Fess Up

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

      I pray that every day you choose not to do what is easy or convenient but what is right.

     Today I want to talk to you about “Fess Up”.  Every time I watch an episode of Cops, I see the same thing.  The police pull someone over and says, “I’m going to search your car and your

pockets.  If you tell me right now what I’m going to find, it will go a lot easier on you.”  Without fail, they always say there is nothing to find and when the drugs, guns, stacks of money or stolen property turns up, they are always shocked!  “It’s not mine.  I don’t know how that got there.”  We seem to think that if we deny something vehemently enough, people will believe it’s true.  But it doesn’t work that way.  God said in Numbers 32:23, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

    It’s always been this way from the very beginning.  In the Garden of Eden after partaking of the forbidden fruit, God called to Adam, “Where are you?  What have you done?”  He answered, “The woman you gave me gave me the fruit”.  When He asked Eve, she answered, “The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.”  From the beginning, the things we’ve done have always been someone else’s fault.  No one accepts responsibility for his own actions.  No one “fesses up”.

     In I John 1:9 God says, “If we confess our sins He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  God, like the policeman on Cops is saying, “If you tell me right now what you’ve done, it will go easier on you.”

     Consider for a moment what might have happened in the Garden of Eden if Adam and Eve had just ‘fessed up instead of making excuses.  Perhaps God in His love and mercy would’ve forgiven them, the world would not have fallen in sin and we could all be living in paradise right now.  Makes me wonder how many people are affected each time I fail to ‘fess up. 

Let us walk in truth, beloved.   Raelynn

Knowing Your Frame

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray that you are walking hand in hand with Jesus, leaning on His breast and learning at His feet.

 

 

 

     Today I want to talk to you about "Knowing your Frame".  Psalm 103:14 says that the Lord knows our frame and remembers that we are dust.  I thank God for that!  We would do well to remember the same thing.

 

     Did you know that God does not expect you to be perfect?  He is not crushed or disappointed in you when you fail.  He expects it because He knows our frame.  He remembers that we are but dust and can do nothing in and of ourselves.

 

     Have you ever been told you are too hard on yourself?  I have.  Some of us hear that a lot, and it's true.  When we feel we should have said or done differently, we've fallen short, don't measure up, blew it, made a mistake or a wrong choice, we beat ourselves up.  We convince ourselves that we are failures, stupid, even worthless.  How that breaks God's heart!  We sure expect a lot from dust, don't we?  But God knows our frame.  He remembers and His grace is sufficient for us.

 

     I would encourage you to read the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.  This is a story of Father God's love relationship with His children.  The son in the story didn't just mess up.  He willfully sinned.  He made a choice.  When he came to his senses, he returned to the Father.  But here's the best part of the whole story:  When the father saw the son afar off, he ran to him and hugged him and kissed his neck.  He did not chew him out, tell him how disappointed he was or treat him as an outcast.  He just loved on him. 

 

     We don't serve a harsh God, waiting to punish us for every infraction, sin or short-coming.  To the woman caught in adultery (one of the big ten no-no's), Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you- go and sin no more."

 

     My point is this my friends:  If the very God of the Universe, the Great I AM won't condemn or berate us, then who are we to do it?  Now we mustn't go to the other extreme either.  We can't use our frame as an excuse not to try or not to be what we are capable of being.  It's all about God's grace.  He knows our frame and in our weakness, He is strong.  Know your frame, my friends, and trust in His grace.  Say to yourselves, "Neither do I condemn you - go and sin no more."

 

Love in Christ, Raelynn

The Least of These

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray that your lights are shining brightly and moreso as the day around us darkens.

