CountlessWonders

…For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared- Proverbs 3:26

Posted on April 6, 2014 by darla05

…For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared- Proverbs 3:26

Posted in Believe, Christian Inspiration, Confidence, Encouragment, Faith | Tagged Believe, Confidence, Courage Encourage, Faith | 4 Comments

The Lord Has Come For The World ~

Posted on April 4, 2014 by darla05

I know I am going to step on some toes in this post, But please, I ask and pray that you continue reading anyway.

I read so many post with being in several groups of Christian writers. I read Facebook and follow pages with so many Christians writing about the current state of our country.

Yes, I agree it is bad. Yes, I believe that there will be consequences if we do not turn from our wicked ways and humble ourselves and pray and ask forgiveness from our God. God’s word does not return void. Just read 2 Chronicles 7:14. BUT, there is HOPE ~ It is not all doom and gloom like I read on so many post. We spend so much time complaining and pointing out all that is wrong with the world that we do not look at what is right. We need to change our perspective ~ God did not come to the world to destroy it BUT to save it.

In the Bible the early Christians did not go around saying, ” Look what the world has come to.” Rather they went out with GREAT JOY and said to ALL men, ” LOOK WHAT HAS COME TO THE WORLD.”

There is a great difference between these two attitudes. Yes, the world is in bad shape. I read the news. It breaks my heart. BUT, I read the second chapter Of Romans and I find that the world was in AWFUL condition in Paul’s time too. The unique Gospel of Jesus offers the solution to man’s problems. LOOK !!!! SEE ~~~ What has come to the world. God’s revelation of Himself in ALL HIS power, wisdom and love through the shedding of His only son Jesus Christ.

THIS IS INDEED GLORIOUS NEWS~

This is a message which we cannot keep to ourselves. We must tell everybody about it. We as Christ followers must take off the mask. We must be real. We must speak in love. We must speak in truth even if our voice is shaking. We condemn the sin but not the person. Do we forget we were once sinners? We were lost at one time ourselves. We must radiant and have joy. For we have found the treasure ALL are seeking. We have seen what has come into the world and must work for the advancement of His kingdom until He comes again.

God has not come back yet. So, there is work to be done. There is a harvest to gather. Our Lord set an example when he walked this earth. He saw a need and filled it and He saw a hurt and healed it. He did not win the thousands he did by telling them turn or burn. Yes, he spoke to them about their sin but he spoke with wise words. The Lord set an example to us all on how we are to approach winning others for His kingdom. Since, it after all is HIS kingdom maybe we should do it HIS way.

IF we will focus on the LORD. Honor Him above all. Do what He has called us to do as Christians, this world WILL change. There is a Revelation happening all around us. God is still on the throne ~ Open you eyes to the work of God that is surrounding you. Better yet, allow the work of God to be manifested in you to win others. Spend more time focused on winning others for Christ instead of what is wrong with the world.

Sharing some of the notes I have taken in a class that I am attending… Know that Jesus in not YOUR personal savior. Jesus came to be the savior of the world and YOU have an intimate relationship with him. Know that God’s task will be accomplished.

If we will keep our eye on the prize and do what he has called us to do as Christ Followers, the world WILL change. Be the change you want to see. The time for change is now and that person to change is YOU, it is us. ~ We are either discipling people towards Christ or we are discipling people in Christ.

The church is a sending place to utilize your skills in every area of your life. Your home, work, hobbies, everywhere. Know that God blesses His people in order to accomplish HIS PURPOSE ~ Let’s get to the place that we say, Lord, do it again. Where the water once flowed let it flow again. Let’s be willing to say, I will go anywhere at anytime to do anything for you ~ When we have that kind of mindset, the world will catch fire to the hope that is within us.

The Joshua Project has reported that there are 16,500 people coming to Christ in Africa DAILY ! True Christianity has grown by more that 300 million in the last 10 years. 10 million in North America and Europe and 290 million in Brazil, India and China. PRAISE GOD !!!! PRAISE GOD !!!!

They also report that 1.7 to 1.8 million have never heard the name of Jesus. Praising God for the ones saved and knowing there is so much work to be done. Let me say again, He is still on the throne. He still has a plan that He wants to accomplish through you and me.

Friends, there is work to be done. One of the core values of the church is to keep the main thing the main thing. THIS TASK WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY GOD. The question, I have for you, for us all. Will you be the vessel that He uses to complete this task? It is our calling. It is time to embrace our calling.

