Hosea 6:6-7
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings, like Adam they have broken covenant- they were unfaithful to me there.






We were created for noble purposes. Foremost, to love and serve an incredible faithful God! We were not made in the image of this God to be less than powerfully creative and full of His love. I am convinced that our potential is beyond our human thinking, but that’s just it! We need to be thinking and acting upon the thoughts of God! I believe we are seated positionally in Heavenly places. Christ bought this position for us on the cross. Lets begin walking in our greatest potential possible here on earth.

The conflict arises as we walk here on earth. We are in a human body but we house a supernatural God, who is continually at work in us. People who do not acknowledge our God surround us everyday of our lives. Unholy media everywhere bombards us. Hence, the conflict I spoke of in the beginning of this paragraph. A supernatural, holy God housed in a human body living on earth. Wow!

How do we stay faithful to God? God was telling them how through the prophet, but
I wonder if the children of Israel ever really listened to his Father’s heart. They certainly were having issues with being faithful. I would like to look at some of the dialogue out of Hosea. It is so apropos for this generation.

Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge against you who live in the land; there is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land.

Hosea continues with the account of the Israelites wrong doings, their unfaithful deeds. He then says in verse 6 that my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Now lets keep in mind that this is Father God speaking his heart through the prophet Hosea. Do you hear the Father’s concern for as He puts it “my people”.

There is much more dialogue of God’s rejection of the priests and the judgments against Israel. I believe that even through these judgments God was acting in love. He cannot go against His nature. He is love. Comparatively we discipline our children for their good and well-being, God had to bring a stop to the chaos that was going on in that day. A spirit of prostitution was leading them astray; they were unfaithful to their God. A people without understanding will come to ruin and God loved them and us too much to allow this to continue.

When you continue to read on in Hosea you will see again and again the Father’s heart of love. He is so relational that He calls us over and over to come back to our first love. This love is beautiful, holy, perfect and fulfills us completely. We were not created to prostitute ourselves and carry the shame of unfaithfulness!


Hosea 6:1-3
Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; He has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his presence.
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

His plea to unfaithful man is simply to return to Him. He will then bind up our wounds that we received through joining ourselves with the enemy. You see the enemy of our souls leads us astray. The enemy lures us into situations, habits, and relationships that appear harmless on the surface. This could be a slightly unethical business deal or just spending too much time on the computer. Anything that distracts, preoccupies you and takes away your interests in the lover of your soul has the potential to become spiritual adultery. We are left feeling empty and discontent. Our Father who created us in His image knows exactly how to restore us and bind up our wounds.

God loves us so much and this book (Hosea) beautifully portrays His heart for us. He speaks of fathering Israel and Ephraim. He says that He took Ephraim by the arms and taught them to walk. He says I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them.

Hosea 11:8
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over Israel? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.

He is faithful Father! He will not give up on his children!

In the beginning of this dissertation I wrote that Israel had broken covenant like Adam. I say not just Israel, but mankind has broken covenant with God. We were in need of a mediator who would go before God and plead our case. This came through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This brought us into fellowship once again with God and into a new and better covenant.

Hebrews 9:15
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

So, the invitation is the same under the old or new covenant.
Return to the LORD!

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.



LOVE is the greatest gift!

It cannot be extinguished when once given by the Father of lights. He gives perfect gifts. The love of the Father once experienced cannot be satisfied from any other source fully. His love is complete. It is completely good! It fills every crevice of your heart and soul. It leaves you feeling very satisfied, but also desiring more of His encounters.

In my humanity I do my best to love my husband, children, grandchildren, parents and friends, but I guarantee you I fall short. Why? My love is imperfect apart from Christ mingling his love with mine.

I struggle to love unconditionally. I believe knowing how to love is a learned behavior. Our parents modeled for us how to give and receive love. This may have been a good model or a poor one. Unfortunately we cannot choose who parents us. This is where problems arise especially in a marriage relationship. One person may come from a very loving and giving home whereas the other one may have been raised with little or no outward affection. I am not a psychologist, but I can sure see where that would cause issues.

When we come into the Kingdom of Love, we have a new model to follow. It is a perfect one. We learn how to love by reading about Jesus’ relationship with his Father. We also observe his interaction with his disciples and with sinners as a guide. He always operated from the position of complete and perfect love.

When we were children we modeled our parents love. Now as children of God we model our Father’s and our Savior’s love. So, how do we do this? Simply stated, we practice what we see happening in the word of God. Also, we have the Holy Spirit living in us giving us divine help. We are not alone.

John 16:7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.

