Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘bring that we may drink!’ (Amos 4:1)
This was written June 27, 2014 back when I wrote a thing called “Happy Post” for 365 days.
Happy June 27th
Day two … and I begin complaining. Turns out “My” plans were not my husbands plans for our 2nd day of travel on our vacation. I thought we could just wing it like many trips in the past and end up having the best time ever … it always seemed to work that way before, but NOT this time.
Then shortly thereafter I read this road sign that says, “When tempted to complain, Give thanks to God.
This morning when reading my devotional, as many times, the Spirit of God does much convicting and confirming on what I already heard or know.
Here in Amos (4:1) Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
Cows of Bashan refer to the sleek, fat, well-fed women of Samaria. The cows raised there were pampered and indulged and were thought to be the best Canaan offered. Amos was comparing Bashan’s pampered cows to the pampered women of his day. They not only were spoiled … they expected it … they looked on it as their due. They cared nothing for those around them and were only worried about getting their own needs and desires indulged.
I enjoy being pampered and I am certainly a privileged woman. I need to be careful not to think my husband owes me anything. May I always be quick to remember never to become selfish or self-centered enough to think it is my due. May I never resemble those “cows of Bashan”!
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
It’s 3:05 a.m. I’ve been tossing around in my bed for the past 45 minutes trying to ignore the wakening in my spirit to no prevail, so here I am. Yesterday was my first day back writing and well I guess the Lord is making up for lost time. I feel a couple things he is speaking to me about right now. One was the words I woke up hearing, “Blood transfusion” and secondly, “Giving permission to speak into my life.” Before I went to bed I spent a couple hours reading on the Lordship of Jesus Christ and what that meant. First I’d like to say, I’ll be studying this out further so hang in there with me on this one. Reason I am sharing this with you right this moment is because the words blood transfusion could only mean that my blood count is running low and I am in need of a transfusion, a spiritual transfusion. I need the blood of Christ to fill me up with His life giving power. I am pleading the blood of Jesus over myself right now as I type, I am renewing my mind to the things of Christ so that I can discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Though I am a child of God, saved by Grace, I also still live in the present world and I am still under attack by the evil one, so I have to resist its pressure by allowing Christ Jesus to Lord over me. Surrender all things unto Him.
Skipping to “giving permission for someone to speak into my life,” two weeks ago I joined a ladies Bible study group at my church and the topic was on community. The class had been in session for two weeks already, but my first night the leader touched on giving someone permission to speak into your life. You know not everyone has permission to speak into you? Nor should you allow just anyone too. Which obviously I do not have that problem because I prefer to solve things on my own and well I am not that good at it so I thought maybe I could learn to do this. So I came home from class and immediately told my husband he had permission to speak into my life. Yeah well that lasted about a day, then I took it back. I’m a work in progress! Life was getting rougher as the week went on and I was losing more and more blood “spiritual blood” that is, I was pulling away from my life line, my source. Why do we do that? We humans can be so dumb at times it’s no wonder we are referred to as sheep in the Bible.
Fast forward, I scheduled an appointment with a therapist, one I could trust to speak into my life. I was giving this person permission, because I knew I needed help and I was not going to get it on my own. Sometimes we have to admit where we are in life and get rid of that stink’n think’n and ask for help. Of course my first help came from the Lord Himself. It was the gentle urging to go to this group and allow others to help, after all He was putting these people in my path for a reason, that I might discern His will for my life through the renewing of my mind and through the topic … “Community.” We need people to do life well. Just as Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms when he began to tire, we need our people to hold us up, that we will be able to overcome and win our battles just as Moses did.
This thing about our mind, we have got to stop letting society mold our values and behaviors, we are called to resist them. In my reading last night I was so upset with myself for just letting myself go with the flow even when it contradicts my faith, the Word of God. Real life change doesn’t just come from trying harder; it requires an inward change. You “renew your mind” by replacing worldly perspectives with God’s truth, through prayer, scripture, teachings from leaders rooted in the Word, even Therapists, of course I suggest one that relies on the teachings of Christ. As our way of thinking begins to align with God’s, that’s when we will get that spiritual clarity and be able to embrace His plans, we can see then that God’s will is “good, and pleasing and perfect”.
