Fruit Production

Borrowed from "The Rabbit Room"....Great Piece.
Sonia

Commandments and Our New Identity: Fruit Production

by Ron Block on September 6, 2011

I walked down our gravel drive along the fence and saw a little fruit-pod on a vine. God started me to thinking about it.

A tree grows in good soil. It produces fruit. The fruit carries the seeds. The fruit hangs over other ground. It falls, and bursts open. If the ground is receptive, another tree begins to come up. The fruit, the flesh of it, is the thing that carries and eventually nourishes the seeds as the fruit falls and time goes on.
What if in the church we were often rejecting real, full-on spiritual fruit production and trading it for a little fruit mixed with a lot of self-effort and busy-work? What if we were so infected by the way the world thinks and operates in its “Just Do It” attitude that we are missing out on the miracle of being branches dropping love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, humility, and faith into the lives of those around us – effortlessly, easily, freely?
What if our thinking is so permeated by the world’s performance-based thought system that we are afraid of actual Reality, of real Love, of real Joy? In place of depending on the Vine, we think we are the Vine and even the Gardener, and that we have to keep ourselves, manage ourselves, and cause ourselves to bear fruit, asking God for a little help now and then. We think we are independent selves who must be good, so we build Law-fences and sin-boundaries to help keep ourselves on course.
What if the plan of God was so much freer than that? What if his plan is to so bind us to himself in spirit, soul, and body that we no longer need to have Law-fences? What if his intention is to make us his total, complete bond-slaves so that we can be ultimately and finally free, not someday with Heavenly pie-in-the-sky, but here, now, productive in endless love, effortless joy, here and now?  What if we were unequivocally free from having to worry about sin because we are so taken up with the love and joy and power of the Lord Jesus Christ living in us and through us?
If we put ourselves under Law, under self-effort, trying to produce righteousness by our own striving human will (even “with God’s help”), we make Christ ineffectual in us. Romans 7 says this is the attitude which causes us to sin. We hinder or completely stop fruit production when we rely on our own strength, on rules, law-fences, and refuse to put our full-hearted reliance into the One who lives in us. Galatians says that by trying to do a single thing in our own strength, we make Christ of no effect to us, of no real-time use, saved from Hell ultimately, but living in it here and now. God “works all things after the counsel of his own will,” and “works all things together for good.” He will let legalism stir up sin in us, because that is what independent self-effort does. It cuts us off from the effectual expression of Christ-life through us. Eventually, we begin to see the truth: none of us can live the Christian life by any measure of our own steam.
Until we “bet the farm” on God’s ability to keep us, use us, and bear fruit through us, we live sub-Christian lives. “My yoke is easy, my burden light.” Are we pulling a hard yoke? Is our burden heavy? If so, we’d better check to see whose yoke we're pulling, whose burden we're carrying.

Connected to God's www?

Translation: God's world-wide Word?

Ever wondered why you often hear the "Wake up!" message, when you thought you were already awake?

We can be alive and awake in our flesh, but unaware we're dead asleep and still "going through the motions" in our trespasses.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. James 1:14-16

Any areas in our life "not" fully submitted to God, leads to the death of our spirit.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (New King James Version)

Without life in our spirit...we cannot connect to God. The disconnect in cultural terms, is like, "internet down," where no communication travels back and forth. When we don't have that connection, we may not even know we're asleep; living a life on autopilot. We just think the internet isn't working.

But there is always a reason.
In order to fix the problem, we have to know which end the problem is on. In this case, it isn't likely the problem is on the Server's end, so we must search our end for loose connections.
For in order to "know"(discern things spiritual, receive revelation from the Living Word) if we're really awake, there first has to be a secure connection.

Sin, the areas in our life not fully submitted to God, breaks that connection...but it can always be restored through repentance.

Maybe you feel you have no sin to speak of.
You don't lie, cheat or steal, worship another or covet.
So then, "How's your faith?"
Are you believing and trusting? Or in doubt about some things?
Or frustrated? Anxious? Worried? Confused? Afflicted without peace?

Jesus tells us loving the LORD is a commandment:

Jesus answered him, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’Matthew 22:37-39 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

When we are unable to love God completely, we don't take Him at His Word and there's a break in the relationship on our part we must restore. 

For we can't have faith with doubt, with"out" trust, while confused and without peace - for He has given us all things.

If we love Him -- we believe Him, and if we believe Him -- we cannot "not" have faith. 

Repentance and believing faith restores us to right relationship...and right relationship is a secure connection.

Now you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves. This results in a holy life and, finally, in everlasting life. Romans 6:22 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Thank you Father, that in "right relationship," our spirit is "alive in Christ," fully "awake" and the divine internet is working.

In Jesus' Name, 

Amen

Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, "Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark.

"If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn't take it seriously, I don't reject him. I didn't come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I'm saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word. I'm not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it. And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That's all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you." John 12: 44-50 (The Message)


This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.Romans 4:16 (The Message)

AND YOU [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins

In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. Ephesians 2:1-2 (Amplified Bible)


Your dead shall live [O Lord]; the bodies of our dead [saints] shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For Your dew [O Lord] is a dew of [sparkling] light [heavenly, supernatural dew]; and the earth shall cast forth the dead [to life again; for on the land of the shades of the dead You will let Your dew fall]. Isaiah 26:19 (Amplified Bible)

Gina Higgins

If the Caterpillar Knew...

5 Realities of Sifting:

1. You will be sifted.

2. It will come in the area of your confidence during the sifting.

3. You will fail. Everyone does.

4. You will be shocked by your own behavior but God won't be.

5. You will be better for it and more useful for the Kingdom. 

Sifting is Predicted by God. It is Planned. It is Protected. It Comes with a Promise.

(It) literally separates out what is from God and what is not from God.

*Taken from Dave Edwards' Article, "Find Value in the Tough Stuff"

Heavenly Father,

Sifting is not altogether pleasant nor are we very attractive during the process. However, in spite of our thrashings about and our discontent - You are patient, gentle and kind. You are firm... but only for our own good.

The angst and the stress of this uncomfortable place can be emotionally charged LORD, so help us to surrender what we cling to and know to be faith; looking again to Your Word to find it's new and deeper relevance and meaning. 

Prompt us to be prayerful during these "but for a moment" times, and remind us that You are praying for us too.

Thank You Father for the deeper roots You give us during times of sifting and the love of those willing to endure the "re-ordering storm inside" during the process.

You call us to Yourself, We hear Your voice...and We Come.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Heaven's View is Supernatural

A florist can look at a yard and see glistening blooms.
A gardner can look at the same yard and see weeds.
A busy single mom, coming home from a ten hour day, will overlook the yard, and see that she left the porch light on all day.


Each a glimpse of truth based on the same picture.  Each true - yet incomplete. The world's truth sees from a limited perspective but heaven's view is "supernatural."  It is "limitless" and see's beyond appearances to the heart of the matter.


To see in the supernatural we must look for "God's heart revealed" and the small treasure contained in the big picture. As we open up to see beyond the natural into the supernatural (in the picture above) our hearts are drawn to the 7-year-old sitting in the window. The precious face which is illuminated by the "left on" porch light, is the one of a child who spent the last hour watering the blooms (and the weeds), so that her mother would have time to read her a story before bed.

while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 
2 Corinthians 4:18


Allowing truth to be defined by man's finite knowledge - however brilliant - limits God.
When we no longer allow truth to be defined by what we know and instead let it remain "undefined" by what we've "yet to discover"... then we can walk by faith.


But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. 
1 Corinthians 1:27-29


With Jesus as the author and finisher of this faith we walk in, there is now room for "infinite knowledge" and "limitless power" to be released.


At the moment surrender meets possibility and believing faith...the supernatural is birthed into the natural and the miraculous is born.


The power contained in it's innocence, wonder, magnificence and promise, is so great...it rocks the world, twinkles the stars and orders the universe. 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, 

Help us to be open to what Heaven desires to open to us.

Thank you for the magnificent and beautiful things that come in small packages; the eyes to behold them and the faith walk into the supernatural with You.
The view from Heaven is always the best!

In Jesus' Name We Pray,

Amen


Gina Higgins

Mercy and Truth Have Met. Righteousness and Peace have kissed. (Psalm 85:10)

Tel Aviv

St. Augustine, FL

"Let Freedom Ring"

A song by David for going up to worship.

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.
All of the Lord’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
The court of justice sits there.
It consists of princes who are David’s descendants.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is good for you.


Psalm 122 (GW)

In the Stillness

Sometimes life can feel like a battleground. There are times when it feels like we're in the heat of a battle and suddenly, in the spiritual sense,we can't tell the good from the bad, or the bad from the good.

"How then do we fight, when it's hard to determine who the enemy is?" I asked the LORD.

 "You don't," came the reply.

"Say what???" 

As I listened further, I felt like God was saying:

You don't, because Jesus already did. Remember the battle is not against flesh and blood but against those things that enslave, capture, oppress and allure My people into captivity and away from the freedom My Son's death already bought. You see a battle with people on two sides, but I show You now, the greater truth: There is only One side.  Whilst you see two-sided opposition, I see what becomes the betrayal of one ...it all comes down to that. Turning on one another.  It doesn't matter what the reason...only that what you've done to them, you've done to Me.  Brother against brother, Mother against sister, Father against son, neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend ....in such a civil war, the only way to peace is to look to Peace itself; surrendering each his own will in favor of unity and harmony amongst brethren. 

In battle mode, each man is an island fighting to stay afloat on a sea of discord. In unity, each man is the strength of a hundred men, for the foundation of one is connected to and supported by 99 others; with each subsequent person a strengthening and a bracing of a unity not easily broken and an advancement of the Kingdom that moves across the face of the earth." 


“Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”  ~ Patrick Henry, 1799

"So do we never fight?"

"Oh no, You don't fight. You war. You war with the weapons that aren't carnal but are mighty through Me for pulling down strongholds...the beliefs that are more important than love, the ideologies that are more important than one another. You stand and you resist that which would ever "lead you astray to betray," and in that stillness, where you've triumphed through the wisdom, power and revelation of My Word, know that I am God.

Gina Higgins

Carrying the Weight of Glory

We all fall short of the glory of God. 

Yet He has created and entrusted us to be vessels of honor and carriers of His glory. 

As walking epistles, ambassadors and defenders of Spirit, Life and Truth -- we all carry a particular "zeal" for His glory that He has uniquely placed within us.

Some of us have a particular zeal for Christ and His bride; others for purity, freedom or presence. All worthy, noble and needed - as long as submitted to the Giver of good and perfect gifts, who rightfully determines each person's measure of zeal and it's proper applications. Un-submitted, zeal can look like friendly fire from a loose canon - and that is never God's heart. 

The precision needed to carry zeal can only be carried out in perfect submission. Carried in our own strength, it easily over targets and becomes it's twisted forms: fanatical extremism or it's lukewarm counterpart: apathy. 

However, the weight of it's passion released to the LORD, it becomes a magnificent, "on the mark" spark; a catalyst for change, the heart of the Father and the Word revealed in power.

Father God,

Teach us how to be wholly and fully submitted unto you that we might carry our measure of zeal in Your righteousness and by the power of Your spirit. You bring all things into order LORD, and as a body we submit to Your perfect order as You have ordained and established it. May we recognize the wisdom that comes from heaven for what it is: first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ~ James 3:17

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Gina Higgins

Ordained Seasons of Growth

There are certain times when we may feel like God has "shut us in"...asked us to disconnect from the outside world for a while and spend time in His presence. 

These particular times are not avoidance, hiding, rejecting community or preferring isolation.  

They are a time set aside by God for His purposes.  

A time where He has purposed to bind all of our brokenness after a season of wrestling and unrest...A final step to an ordained "season of growth" where God could be saying, "Come up here. There's so much I want to show you."

If you're here...don't despise the time...He will redeem it. Before long, you may find the mountain has become a plain... for the One who loves you has shouted grace to it on your behalf.

Father God,

Thank You for the power of Your Spirit that contains a river of fresh oil for Your people. Thank you that we are Sons and Daughters of fresh oil. Anoint us with the oil of joy, gladness and unity.

In Your Son's Name, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach,

Amen

Gina Higgins

Got Faith All Figured Out Yet?

Yeah.
Sure.
Absolutely.
Without a doubt.
Totally
And Completely.
Have no clue.


                 

God,

We think You hide Yourself and that our acquired knowledge "uncovers" Your presence.
Yet it is the pure in heart; those with a child-like faith that "enter in" and see You.
Out of the mouths of those so fresh from heaven, You have ordained praise.
Do You just wish we'd turn and recognize You?
And approach You...
And be healed?
Forgive us for getting caught up what in what we know, versus sitting at the feet of who we know.
May we never get it "all figured out," but instead "trust more completely" in the One whose life "laid it all out."
In His Name,
Amen

Gina Higgins

How Shall We Guard Our Hearts?

How great is the goodness
you have stored up for those who fear you.
You lavish it on those who come to you for protection,
blessing them before the watching world.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from those who conspire against them.
You shelter them in your presence,
far from accusing tongues.

Praise the Lord,
for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
~ Psalm 31:19-21 New Living Translation (NLT)


How we guard our hearts is important.

It becomes either the place we seek His refuge or the defensive stronghold where we self-protect. One offers healing through inferior vulnerability and surrender. The other offers power through superior strategy and an elevated vantage point.  One bears the fruit of righteousness and the other of battle scars. The fruit of righteousness is love. The fruit of battle scars is callousness.




Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers his righteousness on you.
~ Hosea 10:12 NIV

A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers. ~James 3:18 God's WORD Translation


For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
~ Matthew 13:15 NIV


He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
~ Psalm 147:3 NLT

Heavenly Father,

May we go to you when our hearts need guarding, for only Your love can cast out the fear that makes us afraid to trust. Thank you for the balm of Gilead You place on our wounded hearts that softens and protects at the very same time. Thank you for a love that never fails. Give us hearts that always heal.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Gina Higgins

With What Eyes Are You Seeing Today?

 The lamp of the body is the eye, if, therefore, thine eye may be perfect, all thy body shall be enlightened

Matthew 6:22

Are they the "eyes of offense" from yesterday's painful slight?
Are they the "eyes of control" that can only see to criticize?
Are they the "eyes of pride" that can only see their own way?
Are they the "eyes of envy" that find reason to judge and covet?
or
Are they the "eyes of grace" that see the hope and not the wreckage?
Are they the "eyes of love" that cover sin so that there be no shame?
Are they the "eyes of boldness" seeing in faith?
Are they the "eyes of wonder" that smile?
Are they the "eyes of compassion" that heal?
Are they the "eyes of a servant" gentle and lowly in heart?

The Kingdom of Heaven we see in ourselves and others depends greatly on the
eyes with which we see.

Heavenly Father,
Give us Your eyes LORD so that we might have true sight and heavenly vision.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Gina Higgins

Father, What Do You See When You Look At Our Hearts?

I see the hopes and dreams I placed there... and all the things that you believe.
I see the thoughts you think, the things you meditate upon.
I see your joys and your sorrows.
I see the capacity it can "hold" and the potential it has to "be."
I see the depth of your devotion, the height of your strength, the width of your love and the breadth
of your sacrifice.
I see where you need to receive...and where you need to give.
But most of all, I see the pure and undefiled you, the beautiful "un-jaded" and "fearless" you.
That is where, I see -- Me.
Sometimes I'm in the outer chamber just waiting to be let in.
Sometimes I'm buried, pushed down under all your cares.
Sometimes I'm free, like a dove, to soar ...and comfort... and lavish My love upon you.
Sometimes I just want you to look in the mirror and "take to heart," that I am with You.
For if you believe I am for you, who can be against you?
And if you believe that...how can you ever fail?
For with Me, even the impossible...
Is possible.
If you believe.

Gina Higgins

"Father, Forgive Us..."

Forgive us when we turn toward the source of our fear rather than toward the substance of things hoped for.

We are not to live in reaction to the devil. We are to live in response to God.

~ Bill Johnson

Forgive us for thinking we are ever righteous enough to judge "righteously."

Forgive us for thinking our Christianity entitles us to judge, when all you've asked us to do is follow. 

God never violates His word. But He’s quite comfortable violating our understanding of His word.

~ Bill Johnson

Forgive us when we are frustrated and experience unrest because we think we deserve answers. 

If you want the peace that passes understanding, you have to give up your right to understand.

~ Bill Johnson

Forgive us when our own issues deflate the little risings of hope, that others may have had. 

Forgive us for thinking, and still thinking, we know what's best when only You possibly could.  

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Gina Higgins

God Can Handle Our Brokenness, Can We Receive His Healing?

Search out the matter.
Seeking humbles and stills us before God.

The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands;
~ Deuteronomy 28:12

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
~ Jeremiah 29:13

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
~ Matthew 21:22

Discern God's voice.
It is kind.
It sounds like a melody and feels like love.
If we could see it's sound, we might see dancing sparkles and colorfully illuminating light.
If it were a fragrance it would linger and delight.
If it were a taste, it would be the flavor that woos us to the point of "Ahhhhh."

Believe His heart is good.                                                                                                          Remember He first loved us.
He wants to lay heaven at our feet as we lay the world at His.

Believe grace is a gift He wants you to have.
It's heaven's love poured out to cover us.
We can hold out our hand to prevent it's release...
or we can stand under the fountain and let it pour.

Imagine we're in the desert and our water ran out 3 days ago. Suddenly we come upon a stranger that offers us their water.  Are we really going to say,

"No, that's okay. We should've brought more. It's our own fault. We deserve to dehydrate and die out here because we made a mistake." 

