Friday, April 19, 2019

Do You Generate or Extinguish Power in your Life?

The sun is setting on this wonderful Good Friday. The day....

Jesus gave his life, freely.

Beaten, mocked, crucified and killed for mankind, for everyone.

For you and for me.

But, there's more....


I see a lot of images and shirts proclaiming "A lot can happen in three days". I'm here to proclaim not only can it happen, IT DID HAPPEN! Jesus proclaimed on the cross of Calvary "It is finished.". God's plan of salvation is, was and forever will be, complete. Jesus rose on the third day just like he said. 

Jesus came back to Galilee and told them "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Do you believe him? Do you believe Jesus has the power to do all things? Read this and let it sink in ---- HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD! Uh, that's pretty powerful!

Why are you waiting? Do you generate or extinguish power in your life? You can accept an all powerful, alive, Risen Savior who will generate his love and perfect will in your life, RIGHT NOW! You don't have to wait until you get to heaven to experience the ultimate Jesus. I wish I could let you see through my heart and my eyes. Jesus gave his life for you to have life more abundantly. The abundant life he's referring to is not in heaven. It's here on earth. Christians hurt my heart harnessing the power of Jesus. Christians hurt my heart not realizing the fullness of what Christ did for us. Through him, we live a guiltless, shameless, forgiven LIFE!

I don't read in the Bible where he says "You're forgiven, now die and enjoy my kingdom." He says Go and sin no more. He says Go and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost. He says He is at the right hand of our Father making intercession for us. He says He's prepared us a place where we'll go be with him....someday. 

But, now, right now, unleash his power in your life. All power was given to him in heaven and in earth. If you are his child, you have access to HIS power. We should be shouting, believing, receiving in the power of his name  "A lot more things can happen in three days!" And then three days later let the world hear us say  "A lot of things DID just happen in three days!"

I challenge you, on this Good Friday 4/19/2019, ask him for just one thing, believing you will receive it and see if it happened just three days later. The thing may happen just one day later!  Don't extinguish the power in your life. You want to see things happen, pray they will, believing they will, in the powerful name of Jesus.

Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believingye shall receive.

I didn't say that. This man Jesus, who has been given all power in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18), said that! If you can believe him for salvation, believe him for his resurrection too! Allow him to resurrect his power in you this Easter season and beyond. Resurrect your belief in his power over all things, resurrect your belief in the power of prayer, resurrect us, to serve and worship a risen savior! For...

He is Worthy! 

Resurrecting 365,
Tammy

This is one of my favorite songs. 


Friday, February 1, 2019

Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon




We most often associate the familiar term "Fall Off the Wagon" with a recovering alcoholic who has turned back to the bottle. I want to use the analogy of "The Wagon" as it applies to Christians demonstrating a safe place or haven where all our needs are met, namely Jesus. I've been trying to improve my diet since August 2018. Well, I've been trying to improve my food choices for years. Recently, I'm seeking to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my daily food selections toward good for me food and avoid bad for me food.