Sharing this heart to heart, I know His grace is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. I know this because God has chosen me. Called me out. Called me not to fit in but to stand out. He has called you to do the same. God is not limited. The devil does not win. Read the book. Amen ~ IN him your love with not be crippled. Your faith cannot corrode. Your confidence will not be destroyed . Your courage will not be silenced. Your spirit will not be quenched and HE WILL INVADE YOUR SOUL and give you HIS RESURRECTED POWER ~ In this the love of God was manifested toward us that God has sent His only begotten son into the world that we might live through HIM ~ 1 John 4:9

I pray that you brace hold of this truth today ~ House to House and Heart To Heart with gladness let us share the love of the Lord ~

Credits-Information was from the The Joshua Project, Perspectives book, Bible and an excerpt from House to House.

Posted in Christianity, Courage, Discipline, Faith, Grace, Inspirational | Tagged Courage, Faith, Goal, Win | Leave a comment

Is Our Lens In Focus?

Posted on April 3, 2014 by darla05

This past weekend I finally broke down and bought a Nikon D3200 Camera. A little complicated but I am learning. As I practice with the lens and move it in and out of focus the thought occurred to me that our life and the way we view things is so much like a camera.

It is all about the lens in which we view things. Turn our perspective just a bit just like the lens and we have a great view, a great attitude. Take our eyes off of the Lord and our lens can get distorted and out of focus. Do we “capture” the work of God around us every day? Do we allow the “negatives” to control us? Do we take the good and bad “shot’s” that life brings us with courage and do we have the joy of the Lord no matter what the circumstance is before us?

I am learning that if I will listen, the Holy Spirit uses the everyday things to guide me and teach me more of the Lord and His Character, His ways. I just have to be close to Him to hear his voice. As He always reminds me, I have to be close to someone to hear their whisper. Thank you Father for this spiritual lesson with this physical camera that I hold in my hands.

I saw a pin on Pinterest that is so appropriate for this thought, Life is like a camera, just “focus” on what is important and “capture” the good times, “develop” from the “negatives” and if things don’t work out…… TAKE ANOTHER SHOT ~

How awesome is that? Take another shot, Try again, Pick yourself up. After all we serve a living , breathing, all knowing, powerful, Sovereign God that is the God of second shots, second chances. He is a God that is creating each one of us to be an award winning “Masterpiece” that He is framing and hanging on His Heavenly walls. We are HIS artwork, wonderfully and beautifully made.

Posted in Bible, Biblical perspective, Christian, Christian Inspiration, Christianity, Encouragment, Faith, Inspirational | 2 Comments

Tap Into The Power Within Us ~

Posted on April 1, 2014 by darla05

Tap Into The Power Within Us ~.

Posted in Faith | Leave a comment

Calling On HIS Grace When I Have Made A Mess Of Things~

Posted on March 31, 2014 by darla05

Have you ever has one of those days? The ones that are few and far between but they come. The days when you are dealing with the play by play of the heated conversation that you had with someone who you truly love so much. The track playing in your mind of things you wish you would have said and things you wish you would not have said. You are asking yourself why did I do that or why did I say that or how could they say that to me?

In these times I have to turn back to my favorite person in the Bible, King David. I turn to wondering what King David did when he realized that he made a huge mistake. What did he do when he thought he had blown everything. Everything that he had been living his life for up to that point? He turned to his sovereign God. He blamed no one and nothing except himself. He asked forgiveness of his sin and ask God to wash him clean. David desperately turned to God in prayer. Even after the grievous sins he did, it is written that he was a man after God’s own heart.

What did God do? God assures David that he is forgiven. He assures David that he will still achieve great things through him. Isn’t that what we all want to hear? When we have totally made a mess of things. We want to hear there is hope. There is a future. I want to hear God say that he has not abandoned me that he has not given up on me even when I have blown it. Even on the days when I have given up on myself.

As human beings there is one thing we all can agree on and that is not one of us are perfect. We will never achieve perfection until we reach Heaven. We have all blown it and hurt or said foolish things to people that we love. What do we do when that happens? We need to do what we do when we approach our Sovereign Father when we make a mess of things. We earnestly ask forgiveness. We repent which means we turn around. We change directions from the path we were going.

When we have “messed up”, our HOPE of restoration with God is not based on how good we have been . Let’s pause and thank GOD for that for Lord knows we have all not been good on occasion. Can I get an AMEN ? Our HOPE is not built on future promises of how good we will be. Our HOPE is built on God alone. We build our HOPE on the faithfulness of God. He is our foundation . He will be faithful to His promise, for faithfulness is an essential part of His very nature.

