Tuesday morning, I poured out my heart. I forgave. I asked forgiveness. I renewed my gratitude. I acknowledged and celebrated His greatness. I received His peace. I rediscovered joy and hope. My heart was at peace.
Wednesday, I went to salon early to touch up my sparkling roots. I saw the Fed-Ex truck in the parking lot. Didn't think anything of it.
Went up to front desk to check my schedule. And there IT was. The insurance check! YES!!!!!!! Sent Tuesday afternoon after I had my talk with Him.
In live, living color, in my hand, was the insurance check. He wanted my heart right. Freed from anger, judgment, vengeance and cynicism.
He got me right, then poured out mercy. I am so in awe of His kindness.
Last night, an offer came back for our house. Today another buyer is coming in. We could have a bidding war for the Country Estate.
What a lesson for me. Surrender. Obedience. Trust. Forgiveness. Simple virtues that I can only access in Him. And look at His bountiful reward.
My 'little skin care business' is growing. I have two consultants and three wholesale buyers. In one week.
Tuesday I said it is well with my soul. I am safe in His arms. All because of His presence to reassure me of His faithfulness.
Today, the tangible answers. I am grateful.
March 10, 2006
answer
at 9:08 PM
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19 comments:
Tarah, I love that song. I need to dig that out of my cds and listen again. My daughter has had several bites on Country Estate, SINCE Tuesday. That was an amazing experience, felt good to have my heart tenderized so deeply by Him again. Good to hear from you! Have a fabby weekend.
Dang, girl...you are living proof that prayer does work! Even to you non-believers out there, come on...you gotta admit...God does answer prayers, but you just have to have faith. Congratulations on the check, the offers, the business...you totally deserve it!
OMG...and I just noticed you were on when I was on...dang...how cool!
What a wonderful post. I've read it four times.
I think I'll read it again.
Joshua and Tarah....
Mercy Said No was once one of my favourite songs. I havent listened to it for a while...I'll have to dig it out.
Buffy, d.t., J and T,
My prayer today is the sale of Country Estate would be another story of His wild, wonderful mercy. Even if it takes me to the end of my rope. . . b/c I am learning He really is there to catch me.
Thank you for being there with me!
I thought usury was forbidden in the Bible?
Wow! When it rains it pours! Thank you Lord!
How can an insurance letter be from the Lord when He has forbade usury? It is from the Devil.
D,
I don't think you have read all my blog so you don't understand what the insurance letter was about.
I found your initial comment very interesting, went to your site and read what you had quoted from the W encyclopedia. As a Catholic, I am compelled to further investigate this whole concept.
The love of money IS the root of all kinds of evil, and it would be an interesting world were money only used as a means of trade and not leveraged with interest.
But, do you benefit from the system? Do you pay cash for your home, your car, everything. Even if you rent, you are benefiting from someone else making a mortgage payment with interest. And chances are, most landlords are charging more rent than their mortgage. . .
The command of the Lord is first to love Him and love our neighbor and to be in this world but not OF it.
I cannot change the world system, but I can at least never collect interest from any one I would loan money to. I will first take the log out of my own eye.
However, as a property owner, we are required by law to have property insurance. This insurance check is paying for damages from a hurricane. We pay over $1000 a year to know we have help in case of an emergency.
So, how do you figure that money finally being released to me is from the devil?
While I am open to constructive thoughts regarding my faith, please do not leave combative, accusing remarks on my blog.
Friendly debate, yes.
Thank you!
I would certainly agree that usury is the epitomy of greed and therefore would be wrong, however I fail to see how insurance payments or claims fall into this category at all. These are part of our world system and in today's society not considered "unreasonable" which I believe is the bottom line on usury. I would think "usury" would have to be included in a list of malicious acts against one's neighbor which would include all kinds of other "sins" like greed and power-mongering, selfishness etc. Its just one in a long list of things put to death on the cross of Christ.
The multiple scriptures againt usury in the old testament, are just that...old...we, as believers, live under a new covenant in Christ Jesus, which totally invalidates the old one. He is no longer in the "forbidding" business. :) It is a covenant of grace and peace. A place where there is no condemenation. We walk out our Chrisitan lives in the light that He gives us, working out our salvation with fear and trembling. In His Kingdom, sin is dead and our responsibilty is not to keep a running talley of our sins and make sure we repent of them all but to walk in the light of Christ. The things He brings to our attention are meant for us to deal with in our own lives and though we may feel strongly about them they must be tempered with grace when meted out to others. It is good to live in the realization that "there but by the grace of God go I" and be very thankful rather than full of judgement.
whew! what a novel I have written!
