Which Side of the Battle Are You On?

6/29/17  for  7/14/17               rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com   

Dear Lord God,

Will I ever be more on time with my writing?

Today I will read Rev. 1: 1-11, Acts 12: 1-4 and I will soap 

Rev. 1 :9  and Acts 12: 1-2. (Loving God Greatly)

Revelation 1:1-111 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 

Acts 12:1-4 1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions (a set of four people or things, so it would be 16 total.) of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Father, why is it that the Book of Revelations is a bit complex?  Why do we as your children have a hard time comprehending it?  I, after reading the few verses from Revelations and the verses from Acts, decided to look to the internet for a bit more understanding.  So I went to youtube and looked up, "the visual bible the book of revelations."  It is constantly an amazement to me how you draw the books of the bible together for us to have a better understanding of the things you are trying to teach us.

Also, and this is a rabbit trail...I honestly don't know how it is possible to just read these four verses from Acts....I want to keep reading and I did! It's really good!

What is happening in Acts is also representative of what is happening in the book of Revaltions, I think.  (You all out there can correct my thinking if you believe it should be corrected.)

S ~ Rev. 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  Acts 12:4 And when he had aprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

O ~ so what do we observe here in these scriptures? I feel like John is telling us that he was in Patmos, spreading the Word of God, and talking about Jesus and staying alive. And Herod had captured Peter and was intending to persecute him as well...however... This last little bit didn't quite work out as planne, (if you read farther) and it was really upsetting Herod.  Oh Well.  I think that even in our time here in 2017 there are so many Herods.  But thankfully Father we have you on our side.

A ~ so is the Bible telling us that we need to tell people about Jesus and about God?  I think so, this is actually a commandment, and John is telling us that he is our brother and our companion in this fight for Christianity.

Which side of the battle are you on.  Are you living for Christ? Are you living in such a way that others see Christ in you as a living example?  

P ~ Oh Father I fail so miserably in this realm...please give me wisdom and strength to prevail!  Help me Lord to be more positive, if not for myself, then help me to be more positive for you.

I love you Lord,

Rebecca

Unconditional Love

6/28/17-7/5/17                      rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com

A Grand Father's unconditional love.

                                      

Reading for Thursday  6/22/17 from the LGG teaching on being "Sold Out" John 13:23; 19:25-26; 20:2; 21:7 Soap is John 19: 25-26.

Dear God, 

Thank you for these words that when read in their entirety there is a much clearer picture of what may have been going on around the time of Christ's Crucifixion.

Well this study is about being "Sold Out" for Christ; to my way of thinking I would say that all of these people listed here in these verses were definitely sold out for Christ.  

But just what are these verse saying....

Alright lets go thru one at a time. 

John 13:23 

23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 

This verse is taken from within the telling of who was going to betray Christ. And Christ was still at the Passover table and the Disciple that Jesus loved was sitting with his head against Jesus' chest. Peter encourage this disciple to ask Jesus who it was.  Now is this showing what it's like to not be sold out for Christ?  Oh just the thought of this breaks my heart for the sadness that this person must feel, maybe they don't feel it right away, but they will know they betrayed Christ. Such utter despair.

John 19:25-26King James Version (KJV)

(S)25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (James or John, my thoughts) 

(O) Oh how a mother loves her child.  We, I think, if we are being honest, must admit to ourselves...will I be able to love my child enough? And what is enough? I honestly don't think enough is the correct word, but I am not sure that I actually have a word to use here. And then there was Jesus' sister, also called Mary, and Mary Magdalene. Sister Mary had a special love for her brother of that I am quite sure. And the last Mary, Mary Magdalene, I feel loved Jesus so deeply, but in a strictly platonic way, she returned the love to Christ that He gave so unconditionally to her.  Now how special is that? (A) There are times when I am around people that don't know they are being watched, per say. And I just observe the way that they are with their children, do these parents love their children unconditionally or do they only love their children when they behave in a certain way.  How must those children feel, verses the way a child feels when they are loved unconditionally ALL the time?
That's the way I want to love not just my children but everyone.  But oh this is not easy!

John 20:2King James Version (KJV)

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Unless you read the verse preceding this one you don't know who it is that is speaking to Simon Peter and the other disciples. Then we see that it is Mary Magdalene, you know this woman had a very special love for Christ.  She was, I think very aware, of what love could be like at least the kind of love she had grown up with.  And it wasn't the kind of love that Christ had shown her, was it?  So she was frantic!  Who wouldn't be?  This teacher of hers was gone!

