I AM A TRANSFORMED PERSON

I AM A TRANSFORMED PERSON!

Yes, I am a transformed person! There is a verse in the bible from Romans 12:2 that says “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. God is the one that does the transforming! We do not have to work at it. I have tried for years to transform myself but failed miserably. I took a seminar called “Cleansing Streams” at my local church which is the greatest tool for anyone who struggles with low esteem issues especially. I don’t say that you have to do “no work” but God does the transforming! The “work” that I did was to do the home work in the workbook, read the Bible, and praise the Lord! Before I took this seminar when reading the Bible, I read it mainly as if it was a novel. Things that I should have taken to heart and do, I didn’t think pertain to me. I really thought they were for unbelievers, but the Bible is for believers! The Bible was written to believers and for believers! And when reading the Bible years ago when I needed help, I would read for an hour in the early morning when I couldn’t sleep and some scripture would give me hope and I could go back to bed and sleep.

Last night at a class of Cleansing Streams, I felt such boldness and yes, love, that I could speak out and not feel afraid that if someone didn’t like me, I would feel unlovely. But because I know that I am a child of God and that He loves me unconditionally, I can be bold! I don’t have to worry about whether this person or that person likes me which has been a big problem in my life. Because I did not have love for myself, I could not love other people, ....”You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, Galatians 5:14.

Does this mean that I have finally arrived at being perfect! No, it definitely does not! And will satan quit harassing me? No, it definitely does not! As long as we live on earth where satan is the prince of this air, we will always be harassed by satan. But I know that I will always have the victory over any problem with God’s help.

Knowing who you are in Christ is really the key to being transformed. Without that knowledge you can not progress in anything that you do. But first you have to know God by confessing your sins and receiving Him as your Savior. It is the most wonderful thing that you can do.

A good day to you from The Merry Heart

What we all truly want

Tonight when I woke up early in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep and satan was tormenting with thoughts that I was not loved, I went out to seek the Lord. And as always He gave me comfort. When I have these thoughts of feeling unloved, I read my prophecy that I got in Dec. 96. Each time I read it, I get a much deeper meaning of some portion of the prophecy. Tonight the phrases “I love you, I love you” and “You are mine, You are mine” repeated several times, and the phrases “You have done nothing to offend me” and “There is nothing you will ever do to offend me for I am your Father and I love you”, really spoke to me. I don’t ever remember hearing “I love you” said to me. One time I remember standing by my Father’s chair talking to him and he affirmed me , the only time anyone ever affirmed me! It made me feel so good but once does not ever make you feel secure or loved. Tonight with the repeating of God’s Words to me in his prophecy to me, His very own letter to me, makes me feel affirmed. It made me feel ever so much better because He affirmed that He loves me because whatever I have done and whatever I will do, will not offend Him! What a revelation! I know that I am His Child and that I am forgiven of anything ever and that He still loves me!

Then I saw some pictures of my Chinese granddaughter, Abby, being reared by my son, Billy and his wife, Linda, when she was only one years old and looking so happy. These two people are the best parents in the world; they have showered love on this girl so much that you can tell that she is loved by the expressions on her face and in her eyes. They have accepted her for who she is and allowed her to be who she is. They have adopted another Chinese girl and she is totally different but they have allowed her to be who she is also and accepted her for who she is. That is all anyone wants from anyone and that is what I have always wanted also.

In writing this blog I just realized that God does accept me for who I am. That is such a comforting and wonderful thought! I am loved for who I am, I am His Child and He is my Father!

If you have a problem with believing that anyone loves you, the only way you can ever feel loved is to know God. You too can know God by accepting Him as your savior and confessing your sins.

The Merry Heart

Perseverance of Winter Analogous to Christians Victory

Perseverance of winter being squashed by spring time is analogous to a believer of God seeking relieve from a problem and finding the truth of that situation. This past week we have had cold weather and snow and rain mixture, now today the forecast for this week is temperatures in the 70s. What a change! Finally the demise of winter is overtaken by spring.

