Changed By Love

Love Him Back!

Sep.17,2010

This is the follow-up to the devotion that David Wilkerson wrote yesterday and I posted earlier here.

Our Father sings over us, and our hearts should respond to such exuberant love with dancing and singing and rejoicing.

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.

Think about that. Own it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Wilkerson Today

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

THE OTHER SIDE OF COMMUNION

Walking in God’s glory means not only that we receive the Father’s love,
but that we love him back as well. It’s about mutual affection, both giving
and receiving love. The Bible tells us, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”
(Deuteronomy 6:5).

God says to us, “My son, give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). His love
demands that we reciprocate, that we return to him a love that’s total,
undivided, requiring all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

However, the Lord tells us in no uncertain terms, “You can’t earn my love.
The love I give to you is unmerited!” John writes, “Herein is love, not
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins” and “We love him, because he first loved us”
(1 John 4:10, 19).

Just as God’s love for us is marked by rest and rejoicing, so our love for
him must have these same two elements:

1. David expresses a rest in his love for God when he writes, “Whom have I in
heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee”
(Psalm 73:25). The heart that loves the Lord ceases completely from looking
elsewhere for comfort. Rather, it finds full contentment in him. To such a
lover, God’s lovingkindness is better than life itself!

2. Such a heart also rejoices in its love for God. It sings and dances in
joyous ecstasy over the Lord. When a child of God knows how much his Father
loves him, it puts a delight in his soul!

Let me give you one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture. Proverbs
give us these prophetic words of Christ: “Then I was by him, as one brought
up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the
sons of men” (Proverbs 8:30–31).

Beloved, we are the sons being mentioned here! From the very foundations of the
earth, God foresaw a body of believers joined to his Son. And even then the
Father delighted and rejoiced in these sons. Jesus testifies, “I was my
Father’s delight, the joy of his being. And now all who turn to me in faith
are his delight as well!”

So, how do we love Jesus in return? John answers, “This is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John
5:3).

What are his commandments? Jesus says, in essence, there are two and “on
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40).
The first and most important is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and
mind. We’re to hold nothing back from him. And the second is that we love our
neighbor as ourselves. These two simple, non-grievous commands sum up all of
God’s law.

Jesus is saying here that we cannot be in communion with God or walk in his
glory if we bear a grudge against anyone. Therefore, loving God means loving
every brother and sister in the same way we’ve been loved by the Father.

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/the-other-side-of-communion

Picture This: God Singing Over You!

Sep.17,2010

I just had to post this today. I now know God in this way, and I’m so happy to know that He is happy over me! Take this into your spirit. Keep it in the forefront of your mind. Your Father rejoices over you!

Zeph. 3:17

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Wilkerson Today

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

A LIFE OF COMMUNION

Multitudes of God’s offspring know little or nothing of a life of communion
with him. Why is this so?

I believe such Christians have a sad, twisted concept of the heavenly Father. I
recall Jesus’ parable about the servant who hid his talent because he had a
twisted image of his master. That servant said, “I knew thee that thou art an
hard man” (Matthew 25:24).

Likewise, many believers today think, “There’s no way God could ever be
glad over me, rejoicing and singing in love. I’ve failed him so miserably at
times, bringing reproach on his name. How could he possibly love me, especially
in the struggle I’m facing now?”

I believe this is one powerful reason why so many Christians don’t want to
get close to their heavenly Father. They dread drawing near to him because they
sense they’ve failed him somehow. All they can conceive of him is that he’s
full of consuming fire, ready to judge and condemn them.

The question for all of us today is, how can we not want to be near a Father
who writes love letters to us, who tells us he yearns to be with us, who’s
always ready to embrace us, who says he has nothing but good thoughts about us?
In spite of our foolishness, he assures us, “Satan may tell you you’re
useless, but I say you are my joy!”

