ABIDE: (It’s where you live that counts!). by Laura Grace
Many people do not understand or even care to understand what Jesus meant when he said to ABIDE in Him. This is not a place we visit, it’s a place where we live.
“Moving in” with Jesus is a process, whereby we may have to get rid of a lot JUNK He doesn’t approve of (in our lives).
This is all between “Us and Him” and it’s not for others to decide. Listen: THIS IS what religion can do to you: if you are caught up in relgious rules, christian cliche’s, man’s doctrines, the latest bible study that everyone is flocking after or (anything else) that is not about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then; chances are you are not Abiding IN HIM…………
YOUR Relationship with God is NOT WORTH compromising for anyone my friends. In the end, you will stand before HIm not “all these other people” with their 2 cents worth of input. He has eyes that Blaze with Fire and He is going to ask you so….”What did I say to do?”
We will be undone by the sword in his tongue. This is what it means to be on fire for God: Do what HE is telling you today. He promises to make his will known to you, But we have to participate in teh asking, seeking and finding out WHAT He wants us to do.
He may tell you to go preach and he may say “go home” and he may say “go sweep the sidewalk today.” ……….This is not a game! Our Relationship with Jesus is more serious than any marital relationship or anything else upon this earth. Therefore I plead with you “Be reconciled to Him” GO HOME (to his heart) and LIVE THERE….in Jesus’ name.
.”Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abidein you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”…. John 15:4-7 NASB
By Laura Grace, Author, Grace to Grow, Dysfunctional People, and others……(available on Amazon).
“You Saw Me” (by Laura Grace) this really happened today. In order to get through to the end of the month I needed to go to walmart for some things that were a lot cheaper there but I could not go until today and I knew it was the 1st Plus the weekend before the 4th. I left at 7:50 this morning to beat the huge crowds and had a list for me and for my mom. Anyway so I was driving and said to the Lord “I wish I could see you in real life” and this was among many other prayers while listening to christian music.
I know when he speaks to me and it’s in my heart from down within. It’s the same voice that echoed through the chambers of my heart and told me he loved me years ago when I was a broken mess. He said “You have seen me.’ “Every time someone preached a sermon that really helped you understand me, every time someone sang a song that moved your soul closer to me, every time someone gave you a gift at the right time, or hugged you and you truly felt my Love because they were in the spirit and you knew it…….every time someone called right at the right time or showed up right when you felt alone and cried out to me… Everytime you knew someone was sent by me……..
How many times have you heard those words? Never surrender! “Don’t give up” “Hang on Baby ” or as they said in the 70’s “Hang in there! Things will get better!”
The truth isoften they don’t (not just because we said they will) at least not in OUR timing. I have to remind myselfat times Abraham waited a lot of years for that “one son” and he didn’t live to see the thousands of heirs he had (after his death) Or millions ……
In Genesis 22:17 The promise to him was his descendants would be more than the sands in the sea. That’s a lot of descendants! Then we have this keeper in Hebrews to think on:
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” –Hebrews 10:35-36 NKJV
The Will of God?What is that? Well it depends. For you it may be patience, perseverance-or doing one more thing, waiting one more day, Or just doing what God says when you do not FEEL LIKE IT anymore. I can tell you the will of God is to NOT draw back toward death. When you feel like giving up FIGHT HARDER! Get Mad (at the devil) and say “BACK OFF satan I belong to Jesus Christ! HE WILL DEFEND ME! amen!!
Yes, we all get tempted to give up. Don’t let those ministers fool you! They can’t say it or we’d lose confidence IN THEM. Ministers of God cannot afford to show how scared they are or how frail they feel (very often) Or they would not be the rock or pillar of strength we need them to be. Somebody has to stand up like Moses and say “SEE TODAY HOW GOD DELIVERS THEE!” Someone has to say:
“Things are going to be just fine God is with us” We Have to! (Why?) Because that’s what being a light truly means…..We can’t give up! We must fight! THERE HAS been Times I felt I could not go on anymore. One of my prayers at those times was this:
“I can hardly go on Father I am overhwlemed right now. “I feel like giving up” and then I would say “but If all I have left is the strength to tell you with my mouth “I trust in you” That’s what I will do. I tell you Father I trust in you and satan I tell you GOD ISWith Me”
Right now do what you can! Give it all you’ve got! Don’t give up!
Abraham Didn’t! He did not waiver he trusted God! And that’s all he had to do to secure the promise. -Never Give up Never surrender. It’s not over!
