BEYOND to BETTER THINGS: December 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Why Do I Celebrate CHRISTMAS? - 2011

I’ve previously shared that on Sunday mornings I am now riding to church with my step-son. He lives about an hour north of us but used to attend the church we have been members of since 2006 when he was living with us and he was a part of the Worship team. He moved an hour north of us not long after he started working with my husband and then quit the Worship Team. In the fall he started attending our church again even though the long drive he felt it to be well worth his while and I’m sure he liked spending some time with us each week. Not long ago he began questioning God and our Minister of Music about rejoining the Worship Team. I also volunteered to become a part of the greeting ministry. This came to pass and now I know that this was a part of God’s plan. He and I had not been seeing as much of each other. This not only provides us with some quality alone time on our drive to church but I believe it is already (after just 3 weeks of doing it) bringing us closer.

While the Worship Team practices on Sunday mornings prior to our Sunday service, I pray and read my Bible until the time that I need to go and greet people as they come to church. When I found out that I would be getting to church more than two hours prior to the service, I thought this would be such a difficult thing to do. To my surprise (of course, God knows everything) it fits like a favorite pair of old blue jeans. He knows exactly what He made me for so I need to be obedient when He tells me what I need to do. It will be the best for me! I should also add that my step-son has been blessed tremendously through his giving in this, besides the fact that he loves being a part of the Worship team.

(We got custody of my husband’s son when he was 13 in 1999. He turned 15 just 6 days following my brain biopsy. I was home with him through the rest of his schooling. I was sick but I was there. I believe most mothers would understand that I would be sick all over again to be home for him. We are quite close. Most are aghast when I tell them he is not my biological son. I don’t think that makes a big difference to God. He needed a mom who gave him more attention and I had been barren and in need of a son.)

I was sitting in our church yesterday morning, praying and reading my Bible when God led me to:

*John 14: 25-31 (NKJV) The Gift of His Peace “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.”

*John 14:27 is my very favorite verse *“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

So I assuredly paid more attention and my heart softened. God’s peace is what drew me. At 28, I had no peace. My body, mind, and spirit had been spinning, twisting, turning, and bouncing up and down for years. I fought everything before me. I fought the world. I fought life. But God reached down and gave me peace, His peace, which is not the world’s peace.

I decided to look up this verse in The Message version because I’ve liked this version like none since the New King James which has been my old faithful version for more than 23 years. But this morning I read John 14:25-27 in The Message: *"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.” And the tears came. And this realization came to me.
The definition of Christmas by Wikipedia can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas But is it more than this? In the Bible, one of the most important and highly memorized verses is:

*John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

But what does this mean? Many Christians are upset about so many in the world wanting to turn Christmas into something it isn’t. A commercial “holiday” – removing the actual “Christmas” name. I know I am one of them that is upset by this. First and foremost, Christmas is just that. It is first and foremost a celebration of Christ’s birth, therefore it is (Christ)mas. It is not some other holiday. “A worldwide holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Popular aspects of the holiday include decorations, emphasis on family togetherness, and gift giving. Designated a federal holiday by Congress and President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870.” From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United_States.

So, with many of the world trying to take Christ out of the holiday, it is making it into something that it is not. To Christians, Christ’s birth means that we have attained salvation. He came so that we may have eternal life.

*1 Thessalonians 5:8-10 “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”

For me, along with all Christians even though some may acknowledge this more than others, the meaning of Christmas extends even further. And, I realized that this is a major part of why I am quite upset every year at this time by those who would make Christmas into something it is not.

Because of Jesus Christ I have salvation unto eternal life. I know my life does not end at the point of death but that I will go home to be in heaven with Jesus and all those who went before me. I know I will be spending eternity with my parents and other loved ones.
But, It also means to me and to all Christians, that we know we are not alone on this earth, NOW. We know Jesus lives with us through His Holy Spirit. Our life on this earth in the here and now is much more abundant.

*John 14:25-27 in The Message: "I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.”

If Jesus had not been born, I would not have the Holy Spirit living within me today. “I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned”.

To explain the ramifications of this would take me an entire book. I know after 23 years of KNOWING He is with me always has made such a difference in who I am. I would still love to shout it from the rooftops.
One of the first songs I found that says it how I feel is God by Rebecca St. James. (1996 - Lyrics: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/lyrics/new/track.asp?track_id=322 )

I would also recommend reading books by Kenneth E. Hagin. All of his books are good and I read most of them. Some I read numerous times. To name just a couple:
“How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God” at: http://www.amazon.com/How-You-Can-Led-Spirit/dp/0892765410/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2OVXEIVY9YOVK&colid=1N7CUI3AO73LC
“Seven Vital Steps to Receiving the Holy Spirit” at: http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Vital-Steps-Receiving-Spirit/dp/0892760036/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324475170&sr=1-1
But, all of his books are good:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=kenneth+e+hagin&sprefix=kenneth+e+ha
Also, 120 Kenneth E. Hagin titles available to include some on CD:
http://www.impactchristianbooks.com/Products.aspx?GroupMedia=1&Auth=583
I'm praying that you all have come to the realization of what Christmas truly means!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days

Friday, December 9, 2011

Is He Reaching Out to You?

