Extreme Home Makeover

 "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone."  1 Timothy 2:1-6

Abba Father,

We praise You, for You are good, faithful, abundant and true. You are worth far more than gold or silver. Lord words cannot express how great, holy, and mighty You are. We praise Your Holy name!

Father today we thank You for the gift of marriage. Thank You for showing us the perfect example of how a marriage should be through Your word.  Lord You designed marriage to be full of…

love, intimacy, passion, trust, commitment, and joy. You also designed marriage to full of effort and to be selfless.

Lord today our marriages are full of bitterness, mediocre commitment and are lacking passion, intimacy, effort, love, trust, devotion, and are full of self.

Father we are in MAJOR need of spiritual change within our marriages. Satan is on the rise and he has set out to destroy our marriages. Lord we need You to come in and do an EXTREME Home Makeover!

Father today I ask You to show up in a mighty way and begin restoring and healing every marriage. 

Open our hearts to see the importance of getting our marriage between You and ourselves right first. Lord how often we forget or don’t even realize we became married to You when we accepted You as our Personal Lord and Savior. The very day we spoke those words, we spoke our wedding vows to You and You spoke them back by accepting us as Your own.

Lord we try and go around You and handle things on our own, and in doing so we come up way short, frustrated, and worse off than before. Lord God we need CHANGE! Marriages are falling apart all around us and couples are giving up. New styles of marriages are being formed that are not even of You. Lord God rise up within each of us today to put a stop to them. Open the eyes, convict, heal, and restore all those who are living in broken marriages, convenient marriages, abusive marriages, same-sex marriages, unfaithful marriages, and all marriages that do not have You placed in the center of them. 

Forgive us Father for trying to re-design marriage to fit our flesh.

Lord right now You know the need of every marriage all over the world. You know the heart of every man and woman, their desperation, their fears, their failures. With that Lord I ask You to come down and reveal Yourself in the biggest way that only You can.

Lord marriage was Your idea, You made that clear from the beginning. From Genesis to Revelation You give us glimpses, description, instruction, and insight on exactly how our marriages should be; full of joy, romance, faithfulness, passion, devotion, investment, and love.

You also made it very clear that marriage is work and we must work at them, because You require obedience.

Lord how can we expect spiritual change within our marriages if we are not even expecting spiritual change within our own hearts? How can we expect spiritual change within our earthly marriages if our marriage with You is not even where it is supposed to be?

Lord may we stop accepting our marriages the way they are, and start expecting them to be greater than they are.

Change our marriages back to the way You intended them to be, give us the grace, the desire, and the obedience we need to make them great and to reflect Christ and the Church. Amen

What will he think?

“Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly so as not to disgrace her publicly.” Matthew 1:18

Day 7- We are seven days in! How great this is, I hope you are enjoying being in the home of Mary and Joseph and learning so much from their story. 

Mary: It is a beautiful day today, and Joseph and I have been praying for each of you. We hope you are enjoying your stay here in Nazareth. Just as we have been blessed, we know you too will be blessed for choosing to follow the Lord.

We must begin because we have so much to discuss.

I had just found out I would become pregnant with the Child of God. And this would all happen while I was a virgin and still engaged to be married to Joseph. I wondered how Joseph would take the news. “How will he react to this? What will he do, what will he say?” I had so many thoughts running through my mind. But little did I know at the time God was already working it all out and I am glad because I love Joseph so much.

You see, in our day, for a man to marry a woman already pregnant would be shameful and humiliating.  So you can only imagine what was going through his head when he heard the news…so you think!

Joseph being a man of great integrity is sensitive to God’s guidance and is always willing to do God’s will no matter what. Therefore he did not react in the way most men would. Instead he reacted quite differently. So different it confirmed to me God’s love and plan and Joseph’s love for God and me. I could go on and on telling you how wonderful Joseph is but I am going to let him share with you his part of the story.

Joseph: I love Mary, what can I say. I mean look at her, she is covered in the beauty of Christ. Anyway, upon hearing the news I decided it would be best if I quietly broke off the engagement so I would not disgrace Mary in anyway. (Like I said I loved her-which made all of this extremely difficult.) (Matthew 1:19)

Having been mentally worn out that day from hearing of all this, I went to bed early. As I was lying down I began considering the decision I would make hoping for some guidance and direction from the Lord. And that I got. After having laid there for a while I finally fell asleep and it was in my sleep I would receive what I had hoped for; guidance, direction, and a better understanding of what was going on. It all happened through a dream when an angel of the Lord appeared to me.  “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-22) How about that for clarity? God knew exactly what He wanted, He knew exactly how it needed to be done and He knew it would open my eyes to see Mary in a whole new way.

God is just good like that. When I woke up the next morning I felt a since of peace with in me. One that reassured me it would all be okay. I also realized very quickly that once Mary became my wife I would become  the earthly father of the Son of God.  No pressure! 