Deuteronomy 32:4 says He is “A God of faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The LORD’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” II Tim. 2:13 says: “Though we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

The only thing we can do when these days happen is get up off the ground, dust ourselves off and keep on going. Yes, we might have taken two steps forward and three steps back but we are only deemed failures if we don’t get back up. We get back on track. We strive to do better. We earnestly ask God to forgive us and ask for His strength to not continue down the destructive path we were heading.

God’s grace is truly amazing. How he loves us. How he forgives us. His enduring patience no one can fathom. I am so thankful for His mercy in not giving me what I do deserve. Thankful for His amazing grace for giving me what I truly do not deserve. This is the reason I do what I do. Why I tell people about HIM. Why I write about HIM. Because … Even on the days that I have given up on myself or having a hard time picking myself up off the ground from the blow I was dealt, HE NEVER… never gives up on me. ~ God is FAITHFUL.

Posted in Christian Inspiration, Encouragment, Faith, Forgiveness, Mercy | Tagged Faithfulness, Forgivness, Grace, Mercy | 3 Comments

~Opening The Doors Of Heaven~

Posted on March 26, 2014 by darla05

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It is one of those all to familiar nights when I cannot sleep. You know the ones where you look at the clock over and over again to see what time it is now. So, I have grabbed the caffeine and I will make good use of these early hours by writing what has been on my heart.

I have been thinking about how dissatisfied so many of us Christians are today. I find myself searching and asking why? Is it because life often crowds in and saps the strength we need for the truly important things? Is it we are veering our eyes off of the Lord and placing them on people, things or our present circumstances? I believe we all can say YES to both of those questions.

I hear so much complaining these days and yes I am guilty of it also. Why, when we serve a risen Savior who willingly took our place so that we could have everlasting life. If we never received another blessing from above that would be enough. It was the priceless perfect gift.

I think of the Israelites in the dessert and how the Bible tells us over and over the complaining they did. The Lord burned with anger against them on many occasions. I think of the occasion when some of the people were grumbling against Moses. The Lord told Moses to call them all together for a meeting. The grumbling people showed up. The Lord opened up the earth and swallowed them up and the meeting was adjourned . End of story. The plagues, the biting snakes that killed many. All were sent because of the act of complaining and being dissatisfied.

This act of complaining is a stronghold and it is a mighty stronghold. Thankfully, we serve a God who is ruler over ALL ~ We do not need more to be thankful. We need to be thankful MORE. The job or the co-worker that we would like to bop upside the head. Think about how many would love to have the job you have that cannot seem to catch a break. The children who are being disrespectful and crying and fighting and getting on that last nerve, think about how many single Mothers would love to be staying at home with their beloved child.

Sometimes, we just don’t have the strength we need to fulfill God’s purpose in us. We find it difficult to serve, to use our spiritual gifts or to even realize the dream and the purpose that God gave us. BUT GOD…. Those two words are powerful. They throw a curve ball in every circumstance, BUT GOD, if we ask for HIS strength , he will give it to us. His strength fills us with life to complete the things that HE alone wants us to do. It also opens our eyes to the wonder of it all. It brings us back to the basics of this life that HE created. The basics being everything is created for His glory and His purpose. When we open our eyes to the wonder that God gave us the spiritual and material blessings to bless others, it changes our perspective. We start being focused on the eternal and not earthly focused. This past Sunday at church we were given a great quote by C. S. Lewis, “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’, aim at Earth and you will get neither.” Powerful.

Being more Christ like is a process. It is daily being on the potter’s wheel and being molded by His righteous hands. He strips away the imperfections in each one of us. Each day he is molding us to be more like our redeeming Savior. Sometimes the potter’s wheel keeps spinning and spinning. It keeps working on that one area that is just not quite right. In the end, it is truly a one of a kind masterpiece.

When we start to feel the discontent rising in us. Before it ever comes out of our mouth , if we will stop, wait a minute, pause and pray, the Lord will answer us and will encourage us and will give us the strength we need according to Psalms 138:3.

Take to heart that we are created in the image of God. He works through our gifts and talents to show the world how much he loves them. IF, we let him, He will do amazing things in us. Pray for the strength to break the stronghold of complaining. It is a joy robber. I want to be a joy giver. As Joyce Meyer’s says, Complain and Remain or Praise and Raise. The Joy of the Lord is our strength. With God’s help we will do mighty things. Psalms 60:12.

Lord, I come before you this morning. I am so thankful that this is the day that you have made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Lord, we know that we enter your gates with a heart of thanksgiving and into your courts with praise . We want your presence . We seek your face. Lord, give us your strength to have a heart filled with thanksgiving and not a heart of discontentment. Father, open our eyes to the beauty around us. Open our eyes to the work that you are doing each and every day. Each day from you is a gift, may we untie the ribbons and open it with a spirit filled with excitement for the new day is dawning. Forgive us of our complaining. Forgive us for the times we have taking our eyes off of you. You are the potter and we are the clay. Your ways are best so we willingly come to the potter’s wheel. Thank you for you endless grace and mercy. Thank you for your everlasting patience. I cannot seem to fathom it but I am so thankful for it. Thank you for the work that you are doing in each one of us. May each day we give you ALL the praise and the glory and the honor. In Jesus name, I pray these things, the name above ALL names.

Posted in Believe, Bible, Biblical perspective, Christian, Christian Inspiration, Christianity, Discipline, Encouragment, Faith, God, Inspirational | Tagged Complaining, Faith, journey, Prayer, process, Strength, Strongholds | Leave a comment

Be An Encourager ~

Posted on March 26, 2014 by darla05

When the tough times of life hit us and they hit us all, we need to be encouraged that God is still with us. We need to remember that GOD HAS A PLAN. It is difficult to see when we are in the midst of the struggles of life BUT know God will not abandon us ! He will hold us, guide us and encourage us. He will place people who will be an encourager for us.

A little encouragement will go a long way! If you are not an encourager, if you are a “I knew it would not work”, or an “I told you so” person, it is time to get on the encouragement band wagon.

WE are CALLED to be a blessing to others!!! Whose life are you blessing with encouragement?

…And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.- 1 Thes. 5:14

Posted in Believe, Bible, Christian, Christian Inspiration, Christianity, Encouragment, Faith, Inspirational | Tagged Encourage, Encouragment, Faith | 2 Comments

~For Your Name Sake~

Posted on March 24, 2014 by darla05

I wanted to share with you an event from our trip in Israel. When I was in the prayer tower of King of Kings church in Jerusalem, I encountered the presence of the Lord . Over whelming~~~~

This tower has a 360 degree view from a 14th floor overlooking this city that the Lord loves so much. HE is the keeper of Israel. I wish each one of you could experience this place. I encourage you to do so. It is life changing.

I stumbled upon a note that I wrote in a Bible that I had when I was 18 years old . I carried this older Bible because we were told that our Bibles could be taken when we were visiting the Temple Mount and I did not want to loose the one I have cherished for 20 plus years. Inside the yellow pages was this note….. This 48 year old woman looking back at herself at 18 years old was enlightening…..God is risking HIS GOOD NAME in dealing with you. IF you don’t turn out well it will give the world an occasion to mock him. IF YOU genuinely surrender your life to him you can REST ASSURE that he will not make any mistakes in molding your life. Based on Psalms 31:3 ~~~ Since you are my rock and my fortress for the sake OF YOUR NAME lead and guide me.

My hope and prayer is for each one of you to grasp this truth and for my younger friends and family grasp it early. Do not wait so long as I did to totally surrender. You will be so much further along than I am at this middle age. Thanking God that he never let go of me even when I was running from him. Folks, God is faithful ~ I cannot let a day go by without letting someone know that HIS grace found me. The SOVEREIGN GOD OF THE UNIVERSE chose YOU and ME before the foundations of the Earth were formed. That my friend is something to get encouraged and excited about !

Posted in Believe, Bible, Biblical perspective, Christian, Christian Inspiration, Christianity, Courage, Discipline, Encouragment, Faith, God, Inspirational, Israel, Jesus | Tagged Believe, Bible, Faith, Israel, Jerusalem, Prayer, Scripture | 1 Comment

~Calling On Him ~

Posted on March 20, 2014 by darla05

Psalms 50:15-
Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

God wants to be our first priority. He wants to be first in every decision, every invitation, in all things. He wants to live with us. Our father wants to be there in the midst of us when we are hovering over the mountain or in the depths of the valley. Why would God say, “Call on me when you are in trouble”? It is because people were not calling on Him. Experiencing God and all HIs glory requires two things after we have made him Lord of our life. Holiness and Intimacy. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you, James 4:8. Also, 1 Peter 1: 14-16, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Wait on Him. Believe that he wants to manifest himself to you. Stand on His word. Claim His word for every situation in your life. You will find that the more we seek Him the more we will find Him. Run forward ~ Press In~ Search for Him ~ Ask HIm ~ The Lord tells us in his word that we don’t have because we do not ask ( James 4:2)

So today…. Ask and Believe ~Where you go I will go Lord~ His word NEVER changes ~ God is Faithful ~

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all …

Matthew 7:7,8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, …

Luke 11:9-13 And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall …

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and …

John 16:24 Till now have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you shall receive, …