I started my day today with my Bible studies. Even though I wrote yesterday I still feel compelled to share this with you. There must be someone who needs to see this since I sure can’t get it off of my mind. I am doing a study on creativity which asked if I had a favorite Psalm and I knew right off that it was Psalm 27. And the study asked why, to which I wrote the first title of "God is All Powerful and Steadfast", to this post. But, then I read through the Psalm in the New King James Version, which is my favorite, and I was surprised at the verse that stood out the most to me.

*Psalm 27

¹ “The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
⁵ For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.
¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

The first verse just always stands out due to it being my recognition point of this Psalm. But as I read through it, it was “⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”” that stood out to me and just is so endearing to my heart. He reached out to me. In my times of trouble, He sought me to come to Him. In my book “Beyond to Better Things” I wrote of a time not long after being arrested in 1988 where I had turned on a TV church service on Sunday morning and during this service I remembered feeling God’s presence as though He was filling my whole apartment. He reached down to me.

Is He reaching down to you right now?

And, a song that has gone through my mind the whole time while writing this is another one from the Our Hymns cassette tape that I learned to love while in prison. I wonder why? Enjoy:

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Forgetting the Past – God’s Ominous Power

*Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,” and

*Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

I haven’t written for some time so I’ve been thinking and praying. During this time of year there are many memories, some good and some bad. So many countless memories God has healed. I’ve been told time and again that it seemed that I brought up the past too much as if I wasn’t forgetting and moving on. But, I don’t believe that is exactly what this scripture means. How many of you fondly remember times past? I believe memories of many things are good for our hearts. It’s the sting of bad memories that we need to forget. That is where the healing comes into place. If, while remembering, we have an awful time with tears, resentment, guilt and on and on, then this is where we should go to our Father in heaven and ask Him how these memories may be healed. I have written through some while in prayer. I have just thought through some while in prayer and the sting never returned. And, I have started to remember awful things from my past that He just completely removed all of the hurt and pain from without me even having to work through them.

*1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Many of my memories come to mind to share from my past prison experience from 1988-90. I’ve had friends come to me with worrisome looks regarding this. But God healed any and all of the sting from these memories years upon years ago. The memories that are noble, just, pure, lovely, and etc… from this experience are too numerous to count. I’m learning through not only my experience but also the experiences of others (namely a cousin who was stationed with her husband in the service in Saudi Arabia) that the work of the Holy Spirit as comforter, teacher and friend seems so much more profound in times of absolute need. Prison is a place where God became more real to me than any of you are or even my husband, mother, father, brothers. He walked with me and talked with me. I sat on my bunk and learned from Him as if He sat beside me in the flesh.

*Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

And people slight God. And I slighted God. I was reluctant to believe in His power. I can honestly say that I never doubted His existence. I doubted His power! Until prison I just didn’t get His power and His love shown to me through His willingness to provide for ALL OF MY NEEDS no matter what those needs are.
We look in our own wisdom and give Him limits but by His wisdom and knowledge He created us and this entire world.

*Proverbs 3: 19, 20 “By wisdom the Lord founded the earth;
by understanding He created the heavens. By His knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.”

By His wisdom/knowledge He is able to do anything! I could go on and on about prison and all of the ways He blessed me in there. But, one instance that stands out amongst so many is a time in 1989 when the sun hadn’t shown for days, weeks, well it had been probably 3 weeks (if you know Ohio, you’d understand). I was walking to the cafeteria, talking to the Lord in my mind about this fact. I told Him that I’d just love to see the sunshine. Right at that moment, the clouds parted and the sun shone down on me, just me. I had two friends with me at that point that watched it happen. Why would I want to forget that? What good would be done by me forgetting that? But, what good may be done by me remembering that? I remember how willing my Papa was to provide for my needs and even some of my wants because He is my Papa.
*Matthew 7:11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Yesterday, I remembered and looked for a used CD to purchase called “Our Hymns”. A song came to mind from it that comforted my heart so much during this time of need. My folks had send me a walkman and periodically send some cassette tapes. I remember lying on that top bunk listening to that cassette tape and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit I was (in my mind’s eye) transported out the window onto the roof and free within my spirit. It was like that prison disappeared!
And, when I am sitting here at my computer, disabled by the world, alone in this computer room/studio for the umpteenth hour this week I can remember those times and He brings His peace once again.

*John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

And through this PAST experience, I KNOW that if I could find His peace in that situation, that I or anyone can find His peace any time. We need to work with our Father to gain healing from past experiences so we may forget them. But to learn from them, remembering those things that help us to meditate on things that are pure, lovely, etc...

*2 Corinthians 12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

If any of you ever have any questions, concerns, or just need someone to talk to please e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com.