John 21:7King James Version (KJV)

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Can you imagine, you are hard at work, fishing and a man appears on the shore and starts carrying on a conversation with you and your crew. Well one of the crew announces to the rest that it is the Lord, Simon  Peter has to go to him.  The rest of the men are doing fine, they are following the Lord's directive, so he grabs his fisher coat and jumps in the water so he can get to the Lord.  I would say he was sold out!

Now normally I would do my soap here at the end, but I already did it when I went thru the verses.  so since this is already so late Father I will allow all to reread up above my SOA part of the soap.

P Father God, I thank so much for the countless blessings you bestow upon me and my family. Continue to bless me with wisdom and courage to do what needs to be done, even if it makes me unpopular with those I love.  The only one I want to please is you  Poppa.  (And even though I haven't written here for a couple days, please don't feel I haven't been speaking to our Lord) Father I ask that you bless everyone here and everyone not here.  Help them to know your unconditional love. In Jesus precious and most Holy Name I ask these things, Amen.

What do we Really Expect?

6/27/17                                       rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com

Reading for Wednesday  6/21/17 from the LGG teaching on being "Sold Out" Mark 10: 35-45 Soap is Mark 10:35-38.

A Painting by my wonderful husband, Timothy A. Smith,

Dear God,

I have read these verses and then I went back and I read more of the surrounding verses.  Just so I might be able to get a feel for where James and John were coming from...Not entirely sure, but I have some thoughts.  When I finally get to see you face to face maybe we can discuss it.



So James and John went to Jesus and talked to Him about sitting one at His right hand and one at His left.  Does this seem presumptuous?  I don't think so. I think they where feeling so grateful and loving toward Christ that they wanted to be close to Him and to serve with Him always.

But we can think this through a little differently because we, or at least some of us, have read the book. When Jesus says , "Ye know not what ye ask..."  Do they know that Christ will be beaten so severely that He will be basically unrecognizable? No I don't think so.  Because I honestly don't think that they, James and John, nor the rest of the disciples would want that fate.

I often think about just what Christ did for us, taking that beating, being treated so so horribly, being nailed to the cross, and so much more.  For me.  He loved me, that much.

And then when I became a parent I started thinking about this in a slightly different light.  What did God have to feel for us that He would have a Son born of an earthly women, watch Him grow and then watch Him be slaughtered as a lamb is slaughtered, except the lamb doesn't get a beating.

Am I one of the few that think about these things or do others as well?

S ~ 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

O ~ My initial observation is, they sure do think they are all that and then some.  But that is really not a very nice thought. So let's go a little deeper.  These two men really loved Jesus as did the rest of the disciples.  However they didn't yet know the whole picture.  They just were scratching the barest of the surface.

A~ So how do we apply this to ourselves? Do we at times think more of ourselves than we should.  I think we probably do. Is this a product of getting older? I hope not, but I can remember my mother and grandmother and my aunt.  As they got older they did get a bit more cantankerous then when they were younger.  I think Father I will work very hard to not let that become a primary part of my make up.  I find it difficult being in the presence of people who are always right. Ignorance and intolerance are two traits I have a great deal of difficulty  dealing with...oh I do believe I am ranting.  Father save me from Me! Please.

P ~ Father God, there are some days that are so long...I am busy and sometimes there is just to much busyness.  Help me Father to enjoy even the moments I do not find that pleasant to be pleasant.  I know it's all about attitude  and I pray for improvement,  I want to always be who and what you want me to be, I don't need to not need to be at the right or left of you, but please Father let me be at your feet, and perhaps washing them.  I ask this all in Jesus precious name....Amen

Are we walking alone?

6/25/17                                       rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com

Reading for Tuesday  6/20/17 from the LGG teaching on being "Sold Out"

Dear God,
What happens to my days, Father?
Do I miss manage my time,  I want so badly to be here at this keyboard pouring my thoughts and heart out to you each and every day...Help me Father to do just that!

Okay so here it is Sunday morning and I am working on Tuesday.  What do you think of that?

S ~ So the reading for the 20th is Luke 9:51-56 and the soap is Luke 9:53-55  And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though he should go to Jerusalem.  54 And when His disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord , wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them even as Elias did? 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.  

