In the Time of the Lattereign

Christmas Eve. So many plans, and preparations have been made for this day, but I wonder after all of the hours of planning and preparing for the coming day’s events and gatherings, how many of us will take the time to remember why we are celebrating in the first place? The crowds were out in full force in the malls and although we have had the entire year, many people had a frantic and panicked look on their faces, as they try to shop for the one last gift that will change someone’s life forever. What they don’t realize is that the ultimate gift has already been given, Jesus Christ.

As we spend time reflecting on the memories shared through past Christmases and look forward to the future in 2018, let’s not forget to live in the present. Cherish the time that you do have together, for this moment in time will be a yesterday, soon. I want to live my life to be pleasing to the Lord, learn from any past mistakes that I have made, (I know that there are many) and keep on the path that the Lord has planned for me to take.

Will there be times of feeling like I have lost my way? Yes, but all I know to do is to pray that the Lord will help me to find my direction. I can’t back down, for I am too close to reaching my destination. Too many people that I haven’t met yet could be lost if I stop walking, so I will do as Paul said,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

Live life to the fullest and treasure the memories that you make this Christmas and the coming year. In this week’s Lattereign, we celebrate that  It’s Time to Worship.

I could say that this is my favorite time of year, but you’d probably roll your eyes at the familiarity of it all. It is, just the same. I know that today life seems to move at a breakneck speed, rushing us to go go go forward without taking the time to breathe. It is a busy time that often leaves us longing for those days when we were too young to know that there was an overbooked schedule. We lived in the moment. We get to make cookies tonight, or we are going to go caroling tonight with the church, and then have hot chocolate. It meant making homemade ornaments, and popcorn garland, around the fireplace.

What have we made it, today? I hope that you still carry those traditions, those precious moments when you are allowed to just, be. Looking at the Christmas lights was always an adventure because it seemed that the entire state illuminated their homes with lights. Too often we get too busy to really notice. Are we too busy? Probably, so, but it’s not too late to stop and breathe.

We can reflect on the best of times, like the hard candies that always seemed to stick in the bottom of the stockings. They were still good. I do have memories that will always be treasured, no matter how busy I get. We didn’t have a ton of gifts to open on Christmas day, but we did have a ton of love poured into each one.

I submit to you that whether you have been blessed with much or little, the greatest gift you can give this year is your time to love those who mean the most to you. One day it may be too late to say I love you, but if you live every day as if it were the last day, your life will be truly blessed with the things that really matter. I still draw from the wells of the laughter and love that was demonstrated in my family.  Were they perfect? No, but it didn’t matter because they gave the most precious gift that they could have ever given to me. They gave their undivided attention and love.

Shouldn’t I be willing to carry on that tradition? I wish you all the best this blessed season. A gift was given and we find out more about that in this week’s Lattereign.

 His Name is Wonderful

Although most people will give a good effort; not everyone will be joyful this Christmas season. For many it’s a time of loss and the memories flood back with every song that is heard on the radio. It’s more about regretting those things that should have been done, or the decisions that were made in haste that changed the course of your life. It’s about leaving home before you were ready, or not taking the time to see family because you felt that you had let them down. It’s digging up past mistakes instead of embracing the lessons learned from those very same mistakes made.

Our lives lead us in directions that sometimes veer off from the direction that we will ultimately go to. What do we learn from the detours? We learn to trust God. It isn’t easy to walk through the wilderness when we feel alone; but it’s the path that will shape us into his image when we reach the next turn we will take. Often I have asked myself, “how in the world did I get to this stage in my life?” I see now that the Lord has had a plan for each of us since before the beginning of time.

It’s the season where we could allow remorse to consume us, but I choose to follow the mindset of David in Psalm 121: 1-2 that says:

” I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

My focus must be on the Lord and all the times that I made right decisions. If I hadn’t turned down that dark path, I would have never found the joy that was waiting for me at the end of it. The thing that the enemy felt would destroy me only made me stronger. The more I have turned my eyes to the Lord in prayer, the stronger and more confident I have become that he will do what he said he will do. I have learned to trust in him by just waiting on him to fulfill his will and purpose in my life.

