Goals

“Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” 

(Proverbs 4:25-27 KJV)

The first two months of this year are nearly gone. Now is a good time to take a look at how we have started this year. For the first time in many years, I set goals (not resolutions) for myself—they are ambitious and address different areas of my life. They are all good (according to my mentor), positive goals that don’t require the cooperation of others—meaning that I’m responsible for either doing them or not doing them.

The goals encompass reading, writing, creativity (singing/piano playing), ministry (including this blog) and more. They are worded in such a way to allow me to maintain my focus on the Lord, this is important for me and where I desire to go. Many of my goals focus on reading spiritually nurturing books and also writing about what I’m learning (some may eventually end up here).

 It is my heart’s sincere desire that you are setting time aside in your daily schedule to commune with God and that you’re growing in your relationship with Him. God loves you so much and desires nothing more than relationship with you.  He loves you so much, in fact, He’s crazy about you! Keeping your eyes on the goal (prize), will help you stay focused and not get off track. A word of caution: be kind to yourself, realizing that some days/weeks will not be so great; things will go wrong—give yourself the grace you deserve—give yourself the grace you would give to others. Encourage yourself over how far you have come.

It’s when we take our eyes off of our goal that we have an inclination to go off the path that will take us to where we want to be. This is rather like driving a car; we need to keep our eyes on the road ahead of us, not on what is to the sides or behind us. Taking our eyes off the road when driving could send us off into a ditch; much the same could be for our spiritual life. It’s easy to recall times where I have gotten off into a “ditch” spiritually because I have focused on the wrong place/thing. Getting off course is not always easy to correct, in fact, it’s easy (or so it seems) to over-correct in the opposite direction. Thankfully, we have a wonderfully patient Teacher and Guide. Jesus stands by; ever ready to guide us back on the path He has for us.
 

Moreover, this is where supportive relationships (accountability) with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are so helpful.  Our relationships allow us to lend a helping, supportive hand to a sister or brother who is hurting or struggling; we can also be on the receiving end of the help and support of others.
 

How are you doing with your New Year’s goals? What goals have you set for yourself and what are you doing to work towards them?

Please join with me in prayer:

Dear Lord of All, we desire to set our eyes on the prize—on You, yet sometimes we fail. We get distracted and get far, far off course. Thank you for all those times you have come after us, to rescue us from ourselves and from the attacks that threaten to destroy us.  Lord, grant us the strength and stamina we need to keep on keeping on, so that we’ll be able to reach our goal of being welcomed home by You when we die. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim

Delayed

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. 

(Genesis 11:31-32 KJV)

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

(Genesis 12:1-3 KJV)

In Genesis 12 we read about the beginning of Abram/Abraham’s journey with God.  God called Abram, an idol worshiper, to become the father of a great nation—Israel.  Abram listened to God, however, he did not leave all behind as he was commanded.  Abram’s father, Terah and his nephew Lot journeyed with him and his wife Sarai/Sarah.  This was not a good idea.  Abram’s journey to Canaan was delayed until his father, Terah died.  Interestingly, Terah’s name means “delayed”.

Similar to Abram’s journey to Canaan, the Promise Land, entries on this blog have been delayed. However, that does not mean a lack of God working in my life.  During this rather unplanned hiatus I have been learning, growing, developing in my faith and actively serving the Lord.

Please stay tuned for more frequent posts—looking forward to what the Lord has planned for this year!

When have you experienced delays in your walk with the Lord?

Please join with me in prayer:

Father, Thank You for the story of Abraham and how delays are not the end of the story.  It is clear that You use delays to work in the lives of Your children. Help us to not fear and to simply obey Your clear word to us.  Thank you for using delays to grow us into the person You desire us to become.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim

Jesus Loves Me

The title of this blog post is the title of one of the most beloved and well known hymns, Jesus Loves Me, to Christians throughout the world.  In preparing to give a short devotional talk at a nursing home, the Lord gave me this title/topic—a topic that would be meaningful for those who would be listening (what follows is an expanded version of that talk).  My goal was to keep my words to a minimum, yet convey some deep truths and comfort many elderly saints.  A brief internet search led to learning about the background behind this meaningful song.  Please check out the following website to learn about this beautiful hymn.  The story behind the hymn "Jesus Loves Me".