You may be thinking, “Surely the Lord doesn’t rejoice over someone who’s
still in sin. I can’t expect him to love me if I continue my sinning ways.
That sort of thinking borders on blasphemy.”

Yes, God does love his people but he doesn’t love their sin. The Bible says
he reproves every child who continues in iniquity, but he always does it with
longsuffering. And after he reproves us, his Spirit fills us with a sense of
his indignation over sin.

Through all of this, God’s love for us remains unchanged. The Word says, “I
am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “The Father…with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). “I am God, and not
man” (Hosea 11:9).

God forbid that his love for us should ebb and flow as ours does for him. Our
love varies almost daily, going from hot and zealous to lukewarm or even cold.
Like the disciples, we can be ready to die for Jesus one day and then forsake
him and run the next.

I must ask you if are you able to say, “My heavenly Father is in love with
me! He says I’m sweet and lovely in his eyes and I believe him. I know no
matter what I go through, or how tempted or tried I become, he’ll rescue me.
He’ll hover over me through it all, never allowing me to be crushed. He’ll
always be kind and tender to me!”

This is when true communion begins. We’re to be convinced each day of God’s
unchanging love for us. And we’re to show him we believe his revelation about
himself. John writes, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to
us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in
him” (1 John 4:16).

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/a-life-of-communion

How to Raise a Monarch from a Caterpillar

Sep.15,2010

I found out what was wrong with my butterfly. It was afflicted with something called OE spore. I found out about it at mymonarchguide.com. Here’s the page that tells about it.

I was glad to know that we didn’t do anything wrong to cause my butterfly to die. But it was still sad. We had 4 caterpillars, including the one we gave to our neighbors. Two of them were crippled by OE spore and were unable to get out of their chrysalises and their wings were shriveled and useless. Two of them were perfect, and we had a very happy experience with them.

I wanted to put some links together for others who might want to raise monarch butterflies or at least show their children how the process happens.

1. Find a monarch caterpillar. Where can you find a monarch caterpillar?

On a milkweed plant

Here’s what a baby monarch caterpillar looks like:

Here is a site about the different types of milkweed, so you can look around and see what kind of milkweed grows near you.

http://www.butterflyencounters.com/milkweedphotos/index.html

2. You need to gather milkweed regularly for about 2 weeks to feed your caterpillar. They like their food fresh!

Ours really liked to eat the flowers. We had swamp milkweed near us.

Pictured is a type of milkweed called Butterfly Weed. Its scientific name is: Asclepias Tuberosa
3. How do you know when a caterpillar is ready to become a chrysalis?

He stops eating and starts roaming around looking for a place to hang upside down. He will attach himself to a surface and hang upside down in a J shape.

Then after a couple of hours, he will start to turn green. Here is a video you can watch to see what this process looks like. Prepare to be amazed!

Here’s a time-lapse video, if you’re pressed for time!

4. Then you have to wait another 2 weeks or so (sometimes not that long) before they are changed into a butterfly and come out of the chrysalis. The process of coming out of the chrysalis is called eclosing.

Here is a video of a monarch coming out of its chrysalis.

5. After your butterfly ecloses from the chrysalis, you can take it outside in the sun to let it dry its wings and get ready to fly. This will probably take a couple of hours before it will try to fly. We put ours up in a tree.

And make sure you check out the best site of all – mymonarchguide.com – for learning all you ever wanted to know about monarch butterflies.

Take note of the cute dog in the header with the monarch butterflies landed on it. It’s so cute!!!

Redemption Comes in Many Forms, Part 2

Sep.14,2010

The death of my first butterfly was redeemed today.

Today was the day that another one of our butterflies emerged from its chrysalis. I was kind of worried about our other two butterflies because we had such a hard time finding Milkweed for them. And then they attached their chrysalises to the outside of their jars! Their chrysalises are small, too.

Here’s the one that came out today.

She’s fine! Phew! What a relief.

This is how it looked last night before we went to bed.