Are there still times where I am unclear on what direction to take? Yes, every time that I take a step forward, but I have learned the secret to victory. It is letting the Lord lead me through prayer. Before I make any decision, I have learned to filter it through God’s word and prayer.

Instead of dwelling on the past regrets and mistakes that we make in life (mistakes that God doesn’t even remember) we can have hope in a future. No one can steal your joy; if it is lost it’s because you surrendered it. Remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. It doesn’t say that we will always be strong, but that through our weakness, God is strong.

We may still go through the motions as we enter this season of the year,  but let’s try to capture those memories that have become treasures; they may be bittersweet at times, yet they can still give us hope and peace if we look for it.

I am so thankful that the Lord chose me to bring the Lattereign this week, as we are reminded to Rejoice The King is Coming.

Changing directions in life doesn’t always have to cause defeat if we will remember that the Lord allows change to empower us to be fit for his use.
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2).
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. …So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:12-15,19).
Change brings challenges, but we must embrace change and continually be thankful even when our hope is bleak. On the surface we look at our circumstances and we feel powerless to defend ourselves against the ones who would try to destroy us. Sometimes we may wonder if God truly cares about us, or if we are going to continually struggle while others breeze through life, unhindered. There is a place of restoration in Jesus that the world may never experience.

When we get wrapped up in the cares of this life and forget that God is able to deliver us because he’s still on the throne just remember: “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” “The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace” (Psalm 29:10-11).

It’s not that we don’t have the same desire or the will to reap the blessings of God and to watch others be blessed. We are committed and we still have a strong desire. However, we get caught up in the routines of our daily existence and we procrastinate allowing every other pressing task to take precedence over doing the will of God. We feel trapped by agendas and responsibilities. The Lord is calling us to set our house in order. When we learn how to call on God to give us wisdom and to allow every area of our life to revolve around God’s will, our families will thrive and be blessed. When we make decisions we’ll decide with confidence if we pray.

Yes, the world will still come in like a flood because there is sin in the world and we are God’s people. But we can know that we can have confidence in God that no matter what challenges we face, that God will never forsake us or leave us comfortless. “My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart” (Psalm 7:10). The enemy that tries to destroy may be the one who God will use to strengthen you. After you have overcome, then you will be stronger and more blessed than you ever thought possible. He is opening doors that you do not know of, and we must learn to trust in God. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his feet:” (Psalm 8:3-6).

In this week’s Lattereign, we are reminded that there are no limits to what God can do.

No Limits-God has shown us light

There came a time when I had to make a decision: do I trust God enough to seek his face in prayer, or am I willing to stay in the same situation that drove me to pray in the first place? When I was growing up,  words mattered. If I heard someone say, “you will never be able to do that,” my first reaction was to fire back, “watch me.” I made a choice to prove them wrong. Other options might have been to give up and yield to defeat and depression, but for me, that was not an option. You see, my whole life I have been in survival mode. Life hasn’t always been so easy, yet I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything, because it taught me that I could depend on the Lord for every need. It didn’t mater how minor it seemed, if it was a concern to me, then it was important to God to honor my petitions.

It never even occurred to me that I was building a lifetime foundation of trust. The many small and insignificant prayers that I prayed were just as important to God as the great big out there prayers that would be prayed later in life.

Step by step, I kept walking with the Lord, until one day I started walking through the darkest time in my life. It was as if I couldn’t find God, no matter how diligently I prayed. My wilderness experience lasted over a decade. It wasn’t until I had exhausted all of my options, that I was able to see that the whole time I was in the darkness, that God was leading me through it. When I came to a place that I could no longer go on without him, I slowly found my way back to him.

Psalm 121:1-2: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

Being faithful didn’t keep me safe in the church, being generous didn’t stop me from wandering outside in the dark. The one thing that kept me through it all, was and is prayer. It is our weapon against the world of naysayers. When you reach out for hope, you will find it through prayer. There is no sorrow, or pain, or heartache, that can’t be healed through prayer. When life gets real, I have a God who becomes even more real for me as I learn to seek his face in prayer.

My hope is in him; my life is in his hands; my joy sustains me as I learn to trust in the Lord. In this week’s Lattereign, I ask a simple question:

Will you choose to believe?

