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Monday, July 20, 2015

Of Calendars and Healing

"This shall be your proof..." Exodus 3:12
In the 3rd chapter of Exodus, God calls Moses from the burning bush. He tells Moses that the proof that He is who He says He is, will be, "when you bring My people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain." God's Word does not return to Him void, empty, without fruit (Isaiah 55:11). It will accomplish what He said it will. It shall succeed and prosper and achieve the purpose for which He sends it. We can read the beginning of the fulfillment of His promise to Moses in Exodus 19.

 In 2011, I was hospitalized for Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism. At that time my Doctor said I would need to wear thick, tight, Compression stockings for the rest of my life (that did wonders for my wardrobe!!!!). She also said I would need to take rat poison forever, to thin my blood and prevent any more blood clots. What I did was go to the Word of God and compile verses about God's promise to heal.

 Proverbs 4:20-22 says: "Attend to My Words, Do not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart, for they are life to those that find them, healing and health to all their flesh." God's Word is medicine! With no overdose! Proverbs 12:18 says, "The tongue of the wise promotes health", so I would confess "By His stripes I am healed,"(Is. 53:5) and "You will restore health unto me and heal me of my wounds." (Jer. 30:17) I confessed God's Word every day or listened to the confessions on Youtube.

 Rejoice with me! God keeps His promises! Just as it is impossible for rain to fall without accomplishing something, God's Word brought forth healing as He said it would. Yesterday my doctor said, "Congratulations!" I do not need to wear my fashionable stockings anymore and I do not need to take Coumadin! Thank you for all your prayers! 

 I will continue to confess God's Word for I still need healing for my Pemphigus Vulgaris, but I am confident that will disappear in God's time. Confess with me, "Nothing shall be impossible to us who believe!" (Matthew 17:20)

 "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar: you shall reckon it the first month of the year." Exodus 12:2
This is God's instruction to the Israelites when they were still in the land of Egypt, before the first Passover. He wanted them to start counting their days with a new calendar. The Jews had been in Egypt for more than 400 years and they were used to the Egyptian calendar which was based on the predictable flooding of the Nile. The economy, culture, religious life of Egypt all revolved around this important holiday period which is still celebrated today starting on August 15. The Egyptian calendar year was divided into 3 seasons of flooding, growth and harvest. This was not what God wanted and it was very important that the Jews started out with a new calendar.

 Our calendars should reflect what is important to us. It should show what we focus our attention on. Do we block off time for worship and fellowship with brothers and sisters? Can we see that we set aside time for God in our schedule? If we see that we have not really prioritized time with God in our calendar, I like to think we can always start again. Create a new calendar! After all, God's mercies are new every morning! (Lamentations 3:23)

 "They had been rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey." Exodus 12:39
This is from one of my favorite devotionals, The Anawim Way: "All of history is a record of the love and saving work of God. One of the most significant and dramatic examples of His love at work is the great exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. After 450 years - years in which it seemed that nothing was happening, that God was not listening to their cries- the whole Israelite community was set free in a single day. The transition from slavery to freedom was so rapid that they were barely ready for it. They had no opportunity to prepare food for the journey.
"How long does it take for God to rescue us from slavery to sin? No time. He can do it in an instant. In the time it takes us to repent and ask for God's mercy, we are set free. "
Thank you Lord for Your saving work in our life!


 "Come by yourselves to an out-of-the-way place and rest a little." Mark 6:31
The 6th chapter of Mark begins with Jesus preaching and then sending out the disciples two by two to do the same. When they returned, tired but full of mixed emotions, they told him about the people they healed, the demons they exorcised, and how they had to take John the Baptist's body to put him in a tomb.
Is it any wonder that Jesus advised them to go to a deserted place and rest? Apart from the eternal rest that is something to look forward to, there is no better rest for us than in prayer. It is the closest we can come to communion with our Father! We should look forward to it, and take as much time in our busy lives to be with Him. Jesus advised that we should pray constantly. I find that when I pray and read my Father's Word for me, I can see myself through His eyes. I am confident I am the apple of His eye, that I am loved and precious. I know that whatever happens in my busy day, I can count on Him never to leave me alone. I can make mistakes, I can fall short in men's eyes, the whole world can be against me. But I know that absolutely nothing can separate me from His love, and I can absolutely count on Him to give me what I need when I need it.

"Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the Lord will win for you today... The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still. Exodus 14:13-14
This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible. Moses said this just before God parted the sea for the Israelites escaping from the wrath of the Pharaoh. The mighty Egyptian army was bearing down on them and they were trapped.
Last night I went to sleep praying for someone who is trapped in a sinful situation. I am usually not afraid of saying or doing something if I feel strongly. Like I have spoken to priests after a bad homily and I've told our parish priest that his idea of a fund raiser was wrong when he invited skimpy clad Brazilian dancers to entertain the parish during a dinner.
This morning I woke up to this message. I need to be still and just trust the Lord! Sometimes we cannot do anything and we can even make things worse. So this is what I will do today. Be still and wait for God's victory!
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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

WOYWW: Burning Me!

 Well here's my messy desk (so what's new???)
I have a couple of filipino postcards on top of the keyboard.
That has to be sent out last week!!!
So delinquent!!!

Then I have a keyboard there because suddenly 
the keys on my laptop don't work!
I think some ants got in and ate the connections (whatever!!!!)
Thank goodness for USB keyboards and for
my husband who knew that could solve my BIG problem!

 "I must go ...and see why the bush is not burned." Exodus 3:3

Isn't it usually God who initiates our call, our mission? Here with Moses, God calls him in the midst of his ordinary work- that of tending the flock of his father Jethro.   We must always be ready, eager to hear God's voice, or to see His working in our life.  I am sure there was nothing particularly special about that bush, but God set it on fire.  

