Growing up, we girls just loved the “happily ever after” endings to our favorite fairy tales. In fact, today, all grown up, we still love those movies when the girl gets the guy and they “live happily ever after.” Life is full of difficulties and trials and suffering. Some times we begin to wonder, not “will I live happily ever after?” But “will I ever be happy?”

If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, if you are born-again, if you are saved, if you have been regenerated, if you are a believer (all ways to say the same thing) then, sister, you will live “happily ever after.” It’s a done deal sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ Himself. “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

One day your Prince will come and sweep you off your feet and take you home to Heaven to spend “ever after” with Him, and happy won’t even begin to describe what you will feel or be.

Your Prince: “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” Acts 5:31 -NIV

Coming to take you home: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3

Happily Ever After: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

… And happy won’t even begin to describe what you will feel or be.

Diane

Today, I would like to share a lengthy but familiar passage from Matthew and 5 quick thoughts:

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 25: 14-29

1. Entrusted- God has entrusted into our care money, marriages, spouses, children, etc.
2. Hiding God’s resources does not glorify Him.
3. The Master is coming back. We would be wise to live daily with our eyes poised towards heaven anticipating His return.
4. Fear can prevent us from doing the right thing.
5. It all belongs to God.

Diane

We are rich in grace and truth and love. We have the riches of heaven. Do we live like it’s true or do we walk around like paupers?

Though our very real circumstances can and do weigh us down, one thing remains. We are rich in grace, and by God’s grace we need, we must choose to live like that is true — NO MATTER WHAT!

Let’s choose not to allow anyone or anything, be it circumstance or trials, to rob us of the riches that are ours in Christ and from the abundance of His spiritual blessings. Let’s choose to give generously in worship, adoration, praise, time, resources, etc.

Far as the curse is found, the Lord came to let His blessings flow. Sisters, rejoice! With all your heart and soul and voice, come and worship, come and worship, Christ the Lord the newborn King!!

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! Psalm 32:11

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
Psalm 33-1-3

Stephanie

God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever ~ Psalm 73:26
God is known;his name is great in Israel ~ Psalm 76:1
God is a sun and shield;the LORD bestows favor and honor ~ Psalm 84:11
God is holy ~ Psalm 99:9
God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases ~ Pslam 115:3
God is merciful ~ Psalm 116:5
God is the LORD ~ Psalm 144:15
God is in heaven ~ Ecclesiates 5:2
God is the one you must fear ~ Ecclesiates 5:7
GOD is my strength and my song,and he has become my salvation ~ Isaiah 12:2
GOD is an everlasting rock ~ Isaiah 26:4
GOD is an everlasting rock ~ Daniel 2:47
God is righteous in all the works that he has done ~ Daniel 9:14
God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save ~ Zephaniah 3:17
God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham ~ Matthew 3:9
God is at hand ~ Mark 1:15
God is true ~ John 3:33
God is spirit ~ John 4:24
God is one ~ Romans 3:30
God is for us ~ Romans 8:31
God is faithful ~ 1 Corinthians 1:9
God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men ~ 1 Corinthians 1:25
God is really among you ~ 1 Corinthians 14:25
God is able to make all grace abound to you ~ 2 Corinthains 9:8
God is not unjust ~ Hebrews 6:10
God is treating you as sons ~ Hebrews 12:7
God is a consuming fire ~ Hebrews 12:29
God is light ~ 1 John 1:5
God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything ~ 1 John 3:20
God is love ~ 1 John 4:8

About nine or so years ago, I started to occasionally facilitate a group meeting called Higher Ground which Diane Hunt began and, week after week, usually serves as the primary facilitator/speaker.

Higher Ground is a weekly care and support group for women. The group was started as an outreach to the community for women who may have loved ones struggling with addiction or who, themselves, are in recovery and in need of support as they desire to pursue victory in life.

However, one doesn’t need to fit this category to be involved. Any woman seeking an opportunity to grow in her faith walk, and enjoy the added blessing of fellowship with a group of “real women,” is welcome. Higher Ground is an avenue that God is using to transform lives.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to begin a six-week series on the topic of prayer. One day my boss (Diane) and I were talking about prayer when I expressed the burden that was/is on my heart to see women get over their fear of praying, and -voila!- I was signed up to teach it!

Well, here I am. I’m not so much teaching as I am working through a book written by Kay Author (a world-renowned Bible teacher) alongside the women who faithfully attend week after week.