It is the same in our walk with the Lord. I have been battling a personal problem in my relationship with people and have been seeking the Lord what to do. Should I confront that person and explain that believing the lies of satan have lead to me behaving this way and ask for her forgiveness? Should I ask God to forgive me and change my behavior? Should I try and change on my own? Finally after battling for a few weeks with the issue and seeking God, I got my answer which was right before me all the time! Sometimes that does happen. I had read this book sometime back and this thought hit me like a bolt of lightning so I knew I had to write it down and put it on my bulletin board. At the time it didn’t mean as much to me as it does now.
When we fail at doing something doesn’t make us a failure, hence the moto: if at first you don’t succeed, try again. But when we do it on our own without God’s help and fail, then it can be considered a failure in God’s economy. God wants us to be dependent on Him as He knows best the way we should overcome a problem. I have had this problem, I think, most of my life and have tried to overcome it on my own, obviously since I still have the problem, I didn’t succeed. I have been seeking God for the answer the last few weeks and finally last night I got my answer. After praying and reading, finally I looked up and there was the answer on my bulletin board! The fact that I am a child of God, I can behave in a way that is consistent with the fact that God loves me and I do not have to act like I am unworthy and unloved and don’t deserve that person’s respect or friendship. But I first had to realize that God really does love me. It took me a long time for me to believe that and truly know that I am really a child of God. Now I can act according to that fact. I do not have to be timid or unfriendly but I can be bold with God’s help.

You can also know that God loves you by repenting of your sins and accepting Him as your savior and began reading the Bible and worshiping Him. Then you will know joy.

The Merry Heart

God's Promises are ever faithful

God Promises Are Ever Faithful

In this world when everything seems to be falling apart, who can we trust? Banks and many businesses are failing. Many people are losing their jobs. Prices of everything are going up and up. People are losing their homes. Couples are divorcing. Crime is on the uprise.

There is a source of help that we can trust. He is ever faithful. He is our best friend. He has our best interest at heart. God can always be depended upon to help us, even when we are unfaithful. In years past especially when I would wake up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep, I would go out and read my Bible. I needed some help for the next day. So I would start reading and after an hour, a scripture would jump out at me that would give me hope and then I could go back to bed and sleep. God was ever faithful to give me a scripture to help me just as He does now.

Tonight in my quiet time with the Lord, I began to realize that all the scriptures in the Bible are promises that when we believe them, He is ever faithful to fulfill. I have always heard that but until it gets down into your spirit and you realize that it is true, you don’t really believe it is true. What a awesome thought! There are so many promises in the Bible! I can’t fathom how many promises there are! But the secret to these promises is to believe them! You can’t begin to claim all the promises, only the ones that pertain to your situation and what God impresses upon you to claim as your own. When God impresses upon me a scripture, I write it down and start memorizing it. I takes me a while to memorize as I am 71. But while memorizing, I am meditating upon it and it gets down into my spirit and it becomes alive! I really truly know what it means. Then I keep saying it and it finally becomes a part of me, usually some aspect of my walk with the Lord that needs to be cleaned up.

You too can begin to claim God’s promises if you accept Him as your Savior and Lord and confess your sins. We as Christians are not guaranteed a life free from troubles but He is ever faithful to His promise that He will help us.

The Merry Heart

God is ever faithful

GOD IS EVER FAITHFUL

This morning when I finally got up at 3:30, after failing to go back to sleep to sleep in 30 minutes, I was having a struggle with some worry in my life and satan was attacking me about the situation. So I went out to my best and only source that is able to always help me. I remember the many times many years ago when my children were still home when I had a problem or worry and I would go out and read the bible. I would always read for exactly an hour and something would be in the Word that would help me or give me hope. Reading the bible for an hour may not be the prescription for everyone but for some reason it was for me. I would go back to bed and sleep and the next morning I could fact the day with hope and, yes, joy! I remember my daughter telling her cousin once when they were talking about their mothers that I laughed a lot. I had never thought of myself as a person that laughed a lot but I do, I like to laugh and make a joke and try to find the funny side of things. She is now a person who likes to find the funny side of situations and has she gone through some rough times.

Nowadays, when I go out and read the bible or some good Christian book for help, I find that I spend more time not just reading but also praising and worshiping Him. I so enjoy His Presence and worshiping Him, I enjoy our “quiet time” together! He has been so faithful and He has done so much for me!

You too can have this joy by knowing the Lord by accepting Him as your savior and repenting of your sins.

The Merry Heart

stinking thinking

“Stinky Thinking” is a phrase that is said a lot to convey that what we think when we do not have the Word of God in our thinking. Even Christians are not immune to this as I can testify to this. I grew up in a Baptist Church from a little child, learned scripture, and even as an adult, I studied the bible very intently as I went to many bible studies. But until you apply those scriptures to yourself, thinking as I did, “hey, these scriptures do not apply to me, they are for non-Christians.”
The bible was written to Christians, not to non-Christians so they do apply to Christians.

Another facet of this equation is that at some point in our lives, when we allow satan to enter into our minds and we believe his lies, we can get “stinky thinking”. I became a basket case until I learned to apply the truth from God’s Word. I used to just read the scripture without thinking that it applied to me and that I should pay attention and meditate on it. Now when I find a scripture that speaks to me, jumps out at me you might say, I write it down on an index card, sometimes several cards and put them throughout the house. I memorize the scripture and think about it and let it get down into my spirit. That is when it can correct your thinking as God will work on you to straighten out your “stinky thinking”. It is marvelous how God works in you to straighten out your “stinky thinking”. If we just let Him work in us instead of us trying to fix things, He does a much better job of it. I tried for years to fix things: my relationships, my self-esteem, etc. I cannot stress how God has been changing my “stinky thinking”. I just praise Him most nights when I go out and have my quiet time with Him. Most of all I praise Him for dying in my place on the cross so I do not have to die and go to hell. You can too by accepting Him as your savior and repenting of your sins. This will be the first day of your life headed to heaven instead of hell. Who wants to go there! There is only brime stone and fire everlasting! But the Christian life is not a bed of roses, you will still be attacked by satan because he hates you and wants you to be miserable and be an ineffective witness for Christ. But you are going to heaven where there is joy eternal! Hallelujah!

The Merry Heart

God will help

From The Merry Heart to whomever wishes to read this, may you be blessed and uplifted in your spirit as I have been. The Lord has been transforming me by the renewing of my mind and did it need to be renewed! I am past 70 year old now and this all started as a young girl of about 12, the age of accountability, where you are accountable to God and whether you will accept him or not at a certain time in your life. We think of 12 as generally the age of accountability, and I thought the rest sounded like good philosophy!

At 12 where I and my parents and my 5 siblings were attending a revival at our little brimstone-hell-fire Baptist Church, a turning point occurred in my life for the worse. After the evening service I was putting away the songbooks as the church building also was our school and that seems to be my pattern; I’m always busy or too busy. The evangelist asked my twin sister to come forward the next night to be saved and to tell me as he couldn’t get to talk to me as I was busy. When she told me later that night in bed, I was offended that he did not talk to me personally so I determined that I was not going to go forward. And so the next night my twin, Delores, went forward and had a glorious experience; I should have gone forward as the Holy Spirit was dealing with me but I was stubborn and determined not to as I was offended. I went forward some time later but I didn’t have the same experience that Delores had so I always felt I wasn’t saved. Because of that offense and not feeling saved I have been tormented by Satan since then.

Yes, I grew up in a Baptist Church where you are “saved”. That means that usually at the end of his sermon, the pastor asks people to come forward to be “saved”. That means that you are ready to ask forgiveness for your sins and receive Jesus into your heart and save you from hell. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we do not have to die and go to hell for eternity. We do not have to pay for our sins as Jesus died in our place. God required a sacrifice for sin and He sent his only Begotten Son to do that. Jesus was the only one who could do that as He led a perfect life while here on earth.

Satan has told me so many lies which is his profession: he is the father of lies, he started it! I grew up not feeling loved, unworthy, shameful, you name it, I felt unworthy. I was a basket case and didn’t like myself or other people. Luckily I married a wonderful man who was kind and patient with me although I married him for the wrong reasons. I married him so I wouldn’t be an old maid. I know now that I couldn’t love my husband as I didn’t even have love for myself.

I joined a small group called “Cleansing Streams”, a wonderful class where you learn to overcome obstacles in your life with the help of God. Even before I started the class I told my husband I was being offended about every day. At the first class the teacher was telling about the book “The Bait of Satan” by John Bevere, that tells how satan makes us be offended. I thought, “What! Offences are little things, how can that be?” To my surprise when I read it, I was amazed how satan causes offenses to grow and get bigger. This is the story of how my life has been completely turned around with God’s help, I can’t emphasize “with God’s help” enough as that is the only way that my life has been turned around. I could not change myself on my own, I tried and tried for years to change myself but never could. Only God can do that. More next time. The Merry Heart