Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sin in the eyes of God...

Good morning all-

Well it definitely has been a hard week around the Rogers household.  Hunter had a friend move from UT to Kansas in June.  It went well for awhile but then things started going wrong and this last week was the end of his free ride.  He is only nineteen but he will be learning the consequences for his actions and I have been full of sadness.  As I prayed for him yesterday, I thought about how our Father feels when we sin against Him.  He must be as hurt and devastated as I am because He knows the consequences to our actions will not be easy.  Now Trevor will move in with family and have to pay rent when I asked for nothing.  I bought him a bed and now he will lay on a couch.  I opened my pantry to him and now he will have to contribute money for food.  He raised my food and water bill and I never asked for a penny.  Why?  Because I believed this is what God had asked of me.

I believe in people.  I have this rare gift of seeing what's inside.  But as time goes by, I won't be fooled for long because Christ will give me His eyes.  There are so many people that believe everyone is bad, they aren't bad but their actions are.  Trevor continued to disobey rules and last week we found that he broke a window to sneak a young girl into my home.  I have been sick about it.  I also have experienced anger, hurt and sadness.  He will reap the consequences of his actions but I also had to bear the brunt of his actions.  Doesn't God do the same thing?  He gave us free choice and allowed us to make decisions.  He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us and yet, when we are weak; we fall into temptation.

I used to think God loved to punish those of us that sinned.  Now I know that it's us that makes those decisions and as we make those decisions, God weeps for us, just like I have for Trevor.  I saw it as I was praying.  My feelings were just like our Makers.  He tries to stop us from going down the path of destruction but we continue on believing there won't be a complication.  Well, this week Trevor is beginning to feel the complication of his actions.  I have forgiven him and understand that he has his own walk in life.  I'm not sure he believes in Jesus but when he's alone I hope he remembers that I loved Him with God's heart.  I'm going to miss him.  He's complicated and scarred but at the end of the day, he broke the rules and lost a home where he could just be himself.  I'm praying for his journey and hope that God and him meet up.  In the meantime, if you are sinning against God, please ask for His forgiveness.  Don't walk further away because you don't feel worthy.  Walk toward the light because He is near and wants His child to come home.

I probably won't ever take in another child.  At least right now that's how I feel.  This has been a good learning lesson to me too because I truly want to look at the child and not the man he had become and at nineteen you are a man.  So with that being said, repent and ask God for direction.  We all fall into sin but now my question is, "How much of my sin hurts my Father?"

Take heart in Jesus and thank Him for being a loving, forgiving Father.  He is love and understands the temptations of life.  Satan spent forty days tempting Him.  He knows what you're going through so fight it with all your power, Christ is your shield.  Wishing you the best day ever as we walk toward the light of the world.

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 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ NIV)

My Prayer today:

O, Lord of Israel, help me hear Your voice.  Temptation is everywhere and when we are tempted and fall, consequences are on the door.  Please lead us from temptation and forgive us of our sins.  We are weak but You are strong.  Thank you for giving us a resting place full of power and majesty.  We need You to guide us all our days and to remind us their is no temptation more satisfying than You.  Thank you for letting me see through my prayers Your sorrow for those that sin against You.  I am a sinner and if my actions caused You to shed one tear for me, I am so very sorry.  You are my world and You hear our cries.  Protect the weak and make us strong.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Ebola and prayer....

Good morning all-

Well Ms. Pham has been upgraded from fair to good and Ms. Vinson doesn't have the virus in her system.  Do you think it was just the great care at Emory and Bethesda? Every article I have read dictates that early detection, lots of fluids and our system have attributed to our success and I'm sure they have.  However, what it doesn't state is how God's people prayed and how a little boy donated blood to a physician that has continued to donate so that others can live.

I am so grateful to the men and women that put their lives on the line for us.  If we not were so scared of Ebola, I doubt many would even care.  I remember when AIDS came out and it was considered a homosexual disease so no one that was heterosexual even cared.  Many years later I was sitting in a women's study class in college and a young, beautiful mother of one started to tell her story.  I think we were all shocked when she announced to the class she had AIDS. The silence in the room was deafening.

We believe that we are immune to the worlds problems but we aren't.  What is happening in Russia could happen anywhere.  When we see people dying of famine, we could be next and when a man comes from Nigeria, our country begins to see the horror of the West African people.  People are only surviving by 30 percent, so far, beyond one man, in the US they have all survived.  We weren't prepared for an epidemic  or this disease, really no one is.  So when I'm scared and want to confine myself to my home, I start to pray and so I have.  I have prayed for the people of Africa and I have prayed for every victim fallen of this horrific disease.  I have asked women in every nation to pray and ask God to protect, heal and bring revival.  Will revival come from this experience?  I have no idea but I do know that God is calling and although our medicine was good, He is greater!

