Today is Labor Day, September 4th. Summer heat still clings to the days, but fall's cooling promise is growing. While our days are still over 90 degrees here in South Carolina, the nights are cooling off, falling into the low 70s and high 60s.

It has been a tough summer. Ferocious wildfires have ravaged Canada, Hawaii, and California; smaller, less publicized fires have hit other states. Floods have devastated several states. Excessive heat has caused deaths in the South and West. And, even as summer is ending, a hurricane has devastated "the Bend" in Florida.

This summer has also been challenging for me personally. Several friends are dealing with life-threatening illnesses. One of these friends is now celebrating her homecoming in heaven. My own battle for good health seems to be at a stalemate.

Through it all, a sense of God's peace has prevailed. The struggle has been challenging. However, three revelations have made this journey easier.

1.  It's all about...

The need strikes me for balance in the structure and operation of the Ekklesia of God.  God’s Ekklesia is Christ's universal, eternal body, which has had and will have many parts [with different functions] throughout the ages.

Every local body [the local church] is a unique part of that body. Each body must have its own unique vision—or it is an aberration, having no eternal impact.  A church without a vision is, essentially, purposeless.

However, each local body is similar to other local bodies in one way: Individuals in these local bodies need to learn to love unselfishly and develop the discipline to become true disciples of Jesus. This is done through a person's fellowshipping within that local body, hearing the Word of God expounded, and volunteering [or ministering] in that local body.   

However, if the pastoral team only looks for new sheep and fails to feed the older sheep or help sheep develop their own gifts and ministries [in or out of the...

Although my writing and recording “to-do list” is piling up, I have been engaging in that well-known “spring cleaning” activity. I hadn’t planned on this, but when a friend down-sized her home, I purchased two of her bookcases to replace my cobbled-together, rickety cases in my study.  However, once we began to move things around, we discovered dust bunnies and collywobbles in all sorts of spaces. The cleaning began!

Why am I sharing this now? While cleaning, I found this prayer which I wrote several years ago.  It reminded me that while house cleaning is good, taking time to present our hearts before the Lord is better. That prayer says in part:

Dear Lord. It’s May! I am sitting in one of my favorite restaurants having lunch alone, except I know You are here. I have no Bible or phone [The phone is back home uploading pictures to the internet]. Although the power was out at church today, the pastor preached on the “anointing.

...

 It’s Crunch Time—Part 2

If first, you don’t succeed, do not give up! My original blog entry for “It’s Crunch Time—Part 2” [as I wrote before] was somehow deleted. I have rewritten the blog, as I promised, concerning a Biblical response to conflict resolution. 

While believers are grafted into the Body of Christ, they can still disagree with each other and with nonbelievers. Some of the Scriptures dealing with conflict resolution are so well-known that they are now part of everyday speech. “An eye for an eye,” “judge not, lest ye be judged,” and “turn the other cheek” are all well-known phrases. 

Unfortunately, these Scriptures are sometimes taken out of context. The idea that the “perfect Christian” is supposed to be a quiet, mousy doormat that acquiesces to indignities and evil doings has developed from a misunderstanding and misapplications of the Scriptures.

It is true...

I had my follow-up to "Crush Time" written [I wrote part 2 first]. However, my finger slipped, and it was gone.

I will be rewriting Crush Time 2, but I am taking time to dig a little deeper. Meantime, I hope you are digging a little deeper also, letting God work in you, transforming you into His image. Sometimes the process hurts; sometimes, you will not know whether to laugh or cry. The tests come either way. Some are big; others are small.

The Lord reminded me of that yesterday. A marketer called and made a big fuss over my first book, declaring it was an undiscovered jewel and that she wanted to present it at an international book fair and aggressively market it. I was, of course, flattered.

However, two things she said caught my attention. One was that she knew nothing about the book itself. She was going on the recommendation of Christian International [I have my license through Christian International; they are my spiritual covering]. So after talking to the marketer, I...

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be on the Mountain of Transfiguration with Jesus when Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared?

² After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up onto a high mountain privately by themselves, and he was changed into another form in front of them. ³ His clothing became glistening, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter answered Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let's make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁶ For he didn't know what to say, for they were very afraid.

⁷ A cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

⁸ Suddenly looking around, they saw no one with them any more, except Jesus only [Mark 9: 2-8, WEB].

Imagine what it was like. Jesus...

I have been on the run, traveling and learning, and [I hope!] growing in the Lord. My last stop was at the  Leadership Summit for Prophets in Charleston, S.C. It was a fairly intense two days [think of the difference between condensed orange juice and regular juice to understand the level of intensity]. Pastor Samuel imparted wisdom to all those who attended to receive.

On the second day of the summit, we had a round table summit to discuss what God was doing in the nation and the world. My assigned topic was “What God is saying to His Leaders.”  The following is a copy of what God spoke at this round table:

The word of the Lord to those who call themselves “shepherds” concerning the heart, actions, and rewards of shepherds:

Know this, all who call themselves shepherds, my measuring rod is in My hand. I have measured you and am now separating you one from another as the shepherd separates the rams from his nursing ewes with lambs and...

Some call the events happening at Ashbury "a move of God."

Some call it "revival."

Some wonder if this is some type of spiritual hysteria.

Some think Asbury is not "worthy" of a move of God.

But God is God and moves as He wills.  Please check out my YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/nREly7gjDpQ.

There will be no romantic dinner tonight.

There will be no balloons.

Nor will there be candles, jewelry, or a romantic movie. Instead, my spouse will be spending the evening elsewhere, and I am proud he is.

For many valentines, my husband was working in the hospital. Sometimes I could join him for a quick dinner in the doctor’s lounge. Other times, he didn’t even have time to eat. This year, he will be helping someone we know who has an immediate need.

But when I think of my husband, I think of what Jesus said,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you [John 15:12-14, WEB].

My husband understands what love is. Love is being kind, generous, caring, helpful, understanding, and unselfish. As 1 Corinthians 13 says,

Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not...

Yes, we can do anything---IF God is with us.

We can have peace, prosperity, safety, and social justice for all--IF we seek His face.

But walking in pride is even now leading us toward disaster as we listen to the pied-piper of selfish arrogance.

Our problem did not start with politics and will not end with politics--we are suffering from heart disease. Our hearts are growing cold toward God and hard toward anyone or anything except ourselves.

The cure?