So I jumped up and followed the Lord in obedience and made Mary my wife.

Yes our situation is completely different from any other, but God’s direction for all of us is the same.  When we depend upon the Lord and look to Him, He will give us clarity, understanding, guidance, and wisdom to know exactly what to do, in the big and small decisions.  We should always be seeking His over our own or anyone else’s. Solomon said it best, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

He did for me!

Because He said so

“But the Lord said to Joshua, I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its mighty warriors. Your entire army is to march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the horns, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the walls of the city will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the city.” Joshua 6:2-6

They could taste the promise land, but only one thing, one really big thing stood in the way, the city of Jericho.  I have fallen in love with this story for so many reasons. One big reason is the lesson it teaches me –obedience, faithfulness, and complete trust. No matter how crazy God’s assignment sounded Joshua and the Israelites were going to do it. At this point they had grown into complete obedience and knew if God said do it, they needed to just do it, even if they didn't understand it. Why, because over the last 40 years from generation to generation they saw the effects of not listening and the rewards for listening and doing.

I too am learning in so many ways and in many areas of my life the importance of listening and doing what God says no matter how crazy people think I am, how far off they believe I am, or how far off I believe I am, or even God for that matter. I am learning the cost of following Christ is a place of un-comfortableness, lots of shaking my head, even sometimes closing my eyes and just walking in His steps. All while knowing full well He knows exactly what He is doing and it is for His glory and my benefit. So, if God says do it, I am learning to just do it even if I don’t understand it. I have experienced the consequences of my lack of obedience and I have had the privilege of relishing in the greatness of God through my obedience.

Reason number 2- Just as Joshua and the Israelites saw the power and greatness of God as those walls came crashing down, I too have seen His faithfulness and power in my own life as He has brought down the obstacles and walls that stood in the way of my progression towards the promise land.

So remember this as I do daily. No wall or obstacle is greater than God. There is not a broken heart, relationship, or home that He cannot heal and mend. There is no learning disability, failure, or struggle that He cannot overcome. God can overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. He did for Joshua and the Israelites and He will for us. But in order for us to see past those obstacles we have to be able to see the power of God and know in our hearts that absolutely nothing is impossible for Him. We must also be willing to do all that He requires of us through obedience to Him.

What are some obstacles in your way today?

What do you need to do in order to overcome those obstacles in your life?

Do you believe God can and will deliver you and bring you through to the other side?

If you ever wonder why you cannot seem to overcome some of your obstacles, stop and evaluate your life. Are you obeying God? Are you reading God’s word? Are you stepping aside and allowing Him to go before you?

Prayer: Lord this I know: You are on my side, O God I praise Your word, Yes! Lord I praise Your word. I trust in You the living God, so why should I be afraid, there is no obstacle or wall that You cannot demolish and there is nothing mere mortals can do to me. Praise You Jesus, Praise You. Amen

Why-Part 2

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people may think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment. Since everything around us it going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!” 2 Peter 3:9-11

Why do we think we can work our way to heaven?

Why do we think we can pick and choose what parts of God’s word we want to obey?

Why are we not HUNGRY for Christ and His word?

Why do those who are seeking hard after the Lord get categorized as hypocrites when the ones they are looking at are the ones straddling both God and the world?

Why do we get jealous of others, is all that God has given us not good enough?

Why do we not forgive?

Why do we get more excited about worldly events and not God and heaven?

Why do we think we have all the time in the world to do what we want, when Christ could return any second?

Why are we not crying out to the Lord to save the lost?

Why are we not reaching out to the lost?

Why are we okay with being complacent in our relationship with God?

Why in the world are we letting Satan have this much control over God’s people?

Why are we not challenging one another spiritually?

Why are we afraid to speak to our families about Christ?

Why have we stopped holding one another accountable?

Why are we giving up in our marriages?

Why are we so blind to the fact that the very person we can’t stand if a “true” follower of Christ is going to be in heaven with us FOREVER?

Why are we still pulling our past around with us?

Prayer: Lord remind us how brief our time on earth is. Lord implant in our minds and our hearts, Romans 14: While we live we live to please You. And when we die, we go to be with You. So in life and in death, we belong to You. Amen

Thoughts of Praise

“The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words.” Psalm 39:3

She gave her heart to Jesus a long time ago, but somewhere in her life her heart became divided between her love for God, her desire to please Him, and her captivity of focusing on the negative. “How did this happen? How have I gotten to this point in my life? It almost seems difficult to find the positive in things; my thoughts always take me to the places of hurt, rejection, and failure. I am quick to see the wrong in everything. Lord deliver me from this sickness that has overtaken me.”  She cried

If this woman only knew she was not alone, if she only knew she was not the only one infected with this horrible disease of negativism.  I too struggle with the same thing daily, many of us struggle with negative thoughts. Our problems, our hurts, our pasts, our failures, our doubts, our fears, rejections, abuse, addictions, loneliness, our desires to be praised by man, our need to be noticed, to be of value, these things have consumed our thoughts placing us into slavery. They have robbed us of our joy, our health, and they have filled our hearts with sorrow and self.