It’s easy to give thanks when everything is going well; however, not so much when life blindsides you. You are what you dwell on. If I continually tell myself that I am tired, rather than attempting to begin my day, I will never begin my day. We have power in our tongue, and when we do not choose our words carefully, we could find ourselves struggling to get the victory.

On the other hand, if we choose to have a great day, our attitude will change so that we will have a great day.

It doesn’t matter how much we tell the Lord thanks for all that he has done; it will never be enough. Do you realize that he could have left us without a savior? His love for us is greater than all our sins. I am thankful that I can call on his name, and he will hear my petitions. Living for him, gives us a peace that passes all understanding.

I know that I can never repay the debt of love that I owe, but I will do my best to live for him and give him the honor due unto his name for the rest of my days; yes, I am thankful because I know who I used to be and how Jesus came into my broken life and gently began to restore my soul. I was lost, but now I’m found.

Being thankful is made out to be difficult in much of society, but if we want to truly live free from bondage, we must give thanks, so with that in mind, this week’s Lattereign gives the Lord the thanks that he deserves: Thanks for all you’ve done.

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:1-3).

Why is it that we wait for a specific time of the year to say thanks for your service, when we should be grateful every day for the ones who put their lives on the line for us? They may not even know us, yet we matter enough to them that they would be willing to make sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. Then, I think about how Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us at Calvary. He could have called ten thousand angels (as the old hymnal goes) to come to his rescue, but he spoke not one word. The Lord mastered the art of silence. There is power in the tongue, and what we speak can come into existence when we speak it in the name of Jesus. Sometimes we use our tongue to speak doubt and hurt into another person, and even to ourselves. I admit, I have had many conversations with myself at the mirror, that did nothing more than criticize the one who was staring back.

I know that God is able to meet every need in my life. I trust him to do as he said he would do. Unfortunately, my own commitment may be lacking at times, and my desire to serve the Lord is great, but in reality, the cares of this life can block us from moving forward in victory if we do not learn to submit ourselves to his will. It’s God’s business, his finances, his provision, all his, and he generously allows us to have 90 percent, while only requiring 10%. So why can’t we trust him?

What will it take for us to put our faith and trust in a God who loves us unconditionally? I know that we have a limited view of his greatness, as we are in a fleshly body, but really, is there anything too hard for the Lord to do? It is I who puts limitations on God, but when I learn to trust him, and to not lean to my own understanding, my life takes on a whole new dimension. It is one of praise and worship. I can find peace and rest in his presence.

I know that my redeemer liveth, because I feel his presence in my very soul. Nothing can take away the love that he has for us, and if we lose our joy, it is because we have allowed it to leave us. The bible says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10: 23). If you want to keep your victory you must take a stand, and never let it go. The Israelites were to go and possess the land that was promised to them. Sometimes the Lord desires to know just how committed we are to treasure the gifts that he has given to us.

Are we haphazardly stumbling through our lives on the off chance that maybe just maybe the Lord will have mercy on us and give us a trickle of his blessings? He desires to pour his righteousness on us, but why are we so faithless as to settle for less than all that he has for us? I am his daughter, and it’s time that I remember that he loved me enough to go to Calvary willingly for me.

I am humbled that he loves us so much, that even when we didn’t deserve such love, that he would be willing to die, so that we could live with him forever. Today, I will allow my thankfulness, to overshadow my fear. Perfect love casteth out fear, even the fear of the unknown. When we go through situations that we have no control over, we can still speak his word:

“By his stripes we are healed, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:4)

Let’s not forget that we are a chosen people, and in this week’s Lattereign, I write that If no one else will, I will praise him.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm126:5).

If we are to see God move on our behalf we must learn to give ourselves to prayer. There are no other shortcuts to calling on God. You can think about praying or even talk about praying, but the Lord is waiting for those who are willing to just pray.

What do we usually do in a crisis? Unfortunately for some people, it may mean that they do everything but pray, often leaving prayer as a last resort. Just as the old saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” so it is with prayer. The conditions must be just right, right down to the proper chair, comfort, and position, and by the time those steps are taken, time set aside for prayer has be stolen.

We may be one who drops in for prayer long enough to say, “Thank you Jesus,” or “God is good,” yet never really move beyond the barriers that try to keep us away from his presence. Distractions abound when we think about prayer. Many times the distractions win to take us away from the wells of salvation, and we are pulled away and left thirsty.

