TRUST

defined...

noun

1.

reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

2.

confident expectation of something; hope.

3.

confidence in the certainty of future payment for propertyor goods received; credit: to sell merchandise on trust.

4.

a person on whom or thing on which one relies: God is my trust.

5.

the condition of one to whom something has been entrusted.

6.

the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person inwhom confidence or authority is placed: a position of trust.

7.

charge, custody, or care: to leave valuables in someone's trust.

8.

something committed or entrusted to one's care for use orsafekeeping, as an office, duty, or the like; responsibility;charge.

9.

Archaic . reliability

verb (used without object)

13.

to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something(usually followed by in or to ): to trust in another's honesty;trusting to luck.

14.

to have confidence; hope: Things work out if one only trusts.

15.

to sell merchandise on credit.

verb (used with object)

16.

to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.

17.

to believe.

18.

to expect confidently; hope (usually followed by a clause orinfinitive as object): trusting the job would soon be finished;trusting to find oil on the land.

19.

to commit or consign with trust or confidence.

20.

to permit to remain or go somewhere or to do somethingwithout fear of consequences: He does not trust his children outof his sight

Verb phrase: trust to, to rely on; trust: Never trust to luck!

Idiom: in trust, in the position of being left in the care or guardianship of another: She left money to her uncle to keep intrust for her children.

Synonyms
1. certainty, belief, faith. Trust, assurance, confidence imply afeeling of security.

Trust implies instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something: to have trust in one's parents.

Confidence implies conscious trust because of good reasons,definite evidence, or past experience: to have confidence in the outcome of events.

Assurance implies absolute confidence andcertainty: to feel an assurance of victory.

Love Beyond Doubt

I have loved you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)

Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells His Church His love thoughts. "He does not consider it sufficient to declare them behind her back, but in her very presence He says, 'Behold, you are beautiful, my love.'1 It is true, this is not His ordinary method. He is a wise lover and knows when to hold back the intimation of love and when to declare it; but there are times when He will make no secret of it, times when He will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of His people" (R. Erskine'sSermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits to the love of Jesus. He takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more certain than either of these If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the believer personally of the Savior's love for him, the evidence would not be one bit more satisfactory than that which is born in the heart by the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord's people who have lived the nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the love of Christ toward them has been a fact so clear and sure that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence. Yes, dear believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and then our faith has soared to the heights of assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the shoulder of our Lord, and we have not questioned our Master's affection for us. The dark question, "Lord, is it I that will betray You?" has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the kisses of His mouth and killed our doubts by the closeness of His embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls. Song of Solomon 1:15 (Morning & Evening by C.H. Spurgeon)

Where is Jesus?

So as my mom is showing me her Christmas decorations, she walks over to a beautiful nativity scene that is laid out on it's own table by the window. But as she looks at it, she looks up at me with a sad face and eyes.. I'm wondering what is wrong? She looks down at the nativity scene and at the manager - and looks up at me and says... "Jesus is missing - he's not in the manger.I can't find baby Jesus!? Baby Jesus is missing!"

My first reaction was to laugh - and i did -mostly at the irony of it all and my mom's face. And mostly because Jesus is the main event - the reason why the nativity scene is even a nativity scene - why the shepherds are there, mary and joseph are looking at an empty manger -it's all about Jesus and He is missing?! It struck me as funny and serious at the same time.

Then I thought... I need to blog about this. Because unfortunately this nativity picture in my parent's living room without Jesus in the manger... is very true of our present reality and our present world. With all of our preparations for Christmas, the hustle and bustle of shopping and other preparations... have we forgotten, misplaced, or simply left Jesus out of the picture.

Today is the first day of Advent and our anticipation of Christ's coming... truly eschateological at the heart of it all. He has come already the first time as a baby who grew up to become our Saviour and who will return as our Victorious King. But if we don't take the time to first behold him in the manger -to see Him as the center of it all - of Christmas - that His first coming was prophesied about hundreds and hundreds of years before - how will we receive Him as Savior and how will we receive Him fully when He comes again?

