New Years Points to Remember

Hi !
Thoughts on the first day of 2016!  Isn’t that exciting?  I love the fact that as children of God we live in expectation…anticipation…and eagerness to watch what the Lord is doing in our personal life and in the lives of those around us!!  We don’t know what 2016 will bring but we do know that our Almighty Heavenly Father is in charge!

I just love New Year’s Day. The good news is that each year is an opportunity for new beginnings and a fresh start. But then so is each week. Every Sunday is the first day of the week – a new beginning. Actually, every day is an opportunity for a new beginning.    Our God gives us new beginnings through our lives!  Lamentations 3:23 (NLT)  Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

As we enter the New Year there are four things I want to remember:

1. Interruptions in my life are inevitable and God allows them for a purpose.  There will be times in the coming year when I will want to say, “WAIT, this is not the way I planned it.” By trusting Christ I can look at all interruptions as adventures with Him! Romans 8:28 (NLT)  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

2. My Attitude sets my agenda for my day – my week – my month – my year! Philippians 2:5 (NLT) You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Think about Him…Jesus is the perfect model of humility and being a servant.  Perhaps a new habit to develop in 2016 would be to constantly ask servant questions: “What can I do to help?” “How can I serve in this place?”  “If it were me, what would I want or need?” “Can I lend you a hand?”

3. Cheerful and joyful living is my choice.  When I choose to see all happenings in my life as blessings from God then my heart is glad. When my heart is glad even the rain drops look like love tokens from God.  Helen Keller who was born blind once said, Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. This kind of living can only flow from the love and joy that Jesus puts in my heart. You see, Jesus not only gave His life for us, but He gives His life to us right now! And His life in us fills us with joy and abundant life.  John 10:10 (NLT) …My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

4. The action word for my life is surrender. Spiritual victory and true happiness stems from me giving all that I am to Him.  My surrender is based on this fact: God Is Good. He wills only the best for me.  I lose out whenever I decide to do my own thing instead of God’s will. Surrendering to Him always makes us become more than we could every achieve ourselves.  Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Happy New Year !

Joyfully,

Yvonne

A thought for the New Year ...2016

True Bible faith is confident obedience to God's Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.

 

Give These Gifts

I love this time of year. Yes, it can be a busy, filled with extra tasks and extra social activities.  People get stressed – both believers and unbelievers.  As Christian women, I believe our Christmas season responsibility is to stir up an awareness of Jesus’ birth… we are to reflect His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His sacrifice. We set the tone of the holidays for many.  We have the opportunity to stir the hearts of others!

Let’s make it a Christmas goal each day of this special season of the year to ask God to help us extend “peace on earth and mercy mild” to those around us.  Peace and mercy are needed qualities during the month of December.  Where do we begin? 

Read the Christmas story in all four of the gospels each week in December.  Reacquaint yourself with the story of what we are celebrating.  It’s a story that is all the more special because we know that it ends in resurrection and an opportunity to accept forgiveness and mercy and a purpose for living, plus a future that is glorious and without end! I promise you that you will join Mary in singing praises… Luke 1:46-47 (ESV) And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Give the gift of peace. Matthew 5:9 (NLT) God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.   Daily, look for opportunities to share calmness, harmony, and tranquility. Use your abilities to reduce conflict and hostile attitudes in your home, your church, and in your community.  Remember that the only way you can live in such a way must begin with Jesus!  We can’t give the gift of peace without first experiencing it ourselves. Without Jesus there is no lasting, eternal peace. Peace during the Christmas celebration flows from our own personal time with Jesus. JESUS …. Isn’t that who we are celebrating this Christmas season?

Give the gift of mercy. Matthew 5:7 (NLT) God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Having personally received His mercy, we then share His mercy with others. The word Jesus uses for mercy is used to describe an attribute of God. God is said to be "rich in mercy." (Eph.2:4). 

You see mercy goes beyond sympathy to empathy. It is "love in action." When we give mercy, we find a way to help a person. You see mercy is an action, not a reaction.    Mercy cannot take place without forgiveness.  It’s one thing to say you forgive; it’s another to become actively involved in mercy.  Here is what mercy looks like:

   .. When I am merciful, I am patient with that unique person.

   .. When I am merciful, I forgive those who have fallen down…made a mistake…blundered.

 … When I am merciful, I help those who are hurting. Remember, mercy is practical assistance. It’s love in action. . Prov. 3:27- "Do not withhold good from those who need it, when it is in your power to act."

… Here is a fourth mark of mercy, and this is the hardest of all. When I am merciful, I’ll do good to my enemies….to those who hurt me or treat me badly. I’m talking tangible, concrete, real actions that are good for those who hurt me or treat me badly!

Giving gifts at Christmas is so much more than buying and wrapping items in a box!

Joyfully,

Yvonne

About Thanksgiving

Read this quote this Thanksgiving morning...made me think:

There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~Robert Brault,

A life of saying "Thank You" is filled with peace and joy....it is not a grateful lifestyle if we only are thankful on one holiday per year! ~ Yvonne Burrage

A GRATEFUL HEART THAT PLEASES GOD

Thanksgiving week and these are the thoughts which God has given me.

Psalm 19:14 (NLT)
¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

2 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV)
⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Being truly thankful is so much more than making a list of the things God did, is doing and will do for me.  Having a truly grateful heart flows from being so aware of my PERSONAL relationship with Jehovah God Almighty that my thoughts, my words, my very being seeks to please HIM!

How do I please God?  How do I bring a smile to His glorious face? 

My Words….words that honor, words that are positive, words that are full of grace, and words that are full of gratitude…. These are the words that are pleasing to our Lord God.

Words we need to use more often include…

Lovely – beautiful – breathtaking – splendid – delightful – wonderful – pleasant

Thankful – grateful – appreciative…. You get the idea. Our words are gifts – gifts we give to God and to others.  Let us use our gift-giving words of praise, thanksgiving, and encouragement throughout each of our days. Our words can demonstrate a grateful heart.

My Thoughts…. Where I park my mind means a lot to our Lord.  A person's thoughts determine who that person is, his or her attitudes, and how he or she acts toward others. What do you spend time thinking about? With what do you fill your mind?

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  We please God when we DO NOT think about the opposite of these qualities.

 My Actions…How I behave – my lifestyle – my daily way of life … the way I live my life gives me the opportunity to praise, love, honor, obey, and walk with the Lord.  My actions either reflect God’s standard of abundant living or they don’t.  My daily actions need to include: Obedience; Prayer; Giving; Listening; Mercy; Forgiveness; and above all LOVE.

I am so thankful and awed that God has saved me and adopted me into His royal family. I want to live in such a way that God is pleased and knows how grateful I really am to be His Girl!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yvonne

About Prayer

Read this quote from Catherine Marshall, “The reason many of us retreat into vague generalities when we pray is not because we think too highly of God but because we think too little”.  Good reminder for us all.

I’m thinking that our prayer life can get too vague when we are lackadaisical (lacking life, spirit, or zest) about praying.  I started reading Luke 22 as I was delving into the reasons behind vague praying and immediately identified with the disciples.  Jesus had just finished praying in the garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion.  Verses 45 and 46 really spoke to me,  Luke 22:45-46 (NLT)
⁴⁵ At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray…

I can hear Jesus saying to me, Yvonne, are you feeling sluggish in your prayer time, then be specific, and GET UP AND PRAY!  I am convinced that sluggish, rote prayers are a result of vague prayers – prayers that lack zest and enthusiasim.

How do I avoid that? I want to share two Scriptures with you that have refocused my prayer life…refreshed it and empowered my prayers to be more than generalities – more than “Bless, Betsy” kind of prayers:

Read Psalm 132:3 for some prayer direction. Psalm 132:3-5 (ESV)
³ “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ until I find a place for the Lord….   The place for the Lord in my life involves prayer that trusts, ask specifically, intercedes, and doesn’t quit.

Read 2 Chronicles 14:11 and pray in such a manner that you recognize the power available to answering your prayers – it is a shot of spiritual adrenalin 2 Chronicles 14:11 (ESV)  ^…“O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

I really am filled with practical inspiration when I personalize my Scripture prayers…O Lord, there is none like you to help me, between the mighty and the weak.  Help me, O Lord my God, for I rely on You, and in your name I have come…O Lord you are my God; let no one prevail against you…

I want to share two more Scriptures which lift me up and encourage me to be a praying woman but before I do, just a reminder:  We are able to talk to God about anything…our hopes, fears, desires, and struggles. We do not have to be afraid to pray because we think our prayers might be selfish nor do we need to pray less because we are afraid God will not answer. Our prayer relationship with God is not based on our deserving it nor on our ability to pray; our prayer relationship with God is based on His Grace received through the gracious work of Christ in our lives and on His Power, not ours for sure!

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Jesus assures us,as He did to His disciples, that He continues to delight in showing us His Grace:  John 16:24 (NIV) …Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

I want to close these prayer reflections with four cardinal rules of prayer written by Brennan Manning which I copied years ago:

1. The most important is: one learns to pray by praying. What is crucial is that we are really on the journey, not just thinking about the journey or reading or talking about it.

2. Pray as you can; don't pray as you can't.

3. Don't just pray when you feel like it. Showing up and shutting up is a discipline. Each day that rests on the twin pillars of the morning and evening prayer is a step on the journey from belief to experience, from theory to reality.

4. When a man or woman has an intense desire to grab aholt of God, they move and act, they respond and pray. Without that hunger, they are dilettantes playing spiritual games. If the intense desire is lacking, fall on your knees to the God you half-believe in and beg for the gift. As the late Rabbi Abraham Heschel remarked, "God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance."

Reflect on these prayer thoughts yes, but most importantly PRAY WITH FERVOR AND ZEST!!!

Joyfully,

Yvonne

LIFE'S GOAL

 

 This is a wonderful quote from Rick Warren...

"Life is not about the acquisition of things or the achievement of goals. Life is about getting to know God — the one who loves you and made you for a purpose. You’re not really living until you’re right with God and have a relationship with him."