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Friday, July 31, 2020

May His Grace

 

 

I have tried to share what I experienced Easter Sunday, April 12th, when I was hospitalized and semi-conscious. I have not felt the freedom to attempt this until now. It is personal, and my words are so inadequate. They can never do His love justice. 

 

 

Looking down, I see myself in agony on the bed.

Spiraling upward into a radiant night sky,

I am swept away from my pain.

I no longer hurt.

Someone gently grasps my hand.

I know it is Him.

I sense His smile wrapping me in His love.

He draws me, and I yearn to look at Him.

His eyes lock with mine. 

And joy bursts within me as we ascend.

I am His! And oh, He is mine!

I long for nothing else but this.

But He beckons to the bright stars above us.

And abruptly we are shooting in and out of a wispy haze—

Our climb slows and then halts.

He points to a small opening in the haze, and it widens.

A vision unfolds of mountains, seas, and rivers.

Figures in the distance are laughing and singing.

Their joy flows into me, and I know this is heaven.

Voices raise in an unfamiliar harmony.

“No more pain!”

“No more sickness!”

“No more sadness!”

“No more fear!”

“No more tears!”

And more and more declarations of freedom rise.

Their worship radiates toward Him exploding into rays of light. 

Floating with Him in the cosmos with heaven just before me,

He speaks to me without words.

And He shares wonders I have never before heard.

Each truth embeds in my heart.

With each unspoken word, I understand what I have never understood.

The purest of love pours into me.

There are no words that render its beauty.

And in one moment all is quiet.

He points again to the opening in the haze.

And then He signals me to look at something with Him.

There, in the hospital bed, I see myself.

I am still with Him, and that pain is far away.

I can’t even remember it.

And then I realize He asks me to choose—

My choice is heaven or to return to that bed.

I feel the joy of heaven.

My heart leans toward loved voices urging me.

And then I look into His eyes.

His love fills me with His wish. 

But, still, as He has always done

He allows me to choose.

He has given me His unspoken words to share.

If I return, I will have pain.

What might His unspoken words and my pain bring?

He has something to do in me—

Something to use in me.

My heart aches for heaven.

But I have a choice to make. 

The Grace that died for me floods my heart.

I am loved beyond anything. 

My choice is made.

I seek His face.

His smile and eyes are mine to remember.

And without one more thought, I have returned.

Pain pierces me.

But I am not alone.

I feel His fingers wrapped around mine.

Just a moment before with heaven right before me,

The face of Grace had held me.

Now, in my return, His Grace still holds me

And encompasses my pain.

Above the sounds of the hospital, I hear heaven’s faint music.

“May the Grace of the Lord Jesus be with you forever!”

I know His joy is mine. 

I am never alone.

_____________________________________________

 

 

“May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you” (2 Timothy 4:22).

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/may-his-grace.html

 

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Mountains Move




Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

—Mark 11:22-24 (NLT)

 

 

This passage of Scripture has incredible Truth to reveal to us. But, perhaps, we just read these verses and never allow them to impact us. Maybe, we don't act upon these words because we have doubts. How often do we read God’s Word and never walk by faith in response to its Truth? More often than we want to admit.

 

“I tell you,” Jesus declares twice in these verses. He wants the disciples to do more than hear His words. He wants them to believe and receive His message. The Holy Spirit continually speaks these same words to us, but often we don't hear Him. Other priorities are on our minds and not just things we put before God. Fear can block His voice. Doubt can crush our faith. “I tell you,” the Holy Spirit speaks. “Listen. Believe and receive my message.”

 

What are these truths we need to believe in Mark 11:23-24? The message Jesus gave in these three verses reaches beyond human understanding. It makes no sense in the natural. A mountain can't be lifted and thrown into the sea—much less on command. Can something happen just because you believe and not doubt? Can you pray for anything, and if you think you have received it, it's yours? These are very bold declarations. But they are more than that. These are the words of our Savior. These words are Truth, and the natural mind cannot understand. Truth is only received spiritually.

 

“Have faith in God,” the Holy Spirit tells us. It’s not our responsibility to move mountains in our lives. It’s His. Our responsibility is to act upon His Truth by speaking it. “You can say to this mountain," Jesus said. We receive what we believe. When we don't believe and speak to our mountains, we don't see God move. But if we choose to believe what God has promised and speak it, we shall receive it. We can speak His Truth, and our mountains will move.