It is time my brethren to break free and turn our hearts and our thoughts to that of Praise. How do we do that, I am glad you asked.

We become determined- “I am determined, O God! I am determined! I will sing and praise you!” Psalm 57:7. We determine today that we WILL praise God, we determine today to no longer focus on the negative but the positive that comes from Jesus Christ.

We awaken our soul-“Praise the Lord, O my soul! With all that is within me, praise his holy name.” Psalm 103:1. Our soul is aroused when we fix our hearts on God, by meditating on His word, works, and His magnificent ways.

We stay reminded-“I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.” Psalm 77:11

-“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.” Psalm 103:2-4

We focus on the gift (cross)-“But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15

-“But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

We focus on the gift of being children of God, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

We treat the disease with Praise-“I will praise you, Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:1

-“With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God I will give glory to your name forever.” Psalm 86:12

-We take every negative thought and turn it into praise; here is an example.This is one of my negative thoughts.

The Negative Thought-He cares more about his job than he does us.

                The Praise-Lord thank you that my husband takes pride in what he does. I know that he loves us Lord. May all his hard work glorify You. Thank You that he has a job and is able to work. Thank You that he has the opportunity to do what he loves and that because of his efforts and his job we have a roof over our head, food to eat and clothes on our backs.

Prayer: Lord we have been held captive too long to negative thinking. Today we are determined to praise You. We want to no longer with hold the Glory that belongs to You. Amen

My thoughts unedited.

"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 to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

Our thoughts represent our hearts. As I have said many times. What is in our hearts stir our thoughts, which then reflect our attitude which then expresses itself through our actions.

Lord I study Your word, I meditate on Your word. But am I listening to Your word. Am I storing your word?

What is in my heart? Evaluate your thoughts and you will find out very quickly what is in your heart.

I think about what I am doing A LOT! So there must be lots of self in there.

I think and worry about things all the time,I even question if they will really happen. So there must be doubt in there

I think about how I am always messing up. So there must be condemnation in there

I think about the lifestyle of others and wonder how in the world they could call themselves a Christian. So there must be judgment in there.

Self, doubt, condemnation, and judgment…those four things pretty much consume my thoughts, therefore they must take up lots of space in my heart.

Lord I desperately need You to come in and be the new commander and operator of my heart. I have allowed these four things to each have an active part in the control center of my life and as a result they have produced wrongful thinking, a poor attitude and actions that have displayed more of a Pharisee lifestyle than a covered in the blood of Jesus lifestyle. Father I openly and honestly admit to these areas of sin today and ask in Your name to forgive me. Thank You for impressing upon my heart to step back and take a look at my thoughts. Produce in me a heart that is full of Your word and love, thoughts that are pure, right, and pleasing. An attitude that is lovely, and positive, and actions that are excellent, peace loving, gentle, and a reflection of You. Amen

This is everything that went through my thoughts within this last hour. So this is un-edited, I sat down and just typed all that I was thinking. I guess you could say this would be a page in my book of thoughts.

Understanding each thought.

“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 to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

“Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

He spoke of this passage with authority, persistence, and warning and as I sat and absorbed all He was saying the Lord began to speak through Him straight to the thoughts of my heart.

Satan hates you, he hates God, and he hates all who belong to God. Satan wants there to be destruction, dissension, doubt, misery, pain, suffering, lies, hate, jealousy, bitterness, self-centered thoughts, greed. He wants there to be deception, negativity, condemnation, denial, and pride. He sets out to find your weakness and then like bacteria that has found a sore, he buries himself inside until he grows and infects the area. He wants you to feel hopeless and lonely. He wants you to feel betrayed mistreated, and angry at the Lord when things don’t go how you think they should. He is filling your thoughts with lies and not truth.

He has trickery, confusion, and deceit down pat. He can make things seem so enticing. He can sugar-coat and manipulate the word of God so much it sounds believable. Him and his servants disguise themselves as light and servants of righteousness!

It’s time we start taking a stand against our greatest enemy. It is time we see him for who he really is. It’s time we take serious his plots and plans. Satan is on the prowl today just as he was in Jesus’ time. He is already devouring people, homes, marriages, friendships, and churches. If we can begin to take our thoughts captive, evaluate them in the light of the Lord, we will begin to defeat Satan.

Let that consume your thoughts today.

When will take a stand? When will we open our eyes? When will we cast down any and every thought that Satan puts in our heads? When will we lock arms and march straight towards him with the unity and power of God and His word?