I join you in rejoicing at God's timely provision. :)
My novel is longer ;-)
Firstly forgive me making such sweeping statements. The blogosphere is prone to such soundbites since it is fast moving and people don't generally answer the question posed or comment made. You are different so that is better.
Secondly I would like to say that I have enjoyed your blog. I find the deep sense of love of God truly nourishing in this world of indifference to such matters. It made my heart twang with sentiment as I remembered my days as a Catholic and the moments I recognise in your accounts. And I have to say, of all th churches I find the Catholic to be the truest, but as I am out of that debate altogether now it isn't for me to stir up that hornets nest ;-)
Insurance. Usury. It is all the same thing. It is really a means where we rely on the world rather than God. Total trust means having empty arms and accepting the bad with the good. It means living with a little, but having pure income rather than a lot and no blessing.With insurance and usury we attempt to take what we havent earned and circumvent destiny by edging our bets and buffeting ourselves from reality. God has forbade usury from time immemorial. This is an undisputed law and unless some new revelation from heaven has transpired I don't see how mere men can undo a Law of God Most High? Is it now men and not God who make the Law?
If you read some history you will see it was a perversion of the Christian teaching to allow usury to exist, and was one which was introduced with the on-set on the protestant work ethic. Before that usury just was not permitted. Not one bit. In fact usury so enraged Jesus, son of Mary (peace be on him) that it was his fiery and enraged attack on the money-lenders which actually led to him being arrested! Before this the priests and others tolerated him and mostly left him alone, but as soon as he (peace be on him) started to undermine the basis of business transactions - until he put his foot down and told people enough was enough - until he, with guts and righteous anger, threw the money-lenders out of the Temple - then the priests moved in for the kill, because all talk of loving God was fine, but to undermine their money-making was a killing matter. And it wasn't because they were money lending in the Temple, it was because they were committing an abomination in the Temple - in the House of God Most High.
Here is the man you love who performed an act which led to his confrontation with the authorities - this man who put his life on the line because of this very issue which modern Christians take as a little matter or don't consider important at all. How great is this love of yours when the one you love showed you the way, showed you what he expects and what he considered an abomination, and you turn your back on his teaching. Jesus, son of Mary (peace be on him) said, "I did not come to over-throw the Law (of Moses), I came to fulfill it". The Law of Moses (peace be on him) forbade usury. Period.
Usury is not the same as capital. Capital is what you earn and work hard for as is yours to keep.
My religion teaches me that he who does not give up usury God declares war against this man, and on Judgement Day when we arise the man who has consumed usury will meet God face to face and meet His wrath. Hell is guaranteed for people who consume usury. This is what my religion teaches me. Yes there are even people who profess this religion who do not yet practise it. But I do. And I do not believe you can believe in one part of a Revelation and ignore the rest. Either God means what He says or He is a liar or mad.
I paid cash for my car. It is not a great car and I waited almost seven years to buy it. My home is a housing association house, not owned by myself and the rent is not comparable to mortgage rates. And even if it were, rent is not mortgage and I have no benefit from renting a house which will never be "mine". It is not a huge house, but it fulfills my needs and I am greatful to God. I do not take interest on my bank account, I will never get a mortgage. I do not insure my household contents and nor will I insure anything against loss. Everything is from God and I trust totally in Him. If something is meant to be it will never pass you by and if it passes you by it was never meant to be.
You cannot love God if you disobey Him. That is not love. That is con-artistery - trying to get God to give you what you want without returning anything but shallow praise - which let's face it is easy, because it's free.
True love means obedience and loyalty even when it is hard.
As a property owner and car owner we are required here too to pay insurance. Because this is mandated by government this is actually a form of tax since it is compulsory, however whenever we have had a car accident we have never claimed on the insurance. We trusted in God to provide, not on men. We pay the tax but we don't reap the pay-out. Last time my Dh had an accident the car was written off - and he hurt his leg badly, yet we didn't claim - and sure enough two weeks later someone GAVE us their car. For nothing. That's God working.
And yes in this day and age sticking to revelation IS hard, but you cannot have both God and Mammon. You either love the one and hate the other. You cannot have two masters.
You obey someone every day - you have to ask yourself - are you obeying your own whims and desires and making them your God, your idol, or are you obeying what God has revealed? Are you submitting to God are you expecting God to submit to you.
