Sepetember 7

WHO IS LORD?

Who is my "lord"? Let my worship reveal Christ as Lord. I bow to Your authority.

Self worship is the struggle to get life to serve me and to bow down to my wants and my ways. Self demands the right to it's own way. Surrender is yielding control to Christ and the Kingdom coming. We dare not think God will lay aside His Kingdom for our ways or for the emotions and desires that drive our personal lives.

Christ is LORD!
I will die so He can live through me. I will let go, so He can fill the void, change the negative emotions and agony of soul when I can't control life around me.
What I surrender control of, He transforms into Kingdom diminsions; thus my prayer is being answered, "Let Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, here and now, just as it is being done in Heaven."

"As it is in Heaven, so let it be done now." You are LORD. So let it be done as You see it."

I serve the God who calls the dead to live and calls those things that be not as though they are, so that they will become what He says they are. When I surrender my ways and my desires, I am free to see and hear what You are saying. I become Your partner when I come into agreement with Your words and repeat them.

As it is written, so let it be done in me, my Lord.

September 16 DEVOTIONAL

"Your thinking is from a human perspective." Matthew 16:23

According to Jesus, the human perspective is in agreement with Satan and the self-focus from which we live our lives. God warns us not to lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways to acknowledge Him so He can direct our paths. Proverbs 3:5-8 This pattern for living promises healing for the body and strengthening for our bones.

Satan's original suggestion is that personal independence is worth defying the authority and fellowship of God. The way this speaks to the human mind is that it is unthinkable to surrender ones human autonomy and the significance of their personal contribution and life force to God. Yet Satan gets our surrender by default.

It was unthinkable for Peter and those who loved Jesus to willingly allow Him to be mis-treated, abused and killed. Yet Jesus regarded Peter's perspective as Peter siding with Satan to block His path to the redemption of mankind.

Jesus said the Father was looking for those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. To me, this means ordering my steps according to the authority of every WORD that the Spirit communicates to me, as I look to Him.

Lord, You are more precious than silver to me, more costly than gold. Diamonds are only a reflection of your beauty. Nothing is more desirable to me than You. Nothing compares with the value and worth of my Redeemer.

Let fear and awe of You buffer me from the demands and manipulation of my false self.
Let me understand that Immanuel is my reality. (Emmanu El - God with me.)


"Without firm faith, you will not be established. Take care to stay calm and unafraid. Do not become demoralized. Do not come into agreement with the enemy."
Isaiah 7:4, 9, 14

September 2 Devotional

GOD IS SO GOOD!

God is a stronghold in the time of trouble. God takes care of those who take refuge in Him.

Lord, You are my hiding place.
You are my secret place of communion and safety.
You are my resting place from stress of living in a broken world.

Do not be afraid! Because I am with you.
Do not fear! Because I am your God.
Do not be distressed! Because I give you help.
I give you strength.
I support you with My victorious right hand.

I, the Lord your God say to you, as I hold your right hand, "HAVE NO FEAR!"

August 30 Devotional

"God will circumcise your heart. . .to love the Lord your God." Deut. 30:6
We are to love our redeemer God with all our heart, soul, strength, with all we are and have.

God graciously enables the conditions He requires. I was reading Deut. 30 and thought about what St. Augustine prayed, "Grant what Thou commanest and command what Thou wilt." It was his way of saying, "My heart is surrendered to Your will, but my flesh is incapable of that kind of surrender."

Several places in the New Tesstament we are told to circumcise our heart or sanctify ourselves unto the Lord. Jesus placed the conditions of following Him so high that the disciples were appauld. "Who then can be saved?" Jesus answered, "With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

God tells Jeremiah about a new covenant He would make with Israel (Gentiles were brought into this covenant.) "I will place My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people."

Even though the Old Covenant was cast in the conditions of laws and precepts, the Apostle Paul refers back to Deut. 30:14 and casts this statement in grace. (Romans 10:6-11 & 17).

So faith that saves and circumcises my heat comes as God's gracious act. His voice awakens my soul to Him and the gift of faith willingly receives Him. My faith to believe unto salvation is evidence that He has circumcised my heart so I can love Him and follow Him.

Yes, You have circumcised my heart and enabled me to hear and trust and obey.

My heart sings out my gratitude to Your loving heart. You have not left me in darkness or in the pit of hopelesness. Command what You will of me, but also grant to me the desire and the power (grace) to obey.

Red Cabbage Salad

Here is a good Cabbage Salad using Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans. Of course fresh cooked is always better than canned. Some of you will not want to make this dressing because of the Tahini, but if you have it on hand because you use it for Hummus, try this salad. This makes a thick creamy dressing. The beans and the Tahini add good sourse of protein. Tahini is sesame seed paste.

