Author: margiwintermute

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

This is one crazy, topsy turvy world! One minute you are on top of the world – life is good and you are singing your song. You give a little smile, put on your happy face and go about your day. And then…and then! Everything comes crashing down on you! The car won’t start, a child becomes terribly sick, the dog bites the neighbor, you lose your job, or your mother in law comes to live with you! If you have experienced even one of these things (or worse) I’m with you! This can then be one crazy, upside down life!

I was having one of those crazy topsy turvy days last Thursday. Life seemed to be going just that good. I was meeting a friend for lunch, the house was clean and I was getting ready to leave for the cabin. And then…I have a car accident! Everyone was fine (except Lucy, my beautiful car.) Needless to say, I was a little shaken and my happy world was definitely turned upside down!

It has made me stop and think again about what’s important. Jesus tells us that there will be troubled times in our life. And yes, He has overcome! But think for one minute of our world with Jesus. He tells us the first will be last, to think of others more than yourself and if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

This is Not what the world would share with us for sure! In this world that is contrary to everything God shares, there will always be trouble. Mainly because this is not and has never been a perfect world. But God, if we listen and hear His voice of guidance, will always show a more perfect way.

If I would have paid attention to His voice that day, I’m sure things could have ended differently. But in the midst of it all, He was there. Later He whispered to me – You are whom I say you are – and that was enough for me! He is always there overcoming and showering us with His great mercy and love!

And to each one of us he says: Take heart! For I have overcome this world!

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lover of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:2-5

Sounds like the world today? I definitely think so! I was having a casual conversation with someone recently when this word came up. They felt that yes, it may be so, but we have taken things too far with God’s standards. They said that life today is so different than it used to be back in biblical times, and so our thinking and rules for living must be adjusted.

I was, to put it mildly, taken back by their reasoning! To me, these verses in 2 Timothy 3 tell us exactly where we have gone wrong! If we would have taken God at His word and given love and forgiveness to others, if we would have honored our parents, if humility was seen in each one of us instead of boasting and pride, then maybe, just maybe harmony, love of neighbor and giving would once again rule in our world today!

God has warned us so many times not to follow the ways of the world. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to the ways of the world. Titus 2:12 tells us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age! In this present age – we need to pay attention to these three words, for God is the same, yesterday, today and forever!

So in this present age means to us today “in this present age”! God speaks to us today about the present situation and again warns His people! Let us forever hear Him speak!

Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Just a few short words – rejoice in the Lord! Sounds simple enough and to me it should be, but hard in reality.

So, when I study this word I ask, is it really possible to rejoice Always in the Lord? Am I supposed to walk around with a smile and a skip in my step every day? Am I never to worry or feel sad and distressed? Am I to deny the trouble that besets life or will they never come near my life as a believer? And, is this meant only for readers in Philippians? Am I taking this too personally? After all, times are different today.

This much I know. Philippians 4:4 is given directly to each one of us. The subject here is an implied You. Paul is telling each one of us to rejoice always. This word he gives is timeless and for every Christian.

What Paul is sharing with us is a supernatural joy – Joy in the Lord. And this is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. This joy can only be attained by keeping our eyes on Him and understanding that our help and our power to live with this kind of joy is from abiding in Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul learned this secret and shares it with us today.

The other day this was more than difficult for me. But the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Margi, thank Him every day for being with you. Thank Him for never leaving your side and walking with you through the events of this day. So, all day long I went about saying, “thank you Lord for being here with me. And you know what? Within a short period of time my whole attitude changed. Yes, I actually found my day to be fun and my heart was overwhelmed with thankfulness!

Try this next time life becomes difficult – when you’re facing a day of sadness or trouble creeps in. Just thank Him for being with you every step of the way. Find yourself saying it out loud over and over again throughout your day.

And my friends in Christ you will be on the way to rejoicing in the lord always!

Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokehearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

This past week, I heard a very appropriate word for our time – Us vs. Them! When the Jewish people heard Jesus declare Isaiah 61:1,2, they were thrilled, yet angry because He left out one very important part – to proclaim a day of vengeance of our God! They really believed He would come as a warrior Savior and defeat the Gentile nation.

Today, the “Us vs. Them” theme runs throughout our country: Republicans vs Democrats, Black vs White, and men vs women. This “Us vs. Them” runs not only in our country but throughout the world.

However, Jesus we know, proclaims freedom for all men. The bible tells us that He wants all to be saved. His gospel is not about “Us vs. Them”, but “Us for them”! Yes, our job is to go out and proclaim the good news of salvation to all men.

As Christians our job is to love all and proclaim the good news of a salvation paid for by the Sovereign lord. Today, more than ever, we need to declare the “Us for Them” to all men, to all women, to all black, to all white and to all in the political arena.

Keep Life Simple! These were the words the Lord spoke to my heart that day.
Life had been hectic. I had a nice workout at the gym, headed to a physical therapy appointment and then on to the office. I held in my hand at the noon hour a list of things I had to do that day: a trip to the grocery store, take my granddaughter to dance, prepare dinner, prayer at church and a session with someone in need.

One more glance at this list and I broke down and cried. This was another one of those days – a day when life rushes by because of a to do list! I put the list back in my purse and knew by 10:00 pm I could curl up and relax. I love my life – I love my family and realized this stress I was feeling was only temporary. But lately busyness was keeping me from enjoying anything!

Then I heard the Holy Spirit speak. It wasn’t loud but it was matter of fact: Margi, keep life simple! Well Lord, how was I to do that? And then this address came to me: Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I then smiled – He has it all. Life is not about busyness – it’s about enjoying life – the life He has given us – and He has this – even my to do list for the day! With my heart turned toward Him and feet on the ground and a smile in hand, I went forth with my day. And I will go forth tomorrow and the next day and the next because I can do all things through Him who gives me the strength!
Yes, I love my life, I love my family and I love Him because He loves me first. This is one big Amen!

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord,”He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust. Psalm 91:1,2

When danger or any kind of emergency hits, we are told to dial 9-1-1. This is the help the world has to offer. But the word of God shares another 9-1-1. What do we do when fear and danger grips our hearts? We are to declare Psalm 91!

Psalm 91 tells us that God our Father is our help and protection. He is a shelter from the storm. It might be the darkest hour of your life, but you need not fear.

So many times in life I have tried to rely on my own strength and abilities. Yes, I fail and fear is still very present. But as I abide in the secret place of the Most High, fear leaves and I once again realize how very loving and mighty He is! My heart at times only sees danger, but with God I am filled with strength and courage once again.

I can rest in His shelter knowing He is my refuge. God Almighty has freed me from the pestilence of night and the destruction at noonday! Take Psalm 91 to heart.

Read, declare and memorize – for the next time a trial strikes know that He will always be with you and protect us in the trials life may bring upon us!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6

Can you imagine being Joshua and being the one chosen to take over for Moses himself? After all, who would be big enough to fill the shoes of Moses? I know how I would have felt – fearful, inadequate and very weak!

But looking back in scripture, Exodus 4:10-13, we see the story of God calling Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Here, Moses reminds God of his weakness and calls Him to choose someone else. I know for a fact that would be me! (Yes, I can speak and can even tell a pretty good story, but leading people to find a new life in a totally different land – no thank you!) So we see Moses,the man being called by God to lead the people, was NOT a great man of courage, nor did he have the confidence to be this mighty man of faith for God!
Moses probably knew the heart of Joshua – I’m sure he could sense and feel his fear and faintness of heart for the job he was being called to do. Joshua however, did not need a pat on the back for self-confidence. He needed only one thing – the assurance that God, a loving and mighty God would be there and go ahead of them every step of the way.