So let us Behold Him - again - not keeping Him as the baby in the manger but remembering that Advent and Christmas is all about Him and why He came to earth... to take the time to see Him, to find Him, to seek after Him - and remove those things that can so easily distract our eyes and our hearts this time of year...

Mom - i hope you find baby Jesus so that the nativity can be complete!

Our All-Sufficient Portion

Lamentations 3:24

'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul.

It does not say, "The Lord is partly my portion," nor "The Lord is in my portion"; but He Himself makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire.

The Lord is my portion. Not His grace merely, nor His love, nor His covenant, but Jehovah Himself. He has chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Him for ours.

It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we will never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing-

Loved of my God for Him again

With love intense I burn;

Chosen of Him before time began,

I choose Him in return.

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills Himself; and if God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, instantly he wakes to the perception that there is still something more, and his longings remain unfulfilled.

But for the believer all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." We can then delight ourselves in the Lord who allows us to drink of the river of His pleasures.

Our faith stretches her wings and soars like an eagle into the heaven of divine love, her proper dwelling-place. "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."2 Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show the world that we are a happy and a blessed people and cause them to exclaim, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

Devotion: C.H. Spurgeon

1 Psalm 73:25 2 Psalm 16:6

A Call to Courage

Book: Women on the Front Lines (Michal Ann Goll)

Chapter: A Call to Courage – Joan of Ark

Joan’s Legacy:

What made the difference? Joan possessed the only qualification that mattered: She loved God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. She was completely sold out to Him. God chose her and used her because she made herself available to Him. Her executioner claimed that her heart would not burn. If this was so, perhaps it was because her heart had already been burned by her passion for God. She was so consumed by Him that nothing else could touch her. We can all take courage from the fact that the only thing God requires from us in order for Him to use us is that we know Him, Love Him, and make ourselves available to Him.

The standards Joan laid down for her army show us that the Lord has called His army (us) to a life of purity, holiness, and complete devotion to Him. If we are to be effective and fully usable, we must put away all filth and uncleanness, all sin and evil thinking, and be clean vessels before the Lord. God has raised His standard of righteousness for us to rally under and has told us, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16). The apostle Paul expressed it well when he wrote, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of God to make a decisive dedication of your bodies (presenting all your members and faculties) as a living sacrifice, holy – (devoted, consecrated) – and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable – (rational, intelligent) – service and spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)

We must be blameless in our behavior, wholesome in our speech, and consistent in our walk.

Regardless of what the world tries to do to us, we can walk blameless and undefiled before God. The purity and holiness that He places in us can come out as an extension of us, and we can then pass them on to other people. We don’t have to be tainted by the world. On the contrary, we can influence the world for Christ. It isn’t easy, and it costs everything, but with God’s help it can be done. And He receives the glory!

Joan’s example encourages us to dare to believe that we can do whatever God calls us to do. It assures us that He will back us up in our call and bring it to pass as we obey and follow Him. It is inconceivable that Joan could have done what she did without the hand of God on her life. One thing that the Lord told Joan again and again was, “Go On! Go on, Daughter of God! Go on; I will be with you and I will be your help.” He says the same thing to us today: “Go on to your destiny, into your calling, into your place before the Lord. Go on! Push through! Endure! Let Me show Myself strong on your behalf!”

God is looking for men and women who will be sold out to Him; He wants people who will let their hearts and minds be so consumed with Him that nothing else matters. All that mattered to Joan was reaching Rheims and seeing her king crowned according to God’s will. Doing so required pressing through the heart of the English army, moving through the hardest and greatest difficulties to reach the place of victory. It is the same for us. We need to go to the places that is the most difficult for us, where the enemy seems to have the greatest stronghold, and enthrone Jesus there. We need to raise His banner and make a way for Him to come and receive the honor due His name.

The cost to Joan for courage was her life, but her reward was the company and presence of God and the fulfillment of His purpose in and through her. To have courage will cost us everything as well; our whole lives given completely to the Lord in sacrifice and devotion. What is our reward? Life! We want to proclaim life, not death; blessing not cursing; and light, not darkness. However, it is only in losing our life that we find it. And what we find is His life, not ours.

Courage is not something we can drum up from within ourselves it comes from knowing God and trusting Him completely. As we learn to depend on Him rather than on ourselves, He releases His power in and through us – and that power can change our families, our friends, our communities, our nation, and even the whole world.

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

So I'm reading "Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Jeanne Guyon and I'm being wrecked over and over by the Holy Spirit - waking me up again and again -it's like getting slapped in the face over and over again in a good and life giving way - and I'm also writing on a paper on it - which is making me interface with the truths in it even more. I've lived so much of this book already yet see God calling me to deeper depths with Him and so feel like there is soooo much more that He wants to bring me into. So much more of Jesus I want - so much more of me I want to give Him. To be one with Christ. what a thought!

It's like He's speaking afresh again and connecting the 'dots' in my life with Him. I HIGHLY recommend everyone and anyone who wants to know Jesus more fully and walk with Him more intimately to get this book, read it, digest it, experience God in it, and live it. I can only imagine one of the results being us looking more like Jesus, having more of His heart, nature and life flowing in us and through us. WOW! this is by far one of the best books I've "experienced' (and this book needs to be experienced and not just read by our 'natural' mind) and i read a lot.

Here's an excerpt:

Abandonment and A Holy Life

What is the result of walking continually before God in a state of abandonment? The ultimate result is godliness. Godliness is something that comes from God. The more you possess God & the more we are possessed by God - the more we are made like Him.

But it must be a godliness that has grown from within you. If godliness is not from deep within you, it is only a mask. The mere outward appearance of godliness is as changeable as a garment. But when godliness is produced in you from the Life that is deep within you – then that godliness is real, lasting, and the genuine essence of the Lord. “The King’s daughter is all glorious within.” (Psalm 45:13)

"Dear child of God, why do you not instantly cast yourself into the arms of Love? What possible risk do you take in depending solely upon God? What risk do you run by abandoning yourself completely to Him? The Lord will not deceive you (that is, unless it is to bestow on you more abundance than you ever imagined)."

Drink My daughter

These words from the Lord are from amazing, intimate & transforming encounters I had with Jesus while in Mozambique in 2008 - and today - He reminds me to drink deep again.

I was in the prayer hut in worship during a prayer, intercession and worship time for the Solemn Assembly we were preparing for the Mozambiquen pastors at the IRIS church at the end of the week - while I was sitting back in the prayer hut before the Lord in worship - He appeared to me as a gigantic pitcher over my head and as I looked again - I saw Jesus holding the pitcher over me and the pitcher was also Himself.

He said..."Drink My daughter. Drink My daughter. Open your mouth and drink. Let My living water fill you - those dry & thirsty places left from being in the dessert and wilderness these past years. Drink My daughter. I satisfy You - take it in. Let Me fill you. There is so much that I want to give you. So much more of myself I want to give you. I am pleased with you and your faithful & obedient heart. All the sacrifices you have made and the losses you've suffered while in the desert/wilderness, I am filling each loss with myself. I have purified you. I am taking you out of the desert/wilderness into abundance.

I am even filling the places of your heart that are thirst from those who you loved with My love and who you wanted to love you back - but you loved them selflessly pointing them to Me. Even those left you thirsty and I am filling you with Myself. Drink of Me.

Anytime you are thirsty - Come to Me and I will satisfy you. Drink My daughter. This is what it means not to strive and to let Me satisfy You. Resting in Me and in all that I am for you. Always."

Circumcise Our Hearts

Jeremiah 4:4

"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done-burn with no one to quench it."

Peeling away and removing the dead skin - or any hindrance - covering on our hearts (i.e. pride, self-worship, sin, etc.) - so that we would be free and fully Yours.

Removing residue from sin, old habits, past hurts, etc. Remove like You are doing heart surgery in us. So that we can walk in forgiveness, humility, consecration, purity and passion for You.

