Hello! Nice to see you here in 1999!

Do you feel what I feel? I feel that wonderful and miraculous things will be taking place in the Body of Christ. I feel that people that love the Lord are going to be rising up and proclaiming His name in ways we've never seen before!

I feel change is in the air. I believe God is tired of people "playing church." I believe He is breaking apart the man-made religions and showing them for what they are. I am getting excited. This may mean that the return of Jesus is getting very close!

It is time for Christians to find out more about God and more about what God wants to do in their lives! God has a plan for each of us. We need to find out what is God's will for us. There are so many things about Him that we don't know and don't understand. He wants us to walk closely with Him. He wants us to have His mind and His heart toward people. Everything that God wants us to do is based on love. He loves us and everyone else. He wants us to do everything in love. That's the key to it all. . .LOVE!

I found a site that has some very good prophecy for 1999. I received great encouragement from his 1/2/98 Times and Seasons newsletter. Perhaps you will, too. Apostle Bret Wade

As I suggested last week, I encourage you to make God your biggest priority this coming year. Everything else fades into insignificance when you realize Who God is! All things will fall into place if you are walking closely with Him.

Here is something the Lord revealed to me. Perhaps it will help you to visualize the relationship He wants you to have with Him. He wants you to be like a tree, rooted in Him! All your nourishment and your life itself is to be dependent on Him just as a tree's roots need the soil to live. If the tree is pulled up by the roots it will wither and die. Without God your life is not healthy and it is not strong. Plant yourself firmly in Him!

Link to the 1/4/99 Bible study.

The Lord has been trying to show me something lately. He has been trying to teach me about praise.

There is POWER in praise! Things happen when we praise God! Satanflees, doors open, prayers are answered before they are even prayed, and MUCH MUCH MORE!

In 2Chronicles chapter 20 you can read where singing praises to God actually won battles! The Israelites sent the praise singers out before the soldiers! There were times when the soldiers had to do nothing because all the work had been done by the time they arrived! Praise the LORD!!!

King David actually appointed people to the job of praising God! That was what they did for a living. They were praisers. Oh, what a wonderful job! What a magnificent thing to be doing!

God inhabits the praises of His people. He wants us to praise Him. There is not enough praise going up for the One who created this universe, the One who knew us before we were ever born, the One who loves us more than we love ourselves! THERE IS NOT ENOUGH PRAISE!!

Try an experiment. It won't hurt and, if you do it right, it won't take very long at all to see the results. Praise, praise, praise the Lord. Start speaking praise. Don't wait for a reason, just do it. If you have no imagination then just simply say, "Praise You, Lord. Praise Your holy name!" Think it while you say it. Believe it while you say it. If you are diligent about it you will discover the POWER that is in praise!

Too many people are content in being lukewarm toward the Lord. They have found a comfortable spot in church and are just occupying that spot. Their salvation is secure and they have nothing to worry about. WRONG!!!

Just sitting and occupying is not pleasing to the Lord! Do you know what He said about the church that was lukewarm in the book of Revelation? He wants you to use the things He has given you! He wants you to soak up the Word so you can share it with others.

We are not given our Bibles to be used as pillows, to rest in! We are not given church pews to be used as beds, to rest comfortably on! The time is growing short. Don't get comfortable in Him. Don't take Him too lightly! Seek diligently the things He has for you to do! It is time to arm yourself! It is time to stand up for Jesus! (Think about it - -He stood up for you!)

Once again I encourage you to make God your biggest priority this coming year. You truly cannot succeed at anything without Him! He has to be your first priority. Once you give Him the place He deserves in your life you will be amazed as everything else begins to make much more sense. Everything else automatically falls into place.

Gosh, I guess I got a little carried away this week! I've hit you between the eyes with two very important things that you need to consider. Well, to prevent bruising ice the spot every fifteen minutes for the first 24 hours, then apply heat the next 24 hours. JUST KIDDING!

Link to the 1/11/99 Bible study.

What is so hard about setting aside a regular time each day to spend with the Lord? It sounds so simple! Especially if you have a quiet place, you have a watch, and you have set a time. It seems like something always tries to interfere!

