WHO IS the CENTER of YOUR UNIVERSE

It used to be, WE were the center of the universe!  Or so mankind believed.

That was what early scientist believed – that all things revolved around the earth. Well look closely, the people said. The sun revolves around us; the moon takes the sun’s place at night. Watch the stars. They’re visible at night, then suddenly disappear in the day. So different ones appear at different times. That just shows our glory and how God tells us different stories through the stars. Our GLORY?????

Such a statement is blasphemy. And in today’s scientific world a joke. Because along came Copernicus!

Before the appearance of Nicolaus Copernicus the earth stood still and what’s more, was flat. If a mariner weren’t careful, he could run up against the edge of it and sea monsters were no longer the greatest threat. One could actually steer a vessel right off the edge of the earth and no man had returned from that experience to tell that tale,

We were what glory was all about. God created us and devoted every moment of His day telling the heavens of our glory. We were the center of the universe. God guided the stars to tell us His stories; He made the sun to shine upon us to keep us warm and the moon light up to guide our night. Why else were their heavenly bodies but to guide the people He so loved. We were the center of the universe!

Copernicus was the one who upended our proper place in the sky. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that not only was the earth round but in fact it revolve around the  sun which stays (relatively)* in one place. But how dare he capsize our royal carriage and our place in God’s universe? There was no place in Genesis where God said “Let there be Venus and let it shine brighter than a star and let her light like the moon’s reflect the sun’s.” It isn’t there. God’s creation story did not include Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. Yikes, as time goes on scientists prove that Pluto is no longer a planet. It started with Copernicus and is still happening today. The more we know of our universe the smaller earth becomes. And the smaller we become. So where is our glory?

Glory does not belong to a thing or a person, or a planet. We may be the only planet we know of that supports life. May be. There are many, many galaxies out there. We may be the people that Jesus died to save. Does glory belongs to those who were saved, or to the One who saved us. Even the Father, who deserves all our glory, stands aside and points to His Son. He is the One! In fact if we look at the plot of the Bible as a whole; it’s many connecting stories making up one book, point to Jesus which makes a complete book written by many different men, all pointing to the God of Glory rescuing a dirty, stinking people unworthy of a second glance from God.  But we have a God of love and mercy who took his Heavenly robes off and became God in man’s flesh through the incarnation and whom we Anglo-Saxons call Jesus.  His people, whose lives the stories of the Bible reflect are characters and this God/man became one of them named Yeshua.  He has yet to carry out the the ending  of this  book on the stage called earth.  Many believe it  will be in our lifetime – yet so did Paul and John and Peter.  And no, we are not the center of the universe. The plot of this book is the rescue of the human race that no more deserved the rescue or a place to live period. So how important in all of this are the petty things this world makes into crisis? How huge is the bigger picture which dwarfs the flu you have today or the bad hair day,

                                                    

We live in a me oriented society – not a God oriented one. If First Century Christians were suddenly transported and mixed up with today’s believers, would they even recognize us? Their bad day, may consist of being beaten with whips and clubs, shackled to another abused believer awaiting crucifixion, or being a meal for lions and even then it wasn’t a bad day. Just one more day for singing praises to their Yeshua, witnessing to the robbers and murderers they shared their cells with, or the guards who might beat them more for doing so and best of all looking forward to seeing their Lord face to face. They didn’t waste a moment even considering how bad their day was going or even a second on how horrifying their death may be. They lived every moment for Him. They cared not a second for how much they hurt, or how badly they were treated, or on how overweight they were.  They prayed late into the night and rose early to continue. Their whole lives were a prayer. Why? Because of the glory only their Lord deserved.

Glory was not deserved by Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton wed one Friday while all the world watched and only the elite attended. What are we saying to our Redeemer when such attention is given to human royalty, when the King lives within us and walks by our side, yet at the same time sits on the throne in Heaven. We make idols out of singers and actors who give no acclaim to the maker of their voices or talents. Glory to Him! Praise to the Maker! Let the American Idol, Idols West Africa and Music Idol (Bulgaria) and 24 other countries with their own shows to idolize the finest of those who would otherwise be like the rest of us but whose given talent has won them recognition, riches an glory only deserving the God who gave them the talent? Give God the glory, give Jesus the applause, the award, the fanfare because He is the only one who deserves the Glory and we would be nothing without Him.

Glory is reserved for the King of the Universe alone. Give Him the praise for without Him their would be no voices and no talent

But far be it from me to glory [in anything or anyone] except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) through Whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world!

Galatians 6:14

How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ?

Psalm 4:

Let us give glory to the God whose Presence we seek. May you be more aware and in love with the Presence of God every day.

I love you dearly,

Joanne

My Friend, In Your Suffering, I Understand

by: Joanne Baumeister Turner

My friend, I understand so much more than you know. I know the trials we have faced may be different; but suffering no matter the kind, have elements that are shared. I know the fear of the unknown, I know loneliness even when a few you love stick with you but the majority can’t handle the changes in their friend and pull away! I know day after day when hopelessness eats around the edges of your bravery, and what it feels like when the minutes seem like hours. I know the questions that plague your days like”Why”? And “What If” and especially haunt your nights when feeling all alone is no longer a feeling, but a prison? I know the familiar smells and sounds of the hospital and treatment centers, and finally talking to others like you; hearing their stories, how they are experiencing this same craziness that is taking their life and turning it inside-out and upside down.

I just want you to know, my friend, that I understand. In many ways I have been there, and I am still walking that road! I’ve walked the paths that build deep character; which cause us to explore the deepest truths and earn wisdom that can only come through experiencing that which you’d rather not experience, and yet after we do we are thankful for the pain; which without the trials constantly urging us on, would not happen at least in the same way or with the outcome you praise God He allowed you to experience.. I know how it feels to watch your body change overnight; and the frustration of what has always been your something you could count on, responding as it always has, now refusing to work like it ever knew what “normal” was!

I know the hours spent in online research,and college libraries searching for answers, similarities, specialists etc, what I might have, why it’s taking my life and dreams to a place I hadn’t planned. I want you to know My friend, that I love you and I so wish things were different. I wish I were there with you where I could be a support, a confidant and a friend. I wish I could hug you and hold you when you hurt; share war stories and battle scars. I would like to bring you coffee and chicken soup, wipe your brow with a cool washcloth, and massage your back or rub your feet, whatever would lessen the pain, the sickness, and chills. I wish I were well enough to do those things, but I am like you in ways I only could have written about if I had walked in your steps, or were there with you right this minute!

But what I can give you, that I have learned through this inescapable journey, is that even when I couldn’t feel God – even when the pain was too great to raise my arms up for Him to hold me, He has always been there – I could sense Him in my spirit. And over time and much trial, I learned to escape into my spirit where He lives too. There I remained, longer and longer every time. And when I woke with skin on fire; or dystopia took over my nervous system, causing my arms and legs to writhe in pain, I would listen to Grace Like Rain, and as I ground my muscles into the the Shiatsu massagers to try to reach the deep ache in my bones, He wold lift me above it all and hold me there, just loving me through it. He knew I couldn’t do it on my own and He carried me like a small child and gave me the wisdom of an elder! I love Him so deeply and know Him as I never could have any other way. He is what made every moment worth going through.

My prayer, is that you would learn as I did, that knowing the depths of who He is, is
why I am here right now writing this. I’ve been here – in this with you; in this horrible-terrible world that seems more like hell than you ever thought you’d experience! Look up! Search for Him with all that you have in your being. You are here because Your Redeemer is calling you into His arms; He wants a closeness and a strength in You that He knows you can find. And here you’ve been called – to know Him as only those who desire Him as deeply as you do have been called. Seek Him and keep seeking until you’ve found what your spirit is seeking.and there you’ll find rest for your soul!

Psalm 30:11-12 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 27:4-5 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

Walking Barefoot on Stones

WALKING BAREFOOT ON STONES
by: Joanne Baumeister Turner

When life seems to hit like a freight train head on
It’s cancer, MS, something terribly wrong
It may seem we are traveling this journey alone.
Every step is like walking barefoot on stones.

We struggle for even a small ray of hope
Fear takes over, in darkness we grope
Like our muscles are being stripped clean from the bones
It seems we are walking barefoot on stones.

We forget where to turn, who to seek, where to look
Certain such things only happen in books
Though certain we’ve lost the path we’ve been shone
Bloodied and beaten walking barefoot on stones.

Lord how can I travel this road without You
So much pain to bear, how will I get through
He shows me my feet, then shows me His own
He’s been carrying me as He walked barefoot on stones.

So how did I miss His strong arms around
How could I mistake that He’d let me down?
Such pain, bloodied feet, as He carried His own
How could I let JESUS walk barefoot on stones?

He smiled and said, “it’s why I came
To redeem and ease your struggles and pain
Sometimes you don’t see how much harder alone
If I didn’t help you walk barefoot on stones!

The Deep Treasures of God

THE DEEP TREASURES OF GOD
Walking The Path Into God’s Presence
by: Joanne Baumeister Turner

Have you ever experienced, maybe during Sunday worship service when everyone it seems connects with God? It may also when you are alone in deep meditation and worship, when you sense this extraordinary peace, almost a euphoria that falls upon you and you are lifted out of yourself? It’s inexpressible, undefinable, and yet you were part of something more than you alone? That is what it is like to be in the presence of God. I have learned through years of devotion, searching, and practice to live most of my life, connected to God’s Presence. While it has been my singular goal to teach others how to live daily

Living in God’s Presence is not experiencing glory after glory, it is knowing the Lord is with you like a person at your side at all moments; sensing Him always, as if in the very room but subtle like a shadow. And yet at a heartbeat, I could turn to Him and draw upon His ever present love whenever my spirit would move me, or I needed refreshing at the well of Living Water. Just as one might lean into a loved one in a casual show of trust and love, just to have the other embrace them with arms of strength, so the relationship with God grows familiar; (of course always remembering we are speaking to and receiving from the spirit person of God). After a full and cleansing confession you are ready to focus your thoughts only on Him – on His magnificence, His never-ending loving-kindness, complete submission to Him on the cross and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Prepare your heart and mind with praise and adoration through music. Then allow your heart – your consciousness to be carried away by a piece of special music; focusing on Him and letting the Holy Spirit take you away to His bosom – all thoughts under His submission! Ah, when we enter that place of adoring Him and letting Him just love on us – it is intoxicating soaking up as much of Him as our senses can handle. There is nothing but focus that holds a spirit-filled believer from sensing the warm loving presence of their Savior.

And spending your days, hours and moments in His loving Presence does not mean you are on your knees in prayer, speaking every moment with God. Begin to open up your life for Him to participate in everything you do. Invite Him to experience your day with you. When you are speaking with your children, invite God to be there to guide you. If you are spending time with your spouse, invite God to be in the midst and you will be amazed at how beautiful your conversation and how deeply intimate your relationship will grow. When you work with the public, ask Him to guide every move you make through the day and every word you speak. If you are meeting with friends, ask Him to be the guide of your conversation. And when you are alone with Him, let there be constant communion, whether speaking to Him or just basking in the glow and flow of the Holy Spirit within and without. The more you push the world away, the more He is naturally present. You will find as prayer needs arise you naturally just talk to God in conversational prayer. When your thoughts wander to the insignificant, pull them back into focus of Him who is sharing your life.

