 Today’s SUNDAY PAUSE ✋🏾
Are you searching for answers? 🙋🏽♀️🗣️“Read the book of Proverbs.” The book of Proverbs provides practical guidance to help us live fruitful and beneficial lives. Here’s a Proverb that resonates. Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” In other words, the wise woman gets advice from many people of GOOD JUDGEMENT before making a decision. 😉 God has all the answers. Read it for yourself, darling! SimoneButterfly.com/Sunday . . . . . #biblequotes #biblestudy #bibleverse #christ #christianity #church #god #godblessyou #godfirst #godisfaithful #godisgood #godisgoodallthetime #godisgreat #godisincontrol #godislove #godlovesyou #godslove #godsplan #gospel #holybible #holyspirit #hope #jesuschrist #praise #pray #prayer #scripture #truth #worship .
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 Growing up with two parents working full time was a the ultimate exercise in patience. (smile). As the middle child, I felt I was always waiting for one thing or another. Waiting to be picked up from ballet, waiting for the 36 bus, waiting at mom's office after school, waiting to eat dinner after church. Thank goodness, I had a library card to transform mundane stretches of time into fantasy courtesy of Nancy Drew, Pippi Longstocking, Anne of Green Gables, and Margaret Simon.
Fast forward to the present and I still hate waiting, Why? When I'm waiting for someone else, I am not in control. What about when we are forced to wait on God? If you pray, you must learn to wait. To be clear, though, you are waiting on God to move. You are not waiting on a grantor to pay out, a friend to reimburse you, or a colleague to apologize. Instead, you are waiting in silence with child like anticipation for God's solution to the problem. God favors those who fear and reverence His Lordship through obedience to his requirements. It's a promise, darling.  Charles Fillmore, author of Teach Us to Pray defines LOVE as an ability to extend kindness even when it is not deserved.
Exercising this type of “active” love requires supernatural help. It is impossible to be loving in the face of prolonged cruelty, hatred, mean spiritedness and betrayal without God’s help. Recall the words of Jesus found in John 14:6. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:6 The Comforter that Jesus speaks of is the Holy Spirit sent to dwell inside of us and to provide us with all we need to be our most perfect / healthy / happy / beautiful selves. The Holy Spirit is really the light of God...it is GOD ENERGY that resides inside each of us. This GOD ENERGY enables us to be LOVING to ourselves, our neighbors even when we do not feel particularly lovable. It’s a promise, darling.  Humans are social creatures who tend to gravitate towards others for protection, comfort, and instruction . But all relationship are not edifying. If I’m honest, some of my biggest missed opportunities have resulted from a reliance on bad advice from well meaning friends and some mean spirited frenemies.
 Since I was a child, it struck me as odd that Jesus, the only son of the living GOD was born in a stable with no heat, no amenities, no room service. Why?
In this world, we tend to heap luxury on people that we value. Super stars are treated to 5 star accommodations, swag bags and perks of all kinds. Ordinary folks are treated...well, ordinary. This is the way of the world. As with most things, God has a different view point. Once we surrender our lives to God and seek to mimic the ways of his Son, we are rewarded. But, our reward is not a life of leisure or comfort. Our reward is a sense of peace, wonder and joy no matter what betides. This is a supernatural gift given to us by a loving God. When Mary was about to deliver her baby, the couple sought lodging at an inn only to be directed to an even more humble stable. But was the stable really that lowly? Didn’t kings bearing really expensive gifts from distant lands visit these “ordinary” people? Didn’t angels serenade them? Didn’t a marvelous star leave its chartered celestial path to commemorate the birth of their son? Isn’t God’s reward better than anything we can conjure up? Aren’t His ways better than our ways? Darling, don’t let the world and its chatter confuse you. There is only one perfect path to happiness. Stay on Message this Christmas, darling. Unfortunately, many of us do not yet know that God is the only one that can fill the void that we all feel. But believe me, God is the only one who can provide lasting love, peace, forgiveness, wisdom, and contentment.
God promises He will solve all of our problems if we just humble ourselves, pray, and turn from our wicked ways. Amazingly, the harder we seek after Him, the more answers He will reveal. Matthew 7:7 7“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.8For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. And how do we seek Him? It’s easy, set aside time to learn as much as you can about Him. Read His text. Read the texts of his people. Study the ways of His prophets. Watch the behavior of little children. God is all around us. Do not be distracted by the mistakes of false church leaders and other fallen believers. It is our responsibility to continuously study so that our minds will be renewed daily. When we Seek God, we will find God. It is a promise, darling. In the spirit world, wealth is defined simply as the sufficiency to do the will of God. Wealth should never be hoarded or flaunted. To do so is folly and is contrary to God's plan.
I know that this is true. Yet, the fantasy of the million-dollar lifestyle is very seductive. In the US, money can buy beautiful surroundings, cutting edge health treatments, the cleanest food, and even immunity from criminal prosecution. But can money buy happiness? Can money buy peace? God says NO. The sense of self sufficiency that comes from having money SHOULD NEVER BE CONFUSED WITH PEACE! True peace comes from GOD. John 14:27 27 Peace[l] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. When we attempt to live in the world with no access to God’s word, we forget the principles of GOD and we forget how to live Godly. Over time, Godless living will destroy our relationship with God and will prevent us from accessing the privileges given to God’s children. Zechariah 7:13: “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear.” If we are not careful, a reliance on wealth instead of God will lead to our demise. :( It’s a promise, darling. Is it possible to create a sense of happiness in the midst of calamity and uncertainty?
We can't. But, God can! When you PRAY**, your countenance lifts. How? Supernaturally This is very hard to understand. But God promises that when we pray, we will be granted Peace That Passes All Understanding! Prayer can be accomplished in 3 steps:
Remember, God is concerned with our mind and our hearts first.
When we pray, our hearts and minds are transformed so that we are no longer ruled and effected by our circumstances. Pray without ceasing, darling! I am often struck by the number of missteps and missed opportunities I have encountered in my fashion clad journey through life. Even when I try my best, I often stray from my God given path.
During these times of reflection, I just want to curl up under my fuzzy wuzzy blanket and disappear. But, God has called us to "be in the world" just not "of the world". In other words, we are expected to complete our secular responsibilities, pursue our dreams, and steadily improve all while living here, on earth - immersed in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thanks be to God, we have friends in High places to help us: G3 (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Every time I encounter an obstacle, I call on G3 in real time for wisdom, discernment, capacity, good judgement, and love. God has promised to "give us our daily bread" when we seek Him. Daily bread represents the sustenance (energy, vigor, stamina, joy, peace) we need to thrive here on earth. Learn (by following Jesus' New Testament examples) to rely on God's daily bread instead of the world's material illusions. Spirit gifts last forever. It's a promise, darling! Lately, I have run out of runway. My troubles begin at home, my DollHouse. She is quite literally beginning to show her age. First, the entire gas line sprung a leak and required replacing. Then, the roof gave out, destroying my champagne colored sitting room. And today, the main water pipe leaked all over the basement floor!
I am so agitated that even praying about these items feels like another "to do" list. Remember God's solutions to our crises comes from HIM alone, not Oprah, not a best friend, not even grandma. God can solve every problem, if we just take it to HIM and wait for an answer. As I sat quietly in the living room, surrounded by stacks of clothes rescued from a water logged closet, I began to flip through my prayer journal. For over a year, I had been praying for a renovated home with new appliances and an additional third floor. And today…I am forced to begin renovating. Hmmmm..... [And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.] Romans 8:28 There can be no growth without demolition. Thanks be to God, unbeknownst to me, the renovation has begun. God answers prayers. This is a promise, darling |
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