Category Archives: At His Feet

Two chairs…no waiting

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        Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.                   – Corrie ten Boom

There is a scene from an episode of the Andy Griffith show where Floyd, the barber, is offered the chance to take on a partner. Andy is encouraging him to take a gamble; he is swamped with business, can’t keep up with the demands, and is overwhelmed with the stress of it all. Sheriff Taylor tells him that he could have a two-chair shop. That pushes Floyd into the confidence he needed to seriously consider taking the plunge.

Then Andy says these words that not only resonate with Floyd but with me too: (don’t get carried away and watch the entire episode yet!!)

Two chairs, no waiting.

I pictured it in my mind. I have the opportunity every single day to walk into the presence of the King of Kings and take a chair right across from Him. I can talk, I can share, I can pour my heart out with needs and petitions for myself, my family, friends, the state of the country and even those on the other side of the world.

I do not have to wait.

He doesn’t push me aside, doesn’t tell me to take a number or to come back later.

He is never too busy. He is never late. He is just there.

He welcomes me in. I don’t even have to speak if I do not want to. Sometimes that is good, I need to just listen.

two chairs no waiting 2

We call this time Prayer. It is simply conversation with God. We truly make it too difficult, too complicated and even too scary. We think we have to say certain words, others think those words have to be repeated a particular number of times.

Some believe we must be in the right position to pray;

  • kneeling
  • standing
  • on our face
  • hands folded
  • hands raised
  • hands outstretched
  • eyes open
  • eyes closed
  • scream at the top of your lungs
  • speak audibly
  • whisper quietly
  • only pray inside your thoughts

The cool thing about prayer? All of these are acceptable! There is no right or wrong way, no certain place, and no definite time that we must pray but making a habit of meeting with God at the same time every day will help you keep that appointment and not allow the day to get away from you.

We just need to pray.

Naturally, beginning your day with conversation with God is wise. He wants to hear from you and you need to hear from Him. He gives strength for each new day. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.

Ending your day with prayer is comforting, peaceful and a great way to thank God for all He has kept you from and blessed you with for the day!

Kneeling before God, if you are able, shows reverence and awe. Sometimes you are not physically able or not in a place where you can actually kneel. King David sat and prayed at times! “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18 NLT.

There may be other times when you will just stand to pray as you talk to a friend. “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Luke 18:13 NIV.

Doesn’t it get easier to share with a friend when you know them better? Talking with the Lord is the same way. The more time we spend with Him, the better we know Him and the easier it is to share. He truly is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

What do I receive for taking the time, making the time, to pray? Untold benefits!

  • Peace
  • Joy
  • Confidence
  • Strength
  • Power
  • Wisdom
  • Direction
  • Answers
  • Boldness
  • Patience
  • Compassion
  • Humility
  • Forgiveness
  • Relief from Anxiety

This list could be infinite. There are endless benefits to prayer and spending time with God. In the Old Testament, there were times priests or others could be killed for not approaching God the right way. Today? The veil has been torn! No longer do we need a mediator, Jesus did away with that when He died on the cross. The veil in the temple was torn in two signifying that ANYONE, EVERYONE could come before the throne without fear. You can approach God (in reverence and awe) as a friend or a Father, He is all in all.

Don’t hesitate to bring your greatest needs, your simplest thoughts and your heaviest burdens to Him.

Jesus longs to hear from you and He is saving two chairs…no waiting.

 

Kingdom2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are we doing about Thursday?

What are we doing about Thursday?

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What are we doing about Thursday? This post isn’t necessarily about fasting but I thought it would be appropriate today. If you are following us in the 31 Days of Fasting in January, you can catch up on missed posts here! Please read this true story and let God speak to your heart.

Several weeks ago, my sister-in-law, Dixie, told a true story about a young man in her church and it truly touched many hearts. I hope it blesses you today and causes us all to pause and consider the coming of the Lord and our purpose until He comes. And could you do me a favor? Dixie has been in the hospital since the week before Christmas in serious condition. She is facing a very long recovery and needs the Lord to intervene. He has already done a marvelous work! Would you join us in prayer that He will help speed her healing time? Thank you, we know God is more than able and that He can use this for His glory.

This is Dixie’s explanation of the story with the young man:

A young mother in our church shared with us that when she went in on Monday morning to awaken her son for school that he sat up and asked, “What are we doing about Thursday?” She was puzzled, but asked what he meant.

He told her that the Lord was coming back on Thursday.

He could not say if he’d had a dream or if he had just been impressed by the Lord, but he was quite stirred by this.

He asked his mom, “Are we all ready? Have I told my friends how to be saved?”

This so stirred up our congregation last night; we had one young man receive the Holy Ghost and we had a teenage girl visiting who hadn’t been there for a few years; she prayed and made a new commitment to the Lord!

This was all because of a simple question,

What are we doing about Thursday?

Live every day like it is Thursday!

Of course we do not know that the Lord is coming back for His Church on a Thursday, the Bible is clear that no man knows the day or the hour that the Lord will return. Then, the question remains, why did this young boy, if I remember he was about 10 or 11 years old, why would he have such a dream?

There could be several reasons and there might not be a reason at all. Since he had been to church on Sunday, and it was now Monday morning that Mom was telling him to get up for school, it is likely that either his Sunday School teacher or Pastor had talked about the coming of the Lord. His tender heart immediately went to his friends, neighbors and even family members who were not ready to meet God and possibly he fell asleep praying for them and where they would spend eternity.