O ~ Can you imagine being on the road, a dirt road mind you, and all you have on your feet is thin leather sandals.  And you are walking for days, with just a brief respite here and there.
Can you imagine how extremely bone tired these men must have been?  And then there was Jesus.  My thought would be that He would have been not only bone tired, but oh so weary.  He was away from his Father, except when He was in prayer with Him, and He knew what He was heading towards.  I know, that my Christ, willing sacrificed Himself for me. I still struggle with what He did for me and for all of you that might be reading this blog, and I hope you are reading it thoughtfully.  Just imagine.
So Jesus and the disciples where heading towards Jerusalem, but Christ wanted to stop in a town that laid ahead.  Did he know that these Samaritans would not want Him there?  Did He know the response the disciples would have to the rejection? "Let's just burn the town down!"  No this was not the response Jesus was looking for, was it.  The message is still the same, we are to Love men, not destroy men.

A ~ So how do we apply this to us?  If we are smitted on one check, offer the other.  If someone speaks out of turn to us, how should we respond?  We should respond with some thought and not brashly.  With Love.  Is this always the way we should respond?  I think yes.  will there be extenuating circumstance on occasion, I think probably so.  Try to always keep uppermost in your mind, What would Jesus do?

P ~ Oh Father God, there are some times when I am studying your word that I think how do I do this?  There is only one answer to this and that is with your help.  Father make this be my desire to want to behave always as you would have me to behave.  Not as fleshly desires, but as you would desire for me, as a child of yours.  I ask this in Jesus precious and most Holy name. Amen

Straightway

6/22/17                                       rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com

Reading for Monday 6/19/17 from the LGG teaching on being "Sold Out"

Dear God,

First of all Father I would ask you to help me to stay more on time with my devotions for you and my devotion to you.

You are so much more faithful to me than I am to you and I want to see that change in my life.  Help me Father to be more directly in tune with you than I am with all the other things that are constantly invading my eye gates, and my ear gates, and just my pea brain.

Today Father I am looking at Mark 1:16-20 and 3:17 and I will SOAP Mark 1:20

I titled this letter to you Father as "Straightway."  If you look up this word you will find it to be quite powerful. Immediately is a synonym for this word. Which also means, this minute, directly, instantly...and so much more!

When Jesus was speaking to Simon and Andrew his brother, he said to put down your nets and I will make you fishers of men,  and your word then tells us that they "straightway," put down their nets and followed after Jesus.

Now I know that that is the way we would like to be listened to, whether we are speaking to our sons and daughters, or our spouses.  Wouldn't that be great.  Say things one time, and your heard and obeyed!  

We really need to do this!  We have the best instruction manual in the world on how to live our lives. We read it on occasion and should follow what we read, but do we.  Father you are so faithful!

S ~ Mark 1:20 And straightway He called them: and they left their father Zeebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him.

O ~ Okay now this may seem a bit harsh if you are the parent.
I think in all honesty my feelings would be a bit squished! However let's look at the bigger picture, look who stopped by along the riverbank and called to Simon and Andrew.  Just think on that a moment.  Talk about an engraved invitation!

A ~ Father I know that as we are reading your word and going to church on Wednesdays and some on Saturday evenings and Sundays we are to be learning from what You are trying to teach us.  Your book, The Bible is an invitation for us to do the very same thing.  You are asking us to straightway drop whatever we are doing and follow you. When we are out shopping and see someone who is in need of prayer, help us to have the gum shin to stop our shopping and take a moment and pray.  Or if you see something that Holy Spirit is telling you is awesome and wonderful and beautiful, address it, don't let these moments slip past us.

P ~ Oh Father I feel so inadequate most of the time, I have a very busy schedule and I sometimes don't know which end is up.  Help me Father to see with fresh new eyes, eyes from you Father, I want to respond as you would have me respond, not in a minute, but straightway.  Thank you Jesus for allowing me to share these thoughts and verse for you, in your precious name I pray. Amen

The Cornerstone

This is for 6/16/17                    rebeccacreates2012@gmail.com

Dear God,

     First of all I must apologize for being absent for a couple days...Life happens!  Not excuse, just my reality.

     The cornerstone....do you know what a corner stone is, it is a pivotal stone, without which the building would collapse. Some synonyms for this are foundation, keystone, bedrock, backbone, key, heart, and center.  Christ is sometimes referred to as the Cornerstone.  

Isn't this a perfect example of a cornerstone!  I love it!
Thank you Jesus for showing this amazing example of you.

You are such a wondrous God. You fill us with awe and inspiration constantly, if we are just open to seeing, hearing, and feeling you.  Thank you Jesus!

This morning we are doing the last day of last week, which was 6/16/17 we are to read Matthew 16:13-18 and Acts 4:1-13.
The SOAP portion is Matthew 16:18 and Acts 4:13.

