Verse and Message (Week of February 24 – March 1) February 28, 2008

Psalms 139:16

You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

  

Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Lately, I have been worn out.  The main reason I have been struggling is due to all the wrestling I have been doing with God lately.  I want Him to answer my prayers the WAY I want Him to answer them and NOW. 

One of my favorite movies is Bruce Almighty.  With the exception of a few unnecessary words, it is a decent flick.  It’s a story about a man who feels like God has given him a raw deal in life.  Every direction he turns, his circumstances turned from bad to worse. 

The character Bruce (Jim Carey) challenges the fairness and even the existence of God.  God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Bruce and decides to let Bruce see how well he can manage the responsibility of being “God.”  God gives Bruce His powers and sovereign lordship over the Universe. It’s pretty cool for Bruce at the beginning, but the fun fades as his new position becomes more and more intimidating and complicated. 

Bruce begins to hear voices in his head, and thinks he is going crazy.  The voices are prayers.  Bruce realizes that it is his job to answer all of the prayers.  The extraordinary number of prayers that he has to answer is staggering.  He decides to set up a system on his computer for all prayers to be delivered and received via e-mail.  He has no choice but to answer prayers constantly, all day and all night, and he still can’t keep up.  Frustrated and exhausted at just a click of the mouse he answers ”YES” to all the prayers that were multiplying by the millisecond. 

One of the consequences to this answer was that more than a million people won the lottery.  They all receive less than a couple of dollars each after the amount of the lottery is divided evenly between everyone. 

In reality, what if our Lord answered “YES” to all of our prayers?  Just think about who you might be married to?  Just think where you might live?  Imagine what you would be doing?  It can be really frightening to ponder. 

We should be thankful where we are, as well as forever grateful for His perfect answers, even if they are not the answers we desire.  God always answers prayer….it’s either YES, NO, or WAIT.  I have trouble with the answer WAIT.  That’s where God’s perfect timing comes in……if we got our answers the way we want WHEN WE WANT, our imperfect timetable would wreak more havoc than we could possibly accept. 

We really don’t know what to pray for.  Our Father knows us better than we will ever know ourselves.  We are precious to Him, and He created each one of us for a very special purpose.  He knows what is best for us!  Our future is secure in Him: He knitted each of us in our mother’s womb…He numbered the hairs on our head…..He will never leave us…..and He provided a way for us to reside with Him for eternity through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.  When we analyze those factors, how could we possibly question His nature and judgment for us?  We can be confident that He has our lives planned out minute by minute. 

Don’t doubt His greatness.  Freedom is ours, if we allow Him to do His job as our Master.  In other words, LET God be God! When we attempt to play the part of GOD, we will lose!  

  

Be thankful to Him for His Sovereign answers to prayer!

He will give you the strength to wait, and the grace for acceptance!

SUSIE MC

Valentines Day Verse and Message 2008 February 14, 2008

Happy Valentines Day Friends!

I discovered the following message from my Verse and Message Archives.  I couldn’t resist sharing this one that I sent on Valentine’s Day of 2006! Have a fun-filled day of LOVE!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE never fails.

   

I thought I would begin by sharing some things that I love:

I LOVE JESUS.

  

I LOVE my son.

I LOVE my biological family.

I LOVE my family in Christ.

I LOVE sunsets.

 

I LOVE Church of the Highlands.

I LOVE the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls at the beach.

I LOVE the finish line after I have run a race. 

 

I LOVE a hot shower after a long day.

I LOVE Auburn football games from pre-game to post-game.

I LOVE the peaceful sound of snow falling.

I LOVE Big Macs and french fries.

  

I LOVE seeing my son succeed.

I LOVE seeing others succeed and reach their goals as well.

I LOVE previews before viewing a motion picture.

I LOVE movies.

  

I LOVE reminiscing and sharing good memories.

I LOVE when I have a “good hair” day.

I LOVE being forgiven.

I LOVE the sound of children playing.

I LOVE pleasant surprises.

I LOVE the writings of Max Lucado.

I LOVE laughter. 

 

I LOVE Starbucks.

I LOVE hearing the National Anthem & seeing the U S flag wave in the wind.

I LOVE pedicures.

I LOVE my snooze button.

I LOVE seeing old friends.

I LOVE meeting new friends.

I LOVE looking at the moon and the stars on a clear night.

I LOVE finding a good parking place.

I LOVE watching people at the airport when their loved ones fly in.

I LOVE bookstores.

I LOVE everything about Christmas.

  

I LOVE positive people.

I LOVE birthdays and birthday cake (white cake/white icing).

I LOVE tears of joy.

I LOVE contemporary Christian music.

I LOVE LIFE.

  

**Notice I started with JESUS and finished with LIFE**

Take a minute to write down some of what you love, and then….you will realize that REAL LOVE comes only from our LORD, and everything He gives you to LOVE is a shower of blessing over your life!  I could spend hours and hours and days and days telling you all that I love.  But…nothing would ever be able to compare to the LOVE my Lord has for you and me.

The verses in 1 Corinthians mentioned above is by far one of the most well-known verses in Scripture, even among non-believers.  Max Lucado had an interesting observation.  He decided to replace the word love with his name.  Take a minute to replace the word love in the Scripture above with your name.  Profound!  There is only ONE name that can replace the word LOVE in the verse above!  It is the name above all names!  JESUS CHRIST is the only name that can define perfect LOVE.  His love is the real deal.  His love is pure, passionate, and flawless. 

A quote from Pastor Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands–

LIFE MINUS LOVE = NOTHING! 

Our Lord CHOSE to love us……and we are light-years away from being lovable!  The Creator of the Universe chose to love His children, and He created us in a way that we are capable of loving Him back.  BUT….LOVE IS A CHOICE–LOVE IS AN ACTION–IT IS NOT A FEELING OR EMOTION!!

IF WE CHOOSE JESUS, THEN WE CHOOSE LOVE.  WE CAN ONLY LOVE, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US!  (1 John 4:10).  HE LOVED US SO MUCH HE SENT HIS SON TO SAVE US AND TO ENDURE THE CROSS FOR US…YES, FOR US!! (John 3:16)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! 

GO TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM!  AND, PRAY THAT YOU CAN DO THE BEST YOU POSSIBLY CAN WITH THE SAVIOR’S HELP TO REFLECT THE KIND OF LOVE THAT ONLY HE CAN GIVE YOU. 

WHEN YOU ALLOW HIM TO FILL YOU—

YOU CAN RELEASE THAT LOVE AND GIVE IT TO OTHERS!

LOVE IS WHAT MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND…

HE’S IN CONTROL OF THE AXIS!

HUMBLE YOUR HEART TO HIM TODAY 

  

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?  EVERYTHING!

SUSIE MC

Verse and Message (Week of January 3-9, 2008) February 6, 2008

Hebrews 5:12-14 (Message)

By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

   Milk versus Solid Food   

As defined by Merriam-Webster OnLine, a stage (of life) is a period or step in a process, activity, or development. Whereas, a season is a time characterized by a particular circumstance.

Last week I wrote about the different seasons of life.  This week I want to piggy-back off of that thought with the different stages of our journey and the timing of those specific stages that we experience.  Just as every single human being who has ever existed is unique and different, each individual stage in our walk is unique and different. 

We cannot compare our individual journey with its unique calling and characteristics to anyone else’s journey or walk.  Each of us has a cross to bear and each of us have our own specialized gifts and developing talents.  In addition, because we are not “perfected” in Christ until the day we see Him in person, we all juggle with our own unique weaknesses as well.

   

Before I re-dedicated my life to Christ, I knew that my salvation was intact, but looking back, I didn’t take my walk seriously. I compartmentalized my life into sections.  I wanted to be all things to all people (because I am indeed a people pleaser).  I claimed to be a Christian (and I definitely had my “fire insurance”), but I dealt with some consistent sin in my life that I swept under the rug.  Sweeping it under the rug doesn’t remove it, it only hides it…and it’s also a form of denial. That time in my life was also characterized by a lack of desire to seek His presence and serve Him.

   

Each stage in my life could be separated into stages of growth with the Lord. I drank “baby’s milk” far too long before I realized the incredible benefits of feasting on “solid food” at His table. When a child begins to ingest solid food, we know that he is becoming more mature. As a child becomes more mature, he is given more responsibility, and as he is given more responsibility — he begins to perceive more about the “big picture.”

   

I look back on my life and recognize how the Lord has refined me and broken me within stages of my life that have brought me to where I am today. Thank you Jesus that I am not where I was before…..but please help me to reach the place you want me to be.  I know I have a long way to go, but I have come to realize that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” I will continue to be refined and sanctified until the Lord comes or calls me home….even though the molding process is quite painful at times. 