But just as if you did not speak to or hug, or talk with, a person at you side who is there to always love them; if we treat God in that manner, we defeat the purpose for which we were created and we will not benefit from His Wisdom, His Lovingkindness, His Comfort or His Presence. It’s not difficult to learn to walk in His Presence once you understand the process of connecting with Him, and yet it takes focus and dedication in order to get to know Him intimately, just as it does any human person. Because we do not use tangible senses to interact (eye contact, physical touch, speaking and hearing audibly etc), we must learn the language of the spirit; experiencing what that spiritual connection “feels” like. Amidst the cacophony of this crazy world, our spirits cannot learn how to connect with God’s Spirit without spending quiet time alone with Him. This means sacrificing time that you may now devote to TV, the internet, playing a sport – something that is pleasurable – sacrificing that time to spend quality time with Him.

“23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

Make a small commitment scheduling that time for Him and Him alone, and gradually as He calls you closer you will naturally want to devote more and deeper fellowship. In the beginning, if you find it difficult to focus and you are unable to tangibly connect with the Holy Spirit- don’t panic. He is with you, even if you are spiritually unaware of Him. The Holy Spirit may be working out some area of your life that needs spiritual adjustment. In the quiet time you take with Him, as you confess your sins, ask Him to show you any barrier or sin you may not be aware of that may be hindering you. Then just be with Him. That in itself touches the depths of His Heart and whether you are aware of His Presence or not, He is ministering to and working on building that closeness with you. That is what time spent just being together is about whether it is with a human person or a person of divine nature it takes time to bond with each other. It did for me.

I did as Brother Lawrence taught; I began to do everything I could to become conscious of God. I tried to remember before every activity – no matter how small, that I was doing it for God alone – dedicating it to Him. I searched for the depths of God in my surroundings – began to become aware of more than the surface of life. This world either teaches us to live on the surface of life, or it teaches ungodly spiritual ways. The first – living on the surface involves becoming immersed in the rat-race of this age; keeping up with everything all over the world at the same time. That is one of the biggest differences in the society that has come of age since World War I. Gradually world-wide information became accessible to the average person – first through print, but has progressed at blinding speed which is today accessible at the touch of a button. If we want to know what is happening on the other side of the world – we Google it and in a heart-beat are there. No such distractions were available to Brother Lawrence or Peter and Paul. Passing on information – news – for instance if someone was sick or died, it took usually days to pass that information on, even if it was only a 20 mile distance, because most travel was on foot or at the fastest, horseback. Today, we hear of a grizzly murder, or casualties of war in cities across the world the hour or day it happens. Before the information age, it was more likely we would never hear of it at all, or if we did – it would be learned about many years later through stories told over and over – many times gaining hear-say that would turn into more of a tale, or folk-lore. Except for very important things, historical events that happened in society which were carefully kept track of, bits of information that we find so tantalizing today were not part of life. Yet even when life was much simpler, Jesus and Paul warned the people of their day to keep free of worry.

God wants us to have freedom in our lives, but freedom to live within the parameters He defines; for who knows us better than our creator. And all that is needed to live a happy and free life including the most precious and intimate relationship with God is all taught in the very valuable book – our “How To” manual that bears His signature.

I bought a hardbound book I recently found at the bargain bin in a favorite thrift store written by Max Lucado
. His books are always wonderful with stories of life, love, emotion – short stories that can be read one a night or morning. I had read halfway through before I found the prize the bookseller didn’t know they had sold for $.99. In the front of the book on a page I wouldn’t have opened at all except by chance – or ordained by God, was the signature in ball-point ink of Max Lucado — I was giddy with delight that I had in hand a signed copy of one of the original print books by one of my favorite authors. Suddenly the book gained new value for me. What if today, when you opened your Bible to study, you opened to a page you’d never seen – and on it was written something more valuable than the print that the stories, psalms and parables were written on? What if, on a special parchment page, perfectly preserved and gleaming with the gold leaf in which is was originally written, next to the Seal of the King of Heaven, you were surprised to find God’s signature. Wouldn’t it somehow immediately raise it’s value in your eyes? It is written by the Living Word, you know. Think about it.