     Today I want to talk to you about "The Least of These".
  I went to a day conference one Saturday where I heard a sad, tragic and true story that has changed my outlook on life.  I want to share part of it with you.  There were two sisters who were very close growing up - flip sides of the same coin.  While one was loud, outgoing, friendly and oblivious to the things around her, her sister was quiet, introspective, and a sensitive loner.  Both grew up, got married, had a job, a vehicle and a home.  The outgoing sister had 6 children, the quiet sister had one little boy who was her world.  Life happened and tragedy struck the quiet sister.  She got a debilitating illness that left her mostly crippled.  She couldn't work and lost her job and without means for the payment, lost the car.  Her husband couldn't handle it and left.  She struggled to keep the house and care for her son but fighting this while fighting the illness overwhelmed her and she succumbed to depression.  She soon lost the house and the estranged husband used the opportunity to take the one joy she had in her miserable world - her son.  The quiet sister had become destitute and homeless.  During these years of loss, the outgoing sister stayed in contact, encouraging and doing what she could to help, but with each loss the quiet sister withdrew a little more.  When all was lost, the outgoing one begged her sister to come live with her.  She did.  The outgoing sister was oblivious to the pain that being in her home was causing the quiet sister.  The big house, the loving husband, 6 kids, nice car were all daily reminders of everything she had lost.  The day came when she couldn't take it any more and asked her sister to take her to a homeless shelter because it was where she felt she belonged.  With a broken heart, but finally understanding, she complied.  The quiet sister used the opportunity to fade away and disappear.  Nine years later she was found murdered and thrown away in a dumpster.

     I share this story because it profoundly changed the way I think of the homeless.  I thought they were all addicts, lazy, or were homeless through their own fault somehow.  This story showed me that each one has a name, a face, is someone's sister, father, son, grandchild.

     Jesus said in Matthew 25:37-40, "I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me.  The righteous answered and said, 'Lord, when did we do these things?'  and the King answered, 'Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.'"

     There are over 205 references to helping the poor in the Bible.  Each time we help one who is down and out, we are doing it unto Jesus.  No wonder it's an issue He has addressed so many times in His Word.

     The name of the woman in my story was Didi, known as Diana in the homeless community.  Her sister later learned that while she was homeless, Didi worked in a food shelter sunup to sundown cooking for and serving other homeless souls.  She lived at the Gospel Rescue Mission, had given her life to Christ and led many others to Him.  This homeless woman had over 200 attendees at her funeral, many homeless themselves, each testifying to the impact she'd made on their lives.

     I will never view the homeless in the same way again.  I pray you don't either.  The least of these is my brother, my sister, my Jesus.

Humbled and changed, Raelynn 

Who am I?

Good Morning my Beloved Ones,

     I pray you are having a blessed day and are being a blessing to others.

         Today I want to talk to you about "Who am I?"  I Corinthians 1:27 says that God has chosen the fooolish things to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.
     God called a man who stuttered to speak to a world ruler to free a nation from the bonds of slavery.  God called a teen-aged boy to kill a giant who defied His army.  God called unlearned fishermen to persuade thousands of people to accept Christ's sacrifice and to establish the early church.  Each of these had asked, "Who am I that you would use me?"

     God does not call the able.  He enables the called.  Have you ever felt foolish, weak, or not of much use?  If so, get ready.  You are just the type of person God calls to do His greatest work.
     Suppose for a moment that God sent a hostage negotiator to Pharoah, a decorated war hero to slay Goliath and famous motivational speakers to introduce Christ to the Gentiles.  We'd likely see the same results in each scenario, but who would get the glory for the successes?  No one expects much from stutterers, children and unlearned men.  When mighty feats are done by them, they are the first to give credit where credit is due.  The glory goes to God.

     Some of the greatest prayer warriors in the kingdom of God are those who cannot go and do:  the elderly, the paralyzed, the incarcerated.  They use the function still left to them - prayer - and prayer changes things.
     If life hasn't dealt you the hand you'd choose to play; if you find yourself asking, "Who am I to do anything important?", be encouraged.  You are just exactly the person that God can call, enable and use mightily.

     My friends, don't focus on your inability, but on God's ability.  You could just be the next Moses, David or Peter.