This was how the chrysalis looked at 7:30 in the morning. I had put the jar beside my bed so I could see the little rascal come out. I took this picture at 7:30 AM, then went back to sleep. When I opened my eyes again at 10:00 AM, I was staring at an empty chrysalis!

I looked around on my nightstand. I got Anna to help me and she found it on the floor all crumpled up. But as soon as she picked it up, the wings started straightening out. She put it on an envelope and let it hang upside down from it. We thought gravity might help it with the straightening of the wings. Then we took it out and put it up on the branch of a tree.

A beautiful butterfly, at last!

We waited for hours and finally we were rewarded with this sight:

First Flight of Baby Butterfly from Penney Douglas on Vimeo.

The date was Sept. 13, not Sept. 11. I was still sleepy and not thinking too clearly.

My neighbors had a chrysalis, too, from the caterpillar Fiona gave to them. They came out to watch our butterfly hang in a tree, hoping to see it fly for the first time. They had to go in and start school before our butterfly was ready to fly. So they went inside their house. After about 20 minutes they came back out. Their butterfly came out of its chrysalis, too!

So Tina put her butterfly up in the same tree that our butterfly was in. It was her tree, after all! Our butterfly had flown to Tina’s tree on her maiden flight. So we watched and waited for our butterflies to fly, but we couldn’t stay out there all day. We took some pictures and then left them with our blessings.

Butterfly Neighbors from Penney Douglas on Vimeo.

Sorry it’s so hard to see the butterflies. I had a hard time seeing the butterflies with the camera, and for some reason I didn’t think to zoom or press the close-up lens on my camera. If you listen to what I say on the video, I give some pretty good information. If you look real close you might be able to see our butterfly at the lower right hand side of the screen.

I hope our butterflies make it to Mexico or California and join lots of other Monarchs like this!
By the way, I got this picture and lots of other good information about Monarchs from this site.

Butterfly Kisses

Later this evening, Gary said he was outside and a butterfly flew right by his face. He figured it was our butterfly. I think she likes us and wanted to stay and be our pet. Tonight when they got home from the YMCA, a butterfly landed on Patrick. He took it over to the meadow where there’s clover and the mosquito sprayers won’t come. I asked if he said nice things to her as he released her. He said that he told her to have a nice flight and stay away from snakes, frogs and toads. That sounded pretty good to me.

So I had a sweet experience with two butterflies after having such a disheartening experience with my birthday butterfly a week and a half ago. Tina’s butterfly came out after only a week. It usually takes at least 12 days. I feel like God is saying that He will always give me good things, no matter what bad things happen along the way. He always more than makes up for any loss or disappointment I suffer along the way.

Another Redemptive Experience

I have had several bad experiences with the Mascoutah Library during the year we have lived here. So I stopped going there completely. But I was still considered their patron. I was allowed to use their card at the Belleville Library, where the staff was always very kind and reasonable with me. But I was considered Mascoutah’s patron. They said I owed $11, which I did not. But I couldn’t get them to take it off. They said they waived it, but it remained on my account. I went to Belleville and never had any problems with them. But last week I had to re-register my library card. So the librarian had to call Mascoutah Library to make sure I was in good standing. They said I owed $11. I told the librarian what had been happening. She went to bat for me. She called them back and told them that I had been a very good patron of theirs for a year and a half (closer to 2 years) and that she had never known me to be dishonest. In fact, I was there to pay a fine I owed and had just handed her the money when she decided to call and try to work things out. She told them that I said I did not owe that fine of $11. The person on the other end said it must have been a computer glitch, and they cleared my record. I was then able to use my card to check things out at Belleville Library for as long as we’re still here. We have no idea how long that will be, but I’m so relieved that I will be able to keep using the library until we go.

I felt that “picked-on” feeling until the librarian, Serena (wonderful Serena), went to bat for me. It almost made me cry when I heard that it was taken care of.

