“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 1In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10
Perhaps you or a loved one has suffered a sudden or tragic loss. Questions similar to these crowd our thoughts….
“What if I don’t survive this health crisis?
What were they thinking when they did that?
Can God forgive me?
Why did he/she leave me?
Where do I go from here?
If God is good why did He allow this?
Jesus shared stories like the one above to those who would listen. Like this woman who had lost one of her valuable coins we all go through times when we suffer great loss, disappointment and hopelessness.
In this story of the lost coin Jesus compares this to a lost soul being found. Jesus says, “That the angels rejoice when ONE SINNER repents.”
God is not waiting to catch us in doing wrong, His heart is for us to be found. His love, forgiveness and eternal life is available not only for the abused, broken and hurting, but for even the worst of sinners, those who are abusers, addicts, homeless, and mentally ill. Repentance is about returning to our Creator.
There is not one soul that God does not count as treasure and of great worth.
Jesus came as Immanuel – God is with us! This is what the celebration of Christmas is all about! If He is for us, who can be against us?
When Jesus was still an infant, Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple. Mary was there to make a purification offering as instructed by God’s Law following the birth of each child. As Mary and Joseph walked into the Temple court, an old man named Simeon hurried over, obviously beside himself. Taking Jesus into his arms he began praising God. “Lord, now I can die in peace,” he cried. “For I have seen the Savior you promised to show me. He is the Light that will shine upon the nations, and he will be the glory of your people Israel!”
Simeon and Anna looked down into the face of God…and realized they were looking at the redeemer and deliverer of Israel. They saw the greatest treasure ever given to mankind! God came to earth as a baby and with a plan to redeem mankind!
Repentance
When we realize how much God loves us, that He created us and is alive and wants to build a relationship with us, we can accept His gift of salvation, deliverance and healing with an open heart and mind.
Like Simeon, Anna and many others we will be ready to meet Him and can die in peace and look forward to the restoration of God’s Kingdom and the freedom of living forever. Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and His Kingdom will reign and go on forever.
The crisis, trauma and sorrows of this life are only temporary afflictions and will truly be wiped away, forever when we choose to accept Jesus as our redeemer.
“And which of you that is a father shall his son ask for a loaf of bread, and the father gives him a stone? or a fish, and he gives him a serpent?” Luke 11:11
Our heavenly father wants to reveal His nature as a good father. Maybe we didn’t have the best fathers, or husbands or even spiritual leaders. But, I know God wants to present good things to us.
I remember my son Colt when he was about to graduate his second year of college, wanted to go backpacking in Europe over the summer. My immediate thought was, “No, I can’t provide, I’m a single mom and I’ll be worried about him.”
“What if something happened and I couldn’t get him back home?”
So, in my insecurity as a single mom my response was to blame shift and I said, “How are you going to get to Europe, you can’t even keep your room cleaned? Have you prayed about this?” His response, “So if I clean my room can I go to Europe?” I was waiting for him to add, “Where God guides He provides!” But the sweet son that he is, he didn’t add that in there!
“Now that is a negotiator for you!” Colt should and could have been a hostage negotiator with the government.”
“What was I to say?”
So, like any good mother (thinking he would never do it), said, “Sure, If you clean your room and keep it cleaned you can go to Europe this summer providing you have the money.” Feeling very smug and safe that not only he wouldn’t keep his room cleaned, he didn’t have a job, so he would never be able to raise enough money in time.
So like any good mother who wanted her son to accomplish his dreams, I put a sign up on his bedroom door reminding him of his passion to go to Europe. It read,
IF YOU CLEAN YOUR ROOM YOU CAN GO TO EUROPE.
Now anyone that knows my son, Colt knows he is extremely brilliant, a very good negotiator and would have every detail of this trip planned out in his mind. But, he is also a procrastinator! He has a very dry but sense of humor that is simply amazing. Unlike his younger brother Maverick, you rarely see him belly laughing. He can tell the funniest joke with a straight face that makes it even funnier….
One afternoon I pull up to my house beside him and was overcome with laughter because of his laughter and inability to get out of his car. He was belly laughing so hard. It almost scared me because I thought he might be intoxicated or something of the same nature.
Instead, he gets out of his car and asked me, “Did you call my logic professor at school?” I stopped laughing and said, “No, I don’t even know who he is. Why?”
He then began to tell me probably the funniest but most awesome presentation my son ever had to do in college. Colt went on to say, “We had a pop quiz today, and everyone had to draw out a slip of paper and argue why or why not their statement was a logical statement. I looked and felt like an idiot when I had to argue why my statement was logical.” “Why was that?, I replied. My statement was, “If you clean your room, you can go to Europe.”
Honestly, I felt like I was in a dream. I knew at that moment God was speaking to my son.
“Colt, I would say this is a confirmation that God wants you to go to Europe.”
Luke 2:49 “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house.”
I think this was the moment I realized my son was no longer a little child, a toddler, a teen but he had reached manhood. The words Jesus spoke to his mother and father when they turned back after realizing Jesus had stayed back in the temple teaching at the age of twelve flooded my soul. Later it was not only a test of Colt’s faith, but sorely mine, when I put my son on a plane to Europe with only $35 in his pocket. But God provided for him every step of that journey. I was a nervous wreck, but I knew God was preparing and presenting my son for his purpose and calling here on this earth.
Maybe you are a single mom, maybe it looks like you don’t have anything, and trusting others is difficult and there are days when you don’t know where, when or how you will survive, but I say this is a lie from the pit of hell. If you belong to Jesus, then you have resources at your fingertips. And even if you don’t know Jesus, you can still ask God for His help, and I believe He will help you.
My idea of what we are to “look like” as Christians has changed so dramatically over the years. Each one of my four biological sons and many spiritual sons and daughters are in different places, different cultures and different stages of their walks with our Heavenly Father. I have to believe God is allowing and planning things for them that will draw them closer to Him. As their mom, I believe my job now is just loving and praying for God’s best for each one of them!
It’s another life’s lesson on letting go and letting God do the work in them. I love my sons and I love what the Lord is doing in my life and in theirs.
Searching for God’s Treasures, Marlene
Marlene has been called to go and serve others
wherever God calls her.
She combines teaching, prayer, worship with the prophetic, words of knowledge and wisdom to bring salvation, deliverance & healing to those who are lost, hurting helping each other prepare for ruling and reigning with the MOST HIGH GOD!
For 24/7 Prayer Text 850-661-6104 or Email: CinderellaReleased@gmail.com
The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy from a Roman prison and encourages him to;
1) Hold on to sound teaching.
2) Guard the good deposit that is in us.
The Roman Empire was changing rapidly and Nero, was the presiding Emperor. After the death of his uncle Claudius in 54 A.D. Nero was nominated, helped by his mother Agrippina the Younger. Historic authors write about Nero’s mother, Agrippina the Younger, and how it was likely she was implicated in Claudius’ death and Nero’s nomination as emperor. She dominated Nero’s early life and decisions until he cast her off. Five years into his reign, he had her murdered.
Paul could understand how easy it would be to succomb to the Roman rule and the threats against the Christian believers. We subtly face many of the same threats today. It can be very easy to drift away from God’s Mission.
Mission drift occurs when an organization passively changes course. It not only happens to businesses, it can also happen to people. This sermon explains how we can fulfill God’s mission for our lives and keep from drifting off course. I recently heard a message about the importance of staying on our mission.
Pastor Andrew began his sermon by citing that the Emperor Nero, had his own mother murdered. Nero’s mission was to be in complete control of the Roman Empire.
More about Emperor Nero
Nero was intentional, bold and unashamed of his determination to satisfy his own mission. Although his reign was short (13 years), he terrorized Christians, blamed them for setting fire to Rome, had his mother and wife killed. Finally when the fear of being overtaken by other rulers he took took his own life. He is quoted as saying, “What an artist dies in me!.”
