Are you waiting? The door is slowly opening… Do you see the faint sliver of light? Do you feel that quiver of expectation and hope stirring in your spirit? Praise Him in the waiting…praise Him in the doing…praise Him in the resting! PRAISE HIM BELOVED!! HE IS OUR GOD AND HE IS WORTHY!!!!!
I hear the Lord saying:
“I am looking for people who will put aside everything and follow Me. I am looking for people who will wholeheartedly seek after Me. I am looking for people who are willing to lay aside their plans for their lives and seek My plans. I am looking for people who will lay aside their insecurities and step out in faith into their calling and purpose.”
Are you one of those people?
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26 NIV)
Lord, we know that Your plan for our lives is better than our own. Help us to let go of what WE think is best and step out in faith and follow You and Your will. We desire Your spiritual gifts to be manifested in and through us for Your glory! We desire to walk in Your calling! We put aside those things that would hold us back from being all that You are calling us to be! We love You, Lord!
Following after Him, Tina Roach
“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
During this time of uncertainty and wondering who to listen to in the flow of changing information that comes across our hearing or reading, we need to remind ourselves that the word of God can be trusted. The word of God does not contradict itself. It is not dependent upon external circumstances going on around us. As a matter of fact, we can navigate the changing landscape of our lives by taking God’s word and applying it to our lives.
“All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16) It is Truth and it is Eternal!! In the coming days, may we breathe in God’s Truth and may we walk out that Truth in strength and love!!
Lord, thank You for being our Rock on which we stand! Thank You for Your faithfulness in good times and bad! Thank You for Your word that gives us understanding and revelation of who You are and who we are as Your sons and daughters! We trust Your word…we trust Your promises…we trust YOU, O God!! Amen!
Breathing in God’s Truth, Tina K. Roach
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
As time goes on, I observe my hair turning gray and wrinkles appearing deeper and more pronounced. My eyesight has dimmed and my body has changed. Yes, outwardly there is a “wasting away.” Time does indeed affect our physical bodies.
BUT, we are told to not “lose heart” – to not get discouraged. Even as our physical bodies may let us down, our spirit is not getting weaker, it is getting stronger as we are being renewed day by day! Hallelujah!!
As we go through challenges and troubles, the Lord reminds us that in and through them we are receiving an eternal glory that outweighs them all!
So, I won’t focus on the changes of getting older. I won’t focus on COVID-19. I won’t focus on all the turmoil that is raging around us. I will remind myself that all that I see is temporary.
Brothers & Sisters! May we not focus on the problems, but focus on the SOLUTIONS. When we pray, may we not bring a list of everything that is wrong to the Lord, but may we seek His vision, plan, and purpose and join Him in praying that!! God knows what we need in our lives. God knows what we need in the world. As we seek Him, and move our focus from the seen to that which is unseen – we will be focusing on the eternal!!
Oh God!! We join You in speaking Your will, plan, and vision for our lives, our church, and our world. Help us, Lord, to get our eyes off of the problems and onto YOU! We join You in the midst of it all! We want to be a part of the solution that You want to bring to a hurting world. Speak to us, Lord! We are ready to be Your hands, feet, and mouth. Pour through us and touch this world for Your glory! In Jesus’ Name. Amen! ~Tina K. Roach
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV
How can we continue to be at peace in our lives with so much going on? One way that God will keep us in perfect peace is if we will have our minds “stayed” on Him. As we all continue to abide by the “stay at home” directive during this COVID-19 quarantine, we see that as our bodies stay at home – our minds should be stayed on the Lord!
We may be constricted in our movements right now…but our minds are not! We should not let our minds be constricted with all of the fears, predictions, and negativity going on around us. We are to keep our minds focused on the Lord!
And why do we choose to keep our minds stayed/focused on the Lord? Because we trust in Him! The Lord is faithful and loving. He is above every disease, every virus, every problem, every challenge. He already knows the answer and solution to every question we have. He will never leave or forsake us. He is our everlasting rock on which we can stand with both feet planted and know that we are safe. The “storm” may rage around us…but we are held on a firm foundation! HALLELUJAH!!
TRUST IN THE LORD FOREVER! KEEP YOUR MIND STAYED ON HIM! BE IN HIS PERFECT PEACE!
May the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
2 Thessalonians 3:16 NASB
~Tina K. Roach
“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
I am so thankful that I am not expected to display the fruit of the Spirit in my life through my own strength and ability! When I try to “live right” many times I come up short. But, as I draw closer to the Lord and seek the Holy Spirit to manifest HIS fruit in and through me – I discover that the fruit of the Spirit becomes more evident in my life.
I know that most of you have heard the saying “Bloom where you are planted.” I was thinking about this today. Brothers and Sisters, we are planted in a very unique place right now. We are planted in the “garden of quarantine.” We are being instructed to restrict ourselves to a stay-at-home environment.
I would say to you, Brothers and Sisters, that we have been placed in a very special kind of home/house. I believe that many of us find ourselves in a “hothouse.”
I was thinking about what a hothouse is in gardening. But, as I began looking up definitions – I saw meanings that went beyond a greenhouse definition and really related to the times we find ourselves in.
A couple of definitions I discovered were:
1). an environment that encourages rapid development 2). an environment where there is great pressure
I would definitely say we are living in a “hothouse” type of environment! Are you feeling “great pressure” as we continue to live in this time of isolation?
I believe the Lord is using this time to “encourage rapid development” in our spiritual lives. It is a time of diving in deeper into the things of the LORD! We need to ramp up our prayer lives; immerse ourselves in our Bible study; and let worship infiltrate into all areas.
I am reminded of Acts 17:28
“For in him we live and move and have our being…”
Dearest LORD, as we continue to make this journey with each other and more importantly – with YOU – I pray that You will use these times of great pressure to develop in us a deeper capacity to bear greater fruit in the world. We desire to bloom during this time and not wither. We thank You for all that You are doing in us and through us for Your glory! Our deepest desire is to truly LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING IN YOU!! Amen and Amen!
~Tina K. Roach
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB
I woke up on Palm Sunday feeling at odds because I was not getting ready to attend church on this special day. As a matter of fact, it was supposed to be the day of our Easter Cantata. But, due to the quarantine/stay-at-home, we were unable to follow through in leading this worship experience.
I know that once this separation is over, we will not only pick up where we left off, but we will pick up NEW ways to “stimulate one another to love and good deeds….and encouraging one another.” We already have found ways that maybe we weren’t doing before as a Church or individually. I would say that Church, as we know it, is being transformed!!
We have also discovered that even though we have been unable to assemble together in our church building – we have NOT forsaken our “assembling together.” Through phone calls, email, texts, and social media – we HAVE stayed connected!! Hallelujah!
In and through it all –
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful!!”
GOD IS FAITHFUL!!
Your Sister on the journey,
Tina Roach
GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE. PSALM 46:1
How are you today, Beloved of God? I know at times it seems like we are fighting a battle that we can’t win. And truthfully, we can’t win this battle in our own strength. But, God can and will!! I know that God’s Hand is upon many that are walking in discernment and wisdom as each day brings new accomplishments and new discoveries. GOD IS PRESENT AND WORKING IN AND THROUGH HIS PEOPLE!!
As the days and weeks continue on with us staying at home as much as possible, it’s very easy to feel isolated and cut off from life around us. But, there is still much we can do to stay involved, active, and connected to others.
What a blessing it was for me to call a group of church members to talk and pray with them! Who can you reach out to today…NOW…to support with your love and time?
I know that when I find myself feeling down and focusing on everything that I don’t like – it becomes a downward spiral of negativity that can worsen very quickly. BUT! If I consciously make a choice to reach out and serve and minister to another – that downward spiral becomes an upward wind that takes me to a higher place in the Lord!
Ahhh Brothers and Sisters!! If you are feeling like you are stuck in a stagnant pool of muddy water, begin to FLOW outward by connecting with the Lord and with others. And as we FLOW WITH THE LORD, we will see that RIVERS OF LIVING WATER will begin to flow from us. [John 7:38]
Everything that we do and say in the coming days should flow from a place of refuge and strength in the Lord. Are Rivers of Living Water flowing in and through our actions and speech? Or are the waters muddied?
Father God, thank You for being our refuge, our strength, and our help each and every day! LORD, we don’t want to be stuck in a stagnant, muddy pool of negativity, doubt, and hopelessness. May the Wind of Your Holy Spirit blow across our lives and position us to be carried along on YOUR River of Life! LORD, release rivers of Living Water within us and increase the flow to those around us! We want to FLOW WITH YOU!! In Jesus’ Name we pray…AMEN!
“…let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NASB
I would say that we are definitely in a time of need! God loves us so much. He doesn’t expect us to make this journey alone. He tells us exactly what we are to do during these challenging times.
We are to DRAW NEAR! As we faithfully follow the social-distancing guidelines, it is imperative that we remember that it is not a time to distance ourselves from the Lord. He invites us into His “personal space!” He won’t back off and say, “Whoa! Too close!” No, as we begin to step closer and closer – I see Him smile, and with a soft, loving look He whispers, “Closer…”
We are to draw near with CONFIDENCE! Some translations say with BOLDNESS. We are to come before the throne with the assurance of who we are in Christ Jesus and who God is. We are “dressed for the occasion!”
“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 NASB
Ahhh, Brothers & Sisters! He is inviting us to His throne to receive mercy and grace during our time of need. Are you ready to join me there?
Dearest LORD, such love You have for us! Even as we struggle daily with new boundaries of quarantine and social-distancing…YOU are with us every moment of every day. May we take this time of forced separation and see the blessing in it – more time with You…more time with family…more time to evaluate our priorities. We aren’t happy in the circumstances that we face, LORD. But we do rejoice because YOU are with us!! We exalt and honor You each day – in quarantine or out. Blessed be Your most holy name!
~Tina K. Roach
Reflection of Glory! 