 

Doubt can also enter in when we don't see our mountains move immediately. Some mountains, such as fear or pain or depression or emotional damage, take time to heal. God's power does the work. Believing what we have spoken in response to His Truth, we choose to act upon that Truth by allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us. This can be difficult when we have strongholds that are deeply rooted. But when we hold tightly, without wavering, to the promise God has given, we trust Him to keep it. Mountains move.

 

Can we pray for anything and if we believe we receive it? That is what Jesus told His disciples. His Word is Truth. And it is what the Holy Spirit speaks to us. The prayer of faith reaches the heart of God. He moves in response to the faith we apply. But more than moving God, prayer profoundly changes us. Our perception of who God is and who we are realigns with God’s Truth. And the Word becomes more life-changing than it has ever been. Faith grows, and we experience His Truth grounding and empowering us beyond human reasoning.

 

Believe by faith. Act upon God’s Truth, and your understanding of His Truth grows. Your action to speak by faith what you believe fosters even greater faith. When you speak in faith—when you pray in faith, what you believe is true, then you receive it. Within yourself, you can do nothing.

 

Apply your faith in God. Speak to your mountain. Don’t doubt in your heart. “If you believe, ask anything,” Jesus said, “and you will receive it.”

 

© 2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/mountains-move.html

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Not My Endurance

 

 

Until yesterday I hadn't counted the weeks that I've been home healing. When I did, the number astounded me—fifteen weeks since my first hospital visit. I wondered how much longer would this recuperation continue. A feeling of discouragement washed over me, and suddenly I was upset that I was missing out on life. My attitude, which had been mostly positive, took a hit. Thankfully, I realized right away what my problem was. Instead of keeping my thoughts on how far God had brought me and holding onto the healing I believed He had promised, my thoughts became fixed on what I had endured.  

 

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you” (Isaiah 26:3, NLT).

 

My life is not about what I endure but what He suffered for me. I have His peace when I trust Him. If I think about what He has already done, I am encouraged. When I hold tightly, without wavering, to the hope of healing God has given me, I trust Him to keep His promise. Where I allow my thoughts to wander is critical. To experience His peace, I take any negative thought captive and choose not to dwell on it. I decide to focus on what I know God has revealed to be true. The expectation of my promise fills me with greater faith to trust Him. Trust fosters joy to believe in what I haven’t yet seen.

 

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need,” Paul wrote. “May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father” (Colossians 1:11-12a, NLT).

 

When I don't allow God to be involved in what I'm going through, I focus on what I'm enduring and not what Christ endured for me. Never should I make what I'm going through more critical than His love that rescued me! When Jesus is the most significant part of my life, He strengthens me with His power and gives me all the endurance and patience I need. He becomes my ability to persevere. He becomes the patience that I lack. Giving thanks and praising Him fills me with joy! I believe in His truth of healing. I rest in His grace.

 

Do you endure, or are you praising God for His endurance that rescued you?  No one needs to be stuck, never experiencing the healing miracle of His grace! Jesus endured the cross so we might live. Let's live.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/not-my-endurance.html

 

 

 

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Never Separated from His Love



 

Fear runs rampant when life does not offer consistency. Not knowing what is going to happen next crushes a sense of security. Change that is sudden and volatile, piles on more fear, and life succumbs to hopelessness. That is where the world is right now. But it is not where you have to be. The world has never offered peace. Only Jesus Christ offers lasting peace that never surrenders to the world's unpredictability. He is the only constant in life. At this moment, you have a real awareness you need something more than yourself to handle what is happening all around you. It would help if you had an overwhelming victory. 

 

“No, despite all these things,” Paul wrote to the Romans, “overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Romans 8:37, NLT). Victory in life’s devasting issues over which you have no control is yours in Jesus. Being victorious in Christ doesn’t mean that everything will change around you. It just means that you can have peace to live through it and rise above it. 

 

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death" (Romans 8:35, NLT)?  Nothing that happens in this life separates you from the love Jesus has poured out on Calvary. He loves you and gives you overpowering victory in your heart and mind to remain strong. Jesus guides you through life and carries you safely through trouble and harassment and catastrophe. He feeds you when you are hungry and without hope.  Even the threat of death has no power to destroy your faith. He was victorious over death, and because of His unconditional love for you, you are triumphant, too.