God Makes All Things New

The enemy tries many things to make us feel defeated. These may seem like small things, but they felt huge to me. Well, being kicked out of our house is pretty major. But the butterflies and library fines may not seem too important. But God knows how I’m made. He knows what affects me and how it affects me. And He cares. And I happen to know that He likes me. He thinks I’m a pretty okay person.

He reminded me of that today. Through a butterfly. He started the redemption process last Thursday night through a little librarian named Serena.

I don’t know how He will redeem the stress and uncertainty we’ve experienced as we’ve waited for Him to move again and the devil has applied pressure to make us feel worthless and uncared-for. But I know He will do something wonderful for us. Just because He loves us. We are His beloved and He is ours.

He makes all things work together for our good. Because we love Him. Because He loves us.

But There’s More

There’s another message in the butterfly. The one that Pat delivered to me. I am to look like my Creator. I am not to be fearful of predators. I need not hold back out of fear of negative comments. I need not fear losing friends because of telling the truth about what I believe. It’s time for me to come out of my chrysalis.

Redemption Comes in Many Forms

Sep.13,2010

You might be wondering what happened to my butterfly that was struggling to get out of the chrysalis. I didn’t say anything about it, because I didn’t know what to say. He never did make it out of the chrysalis. Then he died. I didn’t know whether to try to help him get the other wing out or what. The wing that came out was all folded up and misshapen. The butterfly must have had something wrong with it. I was so sad all day that day. And I wondered what God was saying to me through it. He gave me such a neat poem, based on how he had given me a hidden treasure – a surprise – so that he could delight me. And then when the treasure came out, it died!

I was, frankly, hurt by the whole thing. My hopes were dashed, and I was going to have to admit to the whole world (people who read my blog) that God let me down. How was I going to explain this? I hadn’t felt this dejected since God let us lose our house instead of saving it for us.

My friend, Pat, offered a suggestion as to the meaning of the whole incident.

When the world looks at you, what are you telling them about your Creator?

Have you been saved and preserved by Christ never to push forth from your chrysalis and shine for Him? Why did you stop short of breaking forth, stretching your wings, and showing the world how marvelous your Creator is?

Have you broken free from sin and barely begun to unfurl your wings only to stop when you felt the pressure and stares from the frightening world beyond? Trust Him. He made those wings beautiful, but they’re sturdy enough to fly and take you anywhere His breeze carries you!

Predators do chase after butterflies, but so do puppies…and children…and imaginations…

Enjoy the last of the butterflies from the quickly passing season, Penney, and remember, God sent you a butterfly…and His gifts are always perfect…

Her thoughts gave me a lot to think about. I kept hearing about how we are to reflect our Maker. Everywhere I turned there was something about God living inside of us and how we should look like Him.

For example, I get a prophetic word in my email every weekday from Marsha Burns from Faith Tabernacle in Colorado. The timing of her words has been uncanny. They have seemed as if she knows exactly what we’re going through, and the words apply to our situations and give us hope and encouragement and even direction. She always has scripture that they’re based on. God has spoken through her to us many times.

These are the words that she sent on Fri., Sept. 3rd and Mon., Sept. 6th, the days during and right after I lost my butterfly.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — Sept. 3, 2010:

The battle of the ages is raging to transform you into the image of Christ while Satan also tries to make you into his image. I have given you free will, the ability to choose, says the Lord. The enemy has increased his pressure through your circumstances, difficulties, and persecutions to choose to respond to life with evil instead of good. But, I have given you My Word to influence and guide your choices. Be wise!

Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — Sept. 6, 2010:

“I am bringing you into alignment on every level. It is My will to position you properly so that My purposes can be accomplished and My kingdom established. You may not think that you, as an individual, have much to do with destiny. But, everything you think, say, or do is vitally important to the spiritual condition of your sphere of influence. Be diligent to demonstrate the kingdom.”

“You have been repositioned as you have had to let go of many things that once meant everything to you. This has been for the purpose of establishing you in greater spiritual reality with renewed strength and vitality. You have stepped into a time of being reconnected to your spiritual roots yet with refreshing revelation.”