So, if your feeling spiritually drained or disconnected check your vital signs you may need some spiritual healing through divine blood transfusion, the ultimate source of life, Jesus Christ. He will continually restore your peace, strength, and purpose.
First pray that you’re headed in the right direction. Never do anything on a whim. You need a direct vision for what it is that you’re about to enter into. Research and more research. Find people who have already done what you’re doing and are extremely successful at it. Good role models. Find out what the costs are and not just financial cost. Be sure to take it seriously and be consistent using a well-structured plan. And remember winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17)
I have a hard time reading all the Father’s Day comments on social media that people write regarding their earthly fathers because I never experienced those things. Matter of fact until I met Jesus I didn’t think I was ever wanted at all. Truth …until just 3 years ago I still wasn’t sure God the Father really loved me either.
Relationships can be hard at times for all people. There are so many types of relationships, some come natural and easy while others are a struggle and you find yourself in a constant battle trying to figure out how in the heck Jesus did this and how can I even come close to imitating Him in this area. I felt God must have been thinking that about me for years. Like, “what on earth is wrong with this girl? I know I don’t make mistakes, but …really? This girl, I have to question myself, what was I thinking when creating her.” But like I said 3 years ago I come to know God as my Father, the One TRUE Father. The one that loves unconditionally and without a spirit of shame, doubt or question. He knew exactly what He was doing when He created me and He said it was good. I am made in His image, so therefore I must be some kind of good, just saying.
I had been feeling less than adequate as a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, servant for God and a whole lot of, not the daughter I needed to be. I absolutely couldn’t take what I was going through a minute more. I didn’t go to church last week because of everything I was going through, actually I ended up going to therapy, two different times. Let me say right quick, therapy is okay. There was a time in my life I kept everything in and when it did come out it was like dynamite in a landmine. Today I wasn’t feeling like I wanted to be around a lot of people yet, so going to church wasn’t something I really wanted to do, but I knew I would only make matters worse if I didn’t go and I am SOooo glad I did. First the friendly faces and kind words from my church family was much needed, but then during worship, when I began to sing, the lyrics rose up inside of me lighting the fire, causing the flame to burn higher and hotter, for I was now back in relationship with my Father and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. See I had been writing a blog everyday since I began the breadandwater blog, but the last one I wrote was June 13th, eight days ago, which actually seemed like a month. I wasn’t feeling my Father’s love, hearing His voice, feeling His touch, so I couldn’t write. I chose to isolate. I did my daily chores and slept the rest of the time, until today. It’s Father’s Day and I am grateful I have a Father.
Now I would like to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day and even more so, a Happy Father’s Day to my Father, Abba! Father!
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Last night there was a beautiful sky that continued on into the morning. I took pictures of it both in the evening and the morning. I made a post on social media describing how God makes everything beautiful. I felt wonderful at that moment and looking forward to a great day and then … “little fox” came along and changed everything.
27 years ago we bought our first home here in Arkansas, it wasn’t everything we would have wanted, but it became my home for the next 19 years. Coming from a background of inconsistency in having a permanent home, both as a child and as an adult, this meant more than I can explain. I use to keep track of every place I ever lived. I remembered every address, what the houses looked like, the phone numbers, I had a good memory, but that was all those places were, was memories. Eight years ago, we sold that home of 19 years and I have struggled with it this whole time. The house we bought to take the place of my home was my mother-in-laws home, her memories and my husbands memories and everyone around us their memories, five generations of memories, but not mine. I have struggled to try to make this my home because of fear of taking away their memories. But I continue to try.
