Is it His presence you seek or His presents ... What of your desire?

What is your desire?
more than anything
anywhere
anytime

What do you desire?
above all
beyond all

Where will your desire bring you?

What will you do to bring your desire to fruition?

Does your desire come from your heart
or is it more of a "I want, I must have, I will get it all costs" kind of desire?

Is your desire God's will for you?

Do you talk to God about your desire?

Do you listen to God, to what He says to you about your desire?

Do you ask for guidance in carrying out, in bring your desire to reality?

Do you follow only His instructions for your desire, your heart's desire, the desire the
Lord perhaps planted within you many years ago or more recently?

Do you seek ways to have the desire of your heart while waiting for calamities to pass?

Do you consider that all our desires do not necessarily bring money to line our pockets and pay bills?

When you cannot sleep, do you pray, do you have sincere talks with your Father about the desires of your heart and what you should do and where you should go and how you should get there?

Do you stay focused on the here and now and let God take care of the later?

Psalm 16
(1) "Preserve me, O God,
for in you I put my trust.
(5) You, O Lord, are the portion
of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
(7-9) I will bless the Lord
who has given me counsel;
my heart also instructs me
in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoices;
my flesh also will rest in hope.
(11) You will show me the path of life;
in your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand
are pleasures forevermore."

Only God

"If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31a)

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?" (Romans 8:33)

"Who is he who condemns?" (Romans 8:34a)

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35)

The answer ..... No One

God is in control of all, of all the earth, over all the earth. He knows our comings and goings, our desires and dreams, our sinfulness, our evilness. What! we say we have none. We deceive ourselves. We are not perfect. There is only one who is perfect. The great I am. The Lord Jesus. Unblemished and pure.

God knows our struggles, the misfortunes we are dealth. You think He doesn't care?! He cares. When we are one with Him, He is one with us. We have to rely on Him alone. Saying that is one thing. Doing that is entirely something else. He does not rejoice in our pain. It does not make him happy, only sad.

True Love for Him, the Lord Jesus, True obedience. Studying His word, not those of false teachers, not oral traditions handed down from one generation to the next. Being mindful of what the Lord God says in His word and through the Holy Spirit who lives in the hearts of His children.

Negativity downtroddens the best of us. We allow negative thoughts from others and from ourselves to overpower all of God's goodness and even though God has promised to be with us we fund it hard to believe that. We give in to depressing thoughts and wallow in self doubts and pity, grieving for what we don't have.

But Jesus says to us, "With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26a)

With God. Walk with Him, Talk with Him, Praise Him, Seek Him, Remember Him, Rejoice in Him, Pray to Him.

All things are possible ... with God.

But without Him, we are doomed.

Stay focused on Jesus

It's when we lose our focus that our belief falls away and we follow our own line of thinking. When our focus is off the almighty, our minds wander aimlessly along the path of "what will we do," "how will we make it." If we can just stay focused on Jesus, stay in His word, remember His promises, not waiver off the trail He has forged for us. Listening to, thinking on anything that is not entirely the Truth brings remorse, repercussions, pain.

Even Abraham at times thought he knew better than God and acted on those very thoughts. But his thoughts were not God's thoughts. God knows all. We know very little in comparison.

Worry ... bring anxiety ... which brings separation from the almighty Father.

Satan wants us to worry - then we will do things not pleasing to the Lord.

Abraham introduced Sarai, his wife, as his sister to the Egyptians (Genesis 12:10-20). This was a half truth as she was his half sister.

Abraham and Sarai concocted a way to have the child the Lord promised them - through Sarai's handmaiden Hagar (Genesis 16:1-16).

The future is not ours to know. The present is where we are currently. The past we have come through.

The future is everything past this moment. As the moments go by our future becomes our present and then our past.

Love each moment for the Lord, to the Lord. Plan your moments as to the Lord, to His glory. Do not look this way and that way. Stay tuned to the one who truly cares for us.