“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father. Serve him wholeheartedly and with desire in your being; for Adonai searches all hearts and understands all the inclinations of people’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.1 Chronicles 28:9

THE SCULPTORS APPRENTICE

THE SCULPTORS APPRENTICE
by: Joanne Baumeister Turner

I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU SEE
I WANT TO THINK WITH PURE THOUGHTS
I WANT TO LOOK BEYOND OTHER’S FAULTS 
TO THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE THEM YOURS

DEAR JESUS;
I WANT TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF MY SISTER and Brother
AND UNDERSTAND THE PAIN THEY EXPRESS
I WANT TO SEE INTO THEIR HEARTS
PEER WITHIN THEIR DREAMS
SEE WHAT MAKES THEM LAUGH
UNDERSTAND WHAT BRINGS THEM TEARS
AND KNOW HOW I CAN HELP EACH OF THEM FIND
THE ROOT OF THEIR DESPAIR

TAKE ME TO THE MOMENTS WHEN
THE ENEMY TOUCHED THEIR SOUL AND
OPENED DOORS THAT HE MADE HIS OWN.
NOW HELP ME TO TAKE THEM BACK TO THAT TIME – THAT MOMENT:
AND WHEN THEY ARRIVE THERE, WITH YOUR GUIDANCE,
HELP THEM FIND THE SPIRIT’S STRENGTH AS HIS IS MELDED WITH THEIR’S OWN DEEP WITHIN.

HELP THEM LIFT AND WEILD THE SWORD OF TRUTH
AT THOSE OPEN SORES LEFT BEHIND BY EVIL’S CLAWS,
CAUTERIZE THE RAGGED EDGES
UNTIL THEY ARE SMOOTHED OVER
AND – TOUGHENED UP
NO LONGER PAINFUL
BUT NUMB AND DISTANT
AND FINALLY WHOLE AGAIN,
THEY ARE ABLE TO GIVE THEMSELVES
FULLY TO YOU.

FOREVER BROKEN
FOREVER MENDED
NO LONGER WHO THEY WERE, BUT
SOMEONE NEW – A HOLY HYBRID –
MAN MADE NEW, WITH GOD WITHIN
FOREVER YOUR CHILD WALKING IN YOUR STEPS

Stop And Think

by Joanne Baumeister Turner

Think about it for a minute. Just stop whatever you are doing right now, and consider this; we have a God of unimaginable magnitude; with power we cannot begin to wrap our brain around; who thought – THOUGHT, the universe into existence . This Being – Creator has, for His own reasons, chosen to love and care for YOU and ME! Why? Only He knows. But doesn’t reason tell us that if all the above is true, and He says “Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you” that we could not only trust His word – but should RUN INTO HIS ARMS AND GIVE UP? Please stop and think about it – right this minute!! HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO SAVE US!! If some eccentric billionaire you didn’t even know, cared enough about your hopeless situation to give up all his money, and homes, and treasures – everything – so he could pull you out of a filthy pit; and then exchange himself – be tortured and die in your place to save your fickle heart from certain destruction; wouldn’t you be indebted to him for the rest of your life? Wouldn’t you be willing to give all of yourself to show your gratitude?

But that’s not even really what our God is asking of us. He wants to be with us; hear about our day; know what we long for in our hearts; BE OUR FRIEND, MENTOR, FATHER, COMFORTER, REFRESHING LIVING WATER and stay with us every moment of every day! How can we not praise Him? How can we not give Him glory and honor; how can we hesitate tolavish upon Him our love for wanting us so much that He sacrificed everything to pay our ransom? How can we NOT say “I Am Yours for Eternity”!!   What a wonderful, beautiful God we serve!!

