Good afternoon everybody,
Where do you hear the voice of the Lord best?
In your car? In the shower? On the lake or golf course? Wherever it is, why? Why is it that you hear Him there? I would venture to say it is because you expect to hear Him. You are open, listening.
Do we set aside special days when we listen more, or expect to hear more? Like New Year’s Day maybe, or your birthday? Typically, we spend time examining ourselves too. Where have we been, where are we going?
The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, is the day that God designated to begin a ten day self examination before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I imagine that many Jews, orthodox and Messianic, hear the voice of God clearly during those days.
What do we do when we hear the voice of God inside? Psalm 95 says
7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
So when you hear the Lord, enjoy Him thoroughly. And then, live out what you heard in your heart. He will help you, you can do it!
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Growing
Hello everyone,
I apologize for not sending out words as often. Sometimes I am not hearing the Lord like I should, so if you notice that you are not getting emails, please pray for me. Sometimes family is in town and I am busy with them, but other days I simply have nothing to say. I am not one to ramble anymore. Used to… (-:
We grow up gradually. So gradually that most of us do not notice our children growing each day, but grandparents who don’t see them every day say ‘my, you have grown!’ Doctors always weigh them to make sure they are growing, or else they would be failing to thrive. When they are teenagers, sometimes they grow in spurts. Seems like my son shot from five feet to over six feet overnight. And he is only fourteen!
In the same way, we grow up spiritually. We eat spiritual food, hopefully not junk, and exercise spiritually. We can grow in spurts, and that is good, but the every day growth is much more important. We cannot have a spurt once or twice a year and starve in between, and expect to grow. As my junior high band director used to say, “ten minutes of practice each day beats a hundred once a week”. in the same way, it does more good to the body to eat every day than once a week, and daily fellowship with the Lord is essential for lasting spiritual growth.
Of course, the Father loves His time with us on Sunday, that is part of the reason he created the Sabbath. But it does not replace daily time. First thing in the morning can set your heart and prepare you for the day. Just before you go to bed will get your spirit ready to be instructed in the night. Spirits don’t sleep, we can fellowship with the Lord all night if we invite Him.
So bottom line, Jesus loves spending time with us whenever we choose but we will be better off, healthier spiritually, if we spend time daily with Him.
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
I apologize for not sending out words as often. Sometimes I am not hearing the Lord like I should, so if you notice that you are not getting emails, please pray for me. Sometimes family is in town and I am busy with them, but other days I simply have nothing to say. I am not one to ramble anymore. Used to… (-:
We grow up gradually. So gradually that most of us do not notice our children growing each day, but grandparents who don’t see them every day say ‘my, you have grown!’ Doctors always weigh them to make sure they are growing, or else they would be failing to thrive. When they are teenagers, sometimes they grow in spurts. Seems like my son shot from five feet to over six feet overnight. And he is only fourteen!
In the same way, we grow up spiritually. We eat spiritual food, hopefully not junk, and exercise spiritually. We can grow in spurts, and that is good, but the every day growth is much more important. We cannot have a spurt once or twice a year and starve in between, and expect to grow. As my junior high band director used to say, “ten minutes of practice each day beats a hundred once a week”. in the same way, it does more good to the body to eat every day than once a week, and daily fellowship with the Lord is essential for lasting spiritual growth.
Of course, the Father loves His time with us on Sunday, that is part of the reason he created the Sabbath. But it does not replace daily time. First thing in the morning can set your heart and prepare you for the day. Just before you go to bed will get your spirit ready to be instructed in the night. Spirits don’t sleep, we can fellowship with the Lord all night if we invite Him.
So bottom line, Jesus loves spending time with us whenever we choose but we will be better off, healthier spiritually, if we spend time daily with Him.
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Not a fairly tale
Good evening everyone ,
God is good and His love endures forever!