"When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me." (Micah 7:8)

When I pass through the waters of life, the fires that try to consume me, the Lord my God will be with me. He will protect me. I will not be burned, I will not be overwhelmed. He will lead me, guide me over the paths of darkness I see before me. He will make the rough spots even so I will not trip and fall. (paraphrase of Isaiah 43:2)

And even though I pass through the valleys of intense pain and suffering, the fear that attempts to stifle me will not because of my God and Savior who is always with me. (paraphrase of Psalm 23:4)

There is no hope except in you Lord Jesus.
There is no one to trust wholly, completely, except you Lord Jesus.
No one can remove the fears that seek to swallow me. No one, that is, except you Lord Jesus.

"Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you." (Psalm 56:3)

I believe in the Lord Jesus. I believe what I say I believe. I have witnessed the power of the Lord Jesus - His mighty hand has been upon me, upon my beloved Jimmy, in times past. He will not leave me. He remains steadfast. I must not allow any doubt to get the best of me. Doubt is fear. I have nothing to be afraid of. Jesus is right there beside me, holding my hand, cradling my head, rubbing my tummy, bringing me soothing relief.

Close the gate. ... To all that works against you. Close the gate to your doubts and fears. Close the gate and move on. Hand in hand with Jesus walk on. Close the gate. Forge ahead. Ignore the enemy. Follow Jesus. Jesus will help me overcome all my fears.

I am no better than any other.

The only difference, perhaps, is that I know I am a sinner. Jesus accepts me anyway. He offers me grace. He brings peace to my soul. When I accept Him and believe in and on Him, I can rest in His fold. Like the sheep gone astray and found.

When we stay true to all He says and obedient to His instruction it reveals our love for Him. He loves us so much he died for us. We love Him so much we stay true and obedient to Him, even unto death.

No amount of pain we suffer will ever be as much as Jesus' pain that He suffered on the cross at Calvary when He took ALL of mankind's sin upon His shoulders, His body, and gave up the ghost and died. Oh but he rose again. What glory.

Today you will be with Me in Paradise (in Heaven, in My Kingdom)." (Luke 23:43)

Every moment is one closer to being with Jesus.

The Glory of God, the Paradise of God

Yesterday I read about the Glory of God, yesterday Satan worked overtime to cause friction between Jimmy and me. Yesterday ended, thank God, with Satan on the losing end.

I read John 11: 1-44. It is about Mary and Martha's brother, Lazarus, who died and was brought back to life. In verse 40, Jesus says to Martha, "Did I not say to you that if you believe you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Through Him we can have eternal life. Jesus could have restored Lazarus to good health while he was still alive. But many of Jesus' actions are for us to know and believe and accept and trust that He is the Son of God, that He was sent by God. Lazarus' resurrection from death proved that point. It demonstrated (beyond any shadow of doubt) the glory of God even more than restoration from a sick bed.

There were and there are so many who point fingers, who do not believe, who do not comprehend all that He is and does, now, in time past and in time to come.

You pray. Mary and Martha prayed. But Jesus had something else in mind.
It doesn't mean God is absent when He doesn't answer our prayers. His plans are not our plans. His intentions are not our intentions. He knows more than we will ever know. He knows ALL.


Who are we to become angry and resentful at God for our preconceived thoughts of what we think He should do?

God's presence is everywhere. If He's not where you can feel Him, perhaps you are not doing your part.

Death is only an interlude between life on earth and life in heaven ... or life in hell.

You stand at the portal. What do you choose - life with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to die for our sins, to renew us to righteousness, or life with Satan, a fallen angel, who came to earth to deceive us for his gain alone...

Today I considered Paradise.

Where indeed is that
Is it some Hawaiian island
Some quiet spot off the road near a pond, a good fishing hole perhaps.
Where is Paradise?
What is Paradise
What will we have when we get there
A place of rest
Perhaps Paradise can be found in the deep recesses of our mind
To a place we grew up surrounded by happy thoughts, happy memories.
Or perhaps we think we are living in Paradise
-- would that be like seeing the world around us through rose-colored glasses?

Jesus spoke of Paradise.
In Luke 23, hanging on a cross between two thieves -- one denounced the Lord, the other asked
to be remembered. And Jesus says to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise." (verse 43)

The apostle Paul spoke of Paradise.
In 2 Corinthians 12, he shares his visions and revelations (perhaps at the time of his stoning), "how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (verse 4)

And John also spoke of Paradise.
In Revelation, during the time of his exile on the island of Patmos, he shares prophecies of God. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." (Chapter 2, verse 7)

Paradise.
It is where God abides. Where He lives. Where His kingdom is. Where His children go.

Paradise is Heaven. And Heaven is Paradise.

What about you? Are you a future resident of Paradise?
Or are you uncertain of where to go, what to do, are you questioning your existence, are you fearful, have you been duped, are you being deceived into believing the best is what you have now, where you are now ... Nothing more.

But there is more. There is Jesus. We must look to Him, stay focused on Him, believe in Him, accept Him, trust Him, obey Him, for us to gain entrance to the heavenly realms of Paradise.

"Do not be afraid; only believe"

"Do not be afraid; only believe." - Mark 5:36

Quit looking at the enemy

Quit thinking of ways you can defeat him

Quit studying him and his views

Look to Jesus.

Keep your focus on Jesus

Think only of Jesus

Study Jesus and His views

Jesus will defeat the enemy ... no matter who or what the enemy is.

Quit looking, quit berating yourself, quit thinking of the fears growing inside you.

Rely only on Jesus.

Being obedient

When
you get too close
to the Truth
of who Jesus is
and what He represents

When
you are obedient
to the Lord
and teach from the heart
His commandments

Others
become afraid.
They don't want
what you have
They don't want
what Jesus offers.

They want you
to leave, to depart
to be gone
They don't want
to be bothered.

So you go.

But you remain
faithful, obedient
to the Lord Jesus

Through prayer.

"Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region." (Mark 5:15, 17)

Cathy Orrick Luders
11.11.09

We must look to Him

"Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." -- (Peter says to Jesus in Matthew 26:33)

If we do the Lord's bidding without questioning His reasoning, the results we see will be one hundredfold or more. Jesus is our master. He is in control. We must be obedient to Him and Him only if we are to achieve any success. True success is only found through the Lord Jesus, not through our individual efforts.

Look to Him always and all all times, through hardship and agonies, and through the good times. Jesus will see us through. We must return to His fold, remain wrapped in His love, stay constant in His word, pray without hesitation and fear.

The fear is Satan's push to bring us down to his level, where we wallow in self despair. We take the whole world on our back and shoulders and are burdened with thoughts of what we should do. Give it to Jesus! Give it all to Jesus!

It is not so easy. Talk is cheap. But we who have received the Lord's gift of salvation know who Jesus is. His talk is not cheap. It teaches us volumes. His talk reaps great reward. Are you listening? Do you hear. Do you believe. Have you forgotten.

We all stumble, but we don't have to remain there. Pick yourself up and carry on. Ask the Lord to help you. You must ask! You must be willing to receive, to accept.

Stumbling does not mean you have failed. Refusing to be renewed, restored, rejuvenated, refusing to be reunited with the Lord will be the destroyer. Do not refuse. Do not give in or give up because your own perceptions indicate failure. Has the Lord said to you "You are no good? or You are useless! You are worthless?" I doubt it. Those are our words. The Lord brings us, sends us, gives us, LOVE.

There is great sadness when Jesus sees our Yes Lord become No, No I won't do it, No I'm not your child. No, No, No. We must not go there. We should not allow the world's woes to become our downfall and the way we would go. Nothing in and of the world is more powerful than the Lord Jesus.

Rely on Him always and forever, for everything, at all costs. When He is with us, we can overcome all that is in the beyond.

Try Again. With Jesus. Not alone, not with a friend. With Jesus. Try Life with Jesus. Live Life with Jesus. Again and again and again. Always. Never ending. Don't give up.
Try again. He is the answer to ALL we seek. In Him there is hope. Try again. The Lord is waiting.