"Don't Kill The Seeds"

Reflections4Life™ December 15, 2019

“Don’t Kill the Seeds”

“Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:32

Scripture Contemplation: Isaiah 61; Joel 1; Matthew 13; Mark 4; John 12; 1 Corinthians 3; 15

We are all works in progress, on assignment from heaven to remember who we are and whose we are. In the process, we are serving others reminding and showing them the love of God. Throughout our lifetime, we are planting seeds. We believe, love unconditionally, and allowing God to do the growing. We must be careful not to kill the seeds we plant in others by holding them to a timetable or what we believe is right and wrong. We are just to plant seeds, love unconditionally, and not judge.

I decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration to your heart mind and soul. Let those you love know that you love them…just the way they are. Practice patience, while showing kindness and unconditional love. Trust God to do the watering, weeding, and the growing.

We often want so much for the people that we love. If we sincerely love them, we want the best for them; the best for our children, our spouses, our friends, and family. If we are well-intentioned, we desire for them what we often desire for ourselves; happiness, fulfillment, joy, peace, and unconditional love—just to name a few. It can be difficult to see our loved ones making mistakes or poor decisions time after time. It is also easy, to say hurtful things in the heat of a moment, killing the seeds we had planted.

Do not hold them to a standard that God did not dictate. Everyone’s walk is different. Everyone’s come-to-Jesus moment is not the same. We all have seasons in our lives. A season for all things. Just because we do not see or recognize what season a person may be in, in their lives, does not mean God is not working in them. People are going to fail. We are going to make wrong choices. Hopefully and prayerfully, they are not life-ending, but instead, life lessons on our journey to becoming who God ordained us to be.

Everyone that is to know God personally and intimately will come at their ordained time. We cannot rush a person’s journey or progress. We cannot push our ideas and beliefs on those we love and others and expect a favorable outcome, or for that person to listen, trust, or believe in us. Sometimes, it is the person that loves, prays, and continues to live their lives of faith, who makes the most impact. Living by example and quietly praying can save many lives.

Beloved, God knows each of us. He knows the hairs upon our head. Nevertheless, more importantly, He knows our heart. He knows when we are ready fully to commit. He understands when we are tired of being tired, hitting brick walls, and chasing illusions. God’s grace is sufficient for us, and as we spend time with Him, we will understand the power of not only sowing seeds but also trusting God to be the Gardner in the garden that we sowed good seeds into. He knows how much watering and pruning is needed. As well as, how many seeds have died and need to be uprooted and the soil cleansed and turned.

My Beloveds, I decree that the spirit of peace and prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives. Plant your seeds in unconditional love. No matter what their journey consists of, how many times they may fall or seem far from the right path; allow God to be the Gardner who knows how to water, prune, and inspect whether the seeds are still viable. Trust God. Trust the process. God has not lost His touch, nor His unconditional love. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing!

©2019. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

                                                                                                  

"Watch Your Mouth"

Reflections4Life™ November 17, 2019

“Watch Your Mouth”

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29

Scripture Contemplation: Joshua 1; 6; Psalm 19:14; Matthew 4:4; 15:18; James 3; Titus 1; Jude 1...

©Ruthe McDonald.

How close to attention, do we pay to the words that proceed from our mouths? How many of us dare to put a watch over mouths, so that we bring no harm to others or ourselves? The words that we speak can bring comfort or pain. It can bring forth healing and even death. It is time for us to listen carefully and to watch our mouths.

I decree that this week's Reflections is a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Allow your time spent with the Lord this week to be filled with reflection on the things that come from your mouth. Allow Holy Spirit to guide your tongue, and to make you hyper-aware of the things you say during a normal course of the day. It can be the difference between life and death...literally.

Growing up, I always heard my Grams and my Nana, as well as my Mom,  say: watch your mouth. As children, we can try our parents sometimes and say something that is sassy or even disrespectful. The first warning was always to watch your mouth. There really wasn't a second warning; just a pop in the mouth and punishment. 

I believe today many of us need a spiritual pop in the mouth to remind of us the things that we are saying. It is not just the harm and hurt that we are bringing to others, but the harm we do to ourselves that many of us are not even aware of. So many times, we have prayed and asked God for something, and in the next breath, we totally wipe out our prayers, because our mouths defeat us. Instead of speaking the word of God and blessings over our lives, we speak negativity and curses. Instead of life, there is death.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

How many times have we heard this passage of scripture, only to forget it in the light of a day’s activity? How many times have we spoken things that are filled with negativity and the exact opposite of what we believe God for? If we want what God has for us, we're going to have to start speaking like our Father. We are going to have to put a watch over our mouths and speak what God speaks concerning us.

We have the power to affect the lives of others. I specifically think about what we say to our children. What are you speaking over the lives of your children? Do you inspire them? Encourage them? Speak positive affirmations? Do you declare and decree what God has spoken? Do you bless them or do you curse them?