I will be darned if I am going to let Satan devour me, my thoughts, my friends, family, brothers and sisters, and any other person created in the image of God.  How about you?

Prayer: Lord we are here for battle, clothe us in the armor of Your word, go before us preparing the way. Consume our thoughts with Your promises and may we remember that we can do all things through You that strengthens us. Amen

Our daily reminder

“Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts.” Joel 2:12

Lord I could express my opinion over and over about the importance of turning to You before it is too late, but I know there is no better way to express the importance of turning to You than by using Your word.

Prayer:

So today Lord I pray the same prayer David prayed for all my brothers and sisters and for all those who are lost and confused.

Lord remind us how brief our time on earth will be. Remind us that our days are numbered-how fleeting our life is. You have made our lives no longer than the width of our hands. Our entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best each of us is but a breath. We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. (Psalm 39:4-6)

Lord teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) Remind us daily that our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone as though we had never been here. But Your love O’ Lord remains forever with those who fear You. (Psalm 103:15-17)

Lord capture the hearts of the lost, open their eyes to see Your love and mercy. Place within all of us the urgency to share the Good the News and the urgency to tell everyone that You are coming soon.

Hasten the day Lord Jesus!

The Mirror of Christ

“And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

If you were a mirror and on one side you were looking in and the other side was your reflection, what would people see as you walked towards them? Would they see sin and self, or would they see Christ?

It is the mirror of choice, the cream of the crop, and the best on the market. It is free and the benefits of this mirror are like no other mirror out there.

If one were to choose this mirror they would be choosing to see themselves for who they really are a sinner. They would see areas of sin that need tending to. They would be cleansed, purified, and pruned. All while seeing the love and time that was spent by the one who made them.

Some benefits of this mirror are it requires no light, the light is built in. In fact this light is so bright it can shine even in the darkest places, and the light will never burn out or lose its power. But it will be only as useful as one allows it to be.

The reflection is brighter and unlike any other reflection known to man. It displays a beauty so captivating, a love so desired, tenderness so comforting, mercy so undeserved, a type of forgiveness that is mesmerizing, and a peace that is indescribable.

This mirror will always work for you and not against you. It is the Mirror of Christ.

Those who choose this mirror are those who have received Christ, are faithful, obedient, have pure hearts, hunger for Christ, have had the veil removed, spend daily time in prayer and His word. They confess and repent of their sins daily are dedicated to serving Christ wholeheartedly and have a passion to share with others what Christ has done for them.

Those using this mirror must be prepared to stand out, be left out, and asked about.  

Prayer: Lord today and every day I want to pick up the Mirror of Christ. I want this mirror to be used so much that it becomes an addiction, a habit. I never want to go back to those other mirrors again. So I ask Lord that You give me the strength and discernment right away when I begin to slip. Amen 

The Mirror of Anger

“And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

If you were a walking mirror, and on one side you looked in and the other side was the reflection, what would people see as you came towards them?  Would they see the world, sin, and self, or would they see Jesus?

She was the wife who had it all…until her husband left her for another woman.

His didn’t begin until his best friend got the promotion over him and started receiving all the attention.

Hers began at an early age toward her sister who was always better at everything.

Theirs began when they lost their first child to cancer.

His began when a drunk driver hit and killed his wife and daughter.

Hers took root when she felt that first punch, slap across the face.

Hers began when the sexual predator robbed her of her purity.

Theirs began when he stopped being respected and when she stopped feeling loved.

His began because of the lack of affection and attention he received from his dad growing up.

His began when he realized nothing he did was ever good enough.

Hers took root when her mom kept telling her she was to fat and asking why she wasn’t like so and so.

There are many reasons we pick up the mirror of anger and to some good reason, but to those of us who pick it up out of jealousy, envy, and self…not so good, actually not good at all.

When we look into this mirror we might have a smile on our face but the reflection shows what the inside of us looks like; bitter, annoyed, hurt, mad, jealous, and self-focused. Why, because our thoughts are consumed with the things and people that have offended us and from our thoughts come our attitude and from our attitude come’s our actions. The more we are around the people and things that anger us the longer we hold this mirror and the deeper anger takes root, thus making it even harder to put the mirror down.

The book of James sums up the mirror of anger well, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure.” James 4:1-2

Would that pretty much sum up why you have been carrying the mirror of anger around?

The mirror of anger reflects a person who is lacking in mercy, grace, and forgiveness, all of which is the complete opposite of Christ.

When one picks up and holds this mirror they should remind themselves of the mercy, love and forgiveness they receive daily from Christ.

Prayer: Lord forgive us for picking up this mirror so often. Remind us of the mercy and love You give us each day. Most of all Father may we be reminded that we are not a mistake and that we are never alone. May we look to You for the attention, comfort, healing, and peace we need. Lord help us to take our thoughts captive and act of Your word and not our feelings. Amen