Death and God's Love

Death & God’s Love.

Read More:  http://www.jeweledsteel.com/2013/04/17/death-gods-love/

This morning in my quiet time the Lord impressed on my heart to go for a prayer walk along the Trinity River levee. I shared it with my husband and he agreed to walk in prayer with me. We then headed out the door to walk our dogs – 2 Labradors. We live in the Design District in Dallas which is an industrial area that is next to the Trinity River bottom. We walk our dogs in the river bottom so they can get into the water. I have never felt peace in the area before so I told David this morning before I walk we are going to reclaim the land for God. David and  I started our walk with a prayer and basically said, “God we am declaring this land for you and we pray peace over it. We are not sure exactly sure of what to do but You do so please show us how to pray as we walk.” And off we go…

We were walking along and having a great time. I was actually more at peace during this walk that I had been previously. We were about 20 minutes into the walk and we walked down behind the jail/prison and I became a bit troubled. I prayed for the inmates. We continued walking and I saw a piece of land just off the gravel road. I walked over there and immediately knew there had been murder there. I am looking down at the ground and praying, rebuking the spirit of death, murder, etc and proclaiming the land for the Lord and that life and peace will be restored in this area.  As I am doing this, my husband finds a human skull about 20 feet away. I was not at all surprised by this and continued my prayer by walking all over the ground that I felt was defiled. We then find a portion of a torso, jeans, belt, shoes, etc. We had called 911 by this point and were waiting for the police to show up.

While we were waiting we were reclaiming the land and declaring life over it. I was so joyous that the Lord had answered my prayer in such a mighty way. He wants to reclaim the land and he shed light on a very, very dark area. The authorities finally arrived and several police officers asked what we were doing down there. We explained we were on a dog walk and then David told them that I as I was praying I had a very strong feeling of murder/death. As our dogs were headed to get into a pond when we stumbled onto head and torso and they were not in the same spot.

Once the first response police team saw that there was indeed a skull and torso, they had homicide detectives out there and the scene now became a crime scene. They think that the murder happened within the last month. Before we headed back home, we prayed for the police officers and ask the Lord to bless them.

Super Christian

After what I considered a very victorious and somewhat strange dog walk, I had a chance to settle down and assess what truly happened. I finally asked the Lord what He thought about the events of the day. This was Sunday evening and honestly I was expecting to get a huge pat on the back from being such a Super Christian. He simply told me “I knew him.” I thought to myself that sure that makes sense, God knows everything. Several days passed, actually from Sunday until Tuesday night, until I fully grasped what the Lord was saying to me. I was so wrapped up in my Super Christian Cape that I had completely missed what truly happened. The Lord KNEW him! God created him, He knit him together in his mother’s womb, God knew what He put in that man, He knew his potential – God KNEW him and God was grieved that he had died. So, in thinking only of myself on this excursion I missed an opportunity to comfort God in His loss. Instead of saying “Lord, I am so sorry this happened to one of Your children,” I am now saying “Lord, I am so sorry that I was so wrapped up in myself that I missed an opportunity to see just how much You love us, forgive me.”

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, He was grieved for a man that had been discarded in the Trinity River bottom, He was grieved because He lost a child, He knew that man and He was sad. God truly loves us. I pray that we can grasp the depths of His love, it frees us from bondage, it unlocks that gates of hell, it allows us to be who God created us to be.

Faith Instead of Fear

I have had a major paradigm shift in my thinking. I am your typical, red blooded, American male who is responsible and want the best for my family. I am not a lazy man, but instead, strive to be the best at what I do. You could say that I am driven. Most men I believe would say they are driven to succeed in whatever they do.

The Lord reminded me of the nation of Israel. When He delivered them out of slavery to the Egyptians, He covered everything for them. He was their protector and provider. Everything they needed from food and drink, even to the clothes on their back and the sandals on their feet did not wear out for 40 years. They may not have had the menu they were dreaming of, but they ate to their fill every day. They were completely provided for and yet they never entered the Promise Land because of their unbelief. I took this story and applied it to my personal life.

I have been dissatisfied with several situations in my life and found myself not only complaining about it but also fearful. I’ve found out the hard way (until recently, my normal operating mode) that when I let the door of fear open, even a small crack, I am letting a host of other demons come in with it. Those include bitterness, anger and accusation. If I let them come in and really get comfortable and make themselves at home, eventually rage and murder will join the party. It takes NO faith to hang out with these guys and without faith, it truly is impossible to please God. (Heb 11:6)

The old saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, this old dog (62 years young) is definitely learning new things that are changing my life. Things that used to worry me and get me so upset now roll off me like water on a duck’s back. It takes the same amount of effort to worry as it does to walk in faith. It is a choice. I have made that choice and life is so much better. Money cannot buy peace. Faith makes peace a reality. Even my body is at rest because of how I handle situations. Stress is a killer. Faith is a life giver. Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will trust and serve the Lord Jesus of Nazareth!

Read More:  http://www.jeweledsteel.com/blog/

Ministry Begins at Home

Ministry Begins at Home

But if any provide not for his own, and specifically for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 1 Tim 5:8

Ouch! As I read this scripture, the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that my focus in life has been in every direction except my home. I put a lot of time into both work and ministry. Neither one of those are bad things except I found that I placed them above my home life and my husband. Essentially I was saying that showing love to others is more important than showing love at home. I realized that doing outward things or things that others noticed brought a lot more satisfaction to me. I began to wonder why.

Soon after I began to think about this, Galatians 1:10 came to mind. Am I seeking to please man or to please God? Well, I had been looking to gain approval or acceptance from man!! Wow. I realized that my drive to do both work and ministry was to prove that I was someone important and in the mean time my husband was getting displaced by my desire to prove myself. Talk about misplaced priorities! Thank God for his loving kindness in showing me the areas in my life that don’t line up with His word.

So, let’s show some TLC to those that live under the same roof as us.

Read More:  http://www.jeweledsteel.com/blog/