My parents always told me what I would be— successful at whatever I put my mind to. They encouraged my endeavors even when I, myself, was filled with uncertainty and doubt. My father was bold and told me what I WOULD be, and WOULD accomplish in this life. He spoke a life of blessings over my life. He spoke the father's blessing over his children, just as Jacob did to his children.

The words we speak into the atmosphere bring life or death to people places and things. They can bring healing or destruction. Many words have caused strife and the life of people. I never understood that an old saying I heard growing up: Sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you.

What a load of crap! The words we speak can cause irreparable damage. Words can kill. Words do hurt. They can do so much harm and destroy many lives. Words spoken in a lie can change lives forever. It can cost lives, as well.

So yes, words do hurt and can bring devastating harm. However, they can also bring life, and joy and sweetness never known before. We must learn to guard our mouths and train our tongues to speak words that are edifying, and truth that is not destructive, but healing. To say what needs saying in a manner in which a person's life is not devastated or destroyed.

If we desire the life that God has ordained for us, then we must also learn to watch our mouths concerning the things that we speak and declare of ourselves. Do not speak the opposite of what God has spoken. Edify yourself with the word of God. Speak God's truth. Watch what you allow to pass through your lips and into the atmosphere. You have the power to prophesy over your life. Speak life—abundant life—to your situation and circumstances. Speak what God says about you. Let those words fill your heart and the atmosphere. Practice it. Train your tongue to edify and not destroy. A word spoken in kindness can change someone's life forever. A comforting word can save a life. A word of wisdom can bring clarity. A word of encouragement can bring joy and happiness.

My Beloved, I decree that the spirit of peace and of prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives. Allow the Father to guard your tongue. Be aware of your conversations and the words you speak. They can be the difference between life and death; to dreams, hopes, and visions. Think of the things of the Lord, allowing it to fill your heart so that it will begin to flow from your lips. You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!

©2014. ©2019 Revised. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

"Are You Living?"

Reflections4Life™ September 8^th, 2019

“Are You Living?”

“I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:42-44 NASB

Scripture Contemplation: Psalm 143; Ezekiel 18; John 11; 2 Timothy 9; Galatians 2; Ephesians 5...

©RutheMcDonald.

The Father has loosed you from your grave clothes. When Jesus was resurrected, you were resurrected with Him. It is time for you to live. To live for Christ. To live your lives. To live it abundantly.

I decree that this week's Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. You are blessed today because God has spoken it. May you understand this week how much God loves you and has already prepared a way for you, so that you may live this life to the fullest.

Beloved, Are you living or only existing? What are you waiting for? What is it that is keeping you from living your life? What has you bound today? God has decreed that you are no longer bound. Every chain, every bondage has been loosed by the death and resurrection of Christ. It is time for you to live.

Many of us wait for circumstances and situations to be “just” right before we extend ourselves, or begin to do things that we enjoy and love. Some of us have been waiting an awfully long time for conditions to be the way we desire before we start doing the things we have been holding and planning in our hearts to do.

Guess what? If you continue to wait for everything to line up and match the picture you have held in your imagination, you may be waiting for an eternity. Life will pass you by, and you will have nothing but regrets; wishing you would have taken that first step—that first step of faith.

We have a list of things and ideas that we want to accomplish in our lifetime. But everything will not always line up the way we desire before we start living the life we desire. We just have to begin living out our dreams now. When God is for you and has ordained you, and has blessed you; you do not have to wait for the situation to be just right. All you need is the green light from God, and go forth!

I can guarantee that there will be times when God will tell you to go forth now, and you will look at the circumstances, and they will not be conducive to what you want to do. In fact, it will seem impossible for you to do what God is telling you to do. But that is how God does it most times. This is a faith walk. To live our lives to the fullest will require that we walk by faith and not by sight. It will require us to know and understand that God will call upon you to go forth, and you may not have support, finances, or the knowledge to do so. All you will have is the word of God. All you will have is His promises to provide and guide you. When God gives you a vision, He will be your provision.

So many of us spend our lives wishing, hoping, and dreaming. At some point, we have to start being and doing, or we will miss many opportunities. It is time for you to live, beloved. It is time for you to come forth, and shake the remnants of the shackles off (Because God has already broken the chains) and begin to live your life; your abundant life.

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

It is time to allow Christ in you full reign of your heart and to allow Him to live through you. He will show you how to walk in your abundant life. The enemy wants to keep us bound by situations and circumstances. He [enemy] desires for us to be filled with anxiety, fear, and self-doubt. Binding us, and eventually destroying our dreams, and killing our spirits, and even our very lives.

Yet, God has said that you shall live and not die if you believe in Him. The Father assures us that the enemy has no power to defeat us when we are walking in relationship with Him, abiding by His will, and living our lives as He has ordained.

Just as with Lazarus, God is calling us to come forth. He is calling us to live our lives now. To, follow in His path of righteousness and holiness. To, release the fears and to take our eyes off of the flesh and the seemingly impossible, and put them on Him, and believe with every fiber of our being the word that He has spoken over our lives.