“The days ahead will be filled with My glory in the practical and commonplace things of life as you maintain awareness and see My manifest presence in unexpected ways. Walk in the Spirit and be available.”

“Events that left you reeling and trying to find stability and balance will now truly become a thing of the past as you begin to realize how insignificant it all was as compared with eternity and destiny. The power of My healing and restoration will become evident as you are able to release those who caused you pain. Forgiveness is essential to redemption.”

“I have established an altar in the heavenlies, in the realm of the Spirit, where you can bring all that concerns you, things you can do nothing about, and things you have absolutely no control over. Leave them with Me and release your fear and anxiety. Nothing is impossible with Me. Come into that place of peace and rest, trusting Me in all things.”

“You feel like you’ve been cut off, but this cutting off has only been from those things that needed to be put aside at this time. You are like a tree that has been cut off and banded so that your spiritual roots could go deeper and you could become stronger. Let your roots go deeper in the Word, in revelation, and relationship to Me. The day of release will come in due season.”

“There are times when you feel totally disconnected and alone. This is because the enemy of your soul has lied to you and tried to isolate and weaken you. But, that is not My design or plan for you. Now is the time to reconnect spiritually, first to Me, and then to those who are Mine. Take the time and make the effort to re-establish yourself in divine connections and kingdom purpose.”

“Allow Me to take you forward inch by inch, step by step, without fear or worry. I am with you and will open doors that no man can shut and to shut doors that no man can open. Trust Me with your future. I have already proven to you over and over again that I alone am your place of security, says the Lord.”

As we go through another time of uncertainty and pressure, I have been pressing into God. He told me to, so I have been trying to obey Him.

This is what we’re facing right now:

We have been told that we have to leave the house we’re in by the 30th of this month. We had asked to start a month-to-month lease after our year lease was up in August. Instead the rental management group suddenly told us that the owner decided not to renew our lease and that he wanted us out by Sept. 30th. He also wanted to show people through the house while we were still living here. It all felt so oppressive and crushing. I asked, “Don’t we matter at all?” The lady from Christone said, “Yes, or we would have told you to be out by the 13th of Sept., 30 days after the lease was up.” Isn’t that kind and considerate?

Well, we prayed about what to do. They wanted us to sign a year lease and when we didn’t, this was how they reacted. But we felt that God was telling us that we would be leaving soon. We really feel like God is taking us somewhere else in the next couple of months. So if we signed a year lease, we wouldn’t be showing faith in God, and we would be stuck paying rent here and wherever we will be going until this house gets rented.

After we prayed, I heard the Lord say “Phil. 4:6“. I looked it up and found out that the Lord was telling me not to be anxious about anything. He said to just make my requests known to Him and then to be at peace. I have been struggling to hold on to my peace. I have made my requests known several times, and I have sown in the name of my requests.

We need a place to live and a new job in the place that God has for us. We have an artificial time constraint that the owners and Christone have put on us. We don’t know when God wants to move us on to another place. So the devil is trying to make us feel pressured and anxious. It feels like the walls are closing in on us. It is hard not to feel picked on.

If we tried to find another house around here, we wouldn’t be able to commit to them for a year lease, either. If we tried to find another house around here, we would probably run into the same problem we had last year with the occupancy rules they have that we could only put 2 children in each bedroom.

It is very difficult to move a family of 12. It’s very expensive to move. We would probably be doing it twice in a year if we tried to find another place to live here and then Gary got a job in another state. It is so unnecessary for us to move right now. He still has a job here. We have always paid rent on time. They really have no complaints about our record as renters.

We’ve been packing, but as of this moment, we still don’t have another job or a place to move to.

So this is what I’ve been dealing with. This is the burden I keep having to take to the Lord.

This post is getting extremely long, so I will continue this in the next post. Read on to see what God did today as a sign of hope and redemption…