Life is tough when you try to walk the path that is straight, it means having a little of this world rather than a lot, but knowing that obedience in this life reaps a reward in the next.
Anything not ordained by God *is* from the devil. Did he not get Adam and Eve out of heaven by seducing them in the very same way? He tells you to disobey God and get something He hasn't given you. Take the apple. But a broken law is a broken law - and there is not one to help you if God is against you. The devil makes all wrong-doing seem pleasing. Do you think thieves and rapists go to bed with a guilty conscience? No - they will not admit they have done anything wrong. Everything we do can be rationalised and justified to ourself - anything at all - even murder. Humans are good at making themselves feel good about disobedience to God and the Devil is one step away to tell us what we want to hear. But there is no minor sin when God's wrath descends, just as there is no major sin when His mercy descends. Sin is sin and the yardstick by which we measure ourselves is God's revelation, nothing else.
God had forbade usury - He would never give you this, He is testing you with it just as we are tested all through life. This is just one more thing in life which will either stand for or against you on Judgement Day.
And it's all very well returning with the quip "take the plank out of your own eye", but in my religion believers are actually meant to be mirrors to one another and where we see our brothers and sisters going astray or making dubious choices we tell them, because the devil makes us blind to our own mistakes and sometimes blind to Him. Only by having others to wake us up to Reality can we make progress in the spiritual realm.
I know as a catholic you do not take God lightly so I know that none of this will offend you because I can see you have a deep love of God. In our religion it states that Christians are those who love God so much that when they hear His name mentioned their eyes swell up with tears. And that is because their hearts are softened by God's mercy.
If I *have* offended you please forgive me. It was not my intention. It is just something that bothers me about this world, and believers in particular that we say we love God but our actions show the contrary. And for a people who follow the teachings of the blessed Jesus, son of Mary (peace be on him) who put his life on the line out of fury over usury, it is a slap in the face of the one they claim to love.
None of us are perfect but let us be like true believers who wake up worried in case they have offended God and goto bed tired out of worshipping God, and let us never be like the hypocrites who sin with security saying "most people are like this - I will be forgiven".
Amen.
Take care
Debbie
xx
hi Hattigrace,
i thought i already did post a message to this wonderful post before but apparently it was not saved or did not post properly.
anyway, what i could say to this is that YOUR HEART and what you really FEEL and THINK when you receive this BLESSING is the most important thing.
it is not for us to JUDGE and say it is from the DEVIL ( i just was horrified to read this), for it was your earnest prayer and supplication to God that your problems be solved and HE has definitely answered your prayer.
And you know it is coming from HIM and believe in it. That I think is important.
I do not know much about the laws of God or whatever is in the Bible. And honestly, i really do not care - as all these are THOUGHTS of men, afterall - HUMAN interpretation which could be wrong. And this causes a lot of chaos, which leads to loss of faith. FAITH and LOVE is more important than KNOWLEDGE.
All I know as being taught in the church and in my kindergarten class is that GOD IS LOVE, over and above everything!
Hattigrace, REJOICE in this as I believe that you are right with your love with GOD, and nothing can unjustify or justify this.
"If i speak in tonques of men and of angels but have not LOVE, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal", 1 Cor 13:1
When i think about this passage, I realize that what is really important is what is in your HEART, and some people cannot understand this maybe because they are lost in being too TECHNICAL in their acts of FAITH. Being so purists could be hyporcritical.
LOVE is all encompassing and your personal relationship with God is something between you and HIM alone.
Dear Debbie,
Thank you for your kind and caring response. I appreciate your genuine heart and love for and obediance to God.
I agree that obediance is proof of our love for God.
I was raised an atheist. I have been shown His love in countless ways in my roller coaster walk with Him. I came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at 22 and was then into the Protestant world in Assembly of God and other non-denomiational churches. I have experienced the Holy Spirit in the miraculous gift of tongues and many other moments when He softened my oft hardened heart.
I have had my back to the wall countless times and He came to my rescue. His grace is amazing. His undeserved favor. I am grateful.
My father died without knowing Him. My mother miraculously came to Him 10 days before her death in my home.
I have been through hardship after hardship and those were sweetened by His provision and love.
When I have failed, He has prevailed. The Word of God is a continual comfort, as in it, I have seen He sees the heart and has mercy on the sinner.
While I love the heart of "Jada's Gigi" I do disagree with her statement that Jesus invalidated the old Covenant. He is called the better Covenant, the fullfillment of the the Law. In Him, our righteousness is not in our keeping of the letter of the Law, but in His righeousness being imputed on us through our faith in His work on the Cross.
He said all the Law can be summed up in loving the Lord our God and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
He saw, in the Old Testament, that humans could not/would not be able to keep the letter of the Law. So He wrote in our hearts, through His Son, the new Law.
He said, without Faith, it is impossible to please Him.
So, herein is this new (to me) concept about usary. Your comment made me look at my own life.
I have a morgage on my present house. I am paying extra each month, to pay it off. Where does my income come from? My efforts? My gift? Who gave me the gift to do hair? Who gives me favor in my community that my book at salon is slammed everyday?
All I have is from Him. He gave me a fabby gift. He gives incredible favor to me. I stay in awe and thank Him continually. And, I pay my bills faithfully each month. I give to my Church. I give to individuals as I believe He directs me.
I believe my life is a product of His kind and loving grace. He is our Father, loving to His children, not willing that any should perish. He is not an angry judge to those who put their faith and trust in Him. He is the Forgiver. As long as I do not believe I am my own salvation.
Your post made me look specifically at an area of my life. I loaned a large ammount of money to my soon-to-be ex-son-in-law. He decided he would pay me 6% interest on the loan. I aggreed. Honestly, I never felt peace about it. I did not know why.
Your post, and the writings of the Catholic Church has shown me why. I am cancelling the interest. He is a lost soul without God. My prayer is that in obeying the Word of the Lord and my Church that his heart will be softened. And more, that my Lord will be pleased.
I have health insurance. My husband cannot be insured from all his bad health problems. We found AmeriPlan, which is a discount health plan, so when he goes to dr, dentist, pharmacy, etc, we get a huge discount. I am grateful for the help. Again, grace.
I do not see that health insurance or any other insurance is usary or not trusting God. First of all, it is mandated by our government. So, we are commanded to obey the laws of the land. It is a system of help. The insurance company hopes they gather more money than they will have to pay out.
When I was in a car accident a couple of years ago, I was broadsided. Believe me, I was thankful for a system of help and mercy. His Word says mercy triumphs over judgement. We paid 18 years of premiums to recieve help in our time of need. Think how many years our premiums helped others in need.
The money changers in the temple were profitting from people who wanted to offer sacrifices of love to the LOrd. They were taking advantage and making money on what was Holy. Jesus is not against money. He is against the worship of it.
He owns the cattle on the hill, He is our riches, He owns all. It is not our riches that keep us from Him, but our worship of it.
I think we have different concepts of God and His grace. I think you have an extremely genuine heart.
I have much issue with the Protestant Reformation and the subsequant dilution of faith. I had no idea that the "reformers" stamped approval on usary.
I plan to do a lot more research on this. I appreciate your comments.
I pray the blessing of God our Father, His Son Jesus, His Holy Spirit and His mother Mary on you.
Thank you, again.
With love, in Him, Hattigrace <><
Jase,
I am so happy to have you in my life. His word is rich, wonderful and living, as He IS the Living Word. Preserved for thousands of years, it is our treasure and guideance.
Thank you for your encouragement and care.
All D has said only makes me want to dig in deeper into my own faith. She has a great heart.
I think you are correct that "invalidates" is an incorrect usage of words rather "completion" is a better term. Asls in that Loving our God and our neighbor as ourselves are the commandments we now live under in His grace. as a BTW....aren't we surprised whan soft answers turn away wrath? :)
I am glad that as a believer I don not have to wake up afraidn I have offended God but that His Son has made a sacrifice for me already
Grace upon grace....
....ps as for the Reformation...Lord what a mess! :)
Faith and God's mercy does not over-ride good deeds, for the Devil too believes but the difference between the believer and the Devil is that believers answer the call to God with "I hear and I obey" whilst the Devil replies, "I hear and I do not obey". I have issues with Christianity which is not my place to go into here, but anybody who relegates their power to obey or disobey onto someone elses' shoulders have turned religion into a spectator event. And that's a mockery against God.
Hattigrace - glad to see you have waived the interest on your loan - that takes an obedient heart. Some good has come of this.
Debbie
XX
We have not corresponded before. I saw belleinthebigapple in the PNJ and started reading that. Then I found your blog through hers and I found Buffy's through you. I would like to add yours and Buffy's blog to my favorites.
I had the same situation with a check I really needed. I prayed, cried and gave my last $3 to a homeless man. I got home and the check was in my mailbox.
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