I need to spend more time with the Lord! He is my teacher and my Father. He has things for me that I need to find out about! I am not going to grow in my relationship with Him if I don't spend more time with Him! I will become lukewarm like we talked about last week.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't spend any time with the Lord! I have Him in my mind most of the day. I talk to Him off and on as well. I give Him praises and sing to Him off and on as well. I'm just talking about time set aside for Him and me alone with no distractions. It would kind of be like a class at school, or a counseling appointment. It sounds pretty pitiful when you think of it in those terms. How much effort do I put into getting to a worldly appointments compared to my Godly appointments? Sigh!

Of course, satan has an agenda when it comes to my life. He wants to keep me from being a working member of the body of Christ. He wants to keep me from my appointments with God. He will continue to toss temptations and obstacles in my path. I have to overcome these things. Hey, wait a minute! I'm already an overcomer!

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1John 5:4-5 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1John 4:4

OK! I have power! I'm not at the mercy of the world or anything or anyone in it! Hallelujah! Stand back! Watch out! Don't get in my way!

I'm going to be working in my garden this week. Well, let's just say that is my plan. It's hard to tell what the weather will be doing around here. The daytime temperatures are finally coming down out of the "summer" range.

This "El Nina" weird weather is making it difficult for me to know what to plant and when to plant. Oh, well, I guess my garden is in God's hands as is everything else. I'll let Him keep an eye on the weather!

Is God your main priority? He is always there with you. Is your mind always on Him?

Link to the 1/18/99 Bible study.

My husband referees high school wrestling. I went with him one evening last week. I enjoy watching wrestling, but generally only when I know someone on the team, or have some reason to cheer for one of the teams. That evening I went to keep my husband company on the long drive there and back. Well, I also went because he took me to dinner afterwards, but it sounds better to say I went to keep him company. :^ )

I took my Bible to read. I watched every now and then, but pretty much stayed in my Bible. Often at sporting events you hear people bad-mouthing the referee, so I wanted to keep from hearing that sort of thing as well.

At one point I was watching a close match and was listening to the crowd screaming, shouting, and stomping their feet. Both sides were equally loud. I pondered how excited people get watching sports. I felt like standing up and shouting about what excited me. I wanted to stand up and shout, "Hooray for Jesus! Thank You, Lord! Thank you for dying for me! Praise Your Holy Name!!"

I imagined what would happen if I did that. The people that heard me would probably fall silent. Gradually the entire auditorium would fall silent as I shouted. Mouths would be hanging open. A buzz would start spreading around the room. "She's nuts. Can you believe that? Listen to that clown."

People cheer their lungs out over a game, a competition. Some people actually get into fights defending their team. People pay money to watch the games.

~~What about Jesus?~~

I actually got outside and did some yard work last week! My roses finally got pruned, the grapevines got trimmed back, the peach trees got pruned, and the weeds got sprayed. I've sent in my orders for seeds and plants. Things are looking good! It sure feels good to have those chores behind me!

Sometimes a job seems so large that it is difficult to convince ourselves to even get started on it. I know people that look at reading the Bible that way. They look at it as such a formidable task that they just don't even start.

Many people open their Bibles, start reading in Genesis, and give up somewhere in Exodus or Leviticus because it gets slow going. The Bible is one book that you don't want to start reading in the first chapter! The best place to start is in the end, in the New Testament. The book of John is the best one to start with. It has some very basic explanations about salvation. After reading the book of John, then it is time to start at Matthew and work through the rest of the New Testament a chunk at a time. The chapters don't even have to be read in order. It is unlike any other book on earth.

Once the New Testament is absorbed, THEN it is time to read the Old Testament. The Bible has interesting things in each chapter. I've noticed that every time I re-read a chapter I find things I never saw before. It is almost like someone takes my Bible and inserts stuff. Every time I read it I find new treasures. The more I read it, the hungrier for God I get. It changed from a formidable task to a desirable task.

Link to the 1/25/99 Bible study.