 We can be perfectly happy with our circumstances, comfortable with the status quo, but God can set us on fire too!  We shouldn't say we are not wise, or we don't have a background in theology, or whatever excuses we usually can come up with. Just like Moses, and the twelve disciples, we are apostles, which comes from the Latin "missio", the source of the word "missionary".   We are all missionaries in our mission field- where we live, where we work, where we study, where we spend most of our time.  We can be sure that just as the bush was not consumed while it burned for God, we will not lose anything precious when we give our life to the Lord.  We will gain so much more!

 "It is one of the Hebrews' children." Exodus 2:6
I am thinking that the daughter of the Pharaoh who picked up Moses from the little basket among the reeds must have regretted her disobedience to her father. The Princess adopted him and he grew up with her son. But when he was older, he visited his people, the Israelites, and saw how hard they were forced to work. Eventually Moses delivered his people from the hardness of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. He caused the death of many of her people. She must have felt very bitter toward Moses. She probably labeled him as proud, and an ingrate.

Is there someone we are bitter about? Perhaps we should try to see him through God's eyes. God had a plan for Moses, and if the Princess saved him from the water or not, God would have found a way to fulfill His purpose for Moses. There is something I am praying about today. Something that does not seem right to my eyes. A person I have to see through God's eyes. I want God's plan to be fulfilled. Even if He uses this person I am praying about or not, I just have to trust in God's perfect plan.



Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 
peek at desks and projects!
I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:

Blessings!
Patsy
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Monday, July 13, 2015

Take Nothing for the Journey

 "The Egyptians...reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them...the whole fate of slaves." Exodus 1:13-14

The whole family of Joseph joined him in Egypt and were well provided for. They had a good life,and when Joseph and his father,and brothers died, they continued living in Egypt.But the Israelites multiplied so quickly and the new Pharaoh was not sympathetic to the Israelites. He wanted them destroyed, their sons thrown into the Nile River. They were slaves, forced to work long hours.


 Sometimes we choose the good life, the easy life, over the path we should take. Every day we have choices, challenges. Most of the time we do not see that the choices we take, the compromises we make, lead us deeper and deeper into sin. Just like the Jews in Egypt, we can be slaves in Egypt, slaves to sin. God saw the plight of the Jews and delivered them from the Pharaoh's clutches in a dramatic way.  He can do the same for us if we cry out to Him.  

Dear Lord,help me to see whatever chains bind me, whether it be an addiction, unforgiveness, broken relationships, a nagging weakness...break the bonds, O Lord and deliver me! 

 "Take nothing on the journey..." Mark 6:8
Yesterday I was watching this TedX video of Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo. She wrote a book entitled "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up:The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing". She is hailed as the new de-cluttering queen. She said that we have to hold each item and ask, "Does it spark joy?" I don't know if this method will work for me as even blister packs, scrap cloth, spare buttons, broken jewelry "spark joy", when I think about what I can make with it! I have boxes full of future projects.

 When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He said don't even take food, or a coin. Just bring a walking stick and wear sandals. Based on these instructions, I can never be a good disciple! I have so many things I am lagging with me on my journey! My excuse (and I always have a good excuse! ha ha) is that in our business, we try to come up with products to sell using these recycled materials, and we are able to come up with livelihood projects for people in need of work. Still, I have to use it, not keep it boxed up for years! I do not feel joy when I see all the clutter in my house! I am determined to start today, to be a good disciple, to start to unload my "clutter". My mission territory has to start with me!

"Not a single sparrow falls to the ground without Your Father's consent. As for you, every hair on your head has been counted." Matthew 10:29-30
If we read this verse first thing in the morning every day, and believed it, it would change our life! In Matthew 10, Jesus was sending off the twelve disciples to preach the Word to God's lost sheep. He told them not to be afraid even if they would be as sheep among wolves. Imagine how terrified the disciples were! At least 7 of these men were fishermen. One was a despised tax collector. What would they know of preaching? But Jesus called them, just a He calls us today to be fishers of men. Where we are, with what we have. "Do not be afraid," Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10:31. "You are more valuable than a whole flock of sparrows." Indeed we are. That's why God calls and equips us. All we need to do is take one step at a time.

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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Paint Party Friday: Whole Hearted

 "The Lord watches over the lives of the whole-hearted; their inheritance lasts forever." Psalm 37:18
Whole-hearted. Other versions say blameless, upright, innocent, undefiled, perfect. The way I see it, I can't ever be blameless, upright, innocent, undefiled, much less perfect. The minute I get up in the morning, I'm already breathing the
adulterated air of the ungrateful! The day goes on, I am impatient, irritated, insensitive and fail to trust in God. So is my inheritance lost to me forever?

 Not likely!!! "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."(Romans 8:17).
We receive the promise of our inheritance by hearing the word of truth and believing in Christ as it says in Ephesians 1:11-14 - "In him we have obtained an inheritance...In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

 "He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives." Genesis 45:5
Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave. After a long incarceration, Joseph was able to correctly interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and he was made the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was second in command, in charge of all the food during a time of famine. Joseph's brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain not knowing that they would encounter the brother they had wronged.

When Joseph revealed himself to them, he said, "Do not be distressed. I am Joseph. God sent me ahead of you to save your lives." In the devotional book, The Anawim Way, it reads, "These words of Joseph capture one of the essential lessons that every missionary must learn. We are all sent by God into the world, for the sake of saving lives."
Yes we are all missionaries, disciples on mission. And we must see, like Joseph, that the challenges of our lives, the lessons we have learned, are food for a hungry world.

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patsy
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