This age is almost over. Soon (see 1 Corinthians, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation) the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will come back to life and go flying to meet Jesus in the air, then we who are alive will join them in the air! This is not a fairy tale, it is your future! (-:
Just imagine… Flying without an airplane will be the small thrill, JESUS will be with us! Or, we will be with Him. Wow! They lived happily ever after. No end.
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
God is good and His love endures forever!
This age is almost over. Soon (see 1 Corinthians, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation) the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will come back to life and go flying to meet Jesus in the air, then we who are alive will join them in the air! This is not a fairy tale, it is your future! (-:
Just imagine… Flying without an airplane will be the small thrill, JESUS will be with us! Or, we will be with Him. Wow! They lived happily ever after. No end.
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Greater is He
Good afternoon everybody,
Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ!
You know, I have always had a desire to walk in the miraculous power of the Spirit, to see signs and wonders in daily life. And I still want that, but I realized recently, again, that walking in the Spirit is much more than outward signs and wonders. It is , like Romans says, not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. The lust of the flesh can be something you want, but it can also be something you want to do, like spit in someone’s face.
Seriously, no matter how right one is, no matter how mistreated, no matter how justified our flesh is, God has another way. It doesn’t feel good on the outside, and our emotions scream for justice, or at least to be heard. And what they want to say isn’t very pretty. Our Father speaks quietly and patiently, can we hear? Boy, I can’t sometimes. So my loud flesh wins. Then the devil takes his shots and condemns, so now I am guilty and condemned, two things that take me farther from the Lord. To quote Romans again, 4 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord.
My only hope, our only hope, is in Jesus. But He is MORE than enough! Oh thank God for Jesus! He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We don’t deserve it but He extends us mercy. Why? Because, He loves us!
Father, please forgive me for not listening to you. Forgive my hardness of heart and ugliness, forgive me for not considering others as you do. Forgive me for being driven by my sinful flesh. Thank you for your mercy!!!
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ!
You know, I have always had a desire to walk in the miraculous power of the Spirit, to see signs and wonders in daily life. And I still want that, but I realized recently, again, that walking in the Spirit is much more than outward signs and wonders. It is , like Romans says, not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. The lust of the flesh can be something you want, but it can also be something you want to do, like spit in someone’s face.
Seriously, no matter how right one is, no matter how mistreated, no matter how justified our flesh is, God has another way. It doesn’t feel good on the outside, and our emotions scream for justice, or at least to be heard. And what they want to say isn’t very pretty. Our Father speaks quietly and patiently, can we hear? Boy, I can’t sometimes. So my loud flesh wins. Then the devil takes his shots and condemns, so now I am guilty and condemned, two things that take me farther from the Lord. To quote Romans again, 4 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord.
My only hope, our only hope, is in Jesus. But He is MORE than enough! Oh thank God for Jesus! He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We don’t deserve it but He extends us mercy. Why? Because, He loves us!
Father, please forgive me for not listening to you. Forgive my hardness of heart and ugliness, forgive me for not considering others as you do. Forgive me for being driven by my sinful flesh. Thank you for your mercy!!!
I love you all,
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Self Pity
Good afternoon everybody,
Jesus, our Master, the spotless, the strongest spirit that ever existed, said something that was extremely profound. Matthew 16…
21From that time began Jesus to shew to his disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and the third day to rise.
22And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, `Be kind to thyself, sir; this shall not be to thee;' (*greek literal, ‘pity yourself’)
23and he having turned, said to Peter, `Get thee behind me, adversary! thou art a stumbling-block to me, for thou dost not mind the things of God, but the things of men.'
Other translations of 23 say ‘you are a danger to me’. ‘tempting me to sin’. Etc.
What was the danger? What was the temptation? ‘pity yourself’, be kind to thyself. If Jesus could not allow this type of thinking even for a moment, can we? He whirled around and cut Peter off, and said, probably pretty loudly, get behind me Satan! The strongest spirit in history could not tolerate another second of this.
Jesus was already casting down his own thoughts and feelings. He was trying to prepare his disciples so they would know the end and not pity themselves. Peter was allowing the devil speak through him. Jesus was the only person who actually did not deserve any foul treatment, but it He was going to get the worst on all levels, all at the same time.
We are all tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, but according to Jesus, it is sin. A serious sin. One he had to cut off quickly and finally. And if He had to, so do we. How? Say it, get behind me satan, God has been good to me! Then recount about six or eight things He has done for you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Self pity does no good, it is evil. When you play with self pity you are listening to unbelief, selfishness and unthankfulness. You know I am talking to me, too.
So praise the Lord. For He is good, His love endures forever! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, He redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness, and tender mercies. He fills our life with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103) He died so we could live forever, he was bruised for our healing,, He took our chastisement so we could have His peace, and we do! Thanks be to God!! I love you all.
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Jesus, our Master, the spotless, the strongest spirit that ever existed, said something that was extremely profound. Matthew 16…
21From that time began Jesus to shew to his disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and the third day to rise.
22And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, `Be kind to thyself, sir; this shall not be to thee;' (*greek literal, ‘pity yourself’)
23and he having turned, said to Peter, `Get thee behind me, adversary! thou art a stumbling-block to me, for thou dost not mind the things of God, but the things of men.'
Other translations of 23 say ‘you are a danger to me’. ‘tempting me to sin’. Etc.
What was the danger? What was the temptation? ‘pity yourself’, be kind to thyself. If Jesus could not allow this type of thinking even for a moment, can we? He whirled around and cut Peter off, and said, probably pretty loudly, get behind me Satan! The strongest spirit in history could not tolerate another second of this.
Jesus was already casting down his own thoughts and feelings. He was trying to prepare his disciples so they would know the end and not pity themselves. Peter was allowing the devil speak through him. Jesus was the only person who actually did not deserve any foul treatment, but it He was going to get the worst on all levels, all at the same time.
We are all tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, but according to Jesus, it is sin. A serious sin. One he had to cut off quickly and finally. And if He had to, so do we. How? Say it, get behind me satan, God has been good to me! Then recount about six or eight things He has done for you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Self pity does no good, it is evil. When you play with self pity you are listening to unbelief, selfishness and unthankfulness. You know I am talking to me, too.
So praise the Lord. For He is good, His love endures forever! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, He redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness, and tender mercies. He fills our life with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103) He died so we could live forever, he was bruised for our healing,, He took our chastisement so we could have His peace, and we do! Thanks be to God!! I love you all.
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Wait on the Lord
Good afternoon everybody,
Alelu jah! (praise the Lord) ke tov, (He is good), ke lay olam has do (His love endures forever).
I’m sure I spelled it wrong, but this is a Hebrew phrase that the Israelites used often. And if you look it up, it almost always precedes a powerful manifestation of the Lord. Jehoshaphat in battle, the dedication of the Temple are two examples. Wow! Enemies destroy each other without you lifting a sword, the thick and heavy cloud of God’s glory filling the place so full, no one can stand!
What brought God on the scene so powerfully? His beloved dwelling on His faithful, enduring love. See, they didn’t just say it once… They kept saying it. The priests would say ‘alelu jah’ and the crowd would repeat at the top of their voice, then the priests would say the next phrase and the crowd would yell, and so on. Imagine three to four million people, at the top of their lungs, cheering for the Lord. Reports said that the ground shook for miles! Beats the super bowl hands down!
They didn’t just say it five or six times, either. This kind of focusing is what they call waiting on the Lord. Your head may get tired after a few times, but your spirit hasn’t engaged yet. Try setting aside thirty minutes or more, not thinking or saying much but ‘your love endures forever’, just to stay focused. See what the Lord will say or do. He waits until your spirit is quiet to really speak. Well, actually, He is always ready to speak, but we have to get our spirit quiet so we can hear. With our hectic lives, it is very difficult, and it is completely impossible with strife in our hearts. So forgive them even if they don’t deserve it! When you let them go free, you go free.
