Yoking Up: God's Love

Then Jesus said,
'Come unto me all of you who are weary
and carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you. 

Let me teach you
because I am humble and gentle at heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.'" (NLT)

"My yoke is easy
and my burden is light.'" ( NIV)

Matthew 11:28-30

Today I watched for the second time a Biblical teaching on resting in God's love that I had first watched in September.  At that time I was in the midst of a downward spiral with my health and my heart was closed to much of what I was hearing.  Today, the title of this teaching caught my attention once again, and I opened my heart to what God had to say as the speaker talked about resting in HIS love.

The woman who spoke  had done an in depth study on God's love and its connection to our heart.  These words resonated for me:

"Whatever we think we know about God's love, there is more!"

 

It was nearly two years ago that a dear friend shared with me words of knowledge from God. Along with other things, she shared these words ~ "God loves you, Renee.  God wants you well."  It was 6 months later that the leader of a prayer group I belonged to told me the same words of knowledge~  "God wants you well."  I have held those words closely to me and so when they came for a third time in the the title of a teaching on healing yet another friend encouraged us to watch last January, I knew we were being led down a new path.  God Wants You Well was the teaching we watched that changed our lives forever and opened a new way of believing to us that resulted in Joel's overnight healing. 

I have shared in the past few weeks the 23+ times Matthew 11:28-30 was given to me by God, which put me on a quest of resting with Jesus....seeking the Healer more than the healing.  It has been a daily journey, with setbacks and breakthroughs, as I have struggled with keeping my focus on Jesus and His Word instead of how I feel.  Now I am hearing about rest once again~ this resting in God's love.  A matter of the heart.  A matter of trust. 

It is in God's love that we find salvation and eternal life.  It is in God's love that we find forgiveness.   It is in God's love that we find healing.  In God's love we find acceptance, assurance, worthiness, peace, and so much more.  And God cannot and will not ever withhold His love from us.

"For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish,

but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

 

Resting in God's love means we trust Him with our whole lives, knowing that we know that we know He wants the very best for us.  Knowing that we can always trust Him.  Knowing that having an intimate relationship with God is His desire, too.  We find that "knowing" in His Word.  Here is where truth and Spirit meet, showing His deep love for us.

"May you have the power to understand,

as all God's people should,

how wide, how long, how high,

and how deep His love is."

Ephesians 3:18

NLT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My child, pay attention to what I say

Listen carefully to my words

Don't lose sight of them

Let them penetrate deep into your heart

For they bring life to those that find them

And healing to their whole body." 

 

Proverbs 4:20-23 

NIV

 

 I am linking up to Spiritual Sundays today.  Stop over and read more posts or link up your own.

Letting God Define You

I was watching Joel Osteen this morning...I often call his preaching the dessert of my Sunday services menu.  My meat and potatoes come from Rick Warren, Charles Stanley, and others, and then Joel   Osteen gives me the personal boost I need...the dessert.  Today he was talking about the power in the words "I am".  We know in the Bible that God uses those words to describe Himself.  I AM.  Powerful!  

We also release power in our lives with these words.   I like what Joel Osteen says, "What follows the "I am" will follow us!" We can bless or curse our lives with our words!  And what we say about others also affects our own lives.

It is not "positive thinking" that I am talking about here.  The Bible speaks often of the power that is held in the tongue...for good or for evil.  In Proverbs 18:21 we are told "there is life and death in the power of our words."  We need to take that verse very seriously. 

Don't let anyone define us but God!  We insult God when we speak negative about ourselves or believe the negative things others say over us. We are in affect telling God He did not do a good job creating us! He created you and the Bible says in Zephaniah 3:17 that God delights in us! 

He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb.  God created us with unique and special gifts for His purpose.  It would be a very sad and stunted world if we all were alike.  God loves us enough to make each of us unique and one of a kind.  Ask yourselves these questions: Who does God say you are?  Who does God's Word say you are?  This is what needs to come out of our mouths.  This is what we need to meditate on.

Let God define you.

He delights in you!

~~

I am loved by God

I am unique and special

I am a mighty woman/man of God

I am who God and His Word says I am

I am God's Masterpiece!

Sunday's Psalm

 

 

"Let them praise the Lord for His great love

and for all the wonderful things He has done for them."

Psalm 107:8

 

 

WIshing those who celebrate Thanksgiving

a day filled with all the bountiful blessings

that God provides.

 

 

Your Word Is Truth

Reaching out to God for clarity, for insights, for a better understanding of everything and anything in our lives, I find myself always coming back to His Word.  No matter what path I start out on, I always end up at the same place.  His Word.  Maybe because everything we need in life is found in the pages of the Bible, and it is there that we find the truth.  How do we know that?  The Bible tells us so!  God does not lie.  He cannot.  He will not.

Need advice for a situation?  Go to His Word.  Need encouragement for your circumstances?  You will find it in the Bible.  Need to learn about healing?  It is right there in the pages of this precious book.  Do you need someone to rely on?  Search out a few of the over 7000 promises from our Lord and hold them tight.  Remember that God does NOT break His promises!

If you want to learn about how much God really loves you, you can open the pages of your Bible.  If you want to know about salvation or forgiveness, it is all there.  From Genesis to Revelation this book is power-packed with ALL we need  GOD"S WORD IS TRUTH!  We are blessed.

Sunday's Proverb

Healer

 

I love this song by Kari Jobe.

 Jesus is our Healer.  Praise God!

May God touch you today deep in your soul

 with these verses from

Proverbs 4:20-23

 

"My child, pay attention to what I say.

Listen carefully to my words

Don't lose sight of them

Let them penetrate deep into your heart

For they bring life to those who find them

And healing to the whole body."

Yoking Up: Light And Easy

Last Thursday I watched a man from Australia speak on healing.  During his hour long talk he mentioned......yes, you guessed it, he mentioned Matthew 11:28-30.  AGAIN!  Then Friday, it happened while I was a video on a blog....and Saturday I was reading the forward of a book by Lillian Yeoman's entitled The Balm of Gilead. She concluded her forward with Matthew 11.  I have stopped trying to find closure with this adventure....It will be over when God says it is over!

So in the past 6 weeks God had brought me to these verses 23 times from 23 different sources.   I am speaking the truth here.  I have never had this happen before nor has my husband.  What is going on??  I cannot help but ponder the meaning behind these encounters.  Either I am thick headed and unable to "get" what Jesus wants to tell me, or I am being given a special gift here from God and am soaking in His blessings.  I am going with the special gift idea!  I do know this is empowering my life.  

Thursday's teaching on Luke 4 gave me something new to ponder, as the teacher talked about how Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted.  That He came to yoke together with us, and root out those unhealthy emotions and thoughts that hold us captive, so we can walk free from bondage.  This man shared he has a plaque in his office that says, "Light and Easy".  I would love to find one of those.  He went on to share that we will be blessed when we take on Jesus' yoke.  Some other words from this teacher to think about ~~~If your yoke is not light and easy?  Maybe you are not in God's will or you have taken on His yoke but are trying to do things your own way.

On Friday I watched a video that was for those people who are feel called into a healing ministry.  The teacher shared that we need to remember we, ourselves, don't add anything to God's presence.  God does the healing, we are just a tool..and we do not want to get in the way of what He is doing in the life of another.  We need to relax in His presence and let Him fill our soul.  Rest as he has called us to do in Matthew 11.

Lillian Yeoman wrote in the forward of her book, "Even if we have forgotten or ignored the "Physician of Gilead" he has not forsaken us and His sweet voice, like bells of evening pealing, still calls over land and sea  'Come unto me all ye..........heavy laden and I will give you rest.'  This small book is a faint echo of this gracious invitation.'"

A friend of mine sent me an email today telling me she had just heard a whole sermon on
Matt. 11:28-30 this past Sunday at her church, and when it was available online she would send it to me!  It seems the journey continues.......and I am grateful for it and learning to rest, relax, move aside, stay focused, and yoke up with Jesus along the way.  After all, he has sent me a gracious invitation.....23 times!

Sunday's Psalm

"But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel."

Psalm 22:3

KJV

 

Thank you Lord for

dwelling in the praises of

Your people.

 

You inhabit

our

praises.

 

What an

amazing

concept!

 

What an

amazing

truth.

 

Thank you Lord

for

dwelling

in the praises

of

Your

people!

Yoking Up: Staying In Intimacy

Then Jesus said,
'Come unto me all of you who are weary
and carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you. 

Let me teach you
because I am humble and gentle at heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.'" (NLT)

"My yoke is easy
and my burden is light.'" ( NIV)

Matthew 11:28-30

Tuesday morning I was watching Todd White speak online about our relationship with God.  Todd White is an unorthodox "street minister" who has the gift of healing and in obedience to God he uses this special anointing to heal others and introduce them to Christ.   As I listened to him speak, I became aware of God's presence in his words.  He was talking about those who desire healing so much that that is all they focus on.  Seeking healing becomes not only their main goal, but also their identity.  Even though Jesus healed all who came to Him, what He truly wants is a close relationship with us.  He wants us to "stay in intimacy" with Him. 

The first thing that popped into my head were the verses from Matthew 11.  Twenty encounters later, these verses are still speaking to me and today they settled in my heart with a new awareness.  "Come to Me....."  Yes, Lord.  "I will give you rest....."  Yes, Lord.

Just stay close to me Jesus is saying.  Stay in intimacy with me, and You will find peace and security as "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  You will be loved with My perfect love. THIS is what God wants for us.  He delights in us.  He rejoices over us as Zephaniah 3:17 tells us.  God wants to have a close relationship with His children and He desires us to want the same.  As God's children our identity comes from the cross. 

Staying in intimacy with someone or the Someone requires trusting them.  God often reminds us in scripture to trust in Him beyond our understanding.  Staying in intimacy means we not only share our own thoughts, feelings, dreams, etc. but we listen.  Intimacy with another or the Another requires communion and communication. 

God does not seem to be done with teaching me all I need to learn from Matthew 11.  It is astonishing how much is held within just a few words from Jesus.   I am blown away by all that I have been shown so far in these few verses.  Intimacy, security, peace, trust, releasing burdens, perfect love, and casting out fear.  I am so blessed to be loved by my Heavenly Father.  I am so grateful.  Yes, so grateful while entering into rest with Jesus.

FOR HIS WORD IS TRUTH