 

“And I am convinced,” Paul wrote, “that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love" (Romans 8:39, NLT). Are you convinced?  Throughout Paul's letters, he inspired believers to have confident hope and the assurance of Christ's victory over death. Life does not defeat you when you have confidence in what Christ has purchased for you on the Cross. When you know your identity in Christ—when you know who He has paid the price for you to be—you rise in confidence, believing you have victory over the trials of life. You believe without hesitation that His victory over death is your most exceptional promise.

 

Do you believe this? Do you have confident hope? You may have asked Him into your heart but still have not grown to understand your relationship with Him. Delve into the Word and learn who He is to you. Learn who He says you are. Grow in His grace that took your pain on Calvary. His grace still takes your pain today. The peace of Christ passes all human understanding. Believe in His love for you. Lay down all your worries for today and tomorrow at His feet, and receive His peace.

 

Jesus conquered the grave and now lives in you—giving you His triumph over death. When you accept His love for you, you also live, overcoming the trials of life and believing that you have His victory. Death does not give you fear. Abundant life here on earth and abundant life in heaven are your promises. Because He lives, you face whatever happens today or tomorrow, with confident hope and assurance that He has won your freedom, and nothing shall ever separate you from His love.

 

© 2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/never-separated-from-his-love.html

 

  

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 27, 2020

The Way You Think

 


For the despondent, every day brings trouble;

for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

—Proverbs 15:15 (NLT)

 

 

When you are despondent, you have little hope. The thought of facing each day wears you out. If you have a negative attitude, you wait for the next bad thing to happen. You don’t look for good things in your day like a person with a “happy heart” does. To a joyful person, life is a “continual feast.”  It is full of hope and promise—no matter what their circumstances.

 

The way you think determines how you feel. You can have can a positive attitude that gives you an optimistic outlook, or you can have a negative one that keeps you buried under a pile of emotional debris. If you want a life flowing with joyful abundance―one that spills over with spontaneous faith—you decide every day to have a positive attitude. You choose to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you” (Ephesians 4:24, MSG).

 

Being renewed from the inside out is essential to having a joyful and victorious life. "Brothers and sisters," Paul declared, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (Philippians 4:8, NIV). If you keep your mind focused on God's truth―on whatever is uplifting and joyful, the way you think changes. However, allowing the Holy Spirit to do this takes time and perseverance.

 

Only you decide whether you listen to the encouragement of the Holy Spirit or the negativity of the enemy. “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 10:5b, NIV). It is impossible to stop the fiery lies that the enemy aims at your thought life, but you can choose not to think negative thoughts. The Holy Spirit gives you His power to bring them under control, but you must exercise His power. When you daily focus your mind on Jesus and not upon every possible scenario, you have the power to experience His peace in the most difficult of circumstances.

 

There is no way you can control circumstances, but you can learn to control what happens in your mind as a result. When you learn to take negative thoughts captive, you change the way you think. Not only are you able to say, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV), but you believe without any doubt that you have His strength. Living a life transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit gives you a positive and joyful attitude.

 

The Word reveals the truth of the new person Jesus has made you, and you have His power to act upon that truth. You consciously decide to think positively, and your feelings ultimately fall into line with His Word. When you rethink who you are, your feelings will not determine your thought process. In surrendering control and allowing the Holy Spirit to change your attitude, you learn your identity in Christ. 

 

When you think differently, you feel differently. You believe. You trust. With faith, you can tell any lie which has claimed your mind to move. His peace, which is above any human reasoning, guards your thoughts. Your life is filled with infinite possibilities. His joy is your strength, and you stand firm in the face of lies. You rest in His grace, believing that the life He gave for you on Calvary has made you a new person—entirely recreated by His power. And now you have His power to choose positive thoughts and to defeat lies that spring up in your mind. 

 

Believe who Jesus says you are. Be renewed in the way you think. Then the person that Jesus knows you are will be the person you know—the person who was worth His life.

 

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy,” Jesus said. “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10, NLT).  His purpose is to give you a life that is a continual feast—a life filled with His peace.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/the-way-you-think.html

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Continually Filled


Have you ever felt drained and worn-out serving the Lord? Useless in what you do? Serving in your own strength will eventually bring spiritual, mental, and physical exhaustion. But when you help others using your spiritual gifts with the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, you are not washed-out or drained. You are continually filled with God’s supernatural resources. As you give away what you have received from Jesus, you overflow with more of Him. The litmus test as to whether you will burn out or not is whose strength you are relying on—yours or His. 