Prayer is power beyond human imagination.  He hears our cries and will answer the way he sees fit. For the family of Thomas they lost a precious sole, who tried to help a dying pregnant woman, for others they will survive and fulfill their purpose.  He was not the enemy; He was a person who loved and cared for others.  He was a victim of this great plague and my hope is that we will all take his family and lift them up in prayer.  May the families of these nurses be wise and may every victim speak of God's great glory, for we know it wasn't just modern medicine that brought them through the valley.  It was God.  Please continue to pray as another physician trying to help has caught this disease and pray for the people of Africa as they continue to fight for their lives.  We are one under God.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7, 9-10‬ NIV)

Monday, October 20, 2014

What if you only had today?

Good morning all-

I've been really thinking about this one question, "What if I only had today?"  It's not an easy question but it should be one we ask ourselves on a regular basis.  Worry comes and it's because we are worrying about tomorrow.  Fear comes because we just don't know what we don't know and peace comes from resting and staying in today.  I often let my mind wander to tomorrow and it only causes fear and destruction.  Ulcers, health issues and other diseases come from worry and distraction.  Right now there are those that fear Ebola, those that are panicking and those that are resting.  Honestly, my first instince when they brought the physician to the US was to panic.  But as I sought the Lord and began resting in Him I was spurred to pray for him and the nurse that was effected.  Why?  Because I was listening in the moment.

Will this plague be the largest for all time?  That's a question I can not answer for only God knows what is happening in the world.  Can we stop it?  I'm not sure but I do know that we can pray and come together and ask God for a worldwide revival.  Through every historical event people have come to Christ because they were hurting, desperate or ill.  We are often not on our knees until something happens with our health or our money.  Loss is a powerful tool to ones heart.

While talking to the young man that has moved in with us, he asked me what I thought about Ebola.  I asked him if he truly believed in Jesus.  He never really answered.  He has made a lot of bad decisions lately and it's very hard to get the young to realize they may only have today.  Youth believes they will survive war, famine and disease but in reality if it's your time, that's all you have.  Which puts me back to the beginning of this message.  It's time to live our lives to the fullest.  We must ask ourselves if we only had today what would we want to be remembered for?  I for one would want to be remembered for loving others, teaching my sons to be Godly men and seeking God in my every day life.  He is the reason I am here after all.  Do I expect everyone to see the value in these words?  Not really, but they are true and they are in the Word.  Often, I find myself reflecting on passages that reveal God's calling and there is one that is so true.  Live for today just like Jesus did because tomorrow will come soon enough.

At the end of the day, there are thousands of people in Africa struggling to survive.  Ebola has already taken 4400 lives and many more to follow.  Should we live in fear or should we pray for them and ask God to move mountains and heal nations?  That's my prayer.  So how do we respond in this historical event?  We get on our knees and ask the Father of us all to come and heal the people of the land bringing revival to all nations.

I pray today that millions will join with me to ask God for mercy and revival. I am praying for a cure of biblical proportions and asking our Savior to intercede where man can not.  This moment is ours and we may only have today so let's take this day and love those we can not see or touch.  Please pray for the victims of this radical disease and pray for all of us to ask God for a new revival throughout the land.  He is our Savior and whether it's war, famine or disease; we are to rest in Him.  Powerful words and yet hard to follow.  God of Abraham is all powerful and all knowing.  Through our own will we can seek Him and find Him.  Please take a moment to seek Him today with everything you have and to ask that He give you direction just for today.

God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ NIV)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

We need to be watching with God's eyes...

Good morning all-

As natural disasters, Ebola, war and huge earthquakes break out, are you an observer or are you watching through our Lord's eyes?  Over six years ago, I started this blog and the one thing I asked God is that I would have his eyes.  I was sitting on my couch with such sadness I didn't even want to get up.  My best friend had died and all I could think was, "I need you mom."  I wasn't ready to face the world without her and I was really sad.  On that couch I spoke out loud to God and asked that He would help me through my loss but at the same time give me His eyes.  I knew He was with me, which meant He was watching His children.  I never felt alone but I did feel lost.  Did God feel all our pains, all our fears and did He hear us?

