Where Are You?

I loved playing hide and seek with my children when they were young. Who am I fooling? We still play the game and they are teenagers. Now that they are older it takes me a lot longer to locate them. They get impatient and tired of waiting on me and start yelling, "Mom you coming? Mom where are you?" It would seem that I should be yelling that to them since they are the ones hiding.

In life we can experience seasons when we just don't know where we are! I don't necessarily mean in a physical sense, although I'm sure that's possible. I'm referring to seasons of life when we don't know how we ended up in our current condition.

You didn't mean to get over your head in debt, but it happened. The frivolous spending and mis-managed budget resulted in consequences of lack. Or maybe it was your selfish need to win every argument with your spouse and now a few years into the marriage and the damage is done, communication is little to none and intimacy has disappeared altogether. Or perhaps you have drifted so far from your original goals of raising your children to love, respect, honor and worship God and instead you overbooked your weekends and substituted family devotions for ball games and ballet lessons. Now years later you don't understand why your teenagers want nothing to do with church.

How did we get here?

You may not know where you are, but God does! He has followed your every step watching as you continued to do it on your own. So many times He longed for you to recognize His prompting. With His still small voice He was urging you back. He's been waiting on you to get tired of hiding and for feeling ashamed because of the decisions you made.

He longs to be with you...

He loves you, unconditionally. He never walked away, you did.

Now matter how far gone you feel you have traveled away from Him, or how lost you think you may be, He would do anything to hear you say, "Father where are you? Please come find me!"

Matthew 18:12-14 "If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?  And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

Vain Imaginations

The older woman and her electronic shopping cart quickly annoyed me. She seemed to purposefully drive it in the middle of the aisle so I couldn't pass her with my overloaded cart of groceries. Usually it wouldn't bother me, but today I was in a hurry. I had ten minutes before the first pitch of my son's baseball game and I still had to get home and unpack the groceries. I politely said, "Excuse me". Hoping she would move over to one side of the aisle so I could pass by her. She didn't respond, she didn't even acknowledge me.

Maybe she didn't hear me, I thought, so I said it again, this time a little louder, "Excuse me, could I move my cart past you please?" With that she jolted the brakes and quickly turned around to get a glimpse of me. I was a little taken off guard by the look on her face; it was a surprised look as if she didn't see me. I thought she was going to respond, but she didn't say a word. She just sat there, staring at me. I was still constricted behind her because the cart was directly centered in the middle of the aisle, I wondered what she was doing and the point she was trying to make. By now I was infuriated, surely this woman was intentionally blocking me from passing her and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why!

As she starred me down, I explained again that I wanted to pass her because I was running late for my son's baseball game. She paused for a few seconds and then used her hands to communicate with me. As she began to sign and point I then realized she was deaf and she hadn't noticed I was behind her the entire time. I was completely embarrassed and tried quickly to scoot around her as to not look any more ridiculous when she reached out to grab my arm and pointed to the top shelf. I asked her if there was something on the top she needed me to get for her, I think she was able to understand me because she intently watched my lips. She nodded her head yes. I began to aimlessly reach for items on the top shelf, she kept shaking her head no until my fingers reached the can of baking powder and she nodded yes. She held up two fingers so I grabbed for two cans of baking soda and then placed them in her cart. She gestured back in sign language "thank you" and smiled, giving me a wink as I finally made my way past her.

Life is all about perspective. Sometimes we "presume" something to be when really it isn't that way at all.  We drive past a co-worker in the neighborhood and we wave but they don't wave back. We jump to the conclusion they are really rude, but the truth could be they didn't know you drove that car. We pick up our child in the car rider line and wave to our child's teacher on duty. She doesn't wave back and we immediately begin to rationalize why she didn't. It could be she has too many little kids to watch and she didn't notice you from the glare on the car. Or maybe she wasn't even looking in your direction, sunglasses can be deceiving at times. A friend blogged about a certain subject or put an inspirational image quote on her FaceBook wall that just happened to be relating to an issue you were struggling with and immediately you presume her blog or post was directed specifically towards you.

Perspective is the way in which one regards situations, circumstances, reactions and makes a judgment based upon limited facts.  When we have limited information and make assumptions about a situation based upon our perspective we can sometimes be wrong about the entire situation. Sometimes (like in the example I encountered at the grocery store) we can create a problem when there really isn't one there.  This is what the bible refers to as "vain imaginations". Vain imaginations are any thoughts or reactions that are rooted in truth but perverted by imagination.

The truth is the only real power the enemy has over us is the power of deception. Most bondage to the enemy can be directly tied to some form of wrong thinking. It's important not to play into the enemies "mind games" and presume or make assumptions. We could find out that we were completely wrong in our thinking and suffer irrevocable consequences because we simply let our mind wander.

Live life without presumptions, assumptions or vain imaginations. Don't be so quick to analyze everyone around you and everything they did or didn't do. It's possible you are seeing into things more than you should, and if so, the enemy has you trapped in a place where he can wreck havoc.

II Corinthians 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought and make it obedient unto God.

Blessings, Polly

Don't Miss The Important Things

We were planning a 16th birthday party for her oldest daughter. I gladly offered my help since she had invited over sixty people. "What do you need me to do?" I asked her.

"Anything you want", my friend replied. So I offered to make the party favors, address the invitations and help with the food. Over the next few weeks we talked periodically going over the details and counting down the days before the big event.

Now I must paint a picture for your of my friend Karen; she lives for details. Tell her a story and she asks for more details. Give her directions to a certain location and she wants to know how long it will take to get there and what coffee shops are close by. So it didn't surprise me when she handed me the party planning book she had purchased for this special event. Being so specific in the details of her daughter's 16th party she even drew out a map of her backyard, locating where every chair would be placed and in case it rained, she rented several huge canopies to cover the event areas.

On the day of the party, guest began to arrive with gifts for the birthday girl, while perfect party tunes selected, could be heard in the background. The decorations of light blue, silver and hidden pops of glitter looked beautiful as if the moment was captured in a dream and recreated. Up until now, this day was nothing less than perfect. 

About an hour after the guest mingled and ate, it was time for the birthday song and cake according to the detailed list Karen had printed. So I motioned to the hired DJ to get ready with the "Happy Birthday" disk and headed back inside the house to get the candles and cake. I'd been to parties she hosted in the past so I assumed the cake would be kept in the refrigerator in the garage and I headed in that direction. When I turned the corner to the garage I could see my friend Karen already standing in front of the refrigerator with the door opened. Glancing at her facial expressions I could tell immediately something was wrong. In desperation she blurted out, "Oh no, I forgot to pick up the cake!" Tears streamed down her eyes and she clinched my arm with her fingernails. I attempted to console her, however the birthday song playing on que in the background was difficult to compete with.

In my friend's obsession to manage all the miniscule details she forgot the most important item, the birthday cake.

Sometimes in life we can be just as guilty. Obsessing over the little things and forgetting the more important.  Detailed obsessions over unnecessary items like a clean house, vegetables with every meal and over crowded schedules will drain our energy from more productive tasks and ultimately can distract us from doing God's significant work.

What parenting priorities should come first? Do you need to rearrange some things in your schedule? Are there more important items you should be doing that have been overlooked by less important things? I know I have been guilty of allowing the little details to consume my days, yet God has a way of getting our attention when we loose focus and in those moments it's critical to listen to Him. Don't miss the important things!

Prayer
Lord I acknowledge the importance of you in my life for direction, guidance and wisdom. Please give me specific insight on how to live my days pursuing the more important things.  My greatest desire is to fulfill your plan for my life.  Show me the areas where I am failing, give me clear direction to better guide me on this journey. May my life exemplify the importance of living a life consecrated to you, for you are most important. Lord, I need your help.

Where God Wants Me (Video)

We serve a Sovereign God. We should never ever doubt His timing!

One Day Closer

When he was only seven I sent him off to school one day and a little while later there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and it was Jason. I said, "Jason what are you doing here?"  He said, "I've quit school!" I said, "Why have you quit school son?" He said, "Well it was too long, it was too hard and  a lot of people were too mean." I looked at Jason in the eyes and said, "Jason, you have just described life, not get back on that bus!"  (Patsy Clairmont, God Uses Cracked Pots)

Pretty humorous story but isn't it very much the truth? The world seems to reflect more evil than good, more selfish motives than selfless acts, more evil intentions with more me, me, and more me attitudes, and where sarcasm is treated as the English language. It can be easy to get tired of "doing good". We stay frustrated when we don't see a change in the people who we have been asked to help. Yet the bible admonishes us "not to grow weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart". In this message Paul was talking to the church, Christians like you and I and it was obvious they must have felt the same struggles. Paul knew when we continually persist in "doing good" we become exhausted and sometimes feel like quitting. Why? Because to "do good", takes effort.

When someone continually mistreats you, it takes an intentional effort to return kindness. When you begin volunteering in a ministry and the demands get greater and more is required, it's easy to consider walking away but it takes a determined resolve to stay committed. When you relentlessly stay on your knees praying for a lost son or daughter, brother, sister, for physical healing, restitution, or reconciliation and day after day you see empty results, it's easy to consider giving into the enemies taunts, to throw in the towel, quit, give up on every believing something will change. The enemy is eager to stop you from "doing good". He wants you to tell that person off who keeps slandering you and yours. He is prompting you to trade in your teaching materials for a little rest and relaxation on the weekends and if he can get you to stop spending time on your knees, who else will be praying for your children and lost loved ones?