 

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts,” Paul wrote, “but the same Spirit is the source of them all (1 Corinthians 12:4, NLT).  The Holy Spirit is the source of our spiritual giftedness, so when we attempt to serve without His guidance and His power, we ultimately burn out. We can not empower ourselves. There is no spiritual fulfillment in self-empowered work, which glorifies us. The only glory and joy and satisfaction we experience comes when we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us, empowering us beyond our limitations.

 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts,” Peter declared. “Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen (1 Peter 4:10-11, NLT).

 

Use your gift well to serve one another, Peter says!  But do it with the strength and energy God supplies.  And then it will bring glory to God through the power of Christ, who works in us by the power of the Holy Spirit!  Yes, use your gifts in service, but use them in His guidance and strength where you will be continually filled with His grace instead of being emptied by your own inadequacies. 

 

“Be filled with the Holy Spirit,” Paul wrote (Ephesians 5:18, NLT). The instruction to "be filled" is in the past progressive tense. This tense indicates continuing action and also something that has happened in the past. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time action. It is something that has happened and continues to happen. If you have received the Holy Spirit and are not continually filled with the Spirit, then you begin to serve in your strength and from your resources. The Holy Spirit flowing through us, directing us, empowering us, loving through us, is necessary to live a Spirit-filled life, which does not burn out. 

 

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples that He must go to the Father for the Holy Spirit to come. Right before Jesus ascended to the Father, He instructed the disciples to stay and wait for the Holy Spirit. “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven” (Luke 24:49, NLT)

 

The disciples waited for the Holy Spirit to come, and when He came, they were all filled to overflowing with His power. That weakened little band of disciples who had lost their Master were no longer powerless. They had received the Holy Spirit. And they would go in His power to share Jesus’ message with the world. 

 

Have you embraced a personal Pentecost and received the indwelling of His Spirit?  Do you continually yield to be filled? You don’t have to make anything happen. You don’t make yourself perfect. You don’t fix anything. The Holy Spirit does the work in you and through you. 

 

Pray. Seek Him. Read His Word. Receive His divine revelation. Listen to His voice. Praise Him. Receive whatever He chooses to give you. Allow Him to move and empower you. Use the spiritual gifts He has given you under His direction and in His power.  You will continually be filled to overflowing. 

 

You don’t have to burn out for Jesus to prove you love Him. Grace is about His love for you. You serve in His power and with His grace—lest you boast of your own service. You serve in His power, and with His grace—lest you get comfortable with your own resources. 

 

Let go and let Jesus have you—all of you —your life is His. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you continually. There is no joy or fulfillment like His grace setting you free from your own limitations to receive all He wishes to give you.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/continually-filled.html

The Goodness of God


Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

—Psalm 27:13-14 (NLT)

 

 

Unlike us, God never changes. He is the same at every moment. God never stretches the truth like we do. He has no need to justify His Word or himself. If goodness is left up to us, it has no worth. When we become burned out with our failure to do good, one of two things happen. We end up miserably defeated by our lack of ability, or we end up surrendered in God's arms.

 

The Holy Spirit gives us God's goodness, so we might turn from the sin we long to justify. He takes away our need to be presented in a good light. We know that of ourselves, we offer no goodness. But in Him, we realize and receive His goodness that forgives and washes away sin. And in Him, we have the assurance that He makes all things right. The need to prove that we are right is gone. Honesty builds His good character within us and gives us the confidence to trust God.

 

The good things we long to see from God become more apparent when we surrender to His goodness instead of our lack of it. Our eyes suddenly open to the goodness we have already received, and with that positive change, we confidently believe we shall experience more. We have the assurance what God says is true. We wait patiently for Him, knowing that He shall move in His perfect time. When we get discouraged, God says, “Be brave and strong, and continue to wait patiently—not complaining but trusting me.”

 

There are a lot of God’s children who desperately want to see His goodness in their lives right now. They know heaven is their promise, but life can be depressing and exhausting. An unseen virus is raging. Some live and others die from it. Our country is in turmoil and confusion. Fear of what is going to happen next creates doubt in the minds of many people.

 

I have no power within myself to be good or to experience God’s goodness. But in His atonement and power, I'm cured of sin and sickness. I recognize His goodness in my life and believe for more! Hypertension that once required blood pressure medication is now gone. I have a mental picture of what my healing looks like, and I hold on to it with faith. And faith reveals the reality of what I hope for! It is proof of what I can't see. With all the unknown in our world right now, I remember God's goodness throughout the years. I hold on to the picture in my mind of good times again with family, worshiping with my friends, and sharing one-on-one with people God brings into my life. I know I have the promise of heaven, but He assures me of abundant life now. 

