THOUGHTS ON FAMILIES..

Just do it...

This is kind of an update on me here...

God is showing me in my reading and praying that there are all kinds of families in the world. Far and few between today are the families that are intact, godly and healthy. They are a rarity, but can be models for us all. More often than not, families started out on the wrong foot, namely without God, but at one time or another along the way some members are blessed to come to know Jesus. And so, the family becomes fragmented as a member turns to Jesus. As one realizes the holiness of our God and the blood sacrifice he made of Jesus, his only begotten Son. They realize they have transgressed against a holy and righteous God and come to godly sorrow for doing it. They cry out to Jesus, for forgiveness, for a life in Him, they repent, change their minds, become new creatures in Christ and turn from sin. Jesus saves them and they are now eternal beings doing God's will here on earth.

People come from families of divorce, same sex parents, single parents, abuse, etc. All kinds of evil sin can be perpetrated within a so called family (1 John 2:15-16). It all means they come from a place where God was not honored or first. His doctrine not read, taken to heart or adhered to. Families trying to live their own way, not God's, in a sinful and lost world. But by the grace and mercy of God, some hearts made their way to Him and abide in him today. i am one of those, praise God. The fragmented families of today have needs as various as one can imagine and yet basic needs are the same as godly families. They need Jesus. All this puts godly men and women to the test of how to best serve God in meeting the needs in their families. My response to this as in any situation is to seek first and early to hear the voice of God, being obedient to him first and above all else (Matthew 6:33). God's solution will always end up being the best for everyone. There are no exceptions to this rule.

i thank God for families that are in-tact. Moms and Dads who are godly and raising godly children. i thank God for spiritual families that we belong to, that God gave us, who love us unconditionally and guide us in our walk with Him. Who support us and lift us up. Who encourage us to use the wisdom of God in all things under heaven. God has been so good to me. i am blessed to be loved and guided by God my Father each day, and to have an earthly spiritual father who i know loves me unconditionally in the Lord and is always there to impart godly wisdom.

These verses have been in my heart lately and i have been pondering them.

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes but the Lord pondereth the hearts." Proverbs 21:2

"A mans heart deviseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25 and Proverbs 14:12

"For that ye ought to say if the Lord will we shall live and do this or that." James 4:15

If the Lord left me to plan my own way, follow my own desires through this life, i would quickly and most assuredly fall into sin, and would justify it all the way to hell. The heart of man is deceitfully wicked above all things (Jeremiah 17:9-10). But the Lord knows my heart, loves me and has the best plan for my life in Him. My life in him, not anyone else's life. Each life in Him has the same foundation in Christ (Matthew 7:24-25), the same commission to Go and preach the Gospel (Luke 24:47, Matthew 28:19-20), and to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). But our paths will vary, our gifts will vary, and our daily life will vary according to God's need and plan. It is his will and not mine that determines my every move and my very life. Each one of us must listen to God and his will for our lives.

i was blessed by the Lord to be led to RAVEN Ministries, to a spiritual father who continuously pours into me the ways and wisdom of God. God's timing is perfect and if i had not heeded his call, his direction to go, i would not be able to stand (Ephesians 6:13) at this time in my life. Our Lord God continues to build on the foundation of Christ he has laid in me, leading me to the next word he has for me. The years i spent under direct discipleship of Pastor Troy has strengthened me for what God has for my life right now, for this season. God led me to Florida and i knew in my heart it would be for a season, then God led me back to California for another season. If i was not obedient to him i would have missed it (Hebrews 5:8, 2 Cor 10:5-6). i do not see the end, but i am obedient to each step on the way as the Lord reveals it. My heart is being perfected in Him (1 Chronicles 28:9). i can tell you this, as i see things unfolding for me, God's timing was perfect, it could not have been any later or earlier...it was perfect, God is perfect.

Mom

God is showing me something, there is a time soon coming when my mom will not be able to drive. The Lord is giving me strength and wisdom, he has opened my eyes and heart to what will soon be needed. Soon i will be driving for two. i will be easing my mom into the next season in her life. i am preparing for this in the Lord. My time and life are not my own and are only full when laid down and poured out for others. My mom is not married, i am her daughter and it falls to me to honor her in this time. It is by God's strength and my joy in pleasing him that i can do (Philippians 4:13) whatever is needed. Not my will but his be done. i believe, as God has shown me over and over again, wherever i am he puts people before me who need his salvation message. As i am faithful to care for mom and dad in this time, i am sure i will used by Him. By his grace i am obedient and patient.

Dad

My dad on the other hand, he will know when we meet with doctors on Tuesday, if he will be able to receive radiation and chemo treatment for his cancer, or if the cancer is too far along. He will also know what the doctors say about how long they think he will live. He has been shot with radium, been through every kind of scan and test they could throw at him in the last month, and he is tired. Dad needs Jesus.

My mom is saved and has mostly peace with her life and where it is going. She has the Lord, and my sister and i to lean on and care for her. Still she is a bit anxious about not being able to drive, but i know God will work all this out for us and she knows too in her heart. My dad on the other hand is not saved and is struggling with it all. He is pragmatic about it all, trying to joke and make light, but his anger, irritation and sudden anxiety makes his hard heart apparent.

i am sharing my life with you for a few reasons. i would ask that you pray. For mom and dad at this time in their lives, especially for Dad's salvation above all else in his life. For Lauri and Mike to grow in the Lord, and Myles continued growth in the Lord. For my lost family members. When you pray for me, please pray that i clearly hear God's voice and know his will for my life, that i am walking in his Spirit and power, that i grow in spiritual wisdom and knowledge, and that my heart is wise and understanding.

i also want to share my walk with you, the work God has done in me over the years and how he uses my faith and obedience for his glory. At ravendeb.blogspot.com i have been blogging since Sept 2006, the lessons God has taught me, the character he has been building in me, the words he has spoken to me and my response to those words. He has taken me to deeper places in times of prayer, in his word and fasting. He has taught me how to be a woman of God, his bride, his wife, a sister to all believers and spiritual mother to so many children. He taught me how to street preach, to teach and to seek the lost more effectively, to walk in the Spirit and pray without ceasing. He taught me about grace, faith, submission, and obedience no matter the cost to my life. He is always teaching, always near, always loving me. i continue to grow in him daily, being filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He will never leave nor forsake me, of that i am sure. Maybe his teachings to me will be of value to someone else in the body.

i know now that i am not able to do what i want to do unless it lines up with what God wants me to do, every day. i can have some grandiose plans for life and ministry, but God is the ultimate planner in his perfect time. Sometimes to others, what i do or do not do, does not seem like enough, or seems like the wrong thing, or not what they think i should be doing. For some folks love is conditional on those things. For those folks i just say this, God knows my heart, he knows my faithfulness and my obedience unto him. He is the only one i must answer to for my life lived here in this world, amen. i would say, i know the Father and he knows me, and i love Him with all my heart. i would say, i love you all and keep you always in my prayers.

"Search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

It is a curious thing in our American society. A society focused on self and the pursuit of worldly wealth. We have "Old Folks" homes, "active" retirement communities, "nursing" homes and the list goes on. They are all places where aging children put their parents. i guess it is just another sign of a lost and dying world. i would be curious to know how the ancient customs were in Jesus day. i do know this, as Jesus hung dying from the cross he made sure his own mom was taken care of by John ( John 19:26-27). As my Mom took her mom and step-dad in when it was time, so it shall be with me. Amen..

"But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel." 1 Timothy 5:8

"Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16

For God so loved the world...amen