Those days and hours were some of my quietest, most profound and totally spiritual.  I was quiet and I heard the Lord prompting me to have His eyes and His hands.  So as I pondered what was going to be expected of me I cried out, "Let me see what you see."  And since then, I have seen more than I ever could have imagined.  Almost no detail goes by me.  I see the homeless man in the street.  I see the single mom trying to make enough money to take care of her children.  But most importantly, I see the world like I never did before.  If it didn't happen in the US, I really didn't pay much attention. But from the onset of this spiritual awakening I felt God calling me to the women of all nations.  I can remember thinking, "Why me Lord?"  I rarely watched the news and pretty much tried to ignore world events but in my quiet time I knew this was the path that I was meant to journey on.  How was God going to use me to reach the women all over the world?  And then the blog became the way I would spread His love, His sacrifice and His Word!  I would be able to fulfill my promise to Him.  So I began to pray for women all over the world and my heart expanded and continues to expand.  I can't read about ISIS without thinking about the women that are dying.  I can't read about Syria without thinking of the women that are in the middle and I can't read about Ebola without realizing we are in the middle of a plague of God proportion and women need to hear from God so they can pray for their countries, their men and their families.

God hears us that's for sure.  Prayer has changed world events, it has provided support, encouragement and love.  Prayers have built trust where there once was none and through prayer God speaks His heart unto the world.  Every figure in the Bible prayed and whenever I doubt it, I pick it up and see prayers throughout.  Even this week as I was researching the last seven plagues, there was a prayer glorifying God.  We can sit and be in fear.  We can contemplate Ebola and not care or we can stand up and pray that God would heal the broken and through this devastating disease a revival would be born.  He loves His people but we turn our backs, we throw our cares into ourselves.  We need to start caring about every person in every nation.  Famine is here, war is here, natural disasters are here and Ebola is HERE.  No one is safe but we are in God's arms and those ladies that worked in Texas are God's angels because they didn't worry about themselves.  They loved a very sick man and now we must love them and those that are in Liberia, Nigeria, and throughout the world.

Do I ever wish I could run?  Not anymore because I know He has called me to spread the hope He has to give.  The same hope He gave when He made a dead man walk or when He sat with the woman at the well.  It is a hope for the ages.  From Abraham to Jesus and now to us, God is here and He knows us by name.  Give Him the glory today and ask that He would supply you with the words to heal nations, spread love and most importantly, have His eyes.  Is it hard to look through His eyes? Of course it is because there is a lot going on out there.  It's through His spirit we can grow with Him.  I'm praying that you all feel His spirit and that you spend time in the quiet to hear His voice.  The time is now and we are being called to calm the storm, quiet the hearts and spread the word that our God will cover us.  Lord our God cover us in the shelter of Your wings!

Take time today to love someone, to pray for a nation and to pray for doctors and nurses.  They are God's workers and if you live in another country, please pray for the nurses in Texas who loved a foreign man and layed down their lives for Him.  And please give thanks to the little boy who gave his blood so that a doctor in the US could contribute his blood. He has helped several survivors, what a gift he got through a small child.  Let's be a gift to God and love!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1-5‬ NIV)



Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” (‭Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭10-12‬ NIV)


Don't be afraid, move toward the tower of strength and give what He has given to you.  Give your life for Him, release your fear and follow the only God that can destroy evil, plague, famine and death!  He is the One and only One.  Please spread the word, pray and have His eyes!


My prayer today:

Lord be with us today as we contemplate the unkown.  Help us live for today.  Give us your eyes and your heart for the people of this world.  And as we contemplate Your word and resting in You, provide peace, wisdom and  love.  We come to You with hope in our hearts because we know that You will bring forth healing and encouragement to every people group throughout the world.  We are Your children, help us hear from YOU!  We also take a moment to pray for the nurses in Texas and those that are serving the nations where the plague is having its greatest impact.  Please have Your hands on them and help them become great workers for You!  In Jesus Name, hear our prayer Lord!
 













Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Hoping through Ebola...Please join me in prayer

Good morning all-

Having a medical background, I have been really following the Ebola outbreak.  If you didn't think it could happen here, think again.  Much like the great plague it will be spread.  How do we respond?  We respond with love, hope and prayer.

Last night, I had a dream that there were sick people in a house I was doing a Bible study with many women, two of them nurses.  I remember the dream because I contracted Ebola by touching a patient.  The nurses and staff all around the world that are caring for Ebola victims are servants and heroes.  They didn't run away; they did their jobs.  So will you unite with me for the next 30 days and pray for the nurses and doctors that are laying down their lives to serve and protect others?  I need your help.  At the end of my dream as I woke up, I heard a voice say to me, "Hope and pray."  So as I got up the first thing I thought is spread the word to my readers.  We are praying for all people around the world and that God will start a revival of hope and love as we fight another plague.  Please join me in believing that God is God, that He can move this mountain and that we, through prayer can spread the word of hope, love and mercy to all people.

We must believe in Jesus right now.  Thank you for joining me.  Spread the word of hope!  Please take a moment to pray this prayer.  Great and marvelous are Your deeds Lord.  Read the words, speak the words and pray the words.  His Word is more powerful than medicine!