  

No matter how “comfortable” we want life to be….we cannot stay in the same place….we are either moving forward or backward. Back in my “milk drinking” stage, I found myself going back and forth between my ”new nature” and my “old nature.”  I compare it to the following verse….

Romans 7:19
“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

In order for me to grow and mature, I must climb some steep mountains to reach the fullness of His purposes for me.

  

I cannot get to where He wants me to be unless I am obedient to the path He directs. The detours that I personally decide to encounter without Him only lead me into the wilderness of confusion. However, He is patient and merciful to wait on me while I wander aimlessly in the desert. 

Either path I take cannot be taken alone, it is either taken with Him or with the enemy.  The easy way is the wide path and initially seems deceptively comforting with all the people heading down that popular route (with the enemy). The only path to TRUE LIFE is the tight and narrow road. When we make the decision to proceed on the straight and narrow path we can be confident that He remains by our side, and offers immeasurable power and strength. I know that God will meet me where I am at, and He will carry me when I am weak. 

  

I am certain that the back and forth cycle doesn’t have to control me — NO!! In Him – I claim victory in remaining consistent to what He has fed me through the nutrients of the “solid food.”  That’s why I am relieved when I “hunger and thirst” for Him. 

  

I must remain alert and be aware of the times when I cease to be hungry and passionate for His presence. It is at these times that I must “wake up” to change my course and embrace His best for me — and the only way to do that is to SURRENDER! I must depend on Him 100% by taking up my cross and following Him daily.  I can expect a beautiful destiny, as long as I remember – there’s no straddling the fence!

Tossing and Turning Takes a Toll!

Focus and Freedom comes with my Foundation with my Forever Friend!

  

SUSIE MC

Verse and Message (January 27 – February 2, 2008) February 1, 2008

Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

  

We are all on different journeys.  We are all experiencing different seasons of life.  I almost gave up on God a few years ago until He got my attention on January 8, 2004. 

I had grown up going to church.  I accepted Christ (for the first time) when I was seven years old.  There was no doubt in my mind where I would spend Eternity……but……I wasn’t getting it — I simply didn’t get it…there had to be more…I pondered, “What was the point in following Christ?”…I was miserable and being tormented by the evil one of this world. 

God allowed me to fall into the pit before I could realize my full dependence on Him. My true testament to my walk with Christ began a little more than four years ago on that cold January evening in my living room.  I hit what I consider in my life…ROCK BOTTOM. 

I was ready to throw in the towel…..I was mad at God, and I had no faith in where I was headed.  I exclaimed, “This isn’t fair God!” He knocked me down, and I challenged Him.  This was the last straw.  I said, “OK God …hit me with your best shot ….I release it all to you.”  Actually, I was kind of disrespectful and irreverent (but He can take it).  I was frustrated.  I was angry. I was depressed. I was just plain worn out on this life. I had only an ounce of hope left.

AND….BECAUSE I SIMPLY ASKED….I experienced a true miracle. From that day forward He provided security and comfort like never before, all because I let Him carry me. He promised me a future.  And, I got it.  Sure there will continue to be trouble in this world…….but He overcame it for me. 

I realized…I am an foreigner to this land….my purpose was to prepare the way for others to have the opportunity to see HIM everlasting.  I also realized at that point, my gift was to encourage others……because I had been in a place of discouragement that was so painful….NOW, I know why God allowed that trial…..He wanted me to share how He changed me inside-out. I am so grateful that I didn’t give up in the “winter” season….SPRING was ahead! 

I couldn’t resist sharing the following message sent to me by a dear sister in Christ, Carol Adkins.  Even as a super-charged born again believer, I still experience all the seasons of life……but when times are tough…I no longer feel like throwing in the towel, because HE is by my side.  He is my SALVATION. He is my PEACE.  He is my JOY.  He is my STRENGTH. He is my RESCUER. He is my HEALER. He is my PROVIDER.  He is my BANNER OF VICTORY. He is my COMFORTER.  He is my MASTER!  He is MY BEST FRIEND.

Whatever season you are in……do not forget the CREATOR of your body, soul, and spirit.  He wants to be intimate with you…..He loves you more than you could ever fathom…take it from me, I know.

Absorb the following powerful message…….

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP…..SPRING IS AHEAD!

  

SUSIE MC

“Never, never, never, never give up”
 - Winston Churchill

**I am not very computer literate, so if you would like to see the attachment/presentation for this verse and message, please email me at susiemc_68@yahoo.com and I will be happy to send it to you…..**