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

Jesus loves me this I know.  What an amazing simple yet profound truth!  Jesus loves me this I know—simple enough for a young child to grasp and share in great confidence.  Jesus loves me this I know, profound enough to bring grown men and women to tears.

“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” 

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 KJV)

Throughout the Bible we read of God’s deep, stubborn, everlasting love for us.  We can see His love in the Old Testament as He freed Israel from oppression in Egypt.  God’s love was apparent even when Israel constantly wandered from God’s plan for them and He disciplined them.  (Similarly, human parents discipline their beloved children.)  In the New Testament, we see His love through Jesus.  He loved us even when we were still sinners.  He loved us so much He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die a criminal’s death on a cross!  That is amazing love!  Love that sets us free to truly live. 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

(1Corinthians 15:55-57 KJV)

In dying and rising again, Jesus gave us victory over death and the grave.  Now that is LOVE!  We have eternal life that matters when we have Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  That, my beloved, is love.  Therefore, in our life and in our death we can find joy and peace, even when the world around us is crumbling to pieces. 

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.  (Zephaniah 3:17 KJV)

God loves you so much.  He rejoices over you with joy.  He sings over you in joy.  You are God’s beloved child!  His heart is for you, not against you.  Knowing and experiencing this should change how we see and interact with the world and with others around us.

 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into 

the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to 

love one another.  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.  (1 John 4:7-12 KJV)

 Remember and rest in the fact that Jesus loves you more than your mind can begin to conceive.  Jesus loves you and me because the Bible tells me so!  Share the love of Jesus with those around you each day.  You’ll discover the amazing blessing of blessing others.

Listen to "Jesus Loves Me"

Please join me in prayer:

Father, thank you so much for the love You demonstrated to us through Jesus.  Help us to open our hearts to Your amazing love and experience the transformation that love does in our hearts.  In turn, may we share Your love with those around us.  In Jesus’ precious Name.  Amen. 

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim

Jesus Still Heals Today

I am pleased to share with the readers of my blog the video of a church service I led on February 9, 2014.  It was an amazing blessing to share what God had placed on my heart so long ago—this is a message that God has been developing within me over the last several years (parts have been given in other formats and settings).  In some ways, it was freeing to share this with my church family and now with others through my blog and via YouTube. 

It is my prayer that my message will feed your faith in what God is capable of doing today.  Our God is so very big and powerful!  He loves us so very much.  He is still alive, living, and active today!  Moreover, He is still in the business of healing supernaturally (divine healing) today!

God is amazing, wonderful, holy, powerful, mighty…He really is beyond description—beyond what our finite minds can begin to grasp.  Our words fall short of conveying all God is and how amazing, powerful, and holy He is.  God’s Word is clear, He never changes (we see that in both the Old and New Testaments).  We are the ones who change; the ones who get too smart for our own good.     

In the future, I plan to share more posts on healing (amongst other topics); hopefully more video messages too.  It will be interesting to see what God has planned for each one of us.  May God reveal more of Himself to us each day, drawing and wooing us to His incomparable beauty, majesty, and greatness.

Below is the description I provided for the video on YouTube.  It includes hymn titles and Scriptures.

This is a video of our traditional service (Trinity United Methodist Church--Albia, Iowa) that I was blessed to lead on February 9, 2014. (I'm one of several lay members who are called by the Lord to lead in worship and preach the Word of God when our pastor is away.) 

Currently, I'm a lay speaker in United Methodist Church; my status is such that I can preach in my church and others when called. 

Hymns: "Victory in Jesus", "My Faith Looks Up to Thee", "I Know Whom I Have Believed"

Scriptures: Psalm 103

                  Malachi 3:6-7, 16-17; 4:2

                  Mark 5:22-34

May each one of us experience Jesus Christ as our Healer!

Here's the link to the video: see sermon here

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim