LEAVING ONE PLACE...GOING TO ANOTHER...

Leaving one place and going to another....Where are you headed? What direction are you going? What are you taking with you as you go? Those questions are simple questions that apply to any trip that we may take.

Upon telling Moses that the Israelites could leave Egypt, Pharaoh had his own demands in order to let them go… one was for the men only to leave without their families and go and worship their God. When that didn’t work, he said that they could leave, but without their flocks and herds… and Moses responded to that demand by saying, “… that there shall not a hoof be left behind…” Exodus 10:26…Pharaoh’s final demand was for them to leave, but not to go very far….just far enough for them to worship their God, yet close enough for Pharaoh to continue his control over them in the future if he so chose.

Those are the same demands that the devil gives us. When he sees that our level of commitment to the Lord involves a true commitment, he says to us…go ahead if you must, worship your God….but don’t bother trying to get your friends and family to go along with you. Then he sees that our level of commitment to the Lord involves surrendering our jobs, business and earthly possessions; and he gets bent out of shape, because he knows that when that happens, we are most serious about our commitment. You see, Moses realized that the Israelites must take it all, or nothing when they left the land of bondage and headed off to the promised land that God was about to give them. For God had given Moses the instructions on what to do and he could do nothing less than follow every one of them.

Decide this day, God’s Word says to us…..Whom you will serve….Joshua 24:15

Be sure that you know what your spiritual plans are, for you, your family and all that you have. God has given you His directions in His Word, but you must get in there… and find it out for yourself, leaving no foothold for the devil to bring you back to the land that you will leave….because I can promise you that anytime you leave the land of bondage, the devil sits and waits for your return and will try, as he did with the Israelites, to bring you back. But, if you are in God’s will, going His direction, hell itself can not bring you back. God is a Strong Tower and we can run to Him when we need Him… he can thwart and destroy the evil plans against us.  There is no safer place to be than on the other side, where God tells us to go… for there, the enemy can not touch us!

Loving you and praying for your Victory!

Bren

KNOWING GOD IN THE CALM

When fear hits our lives, we can do nothing but pray….and while God expects His children to be confident in Him in the midst of those storms, He equally desires them to rely on His steadfastness during those times of calm. There will most definitely be, stages in our lives where there are no storms, no crisis: and when there are, we are to still rely on the same staying power of God that is revealed to us during those times of uncertainty and worry.

If we are learning the lessons that God wants us to learn during those hard places, then we will find that it will be harder for the enemy to break our trust and reliance on Him when we are not stuck between those rocks and hard places. As our reliance on Him grows, it gives way to peace and oneness with the Father…and that sweet friend is what we really are seeking….to have Oneness with the Father!

Rest for us will only come as we give God our full and total devotion. He shares us with no one or no one thing, that hinders us from total surrender to Him….we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and all our souls, and all our minds...and when that happens, we become a great Joy to the Father, and there... we will see Him in the Light that He longs to show Himself to us in!

Loving you and praying that you will know His rest in your calm….
Bren

LET YOUR SPEECH BE ALWAYS WITH GRACE

Angry words spoken will only cause someone to withdraw, pull back or even shut down. But gracious words help them to open up, blossom and motivates them to reach for higher ground.

Every word that we speak today will either lift someone up or lower them down. Paul told us to “Watch the way we talk…..Say only what helps…Eph 4:29. Solomon told us that there is healing in the words of the wise… Proverbs 12:18. A wise man listens to instructions and obeys it.

You will find that most people will reproduce the seeds that you sew in their lives, be it bad or good seed. If we are telling someone that they are incapable or worthless, they will probably strive to fail and prove us correct. However, if we are encouraging them in grace and praising the good in them, they will make every effort to strive to justify our confidence in them.

Col. 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace.”

Loving you today! Bren

UPCOMING LADIES EVENT JANUARY 21

TOPIC:

Sometimes God appoints spiritual storms to enter our lives to reveal something that we need to know about ourselves or about Him, most of the time it’s both. As we learn to walk closer to Him the storms are fewer and far between and seem less frightful, because we are learning to walk with Him in the light that He is revealing to us. Come learn how you can allow your storms to drive you to see Jesus and find the peace that you will need to stand the storms that will touch your life.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair…”
2 Corinthians 4:8

SPECIAL MUSIC by: Brandy Barrett 

Brandy is a part of the Praise  & Worship Team at Life Point Church in Senatobia, MS. She is a wife, and mother of a 4 year old little boy. With her combined musical gifts, soulful voice and vocal talent, Brandy delivers an infectious presence of worship with passion, emotion and depth in a contemporary worship format. God began using her musical gifts and talents as a young teenager and her heart beats only to sing the Praises of the One she loves and adores.

January 21, 2011

Woodland Hills Baptist Church

For more information Contact Bren @ bren.parsons@yahoo.com

HOW TO FACE DISAPOINTMENTS

Have you ever looked at a situation only to see the cold grim face of relentless disappointments, one right after another? The odd thing about disappointments is that, they are only disappointments… if we meet them as just that, disappointments and not let them control or destroy us. We can learn to change those points of discouragements by seeing them as God sees them, not how they may appear to you, to be.

As we think of Christmas time, many thoughts will pass through our minds, and as we relate this wonderful Holiday to the birth of our Savior, as well as spending time and enjoying the festivities throughout the month of December even into the New Year with joy and fun, let’s also take a moment and consider how each event that led up to Christ birth brought with it not only joy and hope, but trust and obedience to what God was to ask of one very important person!

While we often times will give much attention to some of the characters that were involved in making the nativity scene complete, like remembering Mary, the mother of baby Jesus, the shepherds and sheep, the star and the manger; let’s take a moment and think about the prelude to that delightful event.

At the beginning of this great story, there were some sad moments, short felt disappointments and possibly even discouragements along the way. This of course was before they all saw the baby and realized that God had worked His perfect plan and it all turned out to be good, even though they faced very difficult times and situations before they got to that place in the stable.

There was to be some testing’s that led up to the obedience that we now know and appreciate so much in the life of many of the characters that were involved. I would like to bring one of them to the for-front of this devotion today and that character was Joseph, the foster parent of Jesus. God chose and knew that He had placed that special call on the shoulders of the right one, and while Joseph was somewhat puzzled and left wondering for a short time, his call to obedience was never an issue. For while he might have been stunned upon first hearing that May was to be a mother before she was even a wife; it all soon gave way to Joseph seeking God’s will and plan for his and Mary’s grave situation.

Joseph, God’s pick as His Son’s earthly foster parent. He was a decedent of David, betrothed to Mary, the future mother of God’s only Son. This man Joseph can easily be identified with, in how he must have felt on several occasions of his life, as he was given some very shocking at first and somewhat disturbing news concerning his future and the plans that he was making . At one point he was looking forward to a life married to Mary, a bright and promising future, and the next was the shock that rocked his world. He found out that his betrothed and beloved Mary was with child and the child was not his own. That disappointment must have been overwhelming to him and from a human standpoint, anyone could understand the shock that he must have felt upon hearing the dreaded news as he realized or thought that he had been deceived by the one that he loved. The scripture speaks of Joseph as being a good and compassionate man. Matthew 1:19 says that “Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.”

For any plans that he had had for his life, was interrupted drastically, as God began to direct him with His own plans for Joseph and Mary upon the message from the angel and Joseph’s dreams. Joseph proved to be a man who would obey God without question. But at first he struggled with the news that Mary brought him.

We too are like Joseph, we make our plans and when things don’t go the way that fit into them, we become disappointed and discouraged. The scripture says in Proverbs 16:9 that "A man's heart devises his way: but the Lord directs his steps." This emphasizes the inability of man to do anything unless it is God's will. Man makes plans and devises what he wants to do or thinks he will do, but ultimately, it is only what God wills that happens.

We do need to make plans, and be diligent and organized. The apostle Paul made plans and was diligent and organized in seeking to carry them out, even if things did not turn out the way he had planned Rom 15:22-32. We also need to pray for God to bless our plans and works, to make sure that we involve Him. Isaiah 30:1-2 warns us about making plans without inquiring or consulting God first, before we carry them out. Christ has all authority in heaven and in earth Matthew 28:18, and He is working all things after the counsel of his own will Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11. God tells us to make request of Him in everything Phil. 4:6.