This was a child. So, I ask myself, am I as concerned as this young man was about the people I come in contact with on a daily basis? Do I care whether or not they are ready to meet God? Does it matter?

Yes.

It matters whether my heart is stirred for the lost. This is our purpose in being on this earth! Jesus came, He gave, He died, He rose again and then He sent The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to abide IN us. We became His ambassadors when we took on His name and we are to reflect His glory in all we do and say. I’m sure you have heard the phrase,

You may be the only Jesus some people will ever meet.

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The goal is for you to introduce them to Jesus so that they can come to know Him and ultimately be ready for that Thursday, whenever it might be.

If the Lord can stir the heart of a pre-teen about His coming, shouldn’t we also be as sensitive to the voice of the Lord? Let us pray, and fast, that we are not so busy that we cannot hear what He is saying or what He is calling us to do in these Last Days. Fasting and prayer will draw us closer to Him, set our sights on eternal treasures and cause the things of this world to become much less important.

And one day soon, it will be Thursday and the Lord will come back for The Church!

Soon.

The Daniel Fast Devotional

Don’t forget to get your copy of The Daniel Fast Devotional! Great for ANY FAST, it will be your go-to tool for years to come. Already have one in Kindle or paperback? Would you take a couple of minutes to leave a review for me on Amazon? It would be so appreciated! Blessings to you as you fast unto the Lord.

 

For the kingdom

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Bacon is a Memory

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“…he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Titus 3:5
Bacon is a Memory

Today’s word prompt is awesome. Bacon, bacon, bacon!! Join me for a trip down memory lane…and check out some of the other great writers at Kate Motaung’s place for #FiveMinuteFriday!

Bacon. I can still smell it today. I can see my Mamaw Cammie standing in the tiny kitchen, before the sun would come up, getting breakfast and lunch ready for my Papaw Dubie. He worked in a stone mill after WWII and retired from there sometime in the 1970’s.

But Mamaw Cammie’s bacon wasn’t just any bacon. We called it Joe Bacon. Once I grew up, I discovered it was really Jowl Bacon, which is also pronounced JOEL, in some parts of the country so they weren’t that far off. (smile) What is jowl bacon? Just what it sounds like, it is the smoked cheeks of the pig. It is much thicker, heavily smoked and a little salty. It’s crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and of course, tastes heavenly, just like regular belly bacon. (Now for those that are freaking out over eating the jowls, first of all if you eat any pork at all, well, enough said. And if you eat a hot dog? Yeah, okay. Jowl bacon is much, much better than a hot dog!)  So, jowl bacon is delicious, smells heavenly in the frying pan and makes your entire breakfast taste better.

My beautiful grandmother took her Joe Bacon just one step further. She floured it before she fried it! Oh. My. Word. How these people lived past their 50’s is beyond me but they did. Floured it, fried it up and, even though it was deadly, it was fantastic. I always marveled that she fixed it every single day. Every day! Most of the time there were eggs and toast (she made the best toast ever), other days it was biscuits and gravy. Sometimes she mixed up pancake batter. (Hungry yet?)

Bacon is a Memory

This post isn’t just about bacon. It’s about memories.

For me, when I smell bacon frying, I am taken back to another lifetime with the radio playing in the background, the smell of Lucky Strike unfiltered cigarettes (deadly!) and sometimes the oven door open to help heat up the kitchen early in the morning.

It’s about my grandfather putting on his work boots, grabbing his silver, metal lunchbox with the black handle, and giving my grandmother a kiss as he walked out the door to work. And it’s all about the comfort, the safety and the love that I felt in that kitchen as my grandparents doted over me and my siblings.

My grandfather, my Papaw Dubie, never had a relationship with Jesus as far as I know. I DO know he believed in God and believed He gave His life for us but I always thought he kind of held a grudge because of the war. He was not a big talker and I had the impression that he was happy for all of us but religion wasn’t for him.

I prayed for him on his deathbed, I was the only one with him when he died because we had all been taking turns, and I DO believe in deathbed repentance. Of course I cannot say with assurance that he knew the Lord but I do pray he found that peace that we treasure today, that our sweet Savior lifted his heavy burdens that he carried from fighting on the front line in Italy. The torment that he suffered from losing so many of his friends haunted him the rest of his life. I placed him in the hands of a merciful God and prayed that he would let go of everything that had him bound and reach up for the One who makes all things new. Thankfully, we are not man’s judge nor do we know their heart.

“For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.” Psalm 86:5.

That’s what it is all about, isn’t it? Mercy. We have all been extended mercy and all we have to do is receive it!

Do you have a bacon memory? Or is there another food that every time you smell it you are transported back to another lifetime? I would love to hear about it and so would our readers.

If you are like my Papaw Dubie, bound by the past or listening to the enemy whisper that you aren’t good enough, strong enough or important enough for Jesus to rescue…those are lies! Our loving Savior is no respecter of persons and wants to reach down to you today and heal your hurts, calm your fears and erase your pain. He can do that if you just open your heart and ask Him in.

Perhaps you aren’t sure what that all means or how to go about it? Please respond here or email me privately at ynannette@gmail.com  I would be happy to help and pray with you.

Blessings to you and your memories today.

Kingdom2

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