Back to the “little fox.” As I was posting my daily blog I thought I should check my emails, I was expecting a response from a company I had emailed earlier in the week, when I came across a listing of my former home for sale. Suddenly looking through the 17 plus, photos of the place I began to cry. I felt as though I had just been punched in my stomach, the aching of never being able to go back to that place I once called home was literally taking my breath away. I began to see all the things I had lost since the move. My community, neighbors, my job was there, but in the move I decided I would settle for early retirement. My family was moving off, others were not coming as often as they used to and we were not making the trips we did in the past either. My grandkids once made comments about this didn’t feel like our home, it felt like Granny’s, because it was. They to grew up with memories of this place, memories of going to Granny’s. Our home was Mimi & PawPaw’s and it was at a different location than here. Pets were dying and disappearing, my husband lost his job that was suppose to take us into retirement, now we were living a very different kind of life and I no longer had my support system around me. I felt very alone, lonely was more like it. I had shingles right after we moved here for the first time, then covid hit, had that twice and nearly died the first time, ended up with breathing problems since. Brought family here from another state then the relationship fell apart. Brought a former foster of ours that was still family that was battling Leukemia, he passed after two years of trying to get to a bone marrow transplant. I went through a litter of 15 pups all by myself and did well until 6 weeks in I took them to the vet for their first series of vaccines where they contracted parvo and I lost 4 to that. My husband stayed home from work for a week and we worked day and night to keep these guys alive. My husband took another week off work to go through hospice with me and our boy before laying him to rest. I could go on for another several pages of things I lost since I made the move, but I say all this to say, “Little foxes.”
I had recently relinquished all of this loss over to the Lord when the little foxes appeared and tried to steal my joy, my hope and my peace by bringing this back up. Please hear me when I say, it’s all little foxes in the spiritual realm of life. Yes, I have lost many people and things over the years and will continue to until I make it to my final home. For me and you, if you are a believer in the One True God, Jesus Christ our Savior, then you know EVERYTHING will one day vanish.
I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future and though the little fox from this morning that decided to cause havoc in my mind and heart, he doesn’t get to stay here.
I am learning to give things over to God a whole lot quicker than I have in the past. One scripture that really stands out to me this morning is: (Psalms 30:5b) Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Will the sadness of my former home be gone completely? No, but I can have joy in knowing that God still has great plans for my life in the here and now.
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Milk and meat are referenced in the Bible as metaphors for spiritual maturity. Milk represents the foundational teachings of the faith, while meat represents deeper theological truths. The scriptures encourage new believers to consume milk but warn against remaining on a milk-only diet for to long. Here are a few scriptures referencing milk and solid food: 1 Peter 2:2, Heb. 5:12-14, 1 Cor. 3:1-3
As a mature believer how can we help the new believer in Christ Jesus?
Just as a newborn baby needs milk for nurturing their physical body and to grow so does a new baby Christian need spiritual milk to grow in their faith, the basic truths of the gospel. We would never expect a baby to be able to eat a steak weeks or months into their life, we should not expect a new Christian to be able to obtain more than the basics in the beginning of their walk with Jesus. We need to be gentle with them, protecting and nourishing by instructing them with love and compassion, helping them to know Jesus and to become who God has called them to be.
As they grow in their knowledge, we still show that same compassion by incorporating commitment. Letting them know we are still here, but now we are backing up and allowing God to grow them through conviction. Like a baby that is becoming a toddler they are learning to walk on their own without holding our hand, yet if they fall we are there to help them back up. Staying committed to helping them is so very important because without it, the baby would stay a baby and the new Christian would remain in their current state as well. Don’t leave them to have to fend for themselves when they haven’t even learned to come to the table by themselves. If we say we are there for them and willing to help be sure your actions back your words. Our goal is to get them to the place where they learn to put their trust in God not us. Teaching them to be obedient by living and acting on the Word of God that we have been feeding them, our compassion toward them, as well as our commitment to them. Moving them over to solid food, allowing them to come and sit at the table on their own.