Anyway as the psalmist says, ‘wait, I say wait, on the Lord.’
I have tried to wait on the Lord, and it is a challenge. But I believe it is worth it. Does anyone have something they would like to share, a personal experience, about waiting on the Lord? I would love to share with others for encouragement.
I love you all,
Praise the Lord!
He is good.
His love endures forever!
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Alelu jah! (praise the Lord) ke tov, (He is good), ke lay olam has do (His love endures forever).
I’m sure I spelled it wrong, but this is a Hebrew phrase that the Israelites used often. And if you look it up, it almost always precedes a powerful manifestation of the Lord. Jehoshaphat in battle, the dedication of the Temple are two examples. Wow! Enemies destroy each other without you lifting a sword, the thick and heavy cloud of God’s glory filling the place so full, no one can stand!
What brought God on the scene so powerfully? His beloved dwelling on His faithful, enduring love. See, they didn’t just say it once… They kept saying it. The priests would say ‘alelu jah’ and the crowd would repeat at the top of their voice, then the priests would say the next phrase and the crowd would yell, and so on. Imagine three to four million people, at the top of their lungs, cheering for the Lord. Reports said that the ground shook for miles! Beats the super bowl hands down!
They didn’t just say it five or six times, either. This kind of focusing is what they call waiting on the Lord. Your head may get tired after a few times, but your spirit hasn’t engaged yet. Try setting aside thirty minutes or more, not thinking or saying much but ‘your love endures forever’, just to stay focused. See what the Lord will say or do. He waits until your spirit is quiet to really speak. Well, actually, He is always ready to speak, but we have to get our spirit quiet so we can hear. With our hectic lives, it is very difficult, and it is completely impossible with strife in our hearts. So forgive them even if they don’t deserve it! When you let them go free, you go free.
Anyway as the psalmist says, ‘wait, I say wait, on the Lord.’
I have tried to wait on the Lord, and it is a challenge. But I believe it is worth it. Does anyone have something they would like to share, a personal experience, about waiting on the Lord? I would love to share with others for encouragement.
I love you all,
Praise the Lord!
He is good.
His love endures forever!
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I Don't Know
Good evening everyone,
Thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Prideful and selfish. God resists them. Humble and thankful, they go together. A broken spirit and contrite heart. Help! Hebrews says harden not your heart. The hardness of our hearts is reflected in our attitudes toward others. How quick do we get angry with others, even if they are ‘total idiots’? oh, Lord. Help us. We are all fools compared to your infinite understanding. Help us to shatter our prideful and selfish hearts. No matter what other selfish prideful people do, or don’t do, to us. Help us be patient with them like you are with us. Ephesians 4:32 be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Tenderhearted. Broken. Shattered is what that word means. Father, we can not do this ourselves. We need your help! We receive by faith a broken spirit. We will not resist you with pride because we can’t bear the thought of you resisting us. We repent and ask for your forgiveness. We thank you for forgiving us. Your mercy endures forever!
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
Thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Prideful and selfish. God resists them. Humble and thankful, they go together. A broken spirit and contrite heart. Help! Hebrews says harden not your heart. The hardness of our hearts is reflected in our attitudes toward others. How quick do we get angry with others, even if they are ‘total idiots’? oh, Lord. Help us. We are all fools compared to your infinite understanding. Help us to shatter our prideful and selfish hearts. No matter what other selfish prideful people do, or don’t do, to us. Help us be patient with them like you are with us. Ephesians 4:32 be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Tenderhearted. Broken. Shattered is what that word means. Father, we can not do this ourselves. We need your help! We receive by faith a broken spirit. We will not resist you with pride because we can’t bear the thought of you resisting us. We repent and ask for your forgiveness. We thank you for forgiving us. Your mercy endures forever!
Healed by His stripes,
Nancy Bass
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