Reminder for the day!

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

“UNITED” States of America - Really?

Funny how we are supposed to be the “UNITED” States of America; yet instead of being in solidarity with each other, we continue to put on the boxing gloves and come out swinging politically.  

Over 2000 years ago, God allowed His ONLY Son to be sent to earth and take on human form.  And God didn’t stop there.  He decided that Jesus would need to be crucified for the remission of our sins; yours & mine.  And all God ever asked from us was that we would believe Jesus was God’s only Son and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  (How many of us would ever be willing to give up our own children for anyone else.  I can assure you…I would not give up any of my children for you…no matter how much I love you!!!!!!) 

In 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV we are told, “For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Talk about true love.  None of us can fathom true love; because true love is unconditional and we all seem to struggle with that just a bit; but not God.  What an amazing God we serve!  

Just a thought –

What would happen if we all came into unity; in one accord with the Holy Spirit and do what God’s Word tells us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV), “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Politicians from the bottom of the political seat to the top; regardless of political views, be it a republican or democrat; they do not have the answers we need and make only empty promises. 
There is only One we can trust; only One that will deliver on His promises; 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 

Jesus wasn’t sent to earth to change our government and He didn't try to either.
He came to save our souls; yours & mine.

So I ask again, "“UNITED” States of America - Really?" 

Only the Lord has the answers we need.  
He is the ONLY ONE that can heal our land. 

It’s that simple folks!

Be blessed my family & friends!  Walk in the Lord’s total favor!
Love you all!
Cyndy

The Master's Link: GO TAKE A BATH!!

The Master's Link: GO TAKE A BATH!!: “Go take a bath and don't forget to wash behind your ears. And while you are at it, be sure to scrub your dirty ankles too! And ALWAYS wear...

GO TAKE A BATH!!

“Go take a bath and don't forget to wash behind your ears. And while you are at it, be sure to scrub your dirty ankles too! And ALWAYS wear clean underwear on a daily basis because you never know if you’ll be in an accident and end up in the emergency room.”  Boy does that bring back memories of growing up. I can still hear Mom say it to me & my siblings. And of course; I sounded just like her while raising our three daughters.      

Let me share a little story about one of our daughters; who will remain nameless. She was around 11 or 12 years old and went thru a phase where she not only hated to take a bath but she fought against the idea of one every chance she got.  Regardless of the daily instruction I would give to her to “Go take a bath”; there seemed to always be a battle of the wills; hers & mine. Now get a picture of her stubborn attitude. In an attempt to convince me that a bath wasn’t necessary, she would actually smell her armpits and announce proudly, "I DON’T SMELL"!

And then one day…….”IT” HAPPENED!

When I was at work, I got a phone call and had to rush her to the emergency room with a possible appendicitis.  After a complete cat scan, we found out it was some type of viral infection that needed to run its course.  Unfortunately, she was so sick that they had no choice but to hospitalize her because she couldn’t stop vomiting & was extremely dehydrated.  It wasn’t until after she was placed in her hospital room, laying there practically lifeless that I noticed, not only was her ankles dirty, she was completely filthy and desperately needed a bath. Before you ask, let me just tell you….YES….I took time to bathe my weak, sick little girl right there in her hospital shower.  Why? Because as her Mom; I was having a hard time looking at my daughter in that filthy condition; I love her more than words could ever explain and I knew better than anyone else what was best for my little girl. 

The Lord does the same thing.  He loves us enough to tell us to bathe spiritually every day. And yet, I can’t count the number of times He would send His Holy Spirit to prompt me; take a bath Cyndy; use the scriptures I’ve provided to scrub the dirt and filth off of your mind and make sure you clean all the way around your heart too. Of course I would respond with the same stubborn attitude; denying I was doing anything wrong, finding ways to justify my sin and spiritually smell my armpits trying to convince the Lord that “I don’t smell”. 

And then one day…….”IT” HAPPENED!

Sin took its toll on me and I was becoming spiritually crippled; finding it difficult to focus on the road I had been traveling on.  My vision became blurry and I lost all sense of direction.  How could this have happened?  How could I have wondered so far away from the Lord?  And in desperation I cried out, “Where are you, Lord?  Your word tells me in Joshua 1:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And yet; when I look for You, I can’t see You.” As my dirty, lifeless “spiritual” body lay there all alone, the Holy Spirit gently reminds me that He is still exactly where I left Him; behind the path I chose to take.  My will won out; but at what price?  If only I had followed His will instead; where would I be and is it possible to get back to His will from here?  Then before I could utter another cry, the Holy Spirit ran a “spiritual cat scan” on me, located all my sin and immediately started mending my wounds; bathing me with His word; reminding me to not stray from His commands and to hide His word in my heart so that I wouldn’t continue sinning against Him.  (Psalm 119:10-11) 

Before I realized it, I slowly started to stand up again; attempting to walk according to God’s word; stumbling along the way and yet sensing the Holy Spirit pick me up as I moved forward; encouraging me to return to the Lord with all my heart; with fasting, weeping & mourning; taking off the “old spiritual” clothes I was wearing (Joel 12:12-13). 

The Holy Spirit also reminded me how important it was to clothe myself with Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

So there you have it; I have no more excuses.  The Lord loves me enough to remind me to take a bath, scrub the dirt and filth off of my mind and make sure I clean all the way around my heart.  Then all I have to do is get dressed in a fresh pair of “’spiritual” clothing He supplies for me on a daily basis.  And then it's up to me; I just need to pick it up and wear it.

Why did He do this for me? Because He is my Heavenly Father; He could not look at me covered in sin & filthy conditions; He loves me unconditionally; and He knows better than anyone else what is best for me; His little girl. 

What road are you on, “Your Will” located on Destruction Boulevard or “His Will” located on the corner of Favor & Blessing’s Highway?  It’s never too late to turn back to Him.  Can't you see?  He’s still where you left Him.

It’s that simple!

Be blessed my face book family & friends and walk in the Lord’s total favor!

Love you all,

Cyndy

Sticks & Stones

Do you remember the old saying we learned while growing up?

"Sticks & stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

Yeah, right!  Who came up with that saying anyway and is it really true?  Not hardly!

Quite possibly you are a victim of cruel, harsh words from the time you were a child.  When someone called you a name or even implied something bad about you; didn't it hurt?  How easy was it for you to forget those words or do they still ring clear in your ears?  Some words may have wounded you so badly that it has damaged your self esteem and possibly hindered you from the very calling God has placed on your life.

Or maybe you actually resort to name calling; tearing a person down until they are knocked out cold emotionally.  Perhaps that person offended you in some way and the only way you know how to respond is by lashing out with hurtful remarks or names; which still doesn’t make it right.

It’s easy to know when I’ve been offended; and much more difficult to see when I’m the offender.  Unfortunately, I can relate very well with both scenarios.  But in the last few months, the Holy Spirit has chastised and convicted me of how I respond to someone in the heat of anger.  And it’s not always a pretty picture.

God’s is very clear about the words that come out of our mouth.  Did you know that we actually have the power of life and death just with the use of our tongues?  It’s true!   In Proverbs 18:21 it tells us that “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

And the Lord wasn’t just talking about the unbeliever.  Oh contraire, my friend!  He was speaking to those of us that call Him our Lord and Savior.  Don’t believe me? Read it in James 3:9, where it says “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.”

And it’s very easy to justify ourselves by saying, “It’s just the way I am” or “I really didn’t mean anything by what I said or called that person.  They are just words.”  Not so fast brothers & sisters, for you see, God removes that excuse from our lips as well by digging deeper within us; our hearts.  In Luke 6:45 we read, “ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” 

Simply put; whatever is in our heart will eventually come out.  So the truth is; it’s really a heart issue.  Ouch!  The bad remarks and bad names are buried in our hearts, waiting to come out at the next person that crosses our paths the wrong way.  Not a good thing and definitely does not please the Holy Spirit! 

If you can relate, don’t be discouraged. Rejoice in knowing the Lord loves us enough to reveal our sins and even shows us a way to fix it.  But it does take willingness from you to heed to the Holy Spirit and requires you to be completely honest with yourself.  Simply take a moment before God; be honest with Him and confess your sins; then sincerely ask the Lord for His forgiveness.  True repentance will start the healing process.  If possible, take the next step and apologize to those you’ve offended; even if you think they deserved it.  Then make it a habit to pray scriptures like Psalm 51:10, “Create, in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” If your heart is clean before God; the fruits of the Holy Spirit will flow freely from your lips.  (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Galatians 5:22-23)

It doesn’t get any simpler than that folks!

Be blessed my family & friends and walk in the Lord’s total favor!

Cyndy Bagaglia-Wood