Finally they grow to where they are now on meat, the solid food. This is where their trust has been confirmed and the convictions they are experiencing are moving them in the direction the Spirit of God is speaking to them. They have a real understanding and are surrendering and being obedient to God on their own. This does not mean the Christian will never fall again, nor be in need of being picked up. Life has its challenges for every believer young and old.
Our final goal is to get from just hoping in God to expecting. Expecting that what His Word says is truth. Hope says, “Maybe” being expectant says, “I know.” Expect God’s Word to work, that is what changes results.
We are ALL called to the same thing. Accept, Grow and GO.
Accept …the truth (Jesus Christ) through faith, Grow …in our faith, Go …help other to do the same.
“He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45)
I have four Doodles and they must have been reading the same book as this dog in the picture. I absolutely love my little fur-family, heck I bred Mama and helped her deliver 15 babies. I now have Mom, Dad, one of the daughters and one of the sons and let me tell you, Mom and her daughter Miss Pearl Jean can be mischievous. When I take one of the boys out for the day and the girls get left at home or if I am gone a little longer on a day trip then what they think I should have been, it is surprize time for me when I return. They have eaten my socks, a shoe, found goodies that I left for us up on the bar, heck they have even been known to eat a whole pecan pie and make it look like the dish was never touched. They are good at being bad. Nevertheless they know when it gets treat time, they will be getting one to.
God is universally generous. He does provide earthly, physical blessings like success or good weather, but true blessings come only through repentance. God will ultimately separate those who are doing evil from those seeking righteousness. Psalm 37:1-2: “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”
Though God does love sinners and does bless them, His ultimate blessing is restored relationship with Him. Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Being blessed isn’t always about money or material wealth, it’s about spiritual well-being, inner peace, and eternal reward. If you want a true blessing get right in your relationship with God, not worldly success. Proverbs 13:21: “Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.”
Summary: People doing bad things may receive material blessings an enjoy them for a while in this life, but that doesn’t mean God approves of their behavior. Just because I give the girls treats when the boys get one, doesn’t mean I approved of them eating my sock or pie, I’m just being generous and reaffirming my love for them. For us, the ultimate fate of the wicked/wrongdoings is separation from God. He created us and He loves us, that is why He made a way for us to leave our old ways, our sinful ways and be reunited with Him through His Son Jesus Christ, God is full of blessings of all kinds, and we can be His family FOREVER all it takes is repentance and confession. Here is a prayer you can pray that you may be reunited with the Father.
God, I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead. Through my confession I am saved. I ask that you to forgive me of my sins and wash me clean, make me new. Thank you Lord for loving me, receiving me and giving me life everlasting, I now belong to you, Amen.
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the contrite in spirit.” (Ps.34:18)
Up close and personal today. There are some ares in my life that I am still not able to share about because the wounds have not healed and they are susceptible to infection. I believe there are many that can relate to this. Issues of the heart are no joking matter, they are real like the breath in my lungs. Some days it feels as if healing is impossible, when every little thing that touches it causes the wound to begin bleeding again. Yet I know I am not broken I am simply in a place of deep transition, transitioning into the person God wants me to be. I know that if I turn to Him with this unbearable pain He will be there to heal my wounds but sometimes it is still a hard thing to do. I cannot rush the process though because there is work being done, I have to trust the process. Believe it or not, crying and feeling the pain is not a sign of crumbling but rather releasing and letting the healing begin. Sometimes while the wound is in this state you have to stay away from the thing that caused the injury in the first place, creating space for emotional detachment. I write because this is an outlet for me to release and process my emotions. I find that listening to worship music is a great help, because the lyrics are those that bring truth and good thoughts to my mind. I begin focusing on the things that are lovely, pure and of good report versus the thing that has me broken at the time. Nature is my go to place, it has a way of putting me in a completely different mood, relieves the stress of it all. Sometimes I fall into isolation, never a good thing, being with others is crucial to healing. God will use the right people to speak the right things to you that you cannot hear at that very moment. Whatever we are going through that is keeping this wound from healing completely does not define who we are, our future or our worth. Instead we need to see this is a chance to grow stronger and wiser. Don’t worry about the situation, just focus on your own recovery. Let God do what you cannot do. Obviously I am talking to myself here as well as you. Again I am processing, what I need to do in order to receive my healing. The scripture in Psalms tells us that God is not distant, but active in comforting those in pain. He offers us comfort, He is present and He will heal those with shattered emotions or crushed spirits. Psalms 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. He is our refuge when overwhelmed, our strength when hope seems lost and He promises that heartbreak will not have the final word.
And I am sure of this, that he that began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)
God is the one who starts the circle of life within us and who promises to complete that work, ensuring the circle is not without purpose. I am looking deeper into the things God has already done in my life, the things He is doing right now and looking forward to the things He will do as I am approaching the end of my circle. I love the fact that He says, He will complete that work. I can know that I will not leave this world unfinished, without purpose of why I was here. Unlike the ferris wheel, just a repetitive loop going round and round, God takes everything in my life, the good and bad and weaves it together to fulfil His ultimate purpose. Again, my circle ends with purpose. The Bible describes the “circle of life”-birth, labor, and death-as a natural, repeating pattern ordained by God. In the circle of life we find hope, through Jesus Christ for an eternal life. The true fulment of God’s purpose, this is the actual completed work, His purpose in all believers. The complete circle of Life is; a life of being born; birth to eternal life on a new earth, that is completion of the circle of life. Wherever you are in your circle, whether beginning, end or somewhere in the middle and you want to finish the complete circle of life, there is a step you must take. In the Gospel of John in the Bible speaks on that. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That’s full circle y’all. Don’t spend your life like the ferris wheel in that repetitive loop, go the full circle, ask Jesus into your heart and make sure your circle is completed.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6)
Talking active rejection here, not ignorance. The passage says, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you…” (Hosea 4:6). The people of Israel chose to forget God’s law and ignored His teachings, leading to their own destruction. When we reject God’s laws He has the right and ability to keep us from His blessings and protection over us, allowing us to face the consequences of our actions, just as he did with Israel. Good news y’all, if we will enter into an intimate relationship with Him, “Know Him,” that’s knowledge, then we can understand His commandments. We have to put forth effort, we are held responsible for our actions or lack of, so make the effort to learn. Don’t deliberately ignore God’s ways, He gives us commands/rules if you may, to protect us because He loves us and wants good things for us. I have been observing the world around me a lot lately and this is going to sound like something I heard my grandparents say when I was younger, but it is what I am seeing and hearing. Modern society is morally declining. I have been more diligent than ever before in sharing the Gospel message with ALL people. Warning guys!!! the end is only getting closer. Don’t let the lack of knowledge destroy you. Here are three scripture references in the old testament I want to share:(1) “Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.” (Isaiah 5:13). (2) “Because they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD…” (Proverbs 1:29) (3) “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’-in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.” (Jeremiah 4:22) In summary of Hosea 4:6 is a warning that spiritual ignorance-specifically the active rejection of God’s Word-leads to destruction. Words of Encouragement, I’ve got Good News. You can have life; a good life, one with God’s blessings and protection for you and your family, it all begins with a right relationship with Jesus. Being righteous is simply being in right standing in Him. Maybe you like my past self have been uneducated in the things of God and please, like a Pastor I once sat under would say, “don’t hear what I’m not saying;” because I am still a work in progress. Maybe you don’t know what the Bible has to say regarding how you show act, talk, or live your life. You can ask God to help you with that and the other Good News is; “If any lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to EVERYONE generously without rebuke, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Did you catch that? Wisdom is available to ANYONE. This is the kind wisdom used for navigating through life’s trials and making godly decisions, rather than relying on your thinking and understanding. You matter and the kind of life you live matters. God wants only the BEST for you. Don’t self-destruct.
Bread and Water 