 

What has God promised you?  Faith is the assurance of the good things you hope for. Your assurance is your guarantee of ownership. It is the evidence of things you don't see and the confirmation of their reality. Hope paints a picture inside of your heart. You visualize your promise, and you believe.

 

If you long to see God’s goodness, allow it to mold your life. Recognize the goodness that you have already received, and praise Him for the goodness to come. You will rest in the expectation of your promise. Be confident in Him. You have seen the goodness of the Lord in this life, and you shall see so much more.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/the-goodness-of-god.html

 

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Freely Give


 

Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

—Matthew 10:7-8 (NLT)

 

 

Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and heal every kind of disease and illness. He instructed them to tell the people of Israel that the Kingdom of Heaven was near and to give as freely as they had received.

 

Before Jesus ascended to His Father, He told the disciples that now His message of redeeming love was no longer just for the people of Israel. They were to go into all the world with it. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, and His power surged within the disciples, turning a frightened group into a powerhouse of ministry to tell the world Christ's message. The same authority that Jesus gave the disciples became real within us when we believed in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross for our sins. The power to live in His authority is ours in the Holy Spirit.

 

Heal the sick? Raise the dead? Cure diseases? Cast out demons? Jesus told the disciples that they would do greater things than he had done. These words still ring true today. Do will live “less” than what God has given us?  The Kingdom of Heaven is not just near. When Jesus died and rose again, His Kingdom came to live in the heart of each believer. It lives in us. But do we get it?

 

Did salvation fall on us?  No!  We acted in faith to receive it. Did healing the sick and curing diseases fall on the disciples? No, they had to exercise what Jesus had given them. We freely received salvation and healing when Jesus gave His life for our sins. We didn’t have to pay for our salvation or be good enough to receive it. We don’t have to beg for healing. Christ's atonement healed us, too. Just as the disciples, we freely give what Jesus has given us. And like the disciples, we must exercise what we have received by faith. 

 

“As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world” (1 John 4:17, NLT).  

 

How did Jesus live in this world?  He was humble, but did He lack confidence? No, Jesus was confident in the authority that His Father had given Him. Did He exercise that authority? Yes, He did. Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. "As He is," the NKJV says, "so are we." Do we live as Jesus lived in this world? Do we practice the truth of our salvation? As we live in God, His love gives us more confidence. Belief in His power within us grows. We stand before Him in the humble assurance of His most costly gift. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us. 

 

Jesus’ kind of faith lives inside of us—faith that believes and knows the promises of God. We believe in the healing that Jesus has bought with His precious blood. But faith requires action. We have to act upon what we have humbly received. “Life and death is in the power of the tongue” pronounces Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV). Having received Jesus and His power, we speak His healing life to ourselves and to others. Yes, we have received, so freely we give. 

 

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses,” the Lord says. “Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NLT)!

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/freely-give.html

  

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

As He Forgives.


Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

—Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)

 

 

Oops!  Make allowances for each other’s faults?  Forgive anyone who offends us?  This passage steps on our toes. If we are truthful, making allowances and forgiving someone who hurts us is not easy. But it is what the Word tells us to do, and it is for our benefit. Jesus forgave, so we also forgive.

 

God chose us to be His own—to love others as He loved us. Jesus gave us the precious gift of His righteousness. And with His righteousness comes His tender mercy to forgive—His kindness to share—His humility to live—His gentleness to comfort and encourage—His patience to love. Above everything else, we need to clothe ourselves in His love. "Most important of all," Peter wrote, "continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8, NLT).

 

If I repeatedly point out another person’s fault, I’m judging and setting myself up to be judged. Making allowances for someone’s else fault is not agreeing with the wrong thing they do. It is admitting that I, too, am not perfect and that I can fail. The unconditional love of Jesus sets me free to love without fault-finding—to forgive without offense. Jesus loved me to the Cross and then gave His life for my sin. If I choose, I have that same grace within me to forgive. 

 

The forgiving love of Jesus has the power to bind us together in impeccable harmony—but only if exercised and allowed to mold character. Harmony or unity is not each one singing the same note or having the same idea. It is a flawless blend of different notes or ideas that, when put together, creates a perfect whole. And no one who is a part of that “perfect whole” cares for himself more than he cares for someone else. He loves and is full of tender mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Forgiveness is his calling card.