In Matthew chapter 1 upon hearing the news of Mary’s condition and even though Joseph was a good man, he doubted Mary and was confused about the situation because the scripture says that upon hearing the news he reasoned to go ahead and marry her so that she would not be disgraced, but then his plan was to divorce her quietly at a later date. You see he came up with his own plan. Then the scripture tells us that after he considered the situation in verse 20 an angel of the Lord appeared to Him.
The angel reminded him using God’s Word about what the prophet had said of the virgin birth. After that, Joseph understood and opted to obey. So many times we like Joseph, doubt because we don’t understand the plan. His plans for us are always found in His word. Just because we do not see them clearly at first, maybe we are not looking deeply enough for them. For the most part, we do like Isaiah 30 talks about…we can be obstinate children and make plans without considering God. Moreover, we make them and think because they are good plans, that God should bless them only to find out that God is trying to direct us in another way.

Oh sweet friend, even today I found myself in the same place as Joseph….and I knew because of my past walk in Christ and the promises that He gives me in His Word that following Him and doing it His way is and will be the best way for me to take.

For Joseph, he made the right decision for himself and everyone else. Let us learn from him, that God may instantly change the planned direction of our life; And to readily obey the Lord is to be included, for eternity, in God’s Kingdom for all who do it His way! And as we take those steps of obedience in faith, God will honor them and will continue to guide us, no matter what His plan may ask of us. He is faithful and can be trusted no matter how bad the situation may look at first glance!

Loving you today…..
Bren

TAKE THE HIGHER ROAD

When dealing with conflict, taking the higher road is always the best way to handle and maintain your own moral high ground. To take the higher road means to learn to respond in a manner that will not escalate a bad situation but disarm the situation by cooling it down. As children of God we must learn to make great effort in finding God’s perspective in every situation that disagreements place us in, no matter how hard it may seem.

When we have been wronged by someone that does not see the situation as clearly as we may feel like we do, and have wronged us, then the only thing that can be done is to take the high road and agree to disagree with them and move on. After you have reminded yourself that whatever the situation was… will more than likely not even possibly matter to you in five years from now…. then move on! Don’t let someone or something rob you of your joy or ruin your day over something that might just be pretty trivial to them. Never let someone get the best of you in a situation. Learn to squeeze out every ounce of compassion towards them and move on.

Always be sure to take the time and not miss anything that may be your responsibility. Admit what you should and then move on. Try to remember that other people are looking at the situation from their own perspective whether you feel like they have a foot to stand on or not. The reason that there is a disagreement to begin with, is because two people are viewing a situation from their own perspectives.

What is your perspective by the way? Are they based on codes and ethics, maybe scriptures? In conflict maybe the other person has no code of ethics nor do they believe in scripture. They reason and think the way they do because of the condition of their hearts., and only God knows the hearts of man.

Shake it off and apply the Golden Rule (found in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”) of kindness in every situation you find yourself in; and you'll be surprised to find the peace that you will get from any random act of kindness that you may show someone who may not be deserving of your kindness; and you'll find yourself back on the high road once again.
Mark Twain once remarked that to act morally is noble, but to talk about acting morally is also noble and a lot less trouble. While he may have meant to be funny his words are very misleading.

Being noble is a lot of trouble to those who have no desire to seek or apply it. The scripture says that where a man’s heart is there is his treasure. So anytime we can act in a godly manner is much better than just talking about it. We are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only the Scriptures teach.

There have been saints and scoundrels all through history. The saints have understood some important things about what God’s Word teaches us and how we are to live if we are children of God. Scoundrels never seem to grasp those truths and laugh and mock at them, as though they were silly fables. If we know what to do in certain situations; then those truths can motivate us to resist the temptations that threaten to lure us off the high road and succumb to the low one.

I work in the Transportation Industry. Within our Industry we share a type of ethics that govern us with codes, regulations and law as well as conduct. If you believe in these ethics and allow them to guide how you do your job then they can keep you out of trouble in a number of ways. If you however can be tempted to accept other alternative ways of avoiding those codes and regulations as a substitute for real ethics, then you may find yourself in a bad situation. But, if you allow those codes and regulations to govern how you work within the industry, then you are following that code of ethics and your actions or deeds reflect that ethic or standard that you live by and they can provide you with protection.

The same applies to Godly ethics and regulations, if we practice and live by the Golden Rule for instance then we dare not worry about God’s dealing with us as disobedient, but obedient children.

My brother has built his business through the years on his personal code of ethics and the Golden Rule. He went out of his way in his dealings with people through the years as he has built up his business to be helpful, honest and trustworthy with his customers. As a result, his reputation for integrity spread though those years and his business has flourished; because his success was rooted in his character as well as his code of ethics. He has strived with great effort to apply the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and it has paid off in more ways than one for him.