Garbanzo Beans (if using canned, rince & drain)
2 cups chopped Cabbage
1 T. Onion
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped Tomato (optional)

If you are preparing for two, measured amounts don't matter. I cut the amount of Cabbage I thought we would eat, then sprinkled in some Garbanzo Beans, some chopped Purple Onion. Don't over do the salt until you add the dressing. It may be salty enough.

DRESSING:
1/4 cup Tahini
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Water
1/8 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos or Tamari
1 T. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 tsp. Ginger Root minced
1 Clove Garlic minced
Black Pepper
Stevia and/or Honey (I used both for depth of flavor. Go easy on the sweetener.)

I rough chop cabbage rather than shred it too finely. Shredding on the large shred would work well.

If you like this dressing, you will probably like the Salad.

AUGUST 25

"Grant what Thou commandest and command what Thou wilt." St. Augustine

O gracious Lord. You have opened my heart to love You. Command what You will from me, but also grant me the grace to obey. I want to walk in step and in harmony with You and fulfill Your design for me.

"Thy Kingdom come on earth, just as it is being done in Heaven."
Thy will be done, as two powers colide.
Your rule and reign is what I want.
Let me see it in my day, in me and in those around me.

Seek first, as priority, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in the sons of God.

APPLE/CABBAGE/KALE SALAD

If you have liked the raw kale dishes I have posted, you are sure to enjoy this one. Check out the ingredients for the dressing, then I will give you the other ingredients. I love this dressing by the spoonfuls. You may come up with other ways to use it.

4 T. Almond Butter
1 Clove Garlic, minced (If you like lots of Garlic, use 2)
1 T. Braggs Liquid Aminos or Tamari
1 inch fresh Ginger Root, minced
1 T. Maple Syrup or Raw Honey that is local with where you live.
Water to thin.

I also added 1 tsp. Jalepenos to give it a kick, but it would be just as good without it.

Kale, washed, dried and broken into small pieces
Cabbage, shredded
Apple, chopped finely
Dried Cherries or Craisins
Toasted Pecans or Almonds puts this salad over the top.
I also added some shredded Jicima because I had it and sliced Spring Onions.

Now if you don't want to use the dried fruit, try chopped Tomatoes and toasted Walnuts.


Message the Kale with your hands to soften it. Expect it to be reduced in volume. Add more if it is not enough.
Add the other ingredients. Don't overpower the Kale with too much Cabbage. And watch the Ginger. You can adjust the portions after you make it once. I didn't use more than more than a tsp. of chopped Ginger, but didn't measure either.

August 15

Hello bloggers, that is, if I have any bloggers now after such a long absence. May 20 was my last entry. I don't promise to do better, because I am a bit random in my living patterns. I now have some things I want to say and since I have a blog I will write.

I hope you have had a good summer and more importantly that you have sensed the Lord enjoying it with you. Tal and I were blessed to be part of a group helping to rebuild homes after the tornadoes ripped through some unsuspecting parts of our country. I attended a gathering where five Christian leaders working in the Middle Eastern countries had come to share what Christ is doing in the midst of violence and deprivation. I was convicted and have continued to be disturbed by the average American's concepts of what Christ has called us to and our half-hearted deovtion to our Lord. Are we really New Testament saints? Will the sons/daughters of the Kigdom of God be able to stand up when the shaking becomes violent in America?

Do we really want God to show up in visible ways, or would his appearance disrupt our plans and challange our motives? Do we really want to live our lives, even the moments we think are secret, in God's presence? "Walk before me in whole-hearted devotion." Gen. 17:1-2 "Don't lean on your own understanding. In all your WAYS acknowledge me. I will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you set yourselves to be God's man/woman, to be free of the contamination of the world's ways and dreams and pursuits, so you can be available for Kingdom expression? Do you delight to sing and dance before the Lord in your secret place to his great delight, or is more time spent delighting in the pleasures of television, Netflex, and other activities that tie your emotions to the lusts & fear that drives this troubled, collapsing world system? "Oh God, You are my God. I shall seek You earnestly. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Ps. 63:1

Is affectionate love being directed toward God in my thoughts, all day long? "Pray without ceasing". Do I live in the awareness that God is right here and available and is the most intelligent person I know? And He is for me and not against me. Does the peace of God guard my heart? If not, am I willing to let this world go, so that I can do what Jesus did to enjoy the relationship he enjoyed with the Father and do the things he did in our world, for the same reasons he did them?

Thomas Kelly has put it this way. "This life, this abiding, enduring peace that never fails, this serene power and unhurried conquest, inward conquest over ourselves, outward conquest over the world, is meant to be ours. It is life that is freed from strain and anxiety and hurry; for something of the Cosmic Patience of God becomes ours."