Strength and courage does not come from within us. They come from knowing you have a God who stands behind you – a God who has chosen each one of us, and a God who will never leave us in this challenge.

If we were strong and courage was easy, we would miss out on knowing God in His fullness – His loving confidence, His strength and His faithfulness. Be encouraged then in a God who calls you to His service – and as a winner!

And be filled with confidence expectation!

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

Only 4 little words – but these 4 words really tell us exactly what Jesus tries to teach us. These 4 little words teach us that everything, not just what we want, but that everything is to be done in love.

Our lives include many people and maybe many people groups. They include our home life, our jobs or school life, our social life and even ministry. They include mornings, afternoons and evenings. And during these times and with these many people we may be associated with, we are filled with feelings and emotions of all sorts. These feelings and emotions can jump all over the place – they can have us up, excited, down, angry and many more!

So the bible tells us to love through it all. We are to love when we are up, we are to love when we are down. We are to love when we are in pain and when we are weak. We are to love when we are angry, we are to love when we are emotionally hurt. We are to love when disaster strikes. And we find that these are the times when loving is the most difficult.

So how do we truly love during these times? By keeping our focus on God Himself – for God is love. When we realize that He is love and He is the one giving love and He Himself is what we give when we give love, then I find loving is easier.

Realizing there is no pain with love for God is love – I find loving easier. When I realize the pain Jesus had to endure to love, I find it easier. And it is only through faith in Him that I can truly love during these times. It is through faith in Christ that I can love the unlovable.

Today I love because of these 4 little words: Do everything in love!

Why does scripture use the words, “a sacrifice of praise”? In fact, I l love a time of praise and worship! But when I think about it, there are times when praising does not come easy.
Not a morning goes by when we do not hear of suffering in the world. There is grief and loss in this world almost minute by minute. Why? For one, we are an imperfect people – sin has followed our footsteps since the time of Adam and Eve. Death and disease surround us and visits the lives of many family members and even friends. Praise then seems far from us.
I’ve heard it said it is easier to praise God in times of joy, especially when sorrow and need are behind you. Life can become so welcoming and happiness seems to overtake you in every direction. When everything in life is filled with more than enough, we can find ourselves full of ourselves. Praise and worship then take a vacation for no pain means many times no praise.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

So then let us offer praise continually as God’s Word instructs – not just when we feel like it, not just when we’re in need or not just when life is going our way. Let us offer Him our praise because He deserves it. Yes, praise does become then a sacrifice.
The New Testament shares new life – new life in Christ. It’s about the sacrifice Jesus Christ has given for us – His very life for our life. Our life should then be full of sacrifice for him – and especially the sacrifice of Praise!

1 Peter 5:10 May the God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish strengthen and settle you.

I love Peter! He was a man of frailties just like us. He made mistakes like us, suffered like many and yet became a faithful man of God. I guess we have all, at one time, thought of Peter as the disciple who denied the Lord three times as Jesus had predicted. But God we know, called him in the beginning, redeemed and set him apart for the work of the gospel. Yes, he is for me easy to relate to.

The suffering he experienced was to him not suffering as much as he would call it sacrifice. He believed in a life sacrificed for the one he served. And in his letter of 1 Peter, he lets us know his journey and his trust and confidence in this God of all grace.
Jesus knew Peter’s frailties, his weakness, and yet He still chose Peter to become one of His close three. In fact, Peter would experience “The Glory of Heaven” which allowed him to realize that Jesus was the Christ!

And Jesus knows each of our weaknesses and still has called us to be His. This life of sacrifice may seem hard yes, but Peter tells us that this life of sacrifice will establish us in stability and character and strengthen us in a life to be lived for Him.

Yes, I love Peter. But more than even his example, I love knowing this life of sacrifice will lead me straight into the arms of my loving God! It gives me the courage to hang on and enjoy where He is taking me – this girl with frailties, imperfections and fears. Enjoy the ride – enjoy the grace and the love being poured over you – and remember this – He chose you!