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. (‭Revelation‬ ‭15‬:‭2-8‬ NIV)

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Knowing the Holy Spirit 9

Good morning all-

Well as I was having dinner with my sister-in-law she was trying to describe to me the Holy Trinity.  Many other religions think we worship three persons individually.  For many years I struggled with God, "I am who I am," Jesus, "I am the way and the truth," and the Holy Spirit who was left when Jesus ascended to His Father.

How do three seemingly separate entities really equate to one? Well, if we were to use mathematical terms of one plus two equals three, then what others believe would be true.  Our goal is not to justify or challenge everyone.  However, in order for you to know and understand, you must know where its described in the Bible and to show it.  I still can't say I totally understand the Holy Trinity but in reality, I don't think I'm supposed to.  God was very sincere and forthright when He said that, "His ways are not our ways."  So what that means to me is that not everything written in the Bible will match our thoughts or our ways.

As you all know, I am not a great theologian but I do love the Lord and as common as I am; I believe He speaks to me through His word.  I love the Bible and wish I made more time for it.  You notice I said made more time, right?  Because like you my life is very busy and when I have down time I typically want to sit and read about something mindless.  I'm challenging myself to work on this as the days grow shorter.  I want to know more and be used by God more and if that's my intention then I must seek Him more.

So with that being said, I am going to find some mighty Scriptures for us today that describe the Holy Spirit.  He is powerful and part of the great I am.  You may not understand it and I may not but there is one truth and one way and all three parts form One.  If you don't believe me speak to your pastor or priest but know that it is written and truth is truth.  Our time is now, hear our cry Lord as we come before You seeking the wisdom and power of Your word.

He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭42-48‬ NIV)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, (‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭17‬ NIV)

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ NIV)

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭4-7‬ NIV)

My Prayer today:

O, Lord, I call to You today from Your hiding place and ask that You would reveal to the masses the power of the Holy Trinity.  I am calling on You to bring forth men and women that don't believe in You and send them on a journey of love everlasting.  I am praying that hearts and minds will be transformed to think and live like You.  We are selfish and we are coming to confess our sins.  We believe we know more and yet, we know nothing.  We believe we are powerful without you and yet, we are weak.  We believe that we can live our lives exactly the way we want with no consequence so we are naive.  You are God and You sent Your only Son who left us with the great Counselor.  Please help us see the power behind the cross and the power You have left inside of us to guide us toward You and to make You known.  Please spread this message far and wide and turn our hearts toward You.  We confess that we are humbled by Your mightiness and we know that You are Lord of all.  Be with us as we teach the words You left for us.  We thank You Lord for loving us and for helping us even when we don't think we need Your help.  Bless Your people especially in the worn torn countries all over the world. In Jesus name, AMEN

Friday, October 3, 2014

Holy Spirit 7

Good morning all-

How do you know when God is talking to His people?  Well, you look at another persons blog and find out that God is steering her in the same direction.  My mind has been full of the Holy Spirit.  People need to hear the message, not tomorrow, but today and then I get on Angel Ministries and see that Anne Lotz is being called too.  Coincidence?  I think not.

God is calling all of us to lift each other in prayer.  The first US case of Ebola is here, people are dying around the world and men are teaching young boys to be warriors.  Hate is everywhere and the sound of recklessness is strong.  We have dictators and corrupt leaders and if that's not enough we are fighting battles more spiritual than earthly.  The problem is no one knows it.

Yesterday, I was speaking to a co-worker about the power of prayer and she laughed at me and told me she was done.  Everyone is always done when nothing happens but the older I get and the wiser I get; I realize that when your at the point of done but keep going, Christ does something.

The Holy Spirit was given to us as a guide.  His reference is throughout the Bible.  Jesus said He would leave us with Him.  Does that even matter faced with death, destruction and disease?  Well it should if it's not then I feel sorry for all of us.  The power that is in the Holy Spirit is unconceivable and yet, we all put it behind closed doors.  When are we going to stand up and thank God for the awesome gift we were given.  He is who He said He was!  He left us His guide!  We don't need anyone to be our intercessory because we have Him.  He is it for us.  Our link to the spiritual realm and our power behind the doors.

I for one want to shout it to the world.  Jesus lives!  Can you feel Him?  If you can't, then you're really not thinking about Him, reading about Him or praying to Him.  Get down and dirty ladies and find Him in you.  So for this morning, I leave you with yet another passage that lights our path to Jesus.  Take it to heart and call upon the Holy of Holies today.  He is your guide to this crazy and frustrating world.  May God be with you as you seek Him today!

Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ (‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬ NIV)

Dear Lord our God, rain down on us today and bring forth Your Spirit to the unkown.  We need You all our days and all our hours.  Please heal the sick and make wise men out of fools. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen