Consistency is our guardian until a changes becomes (super)natural. It is very hard work! We want to rebel in our human nature. Until we give up our rights to Christ, this spiritual battle takes on any form of restraint working toward the good things intented for us.
I pray that we persevere in fighting the "good fight" through Christ who redeemed us to be reformed in His image. In their image we were made male and female - Genesis 1:26,27
Candace
The Secret of Spiritual Consistency
READ:
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in his life. The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent externally. In the external expression of things, Paul lived in the basement, while his critics lived on the upper level. And these two levels do not begin to touch each other. But Paul’s consistency was down deep in the fundamentals. The great basis of his consistency was the agony of God in the redemption of the world, namely, the Cross of Christ.
State your beliefs to yourself again. Get back to the foundation of the Cross of Christ, doing away with any belief not based on it. In secular history the Cross is an infinitesimally small thing, but from the biblical perspective it is of more importance than all the empires of the world. If we get away from dwelling on the tragedy of God on the Cross in our preaching, our preaching produces nothing. It will not transmit the energy of God to man; it may be interesting, but it will have no power. However, when we preach the Cross, the energy of God is released. ". . . it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. . . . we preach Christ crucified . . ." ( 1 Corinthians 1:21, 23 ). - by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
November 25, 2009
November 21, 2009
It is less frustrating when we ask directions before trying to find a place.
Some days it is hard to remember we are just sojourners on the way to our Home. If feels like this is our home, because we have been visiting for so long....but remember this is just the road trip to get home. I do not know about you, but I loath a long road trip....some days it's like Chevy Chase's vacation movies or RV (for you younger guys) and other day it seems like the best vacation ever. None of it will compare with the feeling we all know "when we are so glad to get back home".
My love to you all.....glad you are all my travel buddies =D
Candace
~devotion below is from Daily Bread
Beyond Imagination!
READ: Revelation 21:1-8
[It has not] entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. —1 Corinthians 2:9
A college professor at a Christian school perceived that his students held a distorted view of heaven; they considered it to be static and boring. So, to stir their imaginations, he asked them these questions:
“Do you wish you would wake up tomorrow morning to discover that the person you loved most passionately loved you even more? Wake up hearing music you have always loved but had never heard with such infinite joy before? Rise to the new day as if you were just discovering the Pacific Ocean? Wake up without feeling guilty about anything at all? See to the very core of yourself, and like everything you see? Wake up breathing God as if He were air? Loving to love Him? And loving everybody else in the bargain?”
In response to that professor’s intriguing questions, the students all lifted their hands. If that’s what heaven will be like, and even infinitely more so, they certainly wanted to be there.
“I go to prepare a place for you,” Jesus told His disciples (John 14:2). We all share the desire—really a deep-down yearning—to be in that glorious home forever. It is a place of indescribable bliss. And the supreme blessing will be the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself! — Vernon C. Grounds
My love to you all.....glad you are all my travel buddies =D
Candace
~devotion below is from Daily Bread
Beyond Imagination!
READ: Revelation 21:1-8
[It has not] entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. —1 Corinthians 2:9
A college professor at a Christian school perceived that his students held a distorted view of heaven; they considered it to be static and boring. So, to stir their imaginations, he asked them these questions:
“Do you wish you would wake up tomorrow morning to discover that the person you loved most passionately loved you even more? Wake up hearing music you have always loved but had never heard with such infinite joy before? Rise to the new day as if you were just discovering the Pacific Ocean? Wake up without feeling guilty about anything at all? See to the very core of yourself, and like everything you see? Wake up breathing God as if He were air? Loving to love Him? And loving everybody else in the bargain?”
In response to that professor’s intriguing questions, the students all lifted their hands. If that’s what heaven will be like, and even infinitely more so, they certainly wanted to be there.
“I go to prepare a place for you,” Jesus told His disciples (John 14:2). We all share the desire—really a deep-down yearning—to be in that glorious home forever. It is a place of indescribable bliss. And the supreme blessing will be the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself! — Vernon C. Grounds
When we all get to heaven,What a day of rejoicing that will be!When we all see Jesus,We'll sing and shout the victory. —Hewitt
The greatest pleasures of earth cannot be compared to the joys of heaven.
November 17, 2009
I am weak but He is strong....
Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so.............
A while back I heard God say:
You are not able to use my knowledge and insight until you have gained it and you will not gain my wisdom and discernment until you have experienced it. When you have over come or come through a trial by my strength and your humility, you then have the power indwelt, etched and engraved – ownership within your new form. To be honest, I do not understand the things He tells me for some time. I have to talk to Him about it as I walk through my days....He explains it piece by little piece. Things like this devotion, help me to get more understanding and apply it to my life.
In the bible there is a verse that speaks of the spirit being able but the flesh being weak. I pray that our spirit prospers even as our soul prospers: that we will gain His knowledge, insight, wisdom and discernment through our daily experiences as we count on His strength in all situations. In our humility he is glorified ....as He says where we are weak He is able to show His strength.
My love to you all,
Candace
The Eternal Goal
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing . . . I will bless you . . . —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
"At any cost . . . by any road" means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, "Come," I simply come; when He says, "Let go," I let go; when He says, "Trust God in this matter," I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, "In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee."
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. "All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . ." (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our "Yes" must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, "Amen," or, "So be it." That promise becomes ours. by Oswald Chambers
A while back I heard God say:
You are not able to use my knowledge and insight until you have gained it and you will not gain my wisdom and discernment until you have experienced it. When you have over come or come through a trial by my strength and your humility, you then have the power indwelt, etched and engraved – ownership within your new form. To be honest, I do not understand the things He tells me for some time. I have to talk to Him about it as I walk through my days....He explains it piece by little piece. Things like this devotion, help me to get more understanding and apply it to my life.
In the bible there is a verse that speaks of the spirit being able but the flesh being weak. I pray that our spirit prospers even as our soul prospers: that we will gain His knowledge, insight, wisdom and discernment through our daily experiences as we count on His strength in all situations. In our humility he is glorified ....as He says where we are weak He is able to show His strength.
My love to you all,
Candace
The Eternal Goal
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing . . . I will bless you . . . —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
"At any cost . . . by any road" means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, "Come," I simply come; when He says, "Let go," I let go; when He says, "Trust God in this matter," I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, "In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee."
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. "All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . ." (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our "Yes" must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, "Amen," or, "So be it." That promise becomes ours. by Oswald Chambers
November 10, 2009
Oil on Canvas
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe."
Ephesians 1:18-19
The beginning of faith is to believe. I look at the fragility of a butterfly and then ponder the strength it took to break free and the knowledge that it comes through with such complexity, splendor and wholeness. I cannot help but believe our Father aches for us to believe in Him, always - in all ways; deeply, honestly, passionately, so that we can break free from any and all bondage that tries to keep us crawling and inching as the caterpillar does. I also believe it is His desire for us to forgive and keep forgiving so that we all can be free to rise above and flutter our beauty in the Higher Community of His Love. Hallelujah, Shalom and Amen in Christ.
by Candace Huffmaster
November 6, 2009
We invite you to come and see our artwork exhibited within Tula Art Center Atrium
Gallery of Truth
Your beauty amazes me and your love lifts me up,
Stronger and strengthened are my body and mind.
In you I have confidence to accomplish your will,
Knowing the battlefield was drawn in the sand
Of time unwavering... completing your plan.
We are the hues of your color wheel,
Combinations of brilliance, stroked by your hand,
Intense or calming with precision and skill,
The master of the imagined, no hesitation do I feel.
Each second, each thought, I see the wonder of your mind,
Flowing like the pigment from bristles so fine.
The complexity of formation, the soft, gentle strokes,
Beauty unfolding: amazingly so.
To be part of a creation, so loved and understood,
Knowing the artist has a vision to complete,
A change with excitement, each day to unfold,
Knowing the adventure is his story untold.
I believe in his vision, I trust in his plan,
With fervor I push forward, knowing in time I will understand.
When hard times feel heavy, I cling to his hand,
Drink in his wisdom... listen to his plan.
He speaks of such beauty and a love that is so pure,
Like the honesty in a portrait filled with trouble overcome.
The beauty of the journey written on the face,
The embrace of the family who saw it all through,
The hands on the shoulders saying we understand,
Life is not perfect but it is the perfect plan.
I drink in the memories and shed no more tears,
With a true sense of calm and deep need to hear
The burden of others to show them my hope
And to teach of his vision and guide with his love,
Our portraits are evolving; the gallery in place,
Our plaque, engraved, there reserving our space.
The artist still perfecting the final masterpiece,
We will all walk the gallery in awe of his skill.
Praising his patience to develop what is true,
The journey of fulfillment, no moment cut short,
Those smiles: beams of victory, their peace is for good.
Their touches express their confidence that these ties will bind
All of them together throughout their eternal joy ride.
By Candace Huffmaster
Your beauty amazes me and your love lifts me up,
Stronger and strengthened are my body and mind.
In you I have confidence to accomplish your will,
Knowing the battlefield was drawn in the sand
Of time unwavering... completing your plan.
We are the hues of your color wheel,
Combinations of brilliance, stroked by your hand,
Intense or calming with precision and skill,
The master of the imagined, no hesitation do I feel.
Each second, each thought, I see the wonder of your mind,
Flowing like the pigment from bristles so fine.
The complexity of formation, the soft, gentle strokes,
Beauty unfolding: amazingly so.
To be part of a creation, so loved and understood,
Knowing the artist has a vision to complete,
A change with excitement, each day to unfold,
Knowing the adventure is his story untold.
I believe in his vision, I trust in his plan,
With fervor I push forward, knowing in time I will understand.
When hard times feel heavy, I cling to his hand,
Drink in his wisdom... listen to his plan.
He speaks of such beauty and a love that is so pure,
Like the honesty in a portrait filled with trouble overcome.
The beauty of the journey written on the face,
The embrace of the family who saw it all through,
The hands on the shoulders saying we understand,
Life is not perfect but it is the perfect plan.
I drink in the memories and shed no more tears,
With a true sense of calm and deep need to hear
The burden of others to show them my hope
And to teach of his vision and guide with his love,
Our portraits are evolving; the gallery in place,
Our plaque, engraved, there reserving our space.
The artist still perfecting the final masterpiece,
We will all walk the gallery in awe of his skill.
Praising his patience to develop what is true,
The journey of fulfillment, no moment cut short,
Those smiles: beams of victory, their peace is for good.
Their touches express their confidence that these ties will bind
All of them together throughout their eternal joy ride.
By Candace Huffmaster
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