That Golden Rule should be the principal or code of ethics by which all Christians live by. Knowing and practicing that principal will always help to refocus our minds, reminding us of our consequences if we do not follow it, and nudge us in the right direction. By following it, we are living the life that Christ died for us to have…the life more abundantly.

Decide today what choices are best for you and worth living for and yes, even dying to self for….to do what is right and not what you feel like doing in the flesh; and let no other code or action undermine it. Choose you this day whom you will serve…and get to doing it!

“As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; with patience, bearing with one another in love.Diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.” Ephesians 4:1-3
The Higher Road is by no means easy….but it is, the right way!
Let’s love each other, no matter the cost!

Bren

THANKSGIVING

As an American, my first thoughts always turn to the Pilgrims during the Thanksgiving Holidays. Those people who came to America and through trial and error and with the help of God in using the native American Indians, learned to fend for themselves in a new land that was unfamiliar, difficult to adjust to and unyielding most of the time. For the most part those hard times became easier to bear because of their vision and commitment for a better way of living; a better life for their families, away from the spiritual oppression that they had suffered in their homeland. They were breaking away from bondage that they felt that they could no longer bear in exchange for a land that promised hope and a sure future for themselves and their children. As Americans, we continue to celebrate that first Thanksgiving for our continued freedoms and the bounty that we continue to strive for and enjoy.

But long before the Pilgrims came to the Americas, there had been another Thanksgiving celebrated on another shore and country. That Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated by the Israelites as they moved into their promised land. A land that promised freedom from bondage and a land that would provide for them a refuge and safe haven to worship their God in the way that He was requiring them to. A land that was abundant in its rich resources. Unlike the manna that they had been eating for forty years as they wondered in a complete circle waiting for what God was promising them.

Manna was a substance that God gave them miraculously to keep them alive and while it was abundant, God restricted their use of it by not allowing them to store it. They were only allowed to eat what they needed to survive. At first, they did not even know what it was! The very word manna means “What is it?” the Manna sustained them, and they received nourishment from it, but it was not a permanent substance.

God’s manna was never intended to satisfy the Children of Israel but was intended to keep them alive until they reached the place where the good stuff was! While the manna was sweet and wonderful at first…they eventually murmured and complained about it, saying, “our soul loathes this light bread”. You see while it kept them alive, it never satisfied them. They found no lasting joy in it. God used the Land of Canaan or the Promise Land as a place where His promises of spiritual blessings and joy could be experienced and enjoyed, when the time was right.

God had told them as they stepped over into the promised land that it would flow with milk and honey, and to show their gratitude, they were to take the first fruits of the ground, place them in a basket and take it to the priest to give honor to God as a thanksgiving offering for their bounty and blessings.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 talks about those “First Fruits" The Lord God said, " When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there."

You see while God longs for the praise and worship of His people, He also wants them to be grateful…and as you know, we must teach our children to be grateful for what they have. For if we fail to do that, they may take it for granted and be ungrateful.

Like the Israelites before them, the Pilgrims also wanted to show their gratitude for the bounty that they had received and from their deliverance from hunger that they would have continued to experience had God not intervened on their behalf and taught them how to survive in the new land. For the Israelites, their thanksgiving was understood and seen as an act of God as He delivered them from their bondage in Egypt as He brought them into their new land that flowed with milk and honey symbolizing the good things that God was offering His people if they would follow Him (for many died in the dessert and were not allowed to enter the promise land because of their complaining).

The Pilgrims gave thanks for a similar deliverance which came to them during those first years on the North American shore. They too were delivered from religious bondage that kept them from worshipping in the way that they felt God was leading them to and from hunger by a good summer’s crop, from war through peacefully living with the Indians, and protection from the cold by building strong sturdy homes. Those deliverance's brought thanksgiving into all their hearts.

I am reminded today that whenever God delivers me from my land of bondage, He delivers me into another land that always flows with milk and honey. A land of deliverance and promise if I will dare to be set apart and be His people. “But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that flows with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which has separated you from other people.” Leviticus 20:24

Earlier this past week, I had made a list of the things that I am most grateful for. But today my thoughts are pondering on being thankful for those things I have been delivered from and even those things that I will not have to experience; because He has or will spare me from them. I too am a blessed Pilgrim, as I think about the land that I myself have traveled from and the new land that I have entered!

Praise Him for it all!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Everyone!
Love you so much,
-Bren