S ~ Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

O ~ A wait a moment, didn't we just speak of Peter denying Christ? Peter was human...he must have felt like he was on top of the world when Christ said this to him, and yet it's later that Peter denies Christ.  No wonder he went out and cried, can you imagine, it was probably one of those cries that completely racks the body.  Such insurmountable sadness he must have felt.  Holy Spirit just spoke to me saying, "What I felt, was so much worse than what Peter felt, but I did for all of you."  

A ~ Oh Jesus I am so sorry for any and all of the times I have made you sad. This is the only way to apply this.  We must fix it!

P ~ Jesus you are so good to us, far great than we could possibly deserve, and I thank you for all the blessings you constantly shower on us.  Thank you Daddy.  I feel so unworthy at the moment, I have much to be sorrowful about, and I pray Father that you will forgive me of my sins, for they are great.  In Jesus most precious name I ask this. Amen.

S ~ Now the second soap is Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

O ~ Can you imagine opening your mouth and having words come out and then you think back and marvel at what you spoke?  That is what must have happened with Peter and John.  Because they weren't speaking Holy Spirit was speaking thru them.

A ~ If we too simply ask the Holy Spirit to work thru us and speak thru us the same thing can happen for us.

P ~ Oh Jesus as I close this out for the moment I pray that all who have ears, let them hear, and all those who have mouths let them speak.  But help us to hear and to speak the words of the Trinity, words of Christ, words of the Father and words of the Holy Spirit.  In your precious name I pray, Amen...

The devil Tries to Have his Way.....

                                                                       Rebeccacreates2012@Gmail.com


June 15,2017

Dear God,

     This morning in looking at you word I am reading from Matthew 26:30-35; 69-75 and I will soap verses 34-35 and 74-75.

Have you ever told a fib, an untruth, a lie, or perhaps you said something that stretched the truth because you didn't want to hurt someones feelings.  Or maybe you trying to save your skin.

Has one of your children ever come up to you and said, "What do you think Mom?"  Your thinking in your head oh my, does she really want to wear that to church.  But because you would prefer not to start Armageddon, you soften your response.  But really is that the best thing to do?  After all shouldn't our children learn to take criticism from us at home first.  Oh life, family can be tough.  Being truly honest is really quite a feat.  Oh that devil, he can be truly devious. 

In the first passages of scripture, Jesus is telling Peter out right what is going to happen.  And Peter, being Peter, says No way Lord.  I will die with you.  Peter, I feel, really believes this.  He feels this so deeply, I can imagine he has tears running down his face. Just put yourself in that position. Close your eyes and just go back there, you've just had basically  the first communion.  You feel the overwhelming presence of Love.  The purest form of Love that there could possibly be.  Christ's love for us.  I sit here typing these words as my eyes are filled with tears, not tears of sadness, but emotional tears.  Hard to comprehend tears....God you are so good to us, and we are so undeserving.  Help me to love You more and more today and still more and more tomorrow and more and more the next day and the next and the next....

S ~ 34: Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crows, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35: Peter said unto Him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.  Likewise also said all the disciples.
74: Then he began to curse and swear, saying, I KNOW NOT THE MAN.  And immediately the cock crew. 75: And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shall deny me thrice, and he went out and wept bitterly.

O ~ Can't you just feel the agony.  Just consider mis-speaking and how you feel.  Now just imagine you mis-spoke to Jesus....I really don't think there is a need to say more.

A ~ So how to apply, that is the question.  We can say well I will always be honest...well that right there is a bit of a whopper!  I think perhaps the best thing to do is to constantly be in touch with the Holy Spirit and when I say constantly, I mean constantly.  It is not that difficult to have an ongoing conversation with the Spirit as we walk thru out our days.
People are constantly multi-tasking, so don't tell me you wouldn't be able to do it.  How often, any more, are you on your phone, and also involved in a conversation with someone?  I see this happen all the time.  I am sadly also part of that group, I do try not to be though.  I really get upset when I see a parent speaking to there child while cruising FB.

An original painting by my wonderful husband Timothy A. Smith.

I bet I am hitting the nail on the head with some of you. Don't do it.  Cause you are teaching your children the fine art of communicating.  Teach them well.

P ~ Father, I hope and pray that I am speaking for you this day.  Would this be advise that you would give to us, Lord?  I do not want to be presumptuous.  But somebody needs to speak these things.  Lord help me to be honest, not when its convenient, but always Lord.  Bless me Father, and bless me again and again as I bless you and thank you and Love you always.  Help me Father to Love you as Christ Loved all the people that were at that Last Supper.  Oh He loved them so deeply.  I can only hope. Amen