"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD!

Jeremiah 29:11-13

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Wow..what an amazing verse!! In all of our struggles, in all of our problems & pain God has a PLAN! Not JUST any PLAN, but a PLAN FOR HOPE & A FUTURE!! JESUS was & still is that PLAN & GOD knew what He was doing all along. How comforting is that?! What's even more comforting is that God STILL knows what He's doing as He always has. He still desires us to come to Him, to seek Him FERVENTLY. To pray FERVENTLY. To call on Him & He will listen.

Sometimes we have to realize that when we ask for certain things it may not be in His will. That can be hard to take but His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways. His plans are meant to give us a hope & a future. And what the enemy has meant for evil, God will work out for good. He can use those struggles & trials to get you to the place He needs you to be for a certain purpose, place, & time. God is ALWAYS with you, even when you think He isn't. So go in peace & seek God with all of your heart, because our hope & future arose & lives!
~ Randa ~

Prophetic Wonderings

VERSE:
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward.
-- 1 Peter 1:10-11 nlt

THOUGHT:
One of the most important claims Scripture makes about itself, and its origins, is that it is God-breathed and Spirit-inspired (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The prophets of Israel had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and the making of a new people. But they did not, and could not, fully understand what their prophecies meant. This was especially true of Jesus' suffering and the glory that followed his resurrection. Yet these messages, these recorded prophecies in the Old Testament, were given them by the Holy Spirit of God to speak of the coming of Christ. We value Scripture because we believe that the Spirit of God stands behind its origin and inspired the words that its prophets and writers shared.

PRAYER:
Father God, please give me a deeper appreciation for Scripture, looking to it as the words inspired by the Holy Spirit and used by the Holy Spirit on my heart as I read them. Open my heart, open my mind, and transform my will and my behavior as I read your words inspired by your Spirit. In Jesus' name I ask for this grace. Amen.

~www.heartlight.org~

~Randa~

TODAY'S VERSE from HEARTLIGHT -- Colossians 1:19-20

VERSE:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace with his blood, shed on the cross.
-- Colossians 1:19-20

THOUGHT:
How do you comprehend both the majesty and the sacrifice of Jesus? We've been looking at our Lord's identity all this month and still we find ourselves amazed, delighted, bewildered, and blessed by his glorious and humble character. The main thing, however, is that he made peace between a perfect heaven and a flawed humanity. He made this peace at horrific cost, the shedding of his own blood on the torture tree at Calvary. He did this with all of God's pleasure and nature in himself. He did this because of our sin. He did this because of love.

PRAYER:
O Father, I am sorry that it took such a great sacrifice to atone for my sin. I am thankful that you loved so much that you would pay the price for that sacrifice. I praise you for bridging the distance that I could not cover that my sin created between you and me. May you be as pleased with me today and see my life as a praise for your costly grace. In Jesus' name I thank you. Amen.

~from http://www.heartlight.org~

~Randa~

All my chains ... I can't disengage, And I don't believe that I want to
One hand sings your praise, The other brings me shame
I have selfishness to blame ... And I'm singing for FREEDOM...
I know I'm not the only one, praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM...

I'm ready for change, broke down I lay I keep holding my chains
No longer bound but here I stay...I scream Father PLEASE.... I need rescuing
I need You and You alone. And I'm singing for FREEDOM...
I know I'm not the only one praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM...

I'm ready for (change) still You patiently await, Yet I won't just let go
I see You and You alone saying FREEDOM...
And so I'm singing for FREEDOM!
The time has come, separation lost the war to love. Take my hand grace has found you where You once began. You're Alive! You're Alive! in the waking of new life.. Take my hand, in the end there's only love, There's only love
There's only singing for FREEDOM!

I know I'm not only one
Praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM.. I'm ready for,
I'm ready for...
Father please I need rescuing...
I need You and You alone

~Freedom by Run Kid Run~
~Randa~

In honor of Joe Stephens...

Wow..yesterday was quite a day. We lost a good friend of many years in a tragic accident. He was a Truck Driver, a cowboy, a redneck (LOL!) but above all a great guy. So many people will miss him that I can't even begin to explain!! We as a community of friends, family & coworkers are DEVASTATED at this, our first fatality at the company my husband works for.

This "Band of Brothers" as I lovingly and humorously call these drivers stick together like glue. This loss is just unfathomable for anyone who doesn't drive a truck or haul a tanker. I won't even try to express the pain the family is in at this time.

But even in the midst of such a tragedy, God is ever present.

He carries us through the most difficult time times in our lives, healing our pain and grief, comforting our sorrows, helping us to continue on.

Psalm 73:23-26

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Litmus Test

February 24, 2011

VERSE:
Remember how you were when you didn't know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It's different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say "Jesus be damned!" Nor would anyone be inclined to say "Jesus is Master!" without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
-- 1 Corinthians 12:2-3

THOUGHT:
In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit spoke through human writers to give us some absolute, bottom line, truth. When the Holy Spirit lives inside people, they are not going to curse Jesus. Instead, the Holy Spirit impels them to confess Jesus as Lord and Master -- not only as Lord and Master of all creation, but also the Lord and Master to whom they yield their hearts! Through Jesus' resurrection from the dead, the Holy Spirit declared Jesus Christ our Lord as the powerful Son of God (Rom. 1:4).

PRAYER:
Almighty God, I confess that I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, my Lord and Savior. I yield my heart to Jesus and pray that my life reflects his character and compassion. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart always be guided by your Holy Spirit and lead me to confess the glory and grace that I have found in my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.

~SpiritFire! from www.HEARTLIGHT.org~
~Randa~

1st Thessalonians 1:1-10

Bible Study Lesson:
1st Thessalonians 1:1-10:
Background: Acts 17:1-9 gives an account of the Church at Thessalonians.

Q. What are the three distinct characteristics, Paul remembers about the Church?

*Work produced by faith (1 Th 1:3)

*Labor prompted by love (1 Th 1:3)
*Endurance inspired by Hope (1 Th 1:3)
*Faith, Love and Hope are unseen characteristics. Paul here uses three classic phrases to describe the life of a witnessing Christian.
*He does not mention ‘work, labor and endurance’ only or ‘faith, love and hope’.
*Your true christian qualities should be demonstrated by your actions.
*We are ‘Saved by Faith Alone’, but not by ‘Faith that is Alone’.
*Work alone without faith can not save you.
*Labor without a true motivation is useless.
*People have different intentions or motivations, it is very important to check real motives behind actions.
*Paul in chapter 1 and 2, describes how the Church of Thessalonians displayed these characteristics and what were the impact of their behavior.

(Also check, 7 Conditions of Christian Discipleship)

Q. How did the Gospel come to them and How did they respond? (1 Th 1:4-6)

*The Gospel came not only as mere man’s words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
*They became imitators of Paul and God.
*They welcomed the Gospel with joy.
*They turned to the true and living God from idols.
*They endured severe sufferings for it.
*They became the model for all believers around Macedonia and Achaia.
*Their faith became known everywhere.
*Others testified about their faith and their reception of apostles.

Reflection and Bible Lessons:

*Does our faith produce good works?
*How do people around you think of you?
*How do believers around you think of you?
*Do people testify about your faith and actions? (Mat 5:16)
*What are your motives behind your work or labor in Christ?

~www.bibleseo.com~
~Randa~