During his reign he was instrumental in killing Christians for sport and thus Paul’s advice to Timothy was to stick to sound doctrine, guarding our hearts because of the truth that Christ lives in us. In spite of the difficulties and persecution, Timothy was able to teach and preach this message to others. I think this is good advice for all believers in the day and age we are living.
Keys to avoiding Mission Drift ~ Andrew Wild
Be Intentional – You have been entrusted with a message of “the good news of salvation.”
Be Bold – Don’t be ashamed to share the gospel.
Be Willing To Suffer – Count the costs of being a disciple knowing the truth will always set you free but sometimes will cause you hardships.
Be Faithful – There is an eternal reward of hearing, “Well done, Good and Faithful Servant.”
If you want to avoid Mission Drift, hold on to the truths revealed in God’s Word. ~Andrew Wild
What a great challenge and word! We need to stay steady on the course with God as our Captain!
A really awesome book to read is Mission Drift.
Staying on course isn’t easy and it will cost you something. If it doesn’t then I would wonder if I was already adrift. I know the Lord’s prayer for each one of us is for us to finish our course well. Another word from Paul,
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
Luke 14: 28 -30 NIV
Even though the enemy and our own flesh is constantly trying to steer us off the course, we can rest assured, God will help keep us righted if we are willing to take a lesson from His word to;
Hold on to sound doctrine.
Guard the Good Deposit that is within us!
Remember – YOU ARE ONE OF GOD’s TREASURES!
Searching for God’s Treasures, Marlene
Marlene has been called to go and serve others
wherever God calls her.
She combines teaching, prayer, worship with the prophetic, words of knowledge and wisdom to bring salvation, deliverance & healing to those who are lost, hurting helping each other prepare for ruling and reigning with the MOST HIGH GOD!
Sometimes the Lord uses strange circumstances to get our attention! While I was in Alaska I opened the door to let out my friend’s English Setter Samantha and to my surprise there was a moose who had jumped over the fence! I wish I could say that I jumped for joy, while in fact it was just the opposite. I immediately picked up the phone to call for help and the response on the other end was, “Well that is Alaska for you!”
What appeared to be an emergency on my end, barely lit up a response on the the other person’s end. She said, “Usually they will jump right back over when they are ready. It’s just a matter of waiting.”
This reminds me of helping others during crisis and trauma care. We can provide a fence, a safe place, a listening ear and loving heart. When they have been fed, rested, and are ready, they are able to jump back over the fence and face life out in the world.
Many times I’ve had to wait patiently for the Lord to lead or guide me to whom He wants me to minister.
The toughest part is being willing to listen and wait patiently for God’s assignments.
Then, soon as I least expect it I open the door and realize there is a moose in my back yard!
Searching for God’s Treasures,
Marlene
Marlene has been called to go and serve others wherever God calls her.
FORGIVENESS – A KEY TO HEALING IN ANY CRISIS AND TRAUMA SITUATION – Hear Peter’s Message by Clicking HerePeter Neuberger, his wife Rebekah and children are missionaries from Tanzania. They are home on furlough visiting his wife’s parents who live in the Mat-Su Valley and will be leading a crusade in Kenya. Rebekah is recovering from some health issues. Please keep these precious saints in your prayers.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your
book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139: 13-16
The enemy of God, Satan wants you to keep your eyes on the death, destruction and disappointments…. but I say, that God says, He is the ruler of the heavens and He has aborted Satan’s plans for the earth.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” 1 Pet. 5:8-9
Father, thank you for your loving kindness, your mercy, your goodness and love. Thank you for creating the earth and me and thank you for placing me in the family line that fulfills the plans and purposes you desire. Please help my children, grandchildren and lineage to come to all fulfill the purposes you have designed for them. I believe that you created everything living, and there is a realm and heavenly home and a new earth that as your daughter I will live and dwell in forever.
LORD GOD JEHOVAH, I stand in agreement with your words that you have ordained a plan for each one of us and that if we will hold firm to you, that you are faithful to perfect that plan and purpose which will not only bring you glory but will bring plenty of fruitfulness in our lives.
I thank you that you have overcome the enemy and abort his plans, attacks and assignments. I thank you that no weapon formed against us will prosper and great shall be our Shalom and that shall rest on our children and their children to come.
I thank you that YOU inside of me is GREATER than the works of the flesh and the enemy that wage warfare against our souls.
I bless your Holy name. I plead the precious blood of Yeshua over myself and my family. I ask you to clean my spirit and make me a vessel of honor for you.I pray that I will not fear the enemy and that your joy will be my strength.
You surround me with your angels in the heavenlies and I declare this day that I believe and have faith in you alone. There are no other gods that I pray to or form allegiance to. I ask that you would sever all ungodly soul and spiritual ties that would keep me from declaring and walking in your divine power, authority and unconditional love.
No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.” Is. 54:17
I pray that you would break off any addictions, judgments, generational curses over me and that the enemy would not have an open door or foot hold in any place in my life. I repent of those things I’ve willingly or unwillingly allowed into my eyegate, eargate or mouthgate that would be a hindrance or open gate for the enemy to come in and have a foot hold to abort your plans and purposes for creating me.
You created me independant of the world and it’s resources. I thank you that I am dependant on you for my provision, protection, health and well being. You promise that you will never leave or forsake us or see your children begging for food. I thank you that I have a place to live, eat, rest and pray without ceasing. You are My King and I am your daughter that loves you. I ask that you touch my heart and spirit and open up the capacity to live, laugh and love in a greater way each day.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
I pray that as the world falls off of me, that your anointing grows and as I walk down the road, ride in my car, enter other’s dwelling places, worship areas, and in the market place that your Shekinah glory would bring salvation, deliverance and healing to those that I touch or look at.
Lord, help me to grow in your Word and to understand what I read. I pray that in the evenings when I sleep that you would speak to me through dreams and as I go throughout my day that visions would appear as I am in quiet time and communion with you.
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Tim. 6:12
Lord, I pray to become a giver and that you would place wealth in my hands that I might bless others. I pray that you would provide and keep me humble in all of my affairs and opportunities to write, speak, pray, intercede and help others.
“Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12:21
Holy Spirit, I long to know you better and to be sensitive to your voice. I repent for ignoring you or quenching you so many times when I failed to hear your voice and obey.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57
Jesus, I acknowlege that you died for my sins, and you are always making intercession for me in the heavenlies. Your kindness, ability to disciple and love others is beyond my ability, however I do want to be your hands and your feet in this world that you gave your life for. I thank you that you experienced such pain and suffering for me to walk in health and freedom from the sins that so easily come my way and are in my fallen nature. But, you have redeemed me and I am now a new creature ready for each new moment and divine appointment.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Matt. 18:18-19
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart…” Ps. 91:1-4
“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.” Eph. 6:11-17
Searching for God’s Treasures, Marlene
Marlene has been called to go and serve others
wherever God calls her.
She combines teaching, prayer, worship with the prophetic, words of knowledge and wisdom to bring salvation, deliverance & healing to those who are lost, hurting helping each other prepare for ruling and reigning with the MOST HIGH GOD!
Let your [a]character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] [b]Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor[c]give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [d][I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor[e]let [you] down ([f]relax My hold on you)! [[g]Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5 AMPC
I’m sitting here this morning asking the Lord, What is next, Lord? Of course my flesh thinks about all of the seemingly missed opportunities, hopes, & dreams, and then the Lord reminds me of all the flowers, shrubs, trees, jewels and treasures I’ve been privy to. The blessings of His goodness, mercy & bounty are immeasurable.
