Croley’s Corner @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

In our years of being involved in Ministry, we pursued after God and His direction for our family! Grab your favorite beverage and journal as we take a look at a word of encouragement and edifying during a time of great need! My husband wanted to go into the mission field; this was his heart’s desire for as long as I can remember. One of our first experiences in our travels was to Mexico, a town called Tent City, which had been flooded, and these precious people lived in tents. The entire town had been wiped out. The extent of our Spanish was what we caught in High School, so, naturally, going into this we would experience a language barrier.  Thank the Lord we had an interpreter. 

Upon our arrival you could sense the eagerness of the people who were in need of rebuilding not only their homes but also their lives, emotionally and spiritually.  Our desire was to make sure that everything that was said or sung was understood appropriately. And it certainly was, even at the most poignant time the Holy Spirit bridged the gap.  Although there was a language barrier the gift of prophecy overcame all language barriers for the Holy Spirit operated as the interpreter declaring the preeminence of God’s love through the entire team. And as the church began to rebuild, they were edified by the fact that their work was not in vain. They were exhorted to know they were in the perfect will of God and comforted by the assurance that He would continue to build His Kingdom through them, regardless of their great tragedy.

Love, edification and encouragement were our primary pursuit.  Many times we can find ourselves not speaking to one another because of fear which can certainly qualify as a “language barrier amongst each other as believers.”

1) Edification is “building up.”  It is a construction term, and speaks of our being “built up” in the Lord.  A word of prophecy will build someone up, not tear him or her down. Ephesians 4:29

2) Exhortation is encouragement.  It is like the speech from the coach in the locker room, rallying the team to go out and perform as they have been trained to perform.  A word of prophecy will encourage someone, not discourage him or her.

3) Comfort has the idea of not only consoling, but also strengthening.  It doesn’t just cry with someone hurting; it puts its arms around them and strengthens them to carry the load.  A word of comfort will strengthen, not weaken someone.

Today the church is prospering and evangelizing in the very depths of Mexico pursuing passionately, and desiring eagerly to grow His Kingdom. I challenge you to ask the Lord in the next seven days to show you who’s in need of encouragement, edifying or comfort. It just may mean the matter of life or death, spiritually and there’s no need to worry about a “language barrier” He will fill your mouth; He just needs a willing heart! “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 ….”But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” 1 Corinthians 14:3 

Until next week, be encouraged and keep Him close to your heart

Deb

Croley’s Corner @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. “  James 1:5

Wisdom, it comes to us in many forms and we can find it in many ways, such as studying, by watching those who are ardent in their abilities or by living life’s experiences! Grab your coffee and don’t forget your journal I believe there are some great nuggets of wisdom today at Coffee Hour.

What one thing would you ask of God if you knew absolutely that it would not be refused? We find in Proverbs 2:7 that “He stores up sound wisdom for us and is a shield to those who walk uprightly,” so if He stores up wisdom does this mean we can ask for it? I’m certain the answer would be yes!

We read in 1 Kings 3:3 -9 King Solomon loved the Lord as he walked in the statutes of David his father. One night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and the Lord said to King Solomon, “Ask! What shall I give you?” Solomon answered, “Give Your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” And it pleased the Lord.

Can you imagine having this conversation with God? What would our response be when He asked us, “What shall I give you?” how would we answer him? Such a good question to ponder! However, King Solomon never asked for himself selfishly but said to the Lord “give” Your servant an understanding heart. As we can see he was more concerned over God’s people than of himself and here we see the motive of King Solomon’s heart! This was the beginning of wisdom that God gave according to King Solomon’s words!! 1 King 3:11-14.

You see The Lord knew that King Solomon was going to encounter a heart problem in which he had to make a rightful decision regarding two mothers and two babies.  1 Kings 3:16- 19. God always designs to teach us some valuable lessons that can be associated in some ways of our lives. Aren’t you glad He knows our hearts even before we ask? So I ask myself what is the motive of my heart?