Not mighty, but mightily used - Raelynn

A Call to Worship

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray that with each day your eyes, ears and hearts are being opened more and more to the things of God and His will for your lives.

     Today I want to talk to you about "A Call to Worship".  I believe God is calling His people in this last day to worship Him.  But what does that really mean?  Where do we begin?  I've shared before that we praise God for what He does and we worship Him for who He is.  But is there a way to worship that pleases God?  I did a word study on "worship" to answer that question.
    
     In the Old Testament there  is only one Hebrew word for worship.  It means to prostrate, bow down, humble oneself.  It brings to mind a picture of men on mats bowing toward Mecca three times a day.  And that's what Old Testament worship was - the law; a ritual performed because you were required to or to obtain favor.

     Jesus said in John 4:23, "But the hour cometh and now is when true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him."  That time is now, beloved.  This is our call to worship.

    There are six different Greek words in the New Testament for worship and they tell a very different story than the ritual of obeisance the Old Testament portrays.  Here are the meanings of the words in the New Testament for worship:  To give glory and honor due; divine service; to show respect; to humble oneself; voluntary sanctimony; and the one word used 3/4 of the time in the New Testament means: to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand - to adore.

     In Old Testament days, they worshipped because they were commanded to or out of a superstitious belief that if they didn't, crops would fail and wives would be infertile.  Today we are called, invited to worship.  To voluntarily set aside time to humble ourselves and give glory and honor and show respect to the One who gave us life.  To show our undying love and adoration to our master whom we willingly serve because of the depth of love He's shown us in that He gave His life for us.  That is worship, my friends.

     Can you hear the call in your spirit?  "Come, now is the time to worship.  Come, now is the time to give your hearts.  Come, just as you are to worship.  Come, just as you are before our God.  Come."

Because He is worthy, I serve.  Raelynn
     

Increasing your Faithfulness

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I can't wait to meet you all face to face one day!

     Today I want to talk to you about "Increasing your Faithfulness".  That's different from growing your faith.  Growing your faith means believing more;   Increasing your faithfulness is doing more.

     One day I began walking 2 miles every morning and decided to try to eat healthier.  It became routine for me until the day I got to the half-way point and the Lord asked me to walk an extra mile.  Of course, I complied.  It wasn't that hard. It was just a little more than I had been doing.  He also asked me to change one of my eating habits.  Again, not so hard.  It was just a little bit more.

     I believe the Lord wants us to increase our faithfulness.  Whatever it is that you are already being faithful to do, just do it a little bit more.  If you are reading a chapter a day in your Bible, try reading two.  If you're getting up 1/2 hour early to spend quiet time with God, try getting up 45 min. early.  If you are attending a church service once a month, try twice a month - once a week, try twice a week.  If you are giving what you can financially, try adding $5.

     Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and that more abundantly."  Followers of Christ should never be satisfied with a "status quo" life.  Stepping out of our comfort zones, extending beyond our habits and rituals, going the extra mile, and increasing our faithfulness gains us entrance to the abundant life.

    You see, as we fractionally increase that which we've been faithful to do, God multiplies His faithfulness to us.  As we give that little extra to Him, He gives to us, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and flowing over.  That's the Word of God!  You can take that to the bank!

     More than anything, my precious friends, I want for you an abundant life.  Full of love, full of joy, full of peace, full of health, full of provision - pressed down, shaken together and overflowing.

Please don't settle for good enough - you are children of the King!

Doing a little bit more, Raelynn

Recognizing Error

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray this letter finds you walking in the joy of the Lord and in the power of His might.

 

 

     Today I want to talk to you about something that will be very important in these last days:  "Recognizing Error" and being able to refute it (show to be false or erroneous) confidently.   One Saturday I was visiting one of my brothers in the Lord when a van pulled up to his house and two Jehovah's Witnesses got out.  He groaned.  He had taken a pamphlet from the same woman earlier in the week in an effort to be polite and she, believing she had an eager pupil, returned with reinforcements to drive her doctrine home.  Since my brother seemed a little panicked, I asked him to let me speak with them.  As they approached, they pretty much ignored me and directed their comments specifically to him.  I kept quiet until after reading a scripture aloud from her "Bible", I heard her make what I knew to be an erroneous statement about what she'd just read.  I refuted it.  I told her that she had just made an assumption that was incorrect.  She argued that she assumed nothing and what she had stated was fact.  I asked her to show me in her Bible proof that what she had said was true.  She said she'd have to research it and get back with me.  I then showed her other scripture that contradicted the statement she had made.  This scripture did not agree with their church's doctrine, and only moments later they were saying they needed to be going.

 

     Matthew 24:24 says that if it were possible in these last days, the very elect of God would be deceived.  That's you and I.  That's why it is imperative that we are able to recognize error when we hear it and refute it confidently.  So how does one do that?

     I worked for four years as a teller in a bank.  We were trained to recognize counterfeit money should it ever pass over our counter.  How were we able to recognize the counterfeits?  By becoming so familiar with the real thing:  the way it looks, feels, smells, the security features, the shades of color, the texture, size and proportion of numbers, letters and pictures, that anything different became obvious as soon as we came across it.  The same is true with the Word of God.  God wants us to become so familiar with His Word: the scriptures themselves, the history of His people, the love, grace and character of God, the working of the Holy Spirit, the tactics of the enemy, all the wisdom contained in its pages, the knowledge of the truth, that whenever we hear error, we would immediately recognize it.  Upon recognizing error, we are then to show the error by revealing the truth.

 

     All of this comes by being in the Word, setting aside time to read the Bible, asking God to explain the things we don't understand, asking Him to reveal Himself and His truth to us.  If we are faithful to read the Word, Jesus promises in John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."  You don't have to memorize scripture.  If you put it in, God will be faithful to bring it back out when it is needed.  That is how I had the scripture handy to correct the woman I spoke with that Saturday.

     The more time you spend getting to know the Lord and His Word, the more confidence you will have in your ability to recognize error and refute it and the less likely you are to be deceived.  I challenge you to start your day with just a chapter or two every morning - making time for God before everything else - and I guarantee He will bless your time for everything else you need to do and will prepare you to be able to recognize error when you hear it and refute it with confidence.

 

     Know the truth, beloved ones, and it will set you free.  Love in Christ, Raelynn

Nowhere to Run

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray you are looking up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

     Today I want to talk to you about "Nowhere to Run".  Thirty years ago I was praying for a particular woman and the Lord showed me a vision.  I saw the woman running flat out as hard as she could.  The ground beneath her feet was dry and cracked, lined.  She ran until suddenly the ground stood up in front of her like a wall.  She turned slightly and ran in another direction with all she had until, again, the ground rose up in front of her, making a wall that stopped her in her tracks.  The Lord then took me higher so I could look down on this scene.  He showed the woman running on the palm of His hand and as she neared an edge, He'd curl His fingers in to make a wall.  No matter how hard or fast she ran, the woman was held securely in the hand of Jesus.  This vision gave me much comfort concerning the woman I was praying for and the Lord has often brought it to my memory throughout the years.

     In Exodus 13:2, God told Moses, "Whatsoever opens the womb is Mine."  Were you born through a womb?  Then you are His.  No matter how hard or fast you try to run from Him you are already in the palm of His hand.  There is nowhere to run.  The Psalmist put it this way:  "Where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me."

     What are you running from, beloved ones?  Your past?  Jesus was there.  An uncertain future?  Jesus is there.  Are you running from making Him Lord of your life, giving Him control?   Are you running from a calling you know He's put upon your life?  Stop running.  You're just making yourself exhausted and you are going nowhere.  You are His.  You are being held securely in the palm of His hand.  Surrender to Him and find rest.

     If you have loved ones who are running from God, take comfort from the vision He showed me.  No one can flee the presence of God.  There is literally nowhere to run.

Surrendered and Secure, Raelynn