You cannot be a whiner and a winner!!!!

God hates complaining. It releases negativity and doubt, robbing us of walking into a new day because we lose faith. The Israelites spent 40 YEARS in the desert because they were ungrateful, unfaithful and untrusting! I believe God wanted them to get to the promised land, but it was their murmuring that kept them in the wilderness. They thought they deserved more. They were focused on themselves. How can you hear from God when you are always complaining? Thankfulness is humility. God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

Christmas time breeds this in people, as well as the superstar celebrity mentality in church! And dare I say…Facebook too!

You know, I think God has shown me that dissatisfaction is rooted in worshiping self. We think we deserve more and when we don’t get it, that opens the door to self pity. The spirit of self pity is an insidious one. I see it strongest on people that have become addicted to sins that are all about gratifying themselves. They play the victim, blaming God, so they will have an excuse to go and sin more. Living in rebellion to God, and trying to meet our own needs never works. Flesh never satisfies.

We have to die to live. We have to walk by faith and not sight. We have to speak life, and believe God! We have to worship HIM…and not ourselves!

…[they] murmured in their tents, [and] hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD. (Psalms 106:25)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7)

Do not fret – it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8)

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
(Philippians 2:12-16)

Is There Room for HIM?

12/27/2012

     Been thinking about that, how there was no room for Him the night He was born;  even though it had been prophesied for so many years that He was coming.  A star even shone brightly to announce His arrival, wise men sought Him, angels appeared to Shepherds, yet, when He came, there was no place for Him.

He was the King of Kings, and could have been born into a castle, onto a throne, into a kingdom;  but He chose humility.  There was also no pomp and circumstance, He humbled Himself to come here…and He was laid in a manger.

     Before He even came He was hated and despised;  so much so, Herod tried to murder Him.   The “wise” men had told Herod they had seen Jesus’ star and He would be born.  In an attempt to protect his throne, Herod murdered all the boys trying to get to Jesus, but God sent an angel to warn Joseph to flee.
     After He started His ministry, He had no place to lay His head.  He had no home.  He had no wife or children.  He went to the garden to pray when the disciples went home to their families.

     He also understood rejection.  How many of us have felt the sting of rejection?  That feeling of not belonging, not being accepted?  I know I have, and it hurts.  I can see how someone would choose to take their life, because they feel they have no place to call their own.  Sometimes the pain can be unbearable.

And this was His life, from the moment He came.  And even now…He is still rejected today.


He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Think about it…who wants HIM?
     Nations don’t.  America, once, one nation under God, has become one nation without God.  So tolerant of everything…but Jesus and His people.   Schools don’t want Him, even though He is the Greatest Teacher that ever walked on earth, the Bible and prayer are forbidden.
     TV stations have to put a disclaimer if the show is about Him.   Today I watched CBN and the network had a message scrolling across the bottom saying they did not necessarily agree with what was being said on this paid show.  I never see that for any other type of programming, do you?
     Do churches really want Him?  Can you imagine if He actually walked into a church?  I imagine He would kindly be escorted out,  labeled a fanatic, lunatic, or extremist.
     Government doesn’t want Him, even though He is the King of Kings, and rules over everything.  Maybe He is too honest and just for them?Corporations reject Him.  Heaven forbid if you talk about Jesus at work.  You might end up in HR being reprimanded for being offensive.

    So where can He find room?  He can only find it in our hearts.  We have to make room for Him, and let Him make room in us for Him.   Do you make room for Him?  Do you let Him work Himself into you?  Does He call out to you, and yet you won’t come?

I want to encourage those that might be feeling rejected, like they don’t belong, that God has a purpose in it.   You just have to fight it and walk through the suffering, resting in the storm.   There is always a blessing on the other side, so don’t give up.  What we suffer through we gain authority over.   If you want to carry His love, like Him, you will be rejected.  If you want to carry hope, you will taste despair.  If you want to walk in great faith, then you will have many trials and tests to expand your ability to fight the doubt that will undoubtedly attack you!

Jesus came and experienced all of this for us, and has made a way for us to be part of His family;  to be reconciled to God, grafted in.   He says He has gone on to Heaven to make a place for us, and we are called to carry Him here, releasing Heaven on Earth.   He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth.  He invites us to come, eat and drink with HIM.

He is calling out to us, I ask you, will you make room for HIM and let Him make room in you for more of Him?


Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked–
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul,  and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.