John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own (authority) but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Jesus does not leave us alone with only his good example to follow. We have the very spirit of Jesus living inside of us. So, how do we utilize this power of the Holy Spirit?
I believe the very first step is to completely surrender to Him. We do this upon our conversion, but it is an ongoing process.

Lets look at these examples. I might say:

“I cannot do this on my own anymore, I need your help Holy Spirit. I surrender my will to your beautiful plan for me.”

“I cannot love my co-worker because she is constantly nit-picking and badgering me. I surrender this to you and ask for your divine intervention.”

“I cannot love my husband because he is constantly doubting me and questioning my ability to run our household. I surrender my bad feelings towards him, and I ask Holy Spirit for you to give me your heart for my husband.”

We need the Father’s way of loving people. The Father’s love is perfect and His love strengthens those who encounter it. This love is never fake or dishonest. It is true, right, and always good. It will change you as you surrender your will to His. My prayer for many years has been to be perfected in His love. I ask for this, because I am so deficient in perfect love. There is an amazing thing that happens as we begin to surrender, and also as we pray for that person we are struggling to love. Father begins to show us this person through His eyes of complete and perfect love. It changes your heart. Father may give you insight into why this person is so hard to love. When you experience this kind of encounter you go away a little more perfected in His love.

This is such a beautiful process of exchanging our humanity with his divine nature!

I said earlier that it is not a fake expression of love. Why? Because we have been supernaturally touched and our heart is made more tender towards the one who has offended us. Something truly has changed and we know it deep inside. If only the whole world could love this way, how different things would be. The love of the Father satisfies us deep within. As we are continually filled with his love our strivings cease. I am no longer demanding selfishly. I no longer desire things that I cannot have.

The bible makes a clear distinction between the acts of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:19-21
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control

I would very much prefer the fruit of the Spirit operating in and through me. This is not a pie in the sky doctrine or dream. This can be your life surrendered to Jesus. He wants to meet you and fill you completely with His love!

Romans 5:5
The Love of God has been shed abroad in my heart.

This gives me an inner strength. I am filled to overflowing with your immeasurable love and power to finish all that has been ordained for me to do. I walk in incredible peace and assurance because of who I am in Christ. This assurance comes through love and grace. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It’s His strength that compels me to greatness. I have pondered over the years, and remain somewhat perplexed over the mystery of Christ’s strength being perfected in me despite my humanness. Yes, it is the Holy Spirit inside of me giving me that nudge to push on a little more. He does not let me stay in my frailty of mind for long. He says to me, “You can do better than this” “Don’t you want more”? He compels me to greatness. I am being perfected day by day. I haven’t attained perfection, but it’s the greatness of God inside of me that will not let me settle for just “ok”. I am so glad of that! We are made in the image of GOD! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all part of who I am. Wow! That would explain the insatiable desire to be someone, to make my mark in this life, to leave a legacy of the greatness of God in all that I do.

There will be amazing adventures in our lives and we will truly shine. We will see people touched by the power of God through repentance and a glorious salvation. We will see people miraculously healed and restored to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. I love this kind of display of the Kingdom of God! This power and potential is in every child of God whether it’s actively at work or not.

There are the mundane acts of life that make up the majority of our time here on earth. I believe we are to shine in these as well.

I remember the twenty-five years of raising our beautiful children. The innumerable meals that were planned and prepared, and the endless piles of laundry! There were always many tasks to do in a day. I also recall having children in all three levels of school at the same time. So much fun! I am not being sarcastic when I say that. It was a delight to serve them! That was great kingdom stuff! How fast those days came and went. I could have never successfully managed a household, loved my husband unconditionally and trained and modeled Christ’s love apart from the strength that only comes through the grace of God.

Our perfectly good, loving heavenly Father equips us with everything we need for this great life. He does not require of us what we do not have, but empowers us with his grace to do the extraordinary and mundane things of life. He is faithful Father in all areas of our lives.
There are some things you just can’t explain. I think grace is one of those mysteries. I can’t explain to you how it works, but I know from experience that it is so real!

The Little Jesus in the Tabernacle is the vivid picture I had of my Savior when I was a child.










I was raised in a Catholic family who were very dedicated to their beliefs. It was not just a religion to them; it was their strong beliefs in a true God. This was passed on to me at a very early age, and I will forever be thankful to my parents for this upbringing. We were always in church on Sundays, no excuses unless of course we were sick. I also attended parochial school and had the added benefits of mass on Fridays.