While I may be facilitating the group meeting, I make it plain and clear to all, “we are ALL in this together.” God is at work in each of our lives and He wants us to be women who are strong in faith. He desires that we grow in wisdom and stature for His glory and honor. He wants us to be beautiful images of His grace and truth to our families, our neighborhoods and the world.

Having said all that, I’ll close with this. Throughout the next few weeks I will share with you small vignettes of the story that is unfolding in our midst as the Lord faithfully draws us closer to Himself and helps us get over some of the hurdles that have hindered us in our faith walk.

Why will I do this?

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” ~~Hebrews 12:1-2

With all my heart and soul, I believe prayer is an open door to the Father and He wants us to draw near; He wants us to seek Him and glory, glory, glory, He actually promises that if we seek Him we will find Him. No tricks, no gimmicks. Selah……

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD…” ~~Jeremiah 29:11-14a

Stephanie

Did you ever play blind man’s bluff as a child? One child is blindfolded and the others call out to the blindfolded child. The blindfolded one tries to catch another child. Or have you ever been blindfolded and had someone lead you through an obstacle course? There are many games children play where one child is blindfolded and must feel his or her way out or trust another to guide them through what lies ahead.

Sometimes as adults we feel blindfolded in the midst of our trials, sorrows or times of important decision making. We may be confused, scared, upset, worried or in deep grief and we can’t see our way out of the darkness we are in. You may be feeling that way today. You may be asking a dozen questions, wanting to know the next step, wanting to know how you will ever get out of this mess…perhaps wanting to know if this pain in your heart will ever heal…and no answer comes and you are in the darkest tunnel imaginable.

I remember all too well the days that I felt totally alone and totally in the dark…..until Jesus. I was in that place for a long time and had lost all hope…until Jesus. But Jesus was there right with me all along in the darkness. I needed to trust that He was there even if I didn’t see Him or feel Him. Even in our fear and anxiety God asks us to trust Him. Why should we? Because we have His great and precious promises to hold on to, that He is there always.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (NLT)

God will not leave us alone; no, not ever…He has even gone ahead and paved the way. Even if I don’t know or see what will happen, God knows. What a great comfort when we find ourselves in the darkest pit of pain, sorrow or trials.

Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (NLT)

When everything is pitch black, the Lord is there with His hand guiding us through and not just guiding us to “a” way out but to the “best pathway”…even if sometimes it doesn’t exactly “feel” like the best pathway, we can rest in Him, that He has our best interest in His heart. Don’t trust “feelings,” trust God.

Is this God of ours trustworthy? Can we trust Him in the midst of pain and uncertainty? Today you and I have a choice…to be alone in the midst of blackness, fear and pain or trust that He is there to lead, guide and direct our every step for our good and His glory.

Isaiah 42:16 “I will lead the blind by the ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

MaryAnn

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons. She serves at America’s KESWICK as a Biblical Counselor and also as Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28.

Visiting my sister one weekend, we had the privilege to attend church with her on Sunday morning. Pastor Brad was speaking on Hebrews 12:14-24 in his sermon titled “Rediscovering Holiness.” The entire sermon was helpful but there was one section that made my heart go into double-time. I asked Pastor permission to use it for a Victory Call and he offered to send me his outline. I would like to pass along a portion of the insight I gleaned that morning. This does not represent the totality of Pastor’s sermon, only a small section. I take full responsibility if I in any way misrepresent Pastor Brad’s intentions, but I give him full credit for his ideas in their original form. Pastor Brad’s thoughts are in CAPS.

LEGALISM VS. FAITH-BASED HOLINESS

Hebrews 12:14 “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

SOME PEOPLE ARE BETTER ABLE TO KEEP THE MORAL CODE THAN OTHERS. Some people are naturally disciplined while others are not. Disciplined people can easily become judgmental and critical of less disciplined people and self-righteous to boot.

SOME PEOPLE ARE TREMENDOUSLY DISCIPLINED BUT SORROWFULLY LEGAlISTIC.

FAITH-BASED OR GRACE-BASED HOLINESS IS NOT NECESSARILY CENTERED ON THE RESULTS BUT THE PROCESS. This is huge. God is more interested in how we get from point A to point B than that we arrive at point B.

SOME PEOPLE MAY BE OBEDIENT AND LACK SIN IN THEIR LIFE.

SOME PEOPLE MAY STRUGGLE THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITH ISSUES.

THE ONE WHO STRUGGLES ALONG WITH JESUS IS HOLY & THE OTHER WHO IS JUST OBEDIENT & LACKING SIN HAS ZERO OBEDIENCE.

