others. Pray we remember His Life. Pray we all come together. As one, there remains no more to fight.

With the Love of Christ, I cover us all,
Candace

Let's Give 'em a Hand

Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10,12 (God's Word Trans) Two people are better than one because together they have a good reward for their hard work. If one falls the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is all alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up. Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.


Psalm 46:1(GWT)  God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in times of trouble.

When I read these verses I remember when He told Joshua that He would be with him just as He was with Moses. He promised Joshua that He would NEVER neglect him or abandon him. But one thing we must remember is OUR part. What is that you ask? Good question. The answer is to be faithful to God above all else, seek Him diligently, know His word and do as He commanded us "Be strong and courageous! Don't tremble or be terrified, because the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go."

I pray that we believe in Him that is with us not against us so that we will not shrink back to the destruction of our souls. I pray that we forgive those that have opposed us and that we accept His desire to be our cord that is not easily broken.
With love,
Candace

A Good God

Daily Bread an RBC devotional (http://www.rbc.org/)

READ: Psalm 46

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. —Psalm 9:9

 

When my brother-in-law was a missionary in Mali, West Africa, he was involved in a traffic accident. A man had wandered into the road in front of Chuck’s motorcycle. The cycle struck the man and sent Chuck and the bike sliding along the ground for more than 200 feet. Shortly after Chuck regained consciousness in the hospital, his doctor told him he had been “really lucky.” Chuck smiled and replied, “God is good.”
Later he thought about the day’s events. The man who was struck hadn't received any permanent injuries, and Chuck would also recover from his injuries. But what if one of them had been killed? He thought, God would be no less good.

When we experience tragedy, we may wonder about God’s goodness. Is God always good? Yes, He is. He doesn't promise that bad things will never happen to us, but He does promise to be “our refuge and  strength” (Ps. 46:1). He doesn’t promise that we will never walk through heart-wrenching circumstances, but He promises that we won’t be alone (23:4).
God is good—no matter what suffering we are experiencing. Even when we don’t understand, we can say with Habakkuk, “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). — Cindy Hess Kasper

O taste and see that God is good

To all who seek His face;

Yea, blest the one who trusts in Him,

Confiding in His grace. —Psalter

God tests our faith so that we may trust His faithfulness.

You are a Princess / Prince!

Today we are talking about Crowns and Glory.



Psalms 8:5 is one of the most commonly quoted scriptures. I am always truly unsettled by this scripture, there seems to be so much ambiguity surrounding it meaning. Maybe that is to keep us searching deeper into God's meaning and not leaning on our own understanding.

"Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!" (NAS)

When we go back and break down the Hebrew meanings of the highlighted words, it is my understanding that what this is possibly saying is this - Elohim, God divinely created us out of Himself to be less than complete apart from Him. Yet he surrounds us, looks upon us.. to help us.. with glory( honor, abundance, riches, dignity, reputation, reverence) and majesty (the price paid or received for a person or thing bought or sold, honor whichh belongs or is shown to due to rank of office which he holds)

This is what He did for Christ, this is what He offers to us. We simply have to understand that when we separate ourselves from our "crown of His help" we are choosing to be crowned by another Kingdom.

I pray that we all accept his "Headship" and allow His Crown to Grace our Heads...even if just for Today! Let us worry about tomorrow, when tomorrow comes.

With Love in Christ,
Candace

"Help Me....Help You!"

Sometimes I have to laugh at us all.  We can get in such a self preservation mode that we deprogram all of our discernment. It reminds me of the scene from Jerry McGuire when he is screaming through the phone to his client "Help Me...Help You" over and over again.

If we are not careful we will think others are always in it for themselves; not truly trusting them to have our back in the crucial moments of life. We will push them away, or run away from our help, as God says. At times we even use that same broken logic with God. We do not turn to him unless we have no other option, then we beg him to help us.

He is our Jehovah-Jireh. He is always imploring us to believe. He essentially is boldly putting it out there "Help Me...Help You!". Will we trust that while we are out here just playing the game with all our gusto, that He is out here as the supreme manager working all things together to "Show us the Money". We all know His provision is more than monetary, He gives us all the abilities as well as the full prosperity; that is why all Glory goes to Him...Jehovah Jireh! (meaning: The Lord Who Sees, or The Lord Who Will See To It)

My prayer for us today is for us to trust, keep doing our part as we wait with baited breath to see His promises show up in spectacular ways.
Candace

Jehovah-Jireh

READ: Matthew 6:5-15
Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. —Matthew 6:8
In my early years as a pastor, I served in small churches where finances were often tight. Sometimes our family finances felt the weight of that pressure. On one occasion, we were down to the last of our food and payday was still several days away. While my wife and I fretted about how we would feed our kids in the next few days, our doorbell rang. When we opened the door, we discovered two bags of groceries. We had not told anyone of our plight, yet our provider God had led someone to meet that need.

This reminds me of the Old Testament account of Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. At just the right moment, God provided a ram instead. Abraham called this place Jehovah-Jireh, “The-Lord-Will-Provide” (Gen. 22:14). He is the One who still cares deeply for His children.

Jesus said, “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). He is constantly caring for and seeking the best for us—a reminder that in times of hardship, need, and fear, we have Someone who cares. Peter wrote that we can cast all our cares upon Jesus, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We can turn to Him in our time of need. — Bill Crowder daily bread devoional.

I know not by what methods rare

The Lord provides for me;

I only know that all my needs

He meets so graciously. —Adams

What God promises, God will provide.