We experienced a blowout in our motor home some time ago; we pulled by the roadside and we had to make a decision to repair the tire ourselves or ask for help! We made a wise decision and within a few hours we were back on the road again. Although this wasn’t a life threatening situation, it still required a wise decision on my husband’s part. We were in a precarious place with no tools, no jack and five grandchildren and the worry of what if someone was going to hit us on the freeway!!!

This journey may not be easy but I remind you that He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He would never leave us stranded. We have a direct line to call on Him for wisdom… when we ask!

My prayer is that you will seek Him for wisdom in every aspect of your lives, if you lack; ask and as you do be ready for Him to give you sweet treasures of wisdom and understanding. 

Till next week, hold Him close to your heart.

Love Deb

Am I a Parrot or an Eagle-November’s WOW from Chicklit Power

Is it really November 1st? At the risk of sounding like a parrot, I have to confess, I’m not sure where the year has gone, because we all know that with the holidays, the New Year will be here in the blink of an eye! Wow, what a blur! Grab your coffee and come on in for our monthly words of wisdom and weapons of warfare.

I wasn’t too sure what we were supposed to talk about for our WOW, so instead of relying on my own understanding, I asked Him, and last Saturday, in the midst of my run, He reminded me of all that I am learning as I practice living outside my circumstances. I must confess, I am blown away by how much easier it is when scripture comes to life right smack in the middle of my circumstance, enabling me to rise above it instead of staying stuck in it. Not only does this month’s wow do just that, but it holds me accountable, keeping me from just talking the talk instead of walking the walk, or flying the coop!

So let’s get into our words of wisdom and weapons of warfare found in Isaiah 40:31: Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles, they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.

There are a few word pictures in here so let’s break this down so it will root in our heart and take flight in our hearts. The first words that beckon me to stop and ponder them are “wait on the Lord…” The verb wait never used to be anything I liked to do, and in some cases, it’s still a struggle. But when you add “on the Lord” to the equation, that’s like saying wait + the Lord = Hope, so it’s gotten a lot easier for me.

There are so many circumstances, seasons, difficulties that require us to wait: The mom waits for her prodigal child to return from his/her wandering. The wife waits for her husband to join her in her faith. The childless woman waits to conceive. The jobless person is waiting for a job while the ownership of their home is dwindling away. The hungry homeless man is waiting for food and shelter. The trafficked victim is waiting to experience a rescue. Some of us are waiting for someone we love to get over their addictions.

The list goes on and on and on. All of these themes of waiting have the same theme: they signify a measure of faith, a sort of looking toward or for, a faith that fuels hope, or is it hope that fuels the faith?

Back in the days of Isaiah, the term “wait upon” referred to servants waiting for their Master’s orders! Have we strayed from that waiting? In modern usage, those who wait are those who show their confidence in the God’s ability and willingness to fulfill His promises by patiently awaiting their fulfillment. Let me turn to my concordance and see what we find.

OMG, the Hebrew translation for the word “wait” is to adhere to! That makes my skin tingle as I visualize that. I can literally see myself clinging to Him, sometimes loosely, and oftentimes ever so tightly. I want so much to paint this verbal picture so you can see yourself adhering to Him! Picture a tree and its branches. The branches don’t worry about how they will stay attached; they just are. He is the tree and we are His branches. He’s our glue when we feel we are coming unglued!

During these tough situations of waiting on the Lord, there is something to help us wait, a promise if you will: renewed strength! Then if that’s the case, I’m not really waiting on my own, but on and in Him and when I am losing strength, I simply just need to come back to my source of strength. I can also almost see an exchange taking place here, the waiting for renewed strength. Wow, after all I’ve learned about waiting, it all boils down to the truth that this type of waiting is restful!

Whew, I’d better let you go for now, but please join me tomorrow for the conclusion of our monthly WOW! We won’t have Power Friday like we usually do because I don’t want to interrupt this!

Renewed,

Evinda