My mind continues to wander from the thoughts and hopes I had as a little girl sitting in the naval orange tree in my back yard and the conversations between me and God. At the time I didn’t know about Jesus, Holy Spirit and the person of Abba as Father. I think I saw Him through the eyes of the movie I saw about a Catholic Nun.
In this story I remember thinking in the life is a fairy tale version, “she is so beautiful” but she is married to God. She has given up having a husband, children, a house with a white picket fence. How is that possible to love God so much and to give all of that up for Him? You can’t even see God. But, I knew He was the Creator and that you could see what He created, the birds, the bugs, the squirrels, the trees, and the oranges. I was always fascinated by the naval orange. It had a belly button just like me.
The Navel Orange originated from a single tree that was planted in Brazil in 1820. This tree had a mutation, causing two oranges to be produced within one single piece of fruit. The second orange, developing at the bottom of the fruit, opposite the stem, is where the Navel Orange gets its name, as that second orange vaguely resembles a human navel. The secondary orange is of vast importance, because it causes the orange to be seedless.
My brother Doug taught me to peel off the thick outside with my thumbs to get to the big sections on the inside and pop the entire piece in my mouth to avoid the juice running down my mouth. Sometimes this wasn’t possible with the size of the navel on our tree and in spite of getting this distinct chafing from the citrus on my chin, I continued to devour these delicacies.
Navels were seedless so you couldn’t collect the seeds like from other oranges in our yard. Doug also taught me to collect those seeds in the side of my mouth as I was eating until I got to the last section and then I could fire them from my mouth like a machine gun! Rat a tat tat tat tat tat tat….
I knew all about seeds. I knew that some seeds had to be planted at certain depths in order to grow and that you had to water and add fertilizer around the root of the plant or the tree. I would help my dad in our orange grove get fertilizer in the galvanized bucket and use my hand to spread the fertilizer around the base of each tree. Then I would take the water hose and water it.
Navel oranges had to be propogated (a big word I didn’t know then) from the tree themselves and so you couldn’t plant the seeds in the ground like you could watermelons, greens, tomatoes and other fruits and plants.
When I asked God about this He said, “Pray, Plant, Feed & Water, Prune and Harvest.” I could understand the plant, feed, water, prune and harvest, but “PRAY.” God was teaching me as a little girl about prayer and how important it is to put this first, especially if I was going to fulfill the destiny and dreams that He had for me. He created the earth for them to enjoy…
As a child God taught me before ever reading the Bible, going to church, or having someone witness to me that He is our Creator and I am His Creation. Each person comes into this world and is given a choice to believe this is true or not. This is called faith. I can either accept this truth or spend my life disputing it. But, one of the first things I have to do is trust that God is real and that He doesn’t lie. I have to partake of this fruit in order to enjoy it. God created the orange, and then He gave man the ability to actually improve on our ability to enjoy it without seeds. But you could ask my daddy sometimes it is a lot easier to propagate and trust what man does, than to have faith in God that a planted seed is going to come forth in it’s due season. Some seeds lay dorment for years.
Another scene in the nun movie I watched was the nun took a vow of silence for a year. This was so she could pray, talk and listen to God. I found this even more of a challenge for me since I was the child whose “tongue was loose on both ends,” as my daddy would say.
I believe this was when in my heart of hearts I knew God was wooing me to Him in a close and personal way. In my child’s mind I took it as an invitation to always be able to come to Him to pray, talk, listen and be willing to obey. I took it as a vow between us that He would always be there for me. The Creator of the Universe wanted a relationship with this little farm gal from Sanford, Florida. Little did I know how important this choice would be for me, my children and their children to come! God never asks us to give up anything that isn’t for our own good.
Pray, Plant, Feed & Water, & Harvest
Searching for God’s Treasures,
Marlene
Marlene has been called to go and serve others
wherever God calls her.
She combines teaching, prayer, worship with the prophetic, words of knowledge and wisdom to bring salvation, deliverance & healing to those who are lost, hurting helping each other prepare for ruling and reigning with the MOST HIGH GOD!
