These Feet Are Made For........

    "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." 
~Saint Teresa of Avila 

      I love the times that God chooses to speak to me.  There is no bad time for Him to speak, I just laugh some times because He clearly created me because He knows my random thoughts and then uses them to speak to my heart. I love it.
Yesterday I was getting clothes out of the dryer and was thinking about what shoes I would wear with an outfit and started thinking about my feet.  Random I know, welcome to my world.  I do not have pretty feet, never have. They are full of years of abuse and use and pretty nail polish cant cover everything.  I always feel sorry for the person who does my pedicures because I really use my feet well. ;)  I started thinking about how I have used my feet and why they are always so beat up looking.  Then I had a thought, my feet have been with me my whole life.  I know you are laughing and probably saying ..."well duh!" but have you ever thought about that.  My feet, your feet, have been with us our WHOLE lives.
These feet learned to walk for the first time, but before that they helped me balance and also kicked my mothers womb.  They peddled my first bike, ran down my first path, climbed up tractors at the farm business.  My feet have kicked more balls playing sports than I could even begin to count, and nudged horses I was riding to get them to move a bit faster.  Their kicking has moved me through water, and helped me climb trees.  I have placed probably billions of shoes on and off and walked or run miles upon miles.  Sand, mud, water, dog poop...have all been on my feet or between my toes, both intentionally and unintentionally.  These feet have jumped, and run up and down courts, halls, walk ways, through gardens, fields and manure,  and have ached for hours and have had broken toes, sprained ankles, plantar fasciitis pain, and torn off nails.
There have been times that my feet could not carry me I was so grief ridden and physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. I know that during those times in my life that I could not use my own "feet" that God carried me through without fail.
The Bible says many things about feet, you might be surprised at just how much.  
Some of my favorite verses, however are:

 Psalm 119:105 
"Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path".

Samuel 22:32-35 
“For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psalm 91:11-13 
 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

But the verses that really came to mind as I was pondering feet were: 

Psalm 37:23

The Lord makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Proverbs 20:24

A person's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?

In all the places my feet have been, and your feet have been, our steps have been ordained by the Lord.  Before you were even in your mothers womb, before you were a twinkle in her eye, your steps were ordained.  God knew where you would walk before your feet were ever formed.  Each place you have walked, God has been there before you.  When you were knocked off your feet, God has been there to help you up whether you realized that or not.  From here on out, every step you take, God has a plan for your feet and for your life.  Maybe you are unsure of the direction your feet should go.  Get quiet before Him, get in His word, ask for direction...HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU!!  The world is always quick to try and guide your feet, but His ways are higher.  Leave your burdens, your fears, all of it, at His feet and let Him guide yours, but keep moving forward.

Psalm 132:7
“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Atmospheres

      These two will want to shoot me for posting this picture below, that was taken last week during a worship time, but it makes me giggle as we look like Christmas Carolers, but it makes my heart feel happy and full at the same time. These two are family to me and have pieces of my heart, I love them dearly. They are two of my closest and best without a doubt. They've taught me so much, not by "instruction" but by just living and being real with me. Our friendship solidly bonded on trust, honesty and loyalty with a clear solid passion for worship. They've, by way of the Holy Spirit, have taught me more about atmospheres than anyone else.  These two know I am, over all, a sensitive person. I admit to it,  but with that being said, I also now understand and am very sensitive to atmospheres, especially when I first walk into a place.  I can tell you if there is peace there or chaos.  If it is a church I can tell if worship takes place there continually or if it has to be 'worked up' every Sunday.  When I speak or sing somewhere, I can tell pretty quickly if the Spirit is free to move or if it is just a time for people to come together and eat and receive snacks. There is a difference and you can feel that difference in the atmosphere.  I also KNOW I'm responsible for my own "atmosphere" and what I bring to it.  It's my job to make sure my heart is right or it could effect the atmosphere, and getting it where it should be takes work at times and a whole lot of self honesty.
      People create the atmosphere.  If you are walking in the love of God and a worshipful heart, you create a certain atmosphere.  If you are thankful you create a certain atmosphere.  On the other hand if every little thing makes you angry, you, too, are creating an atmosphere.  If you are always looking for what is wrong with a person, you are creating a particular atmosphere.  If you are negative and expecting the worst you are creating an atmosphere conducive of the worst negative things to happen in your life.  I am saying all this to say; whatever you are carrying around on you - you are releasing it into the atmosphere and creating THAT atmosphere.  It is just like carrying a flu virus, wherever you go, whatever you touch, you are releasing that flu virus into the atmosphere and onto the people.
     What are you releasing?  Are you releasing chaos?  Are you releasing anger?  Are you releasing bitterness?  Are you releasing love?  Are you releasing the presence of God?  Are you releasing peace?
    We should be such a people that when we walk into a place if the atmosphere is wrong, it should immediately change because the presence of God is so strong on us.  We should walk into a room and release anointing, burden removing, yoke destroying anointing.  How cool would it be to walk into a room and have such an anointing on you, such a presence of God on you that burdens are instantly removed?   Super cool, I would think.
      I want you to check your heart today, check the atmosphere in your home, in your car, at your job....is it one of peace?  Is it one that is conducive to the presence of God remaining there?  It's up to you - you create the atmosphere.  Even if someone in your life is creating a bad atmosphere, the Bible says the greater one lives inside you - you can change the atmosphere.  You and God are the majority; simply seek His face on how to change the atmosphere.
   We are all carrying something today - what are you carrying?  We are releasing something today - what is it?  Let's make sure we carry His presence, His peace and release that into the world and the church - it is, after all, exactly what is needed.

Are You a Bitter Betty or Billy?

   

     Bitterness is a tricky thing.  Even as a Christian, its easy to SAY that we will not let bitterness become a part of us, but its another thing to not let it happen because if we don’t guard our hearts, it can seep in like poison.

Recently I ran across an article that discussed the affects of arsenic poisoning.  Arsenic exposure can happen slowly and in various ways, through as simple as contaminated water over a long period of time.  Even the slightest contamination can have an affect on your body and you may not even realize it until the symptoms are severe.

Hebrews 12:15  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Symptoms of arsenic slow poisoning begin with headaches, confusion, severe diarrhea, and drowsiness. As the poisoning develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail pigmentation may occur.  When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver.  The final result of arsenic poisoning is coma and death.

     These are tough times and sometimes in tough times, even Christians do not respond correctly to the things that happen to us. There is a progression that ultimately leads to a root of bitterness…and it is almost always in this order: HURT must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become ANGER. Anger must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become BITTERNESS.
Hurt that is resolved in response to the truth of God’s Word will never become anger. Failure to resolve hurt by God’s grace will result in anger. When anger is not resolved, the next step is bitterness.

     Like arsenic, exposure to bitterness or things that can make us bitter may be subtle. We may dismiss it as something minor, or feeling caused by something else.  We may simply dismiss it as “having a bad day”.   When we make excuses or justify feelings toward something or someone, we can open the door even more to the enemy to contaminate us further. 

I have been guilty of this in my life on several occasions.  Id like to say I catch those things quickly, I sure try, but there have been things I have allowed to seep in and slowly begin to poison my system.  As it begins to poison us, it comes out in our actions and our words. As it comes out in actions or words, it is now no longer contaminating just you, but your atmosphere and those around you.  It can become like a contagious disease infecting those not recognizing the spewing venom as often it comes out in disguise because it gets mislabeled or justified.

 I’m so incredibly thankful for my husband and my best friends who have called me out in love at times when I have struggled because they love me enough not  want that poison to continue to do damage to me, if they can help it.  I’m also thankful that I’ve listened to them and to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, who will let us know when we have gotten into this kind of area, but we have to be willing to listen.

     The trick can be finding the root or the cause of the bitterness in your life.  To do this, it’s important to be honest with yourself.  Without honesty, it only turns into pointless digging and wasted energy.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Many times the fruit of the root of bitterness is inadvertently directed toward God, blaming God, and even taking it out on Him by forsaking Church, the Bible, Prayer, fellowship and service. I cannot tell you the times I have heard of how people got out of Church and away from the Lord all the while justifying their actions not realizing they took it out on the Lord.

Some of the common roots of bitterness would include, but are not limited to:  Deception, depression, division, distraction, delirium,  and bitterness can determine your destiny because you become bound in its chains and you are not walking in freedom.  The longer we allow bitterness to fester, the more damage it will do.  Bitterness will undoubtedly condemn, confuse and control a Christian.  If you are bitter, you will not get better until you deal with it.  Satan will do what he can to entice you to feel justified in your bitterness, but then you are imprisoned and he is holding the key.  Are you a Bitter Betty or Bitter Billy?……It is a choice.  I hope you will choose to walk in freedom instead.

Romans 12:9-21

Love in Action

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.