Lock Me In Lord!

I’m wondering what God has to do to get our attention; I mean to really get it? What will it take to arrest us and cause us to stop and realize that it’s him or nothing and that without him we can do nothing that has eternal value worth having. I don’t mean he’s forcing us to serve him because our kingdom service is a heart thing. I’m a Christian simply because I love Christ.

I remember having conversations with my mother and she would say “where is your bible?” and I would always respond “in the closet” and she’d say “get it out and read it”. At that time I had no interest in reading my bible, just wasn’t something that appealed to me. It was something for them and not for me. Them, who? Them, you know church folks; as my sister-in-law says those that are “locked-in”. I want to be “locked in”, in fact I love being locked in. I like how the writer said it in Psalms 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Think on that for a second. Are you locked in? Are you secure in your relationship with Jesus or are you wavering and undecided about surrendering totally to him? What you think you’ll lose is nothing compared to what you’ll gain. Am I preaching to the choir? I hope so, because occasionally the choir needs to be reminded that just because they are in the choir doesn’t mean they are singing in the right key. We are being called ot a higher place of accountability as Christians to work out our salvation, individually and collectively for kingdom enhancement.  Lord lock us in! Reinforce our relationships with you Jesus, give us a heart and mind to be stedfast and unmoveable, always abounding in you. Not tossed back and forth. Not undecided about our Christianity, flirting with evil and darkness—Lock us in Lord!
The picture above portrays the fruit God desires to develop in each of us and my heart melts to know that Christ loved us so much he endured the cross, now who wouldn’t want to be locked in by a God like that? ~Just another Tiney Thought.

My Name Is Victory!

Psalms 147:1

Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

It’s a beautiful God morning, I’m thankful for so many things this morning and though I hear the wind blowing strongly I’m considering going out to catch the sun coming up. Well, I was considering it but I just changed my mind, that whole cold air thing isn’t that appealing now that I think about it. As I have mentored and coached over the years I encourage us to keep a song of praise in our hearts at all times. Sometimes you just don’t feel like singing but in those times when you don’t feel like singing the Holy Spirit has a way of causing that melody to spring forth and help you walk through any challenges you may face.

This morning, I woke singing “My Name Is Victory!” The funny thing is I don’t know the actual words to the song. My message from God this morning is simply that one line…my name is victory and I’m thanking him for being mindful of me this morning. Something may come along to challenge my position of being victorious this morning but God has already spoken it—MY Name Is Victory! What's your name this morning?

God I Thank You For My Stuff!

Of course it is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for that I can’t talk about it all here. At the top of my list is Jesus. Traditionally, many find this day to be a day of family, food and a dedicated time to thank God for their many blessings PLUS an opportunity to be off work; let’s not kid ourselves who doesn’t enjoy a day off work—I do.

I’m especially thankful for my salvation. I’m thankful that God in his great love and mercy rescued me from me. I know we’d like to blame it all on the devil and what he did and does but much of our struggle is a struggle with self. I thank God that he has and continues to teach me to yield to the Holy Spirit, even when I have a case of the “I don’t want to” like Jonah, he teaches me how to surrender my will and come into agreement with HIS will for me.
Many Christians will have you believe that they have never had a case of “I don’t want to”. Right! BUT I’m thankful for every experience in my Christian journey. We thank God for the good things but what about the not-so-good things that play a vital role in molding us as believers. Thanksgiving is not only the raising of our hands, hearts, voices of praise and spirit; it is also the adversities that we endure that help us grow up in Christ. Just wanted to say thank you Jesus!