 

YOU COULD NEVER HAVE DREAMED THIS POSSIBLE

Oh yes He will! The sorrow and anguish you live on this earth is invested into your eternity. We are fallen souls! We work out our sanctification through the trials we face and conquer- and grow beyond what we are capable without His guiding hand. Yet on that day there will be an end to the growth and He will meet you, lock eyes with you and all the trouble you saw – all the heartache you experienced, all the deep painful experiences that made you who you are today, will melt into the oceans of gentleness and kindness and love spanning dimensions you could never have dreamed possible. Are you ready?

WHAT IF GOD WAS A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK

Written by: Joanne Baumeister Turner founder of Comfort In The Arms of God Ministries
Copyright© 2013 Joanne Baumeister Turner

 

How did you get to know your best friend on Facebook? Remember back!  Didn’t you spend time learning about them, talking for hours on chat sometimes not caring if anything else got done, exchanging your lives; being there for them in crisis. You can’t see your best friend because of the miles that separate you; you can’t touch them or put your arms around them; yet you communicate with them in writing and you have come to know them deeply, maybe better than you’ve ever known another friend. Maybe you’ve even shared things you would never have shared with anyone but this special person. It is a mutual exchange. You have grown to know and love each other through your written words because that’s all you have.

 

Now, consider if you met God on Facebook. Your life with God is ignited in your heart by God’s calling, but your relationship is forged on the written Word. He planted the seeds of longing in your heart at conception, then He made the move in your spirit to open a dialog – He asked you to “Friend” Him. He may have pulled you from the pit; or you may have gradually felt that chasm of deep emptiness that could only be filled by Him. But you were drawn to seek Him out. So, you “review His profile” – learn the basics about Him, and decide if you want to come to know Him – to pursue this relationship. If so, you accept His gesture of friendship. (I know. It’s irreverent! I don’t mean to make light of your relationship with God, but sometimes it helps to look at our life with God by comparing it with what we understand. This is an exercise in reason – just to cause you to think deeply.)

 

God’s Word is His living “chat, and messaging” with you. He speaks to you through His Word; personalizing it with dialog you hear in your spirit. The Bible is God’s written Word — Him making Himself transparent for you to learn about Him; His love letter to you. Between reading and learning of Him through His Word, and spending time with Him, allowing Him to speak to you; to love you as you wait in His Presence, He will become closer than your dearest friend, more intimate than a lover. Maybe what you want most is someone who will hear your pain, who understands your heart, and will just be with you. God is that kind of friend and more. But just like if you never returned your friend’s letters or responded to them, you would never come to know them, if you never respond, never show God you want to know Him, He will never force you. And unlike us, He is not bound by time and space; so while you want to be with your friends on Facebook, – He IS with you in the presence of the Holy Spirit and more a part of you than your own skin.

 

Friendship with God, just like with every person, is a journey; music made through give and receive, not an instant fix. It is a relationship developed through mutual communication and dedication to this one most beautiful, most holy bond. He gives all of Himself but it is up to you to give as much of yourself that desires this love and chooses to strive toward this blessed goal. Consider this: how far would you go to know the one friend who could be all to you; how important would that message be to respond to?

 

He has every characteristic, every attribute you seek in your friendships in this network of people. Isn’t friendship with the Creator, with your Savior, worth pursuing as vehemently as a treasured friendship on Facebook in 2014. Why not make Him, your only New Year’s resolution?

WHAT IF GOD WAS A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK

You can find Joanne on Facebook at: Comfort In The Arms of God Ministries

“COURSE HE ISN’T SAFE. BUT HE’S GOOD! HE’S THE KING, I TELL YA.”

by Anthony C. Turner

 

 

He looked at me with a sadness that drained the blood from my face. I felt my knees buckling in fear. He said, “Son, if I give her anything more for the pain, her lungs will forget how to breathe and her heart will forget to beat.”

 

She looked up at me with terror in her eyes, pleading with me to do something, anything. The nurse, with practiced detachment handed us release documents, and suggested we follow up with our doctor, and they walked on to the next patient. She was on fire, and nothing on earth could put out the flames. For fifteen years, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year. She was on fire. My sweet baby was on fire, and I could not go into that burning house to save her.