Or are we going to fall on the dry ground, our tears landing in the dust covering their feet, drink like we've never drank before, and say,

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We would've died if it wasn't for you!"


Our self-sacrifice of "not receiving" doesn't "hol-i-fy" us.
Our inability to receive the gift, "rejects" the Giver.

Eternal life is not something that just happens after when we die.
It's living "now" in the everlasting...eternally.

Ready for healing?
Position yourself to receive.

For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
~ 1 Kings 17:16

Heavenly Father,
Oh how You must want to just scoop us up like children and say,

"My little darling, I understand why you feel you must stay in the corner, but shall we let this delicious ice cream I've prepared just for you, melt? Come! Eat! Be filled with My goodness." Lifting our head and looking into our eyes, You say, "I forgive you My child and I have already forgotten. Now, let me kiss your cheeks and see your eyes fill with wonder, once again. You have my blessing...now off you go!"

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

We Honor You

Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. 

Listen to their counsel. 

They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. 

Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. 

Why would you want to make things harder for them? 

Pray for us. We have no doubts about what we're doing or why, but it's hard going and we need your prayers. All we care about is living well before God. Pray that we may be together soon. 

Hebrews 13:17-19 The MSG

Heavenly Father,

I ask for forgiveness on behalf of the body for the times we have not walked in honor, respect, affirmation, appreciation, love and encouragement specifically towards our pastors and leaders. 

Forgive us for the times we have felt entitled to think or say anything but that which would be an encouragement and for their edification. 

Forgive us when our thoughts, words and actions opened the doors to doubt, discouragement, insecurity, fear, anxiety or self-condemnation.

This day we release them from expectations, the burden of any discontent, disapproval, judgement and performance-based love. 

This day we release and pour out in the name of Jesus our gratefulness for the daily sacrifices of their calling, the grace they so freely give, the compassion and love they so freely extend. 

Father, heal each and every pastor and leader's heart where we have wounded it. Restore them to the full stature of their identity in You. Where situations have pressed them down, hindered their growth or affected their confidence, ground them deeply in Your love and shelter them securely in the shadow of Your wing; free and renew.

We break off and cancel out any words "not" of blessing. We close every door that opened as a result of our words or actions not in harmony with Your heart.

We BLESS, BLESS, BLESS our pastors and leaders with confidence, security, love, affirmation, trust, and respect and vow to honor them as they deserve to be honored. 

We BLESS, BLESS, BLESS them in Your name with increase, strength, courage, boldness, precision vision, acute hearing, abundance, power, love  and the desires of their heart and the visions of Heaven for themselves, for their families and for the church. 

It is in Jesus’ Name We Humbly Pray,

Amen

True Heights

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
         Or who may stand in His holy place?

Psalm 24:3

True heights...

Isn't about rising...but about going out.

Isn't about climbing...but about getting low.

Isn't about running...but about resting.

Isn't about pacing...but about praying.

Isn't about perfection...but about trying.

Isn't about our living from our sorrows...but about dancing from our joys.

Isn't about "our way"....but about Yahweh.

Ascending the heights isn't about standing in our own strength and operating from our own power ...but about leaning on and moving in His.

True heights is the peace we have with God... that we can play in the sand without a care in the world.

Heavenly Father,
Make us childlike again. Help us throw off everything that ever caused us to lose the beautiful, innocent and free spirit You placed within us. Give us sweet moments with you that nurture and heal the places in our heart that need softened again. Fill us with so much of Your love...that uncontainable joy is the overflow. The truest height is You, Jesus...You came down that our lives might be touched and the flame of our destinies re-ignited. How can we ever thank you? We love you so much, Amen

All for Love

Oh, the things we do...

  to seek love; to prove we are worthy of love.

Oh, the things we never do....

  because we're afraid it won't be enough or that rejection might come in love's stead.

Heavenly Father,

You made us to love and be loved. 

Nothing feels as wonderful as being loved. 

We want to feel Your love through people and we want people to love as perfectly as you.

We'll do anything to earn that love and we'll do nothing when we fear that love won't be returned.

We want love to be a "sure" thing. 

We want love to affirm us and fill us. We want to be able to trust that it will not hurt us, never leave us, nor reject us. 

We want love to be a "safe" thing. 

But the only sure, safe thing is love "itself."

The only sure, safe thing, is: You.

Help us LORD to not seek, look for and expect heaven's perfected love in the earth below.

Rather inspire us to be vessels that hold such a glimpse of Your glory that it pours out and overflows to all the people around us...that they might know You.

For Your love is better than wine.

Your love saved the world.

Your love never fails.

Your love is all there is.... 

and all there is ...

is Your love.

Thank you that we don't have to earn Your love...You loved us first and while we were still sinners.

Thank you that Your love - that never fails - accepts us in the beloved and endures forever.

Your love Oh Lord 

Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength

In the shadow of your wings 

Third Day, "Your Love Oh LORD"

In Your Son's Name We Pray,

Amen

Gina Higgins

A time to keep silence, And a time to speak Ecclesiastes 3:7

Which is it time for... in those moments a decision needs to be made?

Time to be silent?
Or time to speak?

At the wrong time, each can be costly.

Words sent forth from places unfamiliar with truth and love....can wound, hurt and hinder.

Words held back never reveal, never shed light, never give birth nor have a chance to alter circumstances.

Ironically we rush to fill silence with that which serves no one but ourselves; never giving utterance to the words that might change the course of lives. How easily we wield the weapon of our tongue to assert ourselves and our opinions yet we shrink back in giving voice to words that might speak to something "not our problem, not our business," and so we're "not gonna get involved."

Heavenly Father,
Give us Your heart, so that with our mouth we can speak a word in season to the weary. May our speech be profitable to the hearer...and when it is not, may we remain silent. Put a guard over our lips LORD that serves to remind us that only one kind of water comes forth from Your well....Living; life-giving. We ask forgiveness, LORD, for the times when from our hearts our mouths have spoken that which dishonored others and You. Please help us to meditate on the things that are "pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy," so that out of this overflow of our hearts, our mouths can speak. May we "wait" before we say things difficult to take back and may we not hesitate to speak when it will encourage, lift, reveal to heal, justify, testify and give glory to You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

TESTIMONY Abby Jack: "Medical Miracle"

My granddaughter Abby Jack received devastating injuries from a car wreck when she was 6 months old. May 5, 2011 she was the “Medical Miracle” honoree at University Hospital’s annual dinner of the same name. Many people at Oak Hills and across the world lifted her up constantly over a long period. She healed, body and mind.


The link is the video they played at the dinner. Grab a Kleenex and prepare to thank God for his faithfulness and grace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGouqjOW4B0



Thanks for your prayers and your unflagging faith in Jesus Christ.
I hope you will share this testimony to God’s goodness with our prayer ministers, your friends and family.


Jim Toombs

San Antonio

When Holidays Are Hard

For so many, Mother's Day and other holidays are hard.

Some are really tough for tragic reasons, some are trying due to relational difficulties and
some disappointing because of idealistic expectations.

What if instead of man's instituted and set holidays, we chose to celebrate as we were led by the Spirit and remembered our mother's, fathers, the new year, Jesus' birth, death and resurrection and all things praise worthy, all the time; each and every day?

Might that somehow alleviate the pressure, the sadness, the stress and the envy that are often associated with holidays?

What if the standard was raised to the place, where instead of just on one day out of the year, each and every day we chose to love one another, "where we were at?"  And whether in grief, remembrance, repentance or celebration, in everything, we gave thanks, honored one another and our Savior?

Might it put the focus back on God and His greatest commandment?

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
Mark 12:30-31

Instead of a need for awkward apologies, a bumbling of inappropriate responses, or the pressure to be where we're "not," and the envy that others seem to "have" what we wish we had and and "be"where we wish we were...is it possible we might could actually:

 

REST in God knowing each tomorrow is: A day where He is at the center of the universe, His tender mercies are new and His promise remains: Never will I leave you nor forsake you.

Heavenly Father,
We bless those that struggle with holidays. We bless those that are grieving. We bless those having relational difficulties or any current circumstance that makes celebrating a holiday particularly hard.
We ask that You surround them with an extra amount of comfort and love, and that Your presence be with all those who need You most.
Give us an awareness and an extra sensitivity that will make us mindful that we are not all on the same page nor all running the same race.
What we celebrate most of all, LORD, is the holiness of You.  For You alone know the times, seasons and how to minister to our spirit, each and every day.
We thank you that like a mother, Your Holy Spirit knows how to kindly, lovingly and tender-heartedly nurture and comfort us.
We honor all mothers this Mother's Day and pray that each and every child and mother in need of comfort, love, affirmation, validation, affection, understanding, forgiveness, guidance, healing, redemption restoration, resurrection and power will know, that whether they have these things in their  earthly relationships or not -- they can always be found in You.
In Sorrow and in Joy - We PRAISE You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Gina Higgins