At some point, we have to be the one that makes that decision to go forth. We have to be the one that decides that regardless of our present situation or conditions, that we will and can live. Live for Christ. Live our lives. And believe with all our hearts that God will make the necessary changes in our lives, as long as we are seeking to please Him, and living for Him.

Here is what I know for certain: No matter the condition of your life right now. No matter the hardships, or limitations—be it physical or financial—when you make up your mind and heart to go forth and live your life, live for Christ and put your best forth; God will indeed take care of the rest. When your focus becomes the will of God, and not your lack or limitations; you will see God move on your behalf in the supernatural. We often say we are waiting on God. But the truth is, God is waiting on us. Waiting for us to push forward in faith and to trust Him with our everything.

It's time to live, beloved. It is time to come out of those grave clothes, and begin truly trusting in God, and living your life right where you are at. God has you, and He will never leave you. He has already freed you. It's up to you, now, to begin walking in that freedom.

My Beloved, I decree that the spirit of peace and of prosperity has found permanent rest in every area of your life. Live. Your. Life. God has untied the binds. He has released you from the past. It is time to live your abundant life. Not by what you see or feel; but by the word of God that has been already decreed over you. Let Christ in you arise and live. This is your time! You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!

©2019. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

"The Wonder of it All"

Reflections4Life™ December 23, 2018

“The Wonder of it All”

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:11-14

Scripture Contemplation: Matthew 1; Luke 2

"Life in Dead Winter" ©Ruthe McDonald.

Take a moment and bring to mind the one thing you want more than anything else right now. What is that one thing, that if you could snap your fingers, you would have it already? Something tangible but you know would take a long time to achieve or almost impossible for you. Got it? Okay, now picture God not only granting that one thing but also blessing you with even greater. No matter what you came up with, God guarantees to do even more than what you could ever think or imagine possible.

I decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart mind and soul. As we celebrate this wonderful birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, let us take a moment to reflect upon the goodness of God in our lives. Forget about the things that are not what you like or want right now. Instead, meditate on the things that are, and that you know God has done in your life; especially those things and moments that you know that if it had not been for God you would not be here.

Sometimes when I think on the goodness of God, I get overwhelmed. When I think of all that God has done to reconcile His creation to Himself; to save us from an eternity without Him, my heart gets overwhelm from the share love and wonder of it all. Think about it; God sent Himself into this world, putting on the flesh, subjecting himself to the weaknesses, whims, and often hollowness that often accompany the flesh, just to save us. He became flesh to save flesh, to save the very ones that reject, accuse, abuse, use, and lie on Him. He came, not as a fully-grown man with no idea of the angst of growing up, but as an infant, taught and raised in a home with many different dynamics, but also knowing He was set apart. Wow! The wonder of it all.

It is a shame that many of us do not talk about the birth of Christ until the holidays. That, we do not acknowledge the miraculous, wonderful, awesomeness of our Creator, and His One gift that continues to give and give for all time. It is sad how we have commercialized such an advent and meaning of the birth of Christ, when it should be an everyday conversation, which leads to the acknowledgement, acceptance, and receipt of Christ in one’s life. Christ, for those who would believe, should be at the center of our lives, guiding and teaching us His ways, and how to not only navigate this world we live in, but also how to overcome it.

The wonder of it all, is how this one miraculous birth change the world, and how we, as believers can continue to change the world. Not by as much what we say but in what we do, and how we treat one another. Not judging but lifting one another up; encouraging those who need encouragement and supporting one another in our walk instead of tearing down.

Can you imagine the power surrounding the birth of Christ; the power that was circulating in the air that even the enemy knew something was up and it was not going away but coming to take his power and dethrone him for good? Imagine that power circulating around us today, cracking in the atmosphere so hard that the enemy is shaking because he understands the sign of the times, and this his days are numbered.

Right now, there is a mixture of feelings and far too many that are doubting the love of God in the midst of a year that has been fraught with so much hatred and frivolities that it has some hard-pressed to figure out who is actually for them or just using them. We are in a wondrous season where miracles are more prone to take place. It is like, for a moment, a curtain is opened and the goodness and kindness of men are being seen and felt around the world, and making an impact that is needed more now than ever before.

The wonder of it all is that we can and should be experiencing this same joy all year long and we can if we would put into practice the same things that people are doing right now. We must first have it in our hearts and not allow life’s circumstances to change what we believe. Neither changes our faith in God. We must stand steadfast and believe in what God says, even throughout our adversities and afflictions.

Trials in this life will come. There is no escaping that. We need only to look to Jesus to understand, but also look at the fact He overcame. Throughout it all, God is here for us and with us. He is waiting for us to align ourselves with Him, remember whose we are, and that He has blessed us to be blessings.

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity find permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. The birth of Christ assured us a place at the table with the Father, a gift that continues to give. and multiplies as we yield ourselves to the Father and hold onto faith, never letting go. Have a very    Merry Christmas my dear friends. May your heart and days be filled with wonder and miracles every day! You are blessed. Now go … and be a blessing!

©2018. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.