 Yesterday, I didn't feel well. My stomach was a tad nauseous with an overall feeling of yuck. I'm strange. When I feel like this, I want a plain McDonald's burger with fries and one of their unparalleled, deliciously-filtered fountain Cokes. I went. I bought. I ate. Sometime during the afternoon, pondering why I ate it,(because I had been doing so well), God spoke these truths into my ear concerning the Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon.
  • REASON No. 1: This Christian has never gotten in the wagon. It's hard to fall off if you've never gotten in, right? But you are in. You've accepted Jesus as your Savior but you won't accept him as Lord of your life giving him full control. You've either walked behind or alongside the wagon feeling the pain in your feet and the burden on your knees with every step. You know him. You just can't seem to trust him with your whole heart. Get in the wagon.
  • REASON No. 2: This Christian likes the easy life. It's easier off the wagon than inside of it. How can it be easier to walk alone than be carried? Jesus carries the people who believe, trust, obey, sacrifice, are patient, longsuffering and kind. I can name more Christ-like attributes but do you really want me to? Those ACTION verbs are hard. Walking singularly without anyone expecting anything from you. especially Jesus, is so much easier.
  • REASON No. 3: This Christian relies on other people for their life example instead of Christ. We've all heard it before, "If they're a Christian, the woods are full of them." Just stop it. Stop trying to justify your wrongdoings by comparing yourself to the next best born-again sinner you know. Christians are supposed to be better people because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, but unfortunately, all Christians don't exercise those action verbs above and unfortunately, we still sin. Be like Him, not every Tom, Dick or Harry!
  • REASON No. 4: This Christian wants his cake and eat it too. Eating causes crumbs in the wagon. What happens when we see morsels of bad food lying around?  We eat it. Then, we want more! There's never been a Christian that dabbled with sin without wanting more.  When you're on the wagon for Christ, you're off of entertaining temptation for Tammy (insert your name here). Perfect example of this for me is if I eat one Entenmann's Chocolate Doughnut, I'll not stop until I eat the entire pack. Little Bites, big bites, they're all sin to me because I can't practice moderation. This Reason No. 4 applies to any temptation you are apt to succumb to, certainly not limited to food.
  • REASON No. 5: This Christian falls off the wagon because she doesn't get the results she's expecting or they are happening way too slow. Notice I said they ARE happening! We are a fast car, fast food, microwave, direct deposit, instant gratification society that wants Jesus under our thumb or fingertips instead of giving honor to his place of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We want to use him like a medicine: as needed. We get bored when we're not entertained. We lose interest if the thrill we seek requires too much effort on our part. 
What are your #Christiangoals? Secure a front row seat in heaven? Live your best life now? Belong to a free membership? These are  #megoals. Our purpose as Christians is to worship, praise and glorify Jesus while showing others his mercy and grace. These are #godgoals.

The wagon isn't full. Want to get in with others who are selfless, God-seeking, life-surrendered, saved by grace, mercy-showing followers of Christ? I do! It's gonna take an action verb...



In the wagon 365,



Saturday, January 19, 2019

It's Not the Brownies Fault

Ladies and I started a new journey the first week of this new year. We join together each week to share victories and sometimes defeats reading a 40-day devotional book "Eating with the King".  The objective is to allow God's Holy Spirit to guide and control our eating.  It's not the brownies fault!

The first thing that jumped out at me from the book is "Food is not our foe". Ok. That's right. I can get on-board with that. It's the way I treat food that makes me overweight. I've got this. Me and Jesus are buds and he's gonna help me get skinny! Fast-forward to Day Six entitled "What Kind of Sorry Are We?" Since reading this small yet powerful devotion, I've been like Eeyore.
Yes, this has been me this week!
What toppled my world so dramatically? This simple little sentence from the book. I don't ever remember a time that I would have chosen water over a good ole glass of sweet tea--the sweeter the better, or a classic Coca-Cola. Then the next powerful sentence read...I heard once, a way to recognize if something was an idol in your life was to ask yourself this question. "Can I give it up?" Could I? I don't want to! When I think about food, I always daydream about the drink. I have certain sugary beverages I drink with every meal. Let me paint the picture completely. I WON'T eat the meal without I have my drink of choice! I CANNOT eat a hamburger and fries without a Coke or Diet Coke. Sunday Dinner without tea? I don't think so.

Here's another kicker for me. I rarely ever get thirsty. So this person writing this book is telling me to drink water (which I don't like) and not drink any tea or Coke because I idolize them? The nerve! Turned the page in the book and with one verse of scripture, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sugary drink idolatry. Oh! Ouch! So painful. So insightful. So annoying. So Sweet Jesus please forgive me.

I've done fairly well since Monday. I'm beginning Day 5 with water as my main drink of choice. I've had one glass of Sweet n Low-laden tea and one glass of sweet tea and zero soft drinks. I passed a Coke truck yesterday and turned my head to avoid the seductive ice cold glass of Coke on the side of the truck with fabulous fizzy bubbles rising from the ice. I tried not to notice the beads of water on the outside of the glass reminding me of a beautiful hot sunny day with a refreshing ice cold Coke! Is there anything better?

Yes. There is something better than Coke! If I find myself dreaming of Coke or tea, conjuring up the flavors in my mind, desiring to go fill a glass with a Coke and a smile, I ask God to inscribe his powerful Word on the tables of my heart so that I may never forget:

Whosoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. John 4:14

Be watered and well 365,

Monday, December 31, 2018

A Housewife's Perspective for 2019

Happy New Year

Everyone wants something out of a new year. Here's a housewife's perspective for 2019. I wish someone would get to work inventing these things that will make my life easier.

  • A hands-free mop. We have the roomba aka the vacuum cleaner that runs around the room cleaning the floor. We also have an automatic pool cleaner that works in water. Why oh why can't some genius merge those two to invent a hands-free mop?
  • A self-cleaning refrigerator. We have the self-cleaning oven that works with heat. We need the self-cleaning refrigerator that evaporates spills and messes with cold vapor. Someone GET ON IT!
  • An automatic laundry sorter. I don't want to take up my laundry room space with multiple bins for whites and colors. Who could hit the correct bin anyway when tossing one's clothes across the room? I'm sure someone can invent a sensor that screams at you like the chip reader in retail stores when asking to remove your credit or debit card. If you put your colors in the whites, there should be an arm that automatically moves your clothing into the correct place for washing.
  • An automatic dust sucker. I'm thinking someone can invent a device that can be armed to work while no one is home. Set the timer. Go out your door and just like magic, the device would sit in the middle of your home and pull all the dust from all your rooms without sucking the pictures off your walls.
  • A cardboard eater. I love to shop online. I hate to recycle the cardboard boxes. We already have the garbage disposal that lives in your drain to eat your unwanted and leftover food. We need a cardboard eater kinda like a chipper shredder but something less industrial for home use.
There you have it. A happy new year from a housewife's perspective for 2019! Someone can be a millionaire in 2019 if any of these problems are solved with a gadget. Please...cut me in on your earnings for thinking of such great ideas!

Always thinking 365,
Tammy

Sunday, December 16, 2018

The One Question You Need to Ask Yourself

fireplace

The mantel is decorated. The fire is lit. The Christmas tree lights glow in hurried anticipation of soon-to-open gifts, upcoming festivities, good friends and oh yeah, family. The air is crisper than usual. People seem happier than normal. Christmastime, after all, is the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is the most beloved holiday in American culture.

The season makes one giddy with memories of Christmases' past. Remembrances of that one great gift you can never forget. The one question you probably ask yourself most is "What can I get (you insert name here) for Christmas?".  Gift-giving is a fun experience but gift-buying is a totally different aspect of Christmas, usually a dreaded one. Although that's probably the most asked question, it is not the one question you need to ask yourself.


There are so many legitimate questions to ask at Christmas:
  • Should I buy that beautiful expensive wrapping paper?
  • Wonder if I'll get a Christmas bonus at work?
  • What date should I mail Christmas cards?
  • How much should I spend on Christmas gifts?
  • Will I cook for the pot luck or pick up something at the store?
  • Where do I find a knock-out outfit for the office party?
  • How will I take care of everything on time?
So many questions! But, these are still not the one question you need to ask yourself. So what is it?

When Jesus came into the coast of Phillipi, he asked his disciples, Who do men say that I am? The disciples told him some people say he is John the Baptist or Elias or Jeremias or another prophet. Then Jesus said, "WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?" The one question you need to ask yourself is who do you say Jesus is?


Simon Peter answered Jesus saying "Thou art the Christ! The Son of the Living God!" Is Jesus your Christ? Do you call him your Savior? Is he the Prince of Peace in your life? Is he your Counselor? Is he ordinary to you or extraordinary? If you don't get all your holiday season questions answered or maybe even skip one, please don't miss the one most important question that effects you forever. The one question you need to ask yourself effects your eternity, not just one month out of the year.  This Christmas, please take a moment and concentrate on the one question you need to ask yourself...


What can you get me for Christmas this year? Answer the one question you need to ask yourself! Tell me in a comment who you say Jesus is!

Jesus is Lord 365,
Tammy