Remove those things that hold us back from living for You, loving, trusting in You, and worshipping You with our whole lives in reckless abandon.

Breaking through the who You created us to be - Identity in You Jesus - Identity in Your Spirit - for the real us to come forth.

See Your scalpel - gentle and exacting - removing the dark layers of muscle of the heart - removing those dark dead areas that give access to the enemy - where he tries to attack our hearts and keep us "back" and hidden.

New life - a heart that is Yours - a heart that is ALIVE in You - dead to sin- and ALIVE in You.

New - restored and renewed - life flowing from You and our hearts beating with Your heart - with Your love, desires, passions, intentions, purpose, Your Kingdom reigning in us and through us - where You Jesus sit on the throne of our hearts as King and as Lord.

(a word, teaching, picture that I received from the Lord during my first visit to IRIS - Pemba -Mozambique, Africa in 2008)

Grace for me

Grace for Me

lyrics to a song by Gungor band - God speaking loudly through these words to my heart today...

This jar of clay and all its weakness;

Somehow inside dwells Your Fullness.

Even though I'm not yet flawless,

You are forming me.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here.

Everything that I desire really may not meet my needs.

Help me to seek first Your Kingdom,

You'll provide for me.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here.

Valleys come and tears aren't dry,

Yet there are things I don't yet see.

But I'll rejoice despite the hardship;

You'll watch over me.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here.

Your grace for me is all I need,

All I need is here in You.

Beautiful Little Girl

Little Girl - lyrics by Mary Mary

She was just 13 and I just don't think

That she ever seen her own beauty

And she didn't think she'd be anything

And that little girl she used to be me

[Chorus:]

Little girl, little girl

Wonder are you listening

Little girl, little girl

Struggling with your confidence

Little girl, little girl

God made you so beautiful

Little girl, little girl

I just thought that you should know

Sometimes you feel like you don't fit in

'cause you don't look like

all your other friends

Got your own thing going on

Girl you are so unique you are just

That way that

God intended for you to be

Tell you what you should do

When you get up

In the morning look yourself in the

Mirror and say

I love me

Even with all of your flaws and all of your downfalls

Just be your best 'cause to Him you

Already are...

"Being Filled"

Facets of Spiritual Filling (excerpt from a teaching by John MacArthur)

When we use the word fill in English we normally think of something being placed into a container such as milk being poured to the brim of a glass, water being run into a bath tub, or gasoline being pumped into a gas tank. But none of those examples conveys precisely the meaning of to fill or be filled as does the Greek pleroo, a form of which is used in Ephesians 5:18 .

Pleroo has three shades of meaning that are helpful in illustrating the scriptural meaning of Spirit-filled. The first carries the idea of pressure. It is used to describe wind billowing the sails on a ship, providing the impetus to move the vessel across the water. In the spiritual realm, this concept depicts the Holy Spirit providing the thrust to move the believer down the pathway of obedience. A Spirit-filled Christian isn't motivated by his own desires or will to progress. Instead, he allows the Holy Spirit to carry him in the proper directions. Another helpful example of this first meaning is a small stick floating in a stream. Most of us have tossed a stick into a creek and then run downstream to see the twig come floating by, propelled only by the force of the water. To be filled with the Spirit means to be carried along by the gracious pressure of the Holy Spirit.

Pleroo can also convey the idea of permeation. The well-known pain reliever Alka Seltzer illustrates this principle quite effectively. When you drop one or two tablets into a glass of water, they instantly begin to fizzle and dissolve. Soon the tablets are transformed into clear bubbles throughout the glass, and the water is permeated with the distinct flavor of the Alka Seltzer. In a similar sense, God wants the Holy Spirit to permeate and flavor our lives so when we're around others they will know for certain we possess the pervasive savor of the Spirit.