Yet it's in these times when we find ourselves in the place of struggle and exhaustion and we are ready to give up, we must recommit to an even greater determination to remain faithful. We must choose to keep moving forward, to walk by faith and not be sight. For in the natural things can look obscured, progress may seem dimmed but in the spiritual realm when resistance surfaces it means we are really one day closer to reaping our harvest.

Galations 6:9 says, "You will reap, gather, collect and obtain ALL the good you have sown."

Friend if you are struggling in continuing to "do good" and you have wrestled with the idea of quitting; please don't throw in the towel just yet. You never know how close you are to victory. It's possible your as close as one more prayer, one more sacrificial gift given, one more time to turn the other cheek until God declares, "It's due season for this child, now give her what she's owed!"

Don't let the enemy rob you of your "doing good" harvest! Keep pressing forward even through adversity; stay determined to finish the entire course. Resist aborting the harvest you have already sown because today when the sun sets, you will be another day closer.

I Don't Deserve Him

I was awakened this morning at 4:27 am. The house was quiet. I sat up in the bed and adjusted my eyes to the darkness. Why was I awake?


I made my way into the kitchen to get a glass of water, stopping off at the couch to recline. As I lay there I was comforted by the words of this song: Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so.


I started to sing it aloud in my faint and sleepy voice and after a few times through the chorus, I could feel His presence. A melodious and satisfying presence of an almighty God who brought confidence in the midst of doubt; He attended my soul. 


My mind can not comprehend, the God of this universe who spoke the world into existence, longs for my fellowship. He delights in me. He wages in the spirit on my behalf, "sitting at the right hand of the Father making intercession for His children". 


I knew at that moment, it was God who woke me up.


The same God who walked on water, healed a woman with the issues of blood, turned water into wine, gave sight to blind Bartimaeus and raised Lazarus from the dead has comforted, shielded, and protected me and mine. He turned my crooked paths straight and resurrected my life. I am more than confident in His plan for the future, because He has never failed me yet and because...He loves me!


He is amazing, all powerful, omnipresent, omniscient, supreme, deliverer and my strong tower. He is my peace, my hope, my confidence, my security, my everlasting Father, my redeemer, yet also my friend. 


I recognize the enemy is continually on a mission to keep God's children distracted, defeated and hurt. He is angered when in the midst of turmoil and persecution we stand in confidence in God's love. He despises lips that profess, "God is good", when the outside circumstance threaten to destroy. Yet I am here to declare to the enemy I shall never forfeit my right to praise my Lord. For He has brought me too far. He's answered too many of my prayers. He's made a way when there was no way. He is my rock and all that I am is because of Him.


Every moment in His presence keeps me yearning for more and everyday that He moves on my behalf, my confidence is heightened. He's so intoxicating I am addicted to His love. I just can't get enough of Him. He satisfies my soul with good things and everyday I am reminded of His love for me. No, I definitely don't deserve Him but I'm so glad He's mine!

written by: Polly Herrin

Take Note of Jezebel!

article written by Francis Frangipane 

Francis Frangipane says: (When referring to 'her', take note the Jezebel spirit can just as likely be found in the male.)

We first find her in the Old Testament in I and II Kings she attempted to combine the worship of Israel with the worship of the idol Baal. The letter in Revelation 2:20 was written to the church in Thyatira, which forewarns us that the spirit of Jezebel resides in the church. “But I have this against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel…”

Jezebel’s greatest fear is that people will embrace repentance. Jezebel despises true repentance and will sit week after week in a pew, participate in weekly worship services yet never acknowledge her sins of jealousy, idolatry, divisiveness and manipulation. Jezebel hates true repentance and therefore will buck and blow against sermons that promote repentance. When one truly lives in repentance they are submitted to the Holy Sprit’s influence and are submissive to the God ordained authority of pastoral leadership who govern them. The opposite of repentance is rebellion and the bible calls “rebellion as of the sin of witchcraft” ... When entertaining and participating in witchcraft you open the door to all types of evil. It would have been better for such church pew sitters to entirely leave the body of Christ than to remain, siding with the spirit of division, rebellion and strife.

Here is a warning for those participating in such behavior.

Proverbs  6:16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood (slander/abortion), a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man(woman) who stirs up dissension among the brethren.

Jezebel works against true repentance by forming small allegiances to her cause. Her self-righteous account she may even make public often using scripture verses to credit her campaign. Her resolve is to refer to only those scriptures that focus on love, grace and compassion overlooking new testament writings to the churches that warn about this type of misaddressed teachings. God does not and will not tolerate Jezebel according to Revelation 2:20-25 or those who tolerate or partake in her campaign.

Take a look at Proverbs 6:16 again. Do you participate in any of these behaviors? Do you associate with people who do? 

The second point about Jezebel's character is: Jezebel’s worst enemies are the prophets, particularly those who preach the truth. This spirit is on a mission to destroy the works of the real prophets of God, because she doesn’t want the “light” to be illuminated on her and bring exposure to her wicked counterfeit deeds. Her ultimate goal is to control and manipulate. She would take a dagger to the heart of a true prophet and slay him cold. She is on an ambush to destroy his ministry yet this attempt would obviously be too noticeable, so instead she masks her intents by deliberately assassinating the character of real men and women of God. The body of Christ must be reminded there was only one perfect prophet and His name is Jesus Christ. The prophet may be imperfect but the message is always perfect.  Again, her attempts to discredit the prophets revolve around gaining allegiance from others or by using public slander and gossip to promote her cause. Be warned, God says much about tolerating her actions against God’s anointed:

I Corinthians 16:22 “Do not touch my anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm.”

Revelation 2: 22-25 I have given her (Jezebel) time to repent… and she did not repent.  Therefore I the Lord will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts.

§  When God referred to adultery In Revelation 2:22-25 it wasn’t just sexual adultery but spiritual adultery within His church. Those who encourage and participate in her practices of rebellion, witchcraft, idolatry, slander and divisiveness.

§  What is a sickbed? It could simply be an image of affliction. Or it could be literal sickness that Jesus would allow.

§  We know from passages such as I Corinthians 11:30 God can use sickness as a way to chastise us when we are in sin.

§   “I will kill her children with death” – all men are not killed with death.

A Jezebel spirit will always mask her desire for control by hiding from true repentance, giving a form of godliness with ulterior motives to belittle, critique and slander true prophets of God just as she did in I and 2 Kings. Her ways can be concisely observed. Be on guard against her, for she is wickedly dangerous and “tolerating her” doesn’t come without consequences.

One final note, a Jezebel spirit can often be found in those who try to associate closely to the Prophets of God and leaders in the church. This should be more cause to pray prayers of covering for the leaders, priest, bishops and pastors of your churches. Regardless how long Jezebel has been allowed to operate, her days are numbered.

Just Remember!

Do you feel desperate, overlooked, anxious, worried, forgotten, or defeated? Well take a note of this, “what you feel is not always real!” The enemy is good at using our emotions and feelings to obscure the perspective of our current situation. Regardless of what you are going through this very day, no need to give in, or give up! As a child of the most high God, you just need to Start Remembering!  

I want to take a moment to remind you who He is! He Is:

Jehovah God, who changes not! (Malachi 3:6)

Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider! (Genesis 22:13-14)

Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer! (Exodus 15:26)

Jehovah Rohi, the Lord our Shepherd! (Psalms 23:1)

Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace! (Judges 6:24)

Jehovah Elohim, our mighty God! (Genesis 1:1)

Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who is present! (Ezekiel 48:35)

Jehovah Gmolah, the Lord of recompense! (Jeremiah 51:6)

Jehovah Roi, the Lord who sees! (Genesis 16:13)

Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner who protects and defends! (Exodus 17:15)

Friend, He is the God of the impossible and there is nothing that God can not do for you.

He placed every star in the sky; spoke light into existence, changed water into wine, and healed a blind man with mud. He walked on water, fed 5,000 with 5 barley loaves and two fish and with the words “get up” the widow’s dead son came to life. He gave sight back to blind Bartimaeus, and just at the touch of his clothes the women with a blood issue was made whole. He spoke to the demon possessed and made them free and with authority He commanded the grave to give up Lazarus! Yet, He has numbered the very hairs on your head and delicately formed you in your mother’s womb with a purpose to fulfill. His plans for you are good and He has prepared eternity (heaven) to prove it!

 Numbers 23:19

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

To often our vision of God is clouded and lost by our current circumstances. I hate to admit that I have been guilty of loosing my perspective of God during trials and tribulation; it’s easy to do. However, we must be diligent to encourage ourselves in the Lord daily and continue to feed our minds with the word of God. When we allow negative thoughts and mindsets to lay dormant we open our lives to the enemy to come in and wreck havoc.

The bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” According to Crudens Concordance, the word heart is used in scripture as “the seat of life or strength; hence it means mind, soul, spirit, or one’s entire emotional nature and understanding. It is also used as the center of an inner part of a thing. Therefore, one would be right to use 'mind' in the place of ‘heart’ in this passage.”

In other words, to guard your heart is to guard your mind, for the heart includes the mind. The enemy loves to play mind games, but we don’t have to accept his invitation to the game. Instead allow the word of God to influence your thoughts, words, actions and reactions and align yourself with His authority!

Oh how I love Him. He deserves our praise without reservation for He is incomparable, all-powerful, mighty, deliverer, strong tower, and faithful ‘til the end!

Prayer

Father I recognize that “Although we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. In Jesus name, We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient unto you!” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)