 

May the peace of Christ always rule in our hearts! Praise Him! He gives you the power to forgive just as He has forgiven you.

 

©Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/as-he-forgives.html

 

Monday, July 20, 2020

Come Close and Ask


 

What is your urgency? What pulls you away from intimacy with God? Things you have to do? Places you have to be? “Call to me,” He says, “and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV).

 

This verse in Jeremiah reveals an astounding promise. If you appeal to God in prayer, He answers you with remarkable things He wishes to share with you. When you rush into each day without spending intimate time in His presence, you miss His heart and lack understanding of the truth in His Word. “Ask me,” He says, “and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come” (Jeremiah 33:3, NLT).

 

When you continually draw close to Him, you realize how near He has always been to you. Your Father has His truth to reveal to you. He constantly shares His heart, but when you are too busy worrying or fixing or doing, you are to consumed with yourself to hear.

 

Your Father is the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God. He is all-powerful and persistent—ever-present and pervasive— all-knowing and wise. He is the creator of the universe and you. When you come to Him, you approach your Father, who knows you better than you know yourself—who forgives you and loves you thoroughly without hesitation. He gives himself to you because you are precious to Him. You come to your Father, who is everywhere at the same time, and, yet, He is always there for you.

 

God answers you with vast things you do not know—with boundless truths that change your life. You receive from His abundant grace. Some things take your breath away. Others you may not understand just yet, but you believe by faith. You trust your Father because you experience the depth of His grace and love for you. You have peace in what He shows you, and you rest in His presence because you believe Him. You never struggle with anything He reveals because you believe He only has the best for you. His inner peace fills you, and His joy sustains you.

 

Is this your relationship with Him? When you surrender your worrisome thoughts—your pre-conceived notions—your control—your feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness and draw close to Him,  you realize just how priceless you are to Him. Everything in you believes you are His love, and you have a hunger to be in His presence and hear His heart.

 

God is always close to you. Do you know it? Do you sense the tug of the Holy Spirit desiring you to acknowledge Him? Come close to Him. Ask Him the questions on your heart. He answers you with His truth and things you have not known. And when you have received them, they have the power to transform your life.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/come-close-and-ask.html

 

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Open Up Oh Heavens


 

For the Lord is God,

    and he created the heavens and earth

    and put everything in place.

He made the world to be lived in,

    not to be a place of empty chaos.

“I am the Lord,” he says,

    “and there is no other.

I publicly proclaim bold promises.

    I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.

I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me

    if I could not be found.

I, the Lord, speak only what is true

    and declare only what is right.  

—Isaiah 45:18-19 (NLT)

 

 

Earth resonates with the beauty you fashioned, Lord—mountains, seas, rivers, and vistas that seem to stretch to eternity. You have placed each element of nature perfectly. Earth abounds with living things you have shaped for our pleasure. You have made this world for us to live in and not be a place of empty chaos. Yet, our insatiable desire for our own way instead of yours, Lord, has driven us to discontent, disorder, and self-destruction. Sin reaps what it has sown. The beauty of your creation has become marred by pandemonium where reasoning has vanished.  

 

You still speak the promise of your peace to your children! You are our Savior, and you have not forgotten us. You proclaim your promises! You do not whisper them in some dark corner. You tell us to seek you boldly, and we shall find you. "Keep on asking," you proclaim, "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. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8, NLT).

 

You have given your children peace that the world cannot understand. Your peace only springs from within the heart of those who believe in you, Jesus. We pray for all to know you and the beauty of the new life you have created. We will keep on praying and seeking, knowing you shall move in answer to our prayers. You will reach those whose hearts are desperate for peace and hope that only you can give.

 

Lord, you declare what is right and true! “Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together” (Isaiah 44:8, NLT). You, oh Lord, have created them!

 

Lord, you created heaven and earth. But we look forward to the new heaven and new earth you have promised—a world filled with your righteousness. Whatever we see or hear going on in this world around us, we pray for your salvation—for lives desperately longing for answers and peace to seek you. And when they seek you, they shall find you. It is your promise.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/07/open-up-oh-heavens.html

 

Christ My Hope of Glory

  .   And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You. —Psalms 39:7 (AMP)   I wait [patiently] f...