There is a third meaning of pleroo, actually the primary one in the New Testament, which conveys the sense ofdomination or total control. It is used by the Gospel writers to indicate that people were dominated by a certain emotion. In Luke 5:26, after Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and healed the paralytic, the people were astonished and "filled with fear." In Luke 6:11, when Jesus restored a man's hand on the Sabbath, the scribes and Pharisees "were filled with rage." When our Lord told the disciples that He would soon be leaving them, He told of their reaction: "sorrow has filled your heart" (John 16:6). Each of those uses reveals an emotion so overwhelming within the people that it dominated their thoughts and excluded every other emotion.

Most people are able to balance their emotions from day to day. But there are times when the emotional balance is tipped to one extreme or another. Such occasions might include a wedding, the death of a close family member, or an extreme emergency or trial. When someone is totally dominated by a particular emotional reaction in secular contexts, it can be foolish, sinful, a waste of time, or even frightening and physically harmful. But in our spiritual lives we are commanded to yield to the total control of the Holy Spirit, so every emotion, thought, and act of the will is under His direction. That kind of complete spiritual control is for our benefit and totally in line with God's will.

Loving God and others... What does love look like?

So I saw this card at a bookstore in Chicago and had to pick it up - I was so drawn to this quote...

"What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what gets you out of bed in the mornings, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." Pedro Arrupe

The first and second commandment came to mind right away... and I thought, yes this is what it can look like to be consumed with God's love and loving God and others. "Love the LORD your God with ALL your heart, will ALL your mind, will ALL your soul, and with ALL your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself." (Deut. 6:5) The entire law is summed up in one single command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Gal. 5:14)

Living by the LAW of LOVE does help us 'follow' the other laws God has set for us. And we are fully dependent on the work of Holy Spirit and the grace of God - to receive His love and to pour out His Love.

This quote that I saw on this card can definitely refer to a love relationship we can share with another and it also speaks to and gives a more practical picture of what Loving God and others can look like - definitely not the whole picture but a beautiful glimpse.

Prayer Therapy...

Some notes from a book called Prayer Therapy... using for myself and for my clients. Enjoy reading...

1. Remember: your work and your struggles are not unholy. Pray and God will come to you just as you are.

2. Pray always, but schedule special times too. The spirit, like the body, needs formal exercise.

3. If you want something, ask yourself. "Do I want what God wants?" God wants your true good.

4. Bring your anger to prayer. Hot metal can be molded.

5. Pray when you are worried. Prayer puts everything into perspective.

6. If for any reason, you cannot pray, relax. The desire to pray is already a prayer.

7. When you feel sad or sorry, weep. Tears are a prayer of the heart.

8. If prayer makes you passive and indifferent, it isn't prayer. True prayer will bear fruit in care and service.

9. When you don't like someone, pray for them. Prayer reveals the hidden God.

10. Pray when you feel lonely. Prayer puts you in the company of angels.

Trying to trust You more...

I find that in so many ways I trust You - trust You fully - like diving into unchartered waters but being okay. Stepping out of the boat towards you Jesus and being okay. But then there are parts of my heart that struggle so much to trust You. Perhaps these are places and memories of loss - where some fears have been realized - where even today I feel easily triggered and threatened.

Yet seeing that You are good and so sovereign. Trusting in Your perfect love for me every moment of everyday? I'm not there yet Lord, but I want to be. I feel so fragile in my heart sometimes. And yet a warrior at other times.

Thank you that You meet me where I am and call me out from where I've been so that I can soar with You - anchored more and more securely in Your love. I want to gaze at You more - to keep my eyes fixed. To respond Yes when you say... "Look My way My Love."

excerpt from a poem I wrote..."Help me to trust You and not be afraid. Learn to let go when I fear the unknown."

I need Your Perfect Love to wash my fears away... again.

Taste and Trust

(from God Calling)

O taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8

He is good. Trust in Him. Know that all is well. Say "God is good. God is good." Just leave in His Hands the present and the future, knowing only that He is good. He can bring order out of chaos, good out of evil, peace out of turmoil. God is good.

I and My Father are one. One in desire to do good. For God to do good to His children is for Him to share His goodness with them. God is good, anxious to share His goodness, and good things, with you and He will do this.

Trust and be not afraid.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:5