LEGALISTIC OBEDIENCE BASED ON PERSONAL DISCIPLINE IS NOT HOLINESS. Being disciplined does not make a person more godly, or more holy. That which we do in our own strength is merely wood, hay and stubble. 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”

When a person is genuinely obedient by God’s grace and power and through the living Christ in her, she will know she has nothing to brag about in herself, in her ability to do right, or in her disciplined life. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

DON’T MISS THE GRACE!!! Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God”

What is my point? Only this, it is not personal discipline that makes us holy but Christ in us our hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

Diane

God is not man ~ Numbers 23:19
God is a consuming fire, a jealous God ~ Deuteronomy 4:24
God is a merciful God ~ Deuteronomy 4:31
God is in your midst, a great and awesome God ~ Deuteronomy 7:21
God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe ~ Deuteronomy 10:17
God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt ~ Deuteronomy 20:1
God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory ~ Deuteronomy 20:4
God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless ~ 2 Samuel 22:33
God is greater than all gods ~ 2 Chronicals 2:5
God is gracious and merciful ~ 2 Chronicals 30:9
God is for good on all who seek him ~ Ezra 8:22
God is greater than man ~ Job 33:12
God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding ~ Job 36:5
God is exalted in his power ~ Job 36:22
God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable ~ Job 36:26
God is clothed with awesome majesty ~ Job 37:22
God is a righteous judge ~ Psalm 7:11
God is with the generation of the righteous ~ Psalm 14;5
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble ~ Psalm 46:1
God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! ~ Psalm 47:7
God is my helper;the Lord is the upholder of my life ~ Psalm 54:4
God is for me ~ Psalm 56:9
God is a refuge for us ~ Psalm 62:8
God is our salvation ~ Psalm 68:19
God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death ~ Psalm 68:20
“God is great!” ~ Psalm 70:4

Oh, how many times have I been asked, “What do I need to do? Just tell me what to do.” In fact, I have said it myself at times. Often when we are suffering, we want someone to scope out our path to comfort. We want a step-by-step plan that will eliminate our suffering. The problem is that a series of steps are more like regulations based on the principle of the law. Do A and B will happen. Truth is, most of us are more comfortable with the law, rules, and regulations because they are black and white. We know if we are following the rules or not. Additionally, a regulations-based process of healing puts us back in “control.” We act as if the return of our comfort is largely up to successfully following and completing a series of steps or rules. The minute we are given the steps we begin to feel better because it makes our suffering seem manageable.
All this may be possible, IN OUR OWN STRENGTH. When we take the regulation approach to our suffering we may FEEL better but most likely we will not BE better.

Suffering has a purpose and if we are driven to eliminate our pain we are most likely short-circuiting that purpose and missing the bigger picture, God’s picture.

The most effective path to healing goes right through Calvary. It is through embracing the cross and Jesus Christ that He will accomplish His purposes in your suffering. Over time you will not only FEEL better you will BE better because the issues that underlie your suffering, issues that reside in your own heart, will be taken to task and rendered powerless in the face of Christ suffering on your behalf. That is not to say that there are not powerfully painful situations in life that knock the breath out of us, but Christ is in the midst of those as well. How many times have we heard someone say, “I don’t know how people go through this without the Lord?” It is the growth of relationship with Jesus Christ that brings richness, depth, genuineness and longevity to healing.

It is not in doing all the right things that will bring us through our suffering, but rather it is a deep, abiding relationship with the One True God, the author and perfecter of our faith.(1) For He is absolutely committed to your good and His glory.(2)

Diane

(1) Hebrews 12:1b-3 …let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

(2) Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:28 and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

“…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:3

Fellowship. Sadly, in many circles, fellowship has come to mean food. Who would think of having a fellowship time without homemade brownies and fresh fruit, coffee and tea? These are great times to get together and enjoy friendship and getting to know new people. When the church bulletin announces an evening of fellowship, let’s be honest, we think food and fun. People gather and share life. Or do they?

Biblical fellowship does not preclude food; however, it includes something we don’t often think about. “…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:3 Genuine, meaningful biblical fellowship includes sharing life with one another in a below-the-surface way. It is proclaiming, retelling, testifying of the work of grace we have experienced in our life and/or that we have witnessed in the lives of others. Biblical fellowship forces us to pay attention and to be more aware of the evidences of God’s grace that are all around us.

We are called into fellowship with one another. Some people become fast friends, while others are people we would not be naturally drawn to. Yet, by God’s grace and because of His grace we have a great deal in common. When our focus is on Him and the evidences of His grace rather than the apple pie, we can enjoy sweet fellowship together.

Pay attention, and then share with others the evidences of grace you see in them and in you.

Diane