Author: Annette Coffey

“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Leviticus 20:26

What is it to be holy? Declared sacred or consecrated. Devoted to the service of God. Devout and saintly and full of pure love. So if one has asked God to forgive them is that enough? It is really a heart issue. And only God truly knows your heart but you need to want to see your life changed 180 degrees. We don’t want to have fleshly desires any more. We want to have God desires. What would Jesus do? That’s a real good place to start. Does that mean we have to be perfect? Nobody’s perfect and if you are trying to be perfect who are you trying to please. God knows you won’t be perfect but you do need him to help you be as perfect as possible. If you try to do it yourself you will die trying and that is works plus grace which is not why Christ died for you. He died so you could be accepted by God just like he accepts his son. You are a joint heir and the hard work has already been done. We still need to change by spending time with God and in his word. Attending a local Christ based church. Fellowshipping with other Christians regularly. When you start to keep your eyes focused on Jesus and all he has and is doing for you and living a grateful life, thankful life you will feel so much peace and love. It just feels so much different when you aren’t struggling to be perfect but taking each day as it comes and rejoicing in each moment with him. This did not come for me till I was already 60 but when I started getting it, it came fast and God just kept giving me new revelations every day. Thankfulness was the biggest change and every day I thought of new things I was thankful for. Now I find myself saying thank you a whole lot. God is always doing stuff for his children and he has done so much for us already and even if he doesn’t answer my prayers exactly how I want and when I want that’s ok. His ways are so much better than mine anyway. I seen more all the time.

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God, nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21-22

I have the opportunity where I live to hear people speak their mind. And so many things they say are so sad and wrong. Not just wrong in my eyes but in Gods. People really do understand that there is a creator and they use words like hallelujah, or thank God, or you,re blessed. But they don’t really understand what they’re saying. People spend a lot of time and money to get smarter and have the credentials to prove it. But the smarter they get the less truth they actually know. Considering what professors are teaching them as truth, which is a bunch of false truths. It is no wonder. My granddaughter just started college this last fall and I know the things she will face and I am so concerned and pray that her strong upbringing will stay strong. Just the curriculum of education now days is so distorted and even some teachers don’t believe it but they are paid to teach it. So is it any wonder that college students who believed in God don’t end up continuing to believe because they believe college professors are right. Staying strong with God takes work to keep the fire burning, even for a strong Christian. Reading the word of God, studying it, memorizing it, and putting it to use. Fellowship with other strong Christians. We are stronger together and God is for us so whoever is against us can’t prevail against us. People who put their trust in anything but God will not have the strength they need to stand in the world today. So, do not trust in your education, your job, your friends, your money or your lovers. They may not even be on your side like only God can be. You can appreciate people and stand strong with them and support them. But remember to always seek God first and encourage them to do the same.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

The Lord is always working on behalf of his children. There are so many things he is doing that we don’t see. This life can be so exciting because it isn’t necessarily just what we can see. We also have a spiritual world and it is very busy. The more we spend time with the Lord the more we discover. When you know him and his ways and promises you have so much more power to face this life. What works and what doesn’t work and how to have an abundant life. I know personally I can’t get enough. The more I know the more prepared and equipped I am to do things well. I pray more and more all the time because all prayers are answered but so many times it’s a miracle that comes and that’s exciting. You’ve heard you don’t get what you don’t ask for. That is so true and I have seen God do some amazing things that I didn’t even think could happen and now I can pray bold prayers believing. God doesn’t always answer the way we would ask but he knows better and has a better plan than we do. The more we open ourselves to God’s ways, the more we are open for the impossible because nothing is impossible with God. When you stop expecting and just let God surprise you, you will watch amazing things start to happen. I love to read what people have to say about God and what he is doing in this world. Some pretty amazing and exciting stuff is going on around us and we don’t even know half of it. People just don’t know what they are missing out on by focusing on the world around them.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

I have so many people around me who have believed lies and untruths about the Lord and I’m always wondering what I would tell them if the opportunity arose. God says we should always know the hope we have and why we believe. But the biggest reason is that I know things that they may never know because I have seen and felt Gods goodness. I think of it like anything I’ve learned to love. I love good food. I think food can be an amazing experience. Like a juicy fresh strawberry or pineapple. I remember the first time I tried crab legs soaked in hot butter. They were sooo good. Well God made all of that for us to enjoy because nothing is too good for his children. He is so much better than everything. I grew up going to church every time the doors were open and I learned all the Bible stories and I lived a great life. But I didn’t really think about God much. It wasn’t till I wanted more and decided to go all in and search for more that I started to learn more. God had taught me a lot but I was still eating baby food. Baby food is somewhat bland. I started praying every day about everything that affected my life. I started reading all I could about God. I began going to church every week and got to know some great people. I would sit and listen to praise music all morning and listen to what others had to say about God. As I started to immerse myself in him he began teaching me things. The more you pray the more miracles you will see. And the more I saw the more I prayed for others and everything I might feel I needed. It was all giving more flavors of God. Now I’m getting new revelations every day and I know that my God is amazing me and blowing me away so much all the time. I couldn’t imagine not having God in my life every minute. I can’t take my eyes off of him. He is so exciting in some amazing things he has done. People love fantasy and make believe because we wish there was more to life. Well there is but their eyes are blinded by pride, greed, and evil. They keep their eyes focused on all that isn’t good and away from all that is good. I can see why they are jaded. I have never felt happier, and my life in a nursing home is not much. Every day is exciting with God. Have you ever fallen in love? Nobody is perfect and they have flaws, but butterflies flutter in your stomach and every day brings so much happiness. Gods kind of love will never let us down and there is so much more every day. So take a taste and see.

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still’, then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” Mark 4:39

God is the one who created everything and he has control over everything. every day dawn comes to a brand new day and the sun sets every day when it is time to rest up for another brand new day. The thing about brand new days is that we can always have a do over. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make changes or ask for forgiveness so you can go for a better life. Tides come in and tides go out. Winds blowing keep the weather changing at the proper time bringing rain or snow when needed. God is so good and he knows just what we need. The animals don’t worry, they know their next meal will be provided. Everyone has bumps in their road and everyone’s bumps are different but God is more than able to smooth the road. It brings so much peace to let God be God and trust him. We don’t have control even if we like to think we do. What will be, will be. We can do all we can to do all that we can to cooperate with the God who is in charge. We do our part by keeping his commandments and always praying and seeking wisdom we can keep the bumps to a minimum. There are always rocks in the road but we need to keep our eyes, not on the rocks but on the one who knows the beginning and the end of the road. And one day God is going to say, ‘Son it’s time for you to go get your bride.!” And there will be no more rocks, forever. Amen

“because the Lord disciplines those he loves. as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs 3:12

Nobody likes to be disciplined but we all want to grow. To learn new truths and overcome problems and make a difference with our lives on this earth. But have you ever grown much while things are good and comfy? No! But after you have overcome a problem in your life, and seen how God was working all along you become more trusting. We all need to be able to trust God to do what he does best. When we do we can rest in the comfort of knowing that it’s not us who gets things done. He is always working in the lives of those that love him and are called to his purposes. This world is broken and Satan is always trying to get our eyes off of God and on our problems and what may happen. Of course most problems we worry about will never happen but in the meantime he has us so upset and worried. I used to always worry about death and pain, things I couldn’t control. But when I had my stroke and almost died I was in such peace. I am his and he was just working my life for the better. Since then my life has changed so much and I have such peace. I used to worry about having my needs met even though I made good money. Now that I have no income God has abundantly provided all of my needs and I always have money to give to the church and I always have an over abundance of stuff that I have to give away because I have only so much space where I live. I have learned that always praying first when I worry and spending more time praying for others in my life keeps my life rocking smoothly. God is always taking care of me and my concerns before they even show up because he loves me just like I am his little princess, and I am.