Fear is a liar and it walks right behind worry. I don’t believe we need another scripture about fear. We know God says “not to fear” but we also know that our bodies do not listen to us, and sometimes, neither do our minds.
Fear is a liar because it only tells you the circumstance and what has happened to others in this same situation. Fear will never tell you God’s word, or his promise to YOU. When YOU beleive God’s promise you activate heaven to act on your behalf. That’s the truth.
When a huge storm is threatening to take my house down, and I can hear it blowing so hard it’s uprooting trees, yes it’s pretty hard to not fear. Or if someone has a life threatening illness, or if someone is crazy on drugs raging at you threatening to hurt you. WE have built in responses to fear and we cannot (seem) to help that.
Not without valium! So deal with worry first (when it’s small) and don’t just nurture the worry or feed it or add to it or meditate on it! Start fighting this stuff off before it’s full blown! (You’ll be glad you did).
Therefore, God is not unkind when he speaks to a person DO NOT FEAR (With HIS Voice of LOVE) it will settle you down. Why/ Because it’s filled with Love! (that truly casts out fear) See because He IS LOVE so when he speaks, your heart is settled down. Giving people a lecture is not enough either.
This is why quoting scriptures is not enough.
Jesus is enough. Only Jesus. And we need to know Him. I distinctly heard him one time tell me “Do not fear” before I drove into fog so thick, I could not see the road. Because he spoke to me, I knew I did not have to panic, or pull off to the side of the road. He let me know he was going to get me through it.
Prior to this, I was seeking to know him. “talk to me” I said, be my best friend! “the sheep know your voice” (I would say) see, you can’t know what to ask God for without at least trying to know his word recorded in this precious thing called;
OUR BIBLE! And he’s the one that helps you understand it so don’t let those overly-educated pious ones tell you any different! HE SAiD (Jesus)
John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
I did not say this, Jesus did! So if a great (and worthy) bible teacher is not available or you work Sunday’s at the gas station every week just know this, The Holy Spirit can and will teach you! Believe me! Believe him! Let God be more real to you than anything else in this world! And Father we pray…..that your perfect love and your words would eliminate all of our fears! One by one until it’s done! In Jesus’ name! Amen!
Hi, Laura Grace here. I wish I could make this page “come alive to you” as I share what’s on my heart today. You know, I was raised Lutheran, studied the catechism to be confirmed (meaning I understood God’s word well enough to partake of the cup and the bread) but you know what? I didn’t know the Lord even after all that. I knew scriptures, but I did not know God. Oh, they are one in the same you say?
Who brings the word alive?Who causes it to become Living water to your soul? Jesus, that’s who! And how can we do that if we never let him in? “Okay Lord, I believe in you,” Many say, as they go on their way. Yes, THEIR WAY. And that’s what I did, for a long, long time. I went to a little Pentecostal church one day because I was feeling empty inside. They sang praises to Jesus, and clapped their hands. “PRAISE THE LORD!” I heard them shout. oh wow, I was amazed by this! What a sight to see!
Alas, I found out they didn’t think I was saved, because they prayed I would speak in tongues, but it didn’t happen when they thought it should. Want to know why? I wasn’t even SAVED YET! Which leads to the next portion of my mutt story, I DO BELIEVE we must be Born Again to SEE the kingdom of GOD TO SEE IT TO LIVE IN IT AND TO WALK IN IT. Maybe some get Born again without realizing it? I mean, don’t babies get born sometimes at home? Or did anyone tell them “Hey by the way did you know you were actually born? You didn’t just arrive here from a stork some magical day?”
See, there are so many things we experience, but never understand. God wants us to understand what has happened to us! He wants us to know where we are at with him, where we stand, and what he thinks about it all. He’s our Father! And yes, he wants you to know! But so long as we treat him as this distant unapproachable scary God (as in MT Sinai and a mountain burning with Smoke) we will never experience the new Zion, angels rejoicing, celebration experience He so desires for us. For a Christian, words like “Born Again” should not scare us. We should love and want to understand the WHOLE bible, should we not?
Hey, I understand many are not comfortable with speaking in tongues, jumping around dancing, or worshipping with their hands lifted high in Praise to Jesus. I do. But I want to tell you, opening my mind and heart to my other brothers and sisters in Christ and their experiences, has surely enriched my life beyond my wildest imagination. I believe, like the Baptists, that being Born Again is important. I do believe we should consider and ask God about the bread and the cup and not be careless about it. I think we should be Spirit Filled too.
We THE BRETHREN (the ones that we are asked to Love) Must learn to at least try and like each other! (And move on to Love from there?) seriously! And do I ever go up to my dog and say “why aren’t you a doberman?” Why aren’t you a poodle? What’s wrong with you?” We are all just (gentile dogs) saved by Grace. Unless you are a Jew (the first people God went to) and you know why He did that? I beleive it’s because of Abraham! But that’s another story……..
I think we should open our hearts to consider Mark 16, and the idea of casting out demons, laying hands on the sick, and believing for them to recover. I think there should be order in the service and we should sing all kinds of hymns, and spiritual songs. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to bring myself to label myself with a certain denomination ever again. I have to face what Jesus has made me,
“I’m a mutt.” And I know He loves me, just as I am. If I can love my dog (who is also a mutt) how much MORE Does God rejoice when I come running to him, my face full of Joy, so happy to be His! Yep I’m a mutt. And I’m okay with it. Yes that’s me, a gentile dog, saved by his grace…..and I am so thankful! -Laura Grace
PS There is more to this story (born again, Spirit Filled, testimonies, ) in My book Grace to The Rescue. Available on Kindle (Amazon) and soon to be re-released.
Mark 7: 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. Hey wait a minute! didn’t he “cast out the demon?” No in this case –her faith caused the deliverance! hmm……”Don’t put God in a box” ….
Good Morning! I have a lot on my heart this morning. I thought, “I will just write, and see what comes of this, “being real……” You know?
This morning, I had a lot to do, and I heard of this person (a young woman) who wanted to have a babysitter for a missions trip. As quick as lightning, it took me back to a problem I had, while Trying to serve on the Worship team at church.
I was about her age, and I was living for Jesus, full throttle. This meant I wasn’t having a lot of fun (in the natural) No drinking, no trips, fun was a rare commodity, and so was eating out. So worship team, now that was good, clean fun!
We had practice, were all in harmony, and I got up there to sing on a Sunday Morning. A family member had agreed to watch my children, during the service. To my horror, My kids went scattering around the church, and one was crawling under the pews. The Family member had gone to the restroom, told them to sit still. Well, they didn’t sit still. Even More horrifying, when the pastor pointed at me and in front of the whole congregation said: “You need to go take care of your children.”
Not asking for sympathy here, but the story of this woman just “took me back,” and I found myself thinking okay, do I pray she has a better outcome? Well, of course I do!
I’ve been struggling lately, with people who seem to lack empathy. They give pat answers, tell me how they struggle too so that should make it all better. I miss the days of praying for each other, and it makes me sad when people Self-Righteously “DECIDE” what is a worthy prayer request, and what isn’t.
On being Liberal. I am liberal (and generous) with the benefits of God. I believe in Grace, Mercy, Healing, Forgiveness. I believe God is liberal (and generous) In all his ways. So really? I am a true liberal at heart!
But from what I’ve seen in politics, it often means, “lets give liberally to my agenda,” and have understanding about what I care about, and the rest of you can go to *$)#!”
That’s not liberal. That is just mean-spirited!
SO, PTSD is a new diagnosis, for trauma from the past erupts, and makes it difficult for us to make good choices (in a nutshell.) I think a lot of people have this, even on a minor scale. They have been hurt, just like I was that day on the worship team. I can never get that time in my life again, and I felt robbed of a chance to have some healthy fun. Now I have a choice don’t I (from all the trauma I”ve experienced?)
I can go out and make laws (to make sure I don’t get hurt, ever again) Or I can rally a big protest (because of my pain) Or…………..(OR) I can just ask God to heal me, and count it as Justice! I want restoration, more than I want compensation. A healed and restored life is the best Justice (and revenge!) Because truly then we know The enemy DID NOT WIN! God has healed me of a lot! I am aware each time he heals another area of my soul (He restores my SOUL Psalm 23 Amen?) But it’s a process, and not overnight.
Just pondering my choices today, and asking God for healing, deliverance, Restoration, and all great things from him! He is my God! He is my source! And he is my healer!
I have this feeling I will never regret this choice (Putting it all before him, and trusting him about the outcome!) Yep I’m 100 percent positive in My Faith, It’s a choice I will never regret. I have 30 years behind me, of Testimonies of God’s faithfulness & Love.
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