What do we lose when we don’t pray? Our joy in the Lord, our direction, our peace of mind that the Lord has everything in his control. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” He knows the plans he has for us, and yet we still manage to stumble along in a desert place, thirsty for the refreshing rains of his spirit to wash over our soul; always feeling lost and empty, but never realizing that in order to be filled, you must lift up your heads in prayer.

When we can commit to pray, God will intervene in our lives:

I surrender all of my will to you Lord. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. I have made mistakes with good intentions, so help me to overcome them, and learn to lean on you for the path that I must take, and as you said you would do, I pray that you never leave me nor forsake me.

3 John 2, ^“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” There is a direct correlation between our prosperity, health and prayer. If we pray, we build up an immunity to Satan’s lies that tell us that we will never measure up to the world’s standards, and we have a chance to take a good long look at the mirror of our soul. The Lord sees us differently than we see ourselves.

The more we pray, the closer we draw nigh to God, and the more we are able to shut out the voices that tell us that we aren’t worth saving. I am so thankful that the Lord thought that I was worth something. He sees beyond my many flaws, and if I will choose to stay close to him in prayer, he will restore my desire to do his will, and give me the confidence needed to follow through with his plans for my life.

In this week’s, Lattereign, we are looking at the Call to Prayer and Intercession.

God is not looking for talented people to fulfill his purpose; he is looking for those who will do his will and worship him in spirit and in truth. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags, yet the Lord desires that we follow him. If you do have natural abilities that can be put to use, that is great; however, having those abilities will not be enough. It is not about us, or how wonderful we think we are; it is about having a humble spirit, that recognizes without Christ we can do nothing. Without his anointing, our efforts will not matter.

There are multitudes of churches filled with accomplished musicians, singers, leaders, etc.; yet, if that is all they have to offer, it is not enough. We must consider how often we focus on the performance, instead of focusing on why we are there in the first place, to lift up the name of Jesus. The Lord desires that we worship him in spirit and in truth. I want to feel God’s presence in a service, not crowd him out with my lack of worship.

In his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. When the Lord is present, lives can be changed by the power of the Holy Ghost. The church worships in unity, just as in the upper room, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1).

The Lord desires our worship and praise. If we approach him with a sincere heart, and submit to his will, we’ll see his hand at work in our circumstances. It is his good pleasure to give us the desires of our heart; isn’t it time that we offer up a sacrifice of praise to the one who is worthy of all of our praise?

In this week’s Lattereign we find that There is now no condemnation.

As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, through the storm, he did not sink when he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus, but when he looked at the circumstances all around him, instead of looking on the one who could speak peace be still in the storm, he began to sink. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

We live in challenging times where keeping our eyes on Jesus will be the only way to be victorious. Our flesh often searches for material answers, when we should be seeking a divine intervention. We have absolutely no control over the future, so it’s important to place our lives in God’s will. He promises to uphold us with the right hand of his righteousness.

I know that at times seeing the turmoil in our world can often bring us down. We may even feel hopeless if we look at the situations that arise. Feeling like we are powerless does not help us to manage our emotions, and yet, we still have a way through the challenges we face: it is through prayer. Our situation may even stay the same after we have prayed; however, our perspective will change in that we learn to trust in God and to not lean to our own understanding. He alone is the author and the finisher of our faith. He has written out every chapter of our lives, and it’s up to us to do the best that we can to stay in the middle of God’s will, so that we may find peace in the midst of our storm.

Trials will come into our lives; yet, God will see us through them. I know that some days it feels that the Lord is no longer listening to my prayers, so in those moments, I keep on praying. It is his pleasure to give us the desires of our heart, but we must acknowledge him in all that we do.

It used to be that I would put other things first in my life besides prayer and communion with the Lord. It was during those times that I was the most miserable and I felt that something vital was missing from my life: after many days of defeat, I realized that I had surrendered my joy. After seeking the Lord in prayer my life changed because the more I prayed, the less defeated I felt. As my prayer life was restored, so was my faith that the joy of the Lord is my strength.

In this week’s Lattereign we learn that Keeping God first in all we do, will help us to stay in the middle of God’s will for our lives.