 

Recurrent acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). It sounds so clinical. In fact, it is a vicious cruel disease that strikes with panther-like claws stripping the myelin away from the nerves, and leaving lesions on the brain and spinal cord. Her poor nervous system was left in permanent wreckage; erroneously reporting that it was on fire; 24 hours a day. The first episode she had was three years before, and 11 doctors did not understand her condition. She lay in a hospital bed for over a week – wanting someone to put her out of her misery enduring test after test after unyielding test and was released with no certain diagnosis, only to return weeks later with the same horrific symptoms. But I had met this lovely lady I had fallen in love with so deeply, only months before; my angel from God alone with two daughters and a disease that could take her life.

 

Where was God. He must be dead. If He was alive, He would never let this happen. Either He was dead, or He was an uncaring, distant, cold vindictive petty as#$8le. Screw Him. I’ll find a way to fix her myself, or I will die trying! I DON’T NEED GOD. I’LL F7#K ING DO IT MYSELF!

 

I didn’t know it at the time, but He was there, every moment, night and day. He performed a miracle. He did not heal my sweet baby, He gently but firmly, in love, helped us die to self. The people we were could not possibly survive this hopeless condition of mind and body. The only choice was to become very, very different creatures. New creatures in Christ. and so, the people we were slowly but surely died. The pain of fire in her body was unrelenting, but so was our dear, sweet, precious Father.

 

It’s always darkest before the dawn. The dawn for us was 15 years away; dying to self can take a long time. God, however is patient and slow to anger.  He is like a wild animal, the roaring wind, the pounding sea. He has never been tamed. He answers to no one. and yet He chose to become one of us, and to die a horrible cruel slow agonizing death. He can’t help Himself, it’s His nature to sacrifice Himself so that we might live. be amazed by Him every moment of your life.

 

God is good, but He is not safe. He will do whatever it takes to bring me home. Anything. The love of God constraineth me. Big time.

 

“Course He’s not safe. But He’s good..”

 

2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him… 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Genesis 22:2-12

 

If you have found yourself dying to self and becoming a creature who finds Peace that goes beyond understanding like we very slowly did over fifteen years, share it. Don’t care what people might think; just do it. God has blessed you so that you can proclaim His greatness. Don’t think – write. Share. Share your Good News. People are dying to hear it. Literally – dying without hope. Let God give them hope through your story, your testimony. It is in our weaknesses He is mighty.
“Is he—quite safe?”
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver […] “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” C. S. Lewis, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.

PRECIOUS IN MY SIGHT

by:Joanne Baumeister Turner

Oh Most Precious in my Sight; through all the trials you push through as you are growing in Me, do not forget that you are My light to the world. The lost will never see Me or want Me if they don’t see the lamp that burns brightly within you; their hunger for my love visible in you will draw them like a moth to a flame, to desire the brightness and completeness that they don’t have within themselves. As you trudge through the muck and mire of this difficult world, even the smallest effort you make toward learning and growing are expressions of your love for Me. Those growing pains are what bring you step by step much closer to My heart. But in the midst of your learning – spread the joy that so many unbelievers are oblivious exists in their world.

 

Most Precious Bride

You suffer more than many because I know your deep inner strength; I am training you to Shine, my Child. The the joy and glow you so naturally display, will cause those who suffer the most to see my eyes through yours. That is your goal, Beloved, because when I am projected through your eyes, that is when you are closest to my heart. And it is also when you serve Me by simply being who I made you to be. Whether you have known Me for 25 years or 1 hour, you are My body to the world and the best way to serve is when it is effortless. Spiritual maturity happens every moment that you are Mine; and titles behind your name or plaques from schools of theology do not change the depth of My love for you. None are more special than you are, for you are uniquely Mine.

© 2013