I loved the quiet, peaceful times in our beautiful sanctuary. We would enter very quietly, there was not any talking being done unless in a very low tone. This was a place of holiness and worship and we knew it very early on in our lives. This brought great comfort and peace to me as a child. I remember it so vividly and even today it floods me with a sense of all is well. There was a holiness that emanated from the sanctuary and also the grounds of the church. This was the beginning of an amazing truth; it’s called the fear of the LORD. I would say that this is probably the one priceless lesson you can learn and teach your own children.

Proverbs 1:7-9
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck.

Somehow I knew this truth at a very early age. I was a compliant child who desired to please all who were in authority over me. This included wanting to please this God that I sensed in that holy place of his sanctuary. I just didn’t know how to get to him. He was there but somehow out of my reach. I was drawn to this incense saturated peaceful place, because it brought solace to me. My spirit was being drawn by a gracious; sweet Father who loved me before I ever knew how to love him back.

There was a portion of the mass that intrigued me so. The priest would walk over to the tabernacle to retrieve the communion elements. The tabernacle is an ornate cabinet that held the communion wafers and the chalice of wine. The priest is the only one who goes into this holy tabernacle. This was definitely a mystery to my young mind and imagination

I vividly imagined a little Jesus sitting inside of this tabernacle. He looked frail and all alone. Sitting with his back to the Tabernacle with his legs drawn up to his chest. I knew He wanted so badly to interact with someone. My child’s heart ached to catch a glimpse of this little Jesus and to talk to him.

Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them


This little Jesus has chosen to tabernacle with me!

Many years later I learned how to talk to Jesus directly. It was an amazing revelation to me that brought much freedom and joy! This was the genesis of my getting to know Jesus personally. It took many years for that little child to accept the grace of God. Now I walk in this amazing grace and feel completely accepted in the Beloved. This little Jesus has chosen to tabernacle with me! He wants to abide and make his home inside of me. I appreciate my Catholic heritage. It will always hold a precious place in my heart, because it was the foundation of all I believe today.

I know that this little Jesus was at work in my childhood imaginations drawing me to him!

Acts 27:25
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.


Praying, Petitioning, and Intercession:
Last week was filled with all three of these! You pray, petition, and intercede when you need a situation changed. It is not those times of status quo, when your life is going along without hindrance. It is when you are desperate for breakthrough! There will be times in your lives where intense prayer is warranted.

Praying is talking to God plain and simply. I do this on a daily basis; it is a privilege of the child of God to have this resource. For me it is an on going conversation, including him in my everyday activities. I want to know what he thinks of the many things that I am doing. It is what the Apostle Paul referred to as “praying without ceasing” This is completely relational. Talking to God.

Petitioning, Yes, I do this often! We petition for all kinds of things. There are always pressing issues, for instance provisions of all kinds, employment needs, healing, relational issues, etc. I am certain we could all come up with at least ten items to petition the Father about right now. This again is a great privilege of the child of God. I am reminded in Philippians to put away anxiety and to bring all our prayers and petitions with thanksgiving before God.

Intercession is quite different. It is a passionate cry to God on behalf of someone else.
There typically is a sense of urgency in this prayer. It is deep crying unto deep; a fervent cry for divine intervention.

Romans 8:26-27
In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

We can’t mess this one up. We are interceding and the very Spirit of God is interceding on our behalf in agreement with the will of God! What a perfect prayer!

There is what we older saints call having a burden. You feel a particular situation is pressing in on you. It’s not an oppressive feeling, but a strong call to pray. Soon after I was born again we began attending a very small Four Square church in Tucumcari New Mexico. The older ladies in the church could really pray. I went to a couple of these prayer meetings. I was so young and having been raised Catholic, I was very eager to learn how to pray.

They had a term praying through. They would pray until the release came, or the burden lifted. This didn’t mean the situation was resolved in the natural, but they were certain they had resolved it in the spiritual realm.
I have definitely experienced this in intercession. I know when I breakthrough in intercession because a release happens and you know something profound is going to happen in regards to what you just prayed.
God gives the assurance it is done!

So, what do you do now?
You rest knowing it is done. I call it “the knowing” It is a supernatural place of peace and complete trust. That is such an amazing feeling. The one thing I can compare it to is being in intense physical pain and then being given a drug that completely nullifies your pain. It is euphoric and intensely gratifying to know that you have gone to bat for someone and have pressed through.

Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said, “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”


It is very simple:
We talk to God about our lives and the people in our lives.
We ask for specific things.
We at times become very burdened for someone, something, a people group, an injustice in the world etc.
We selflessly pray until we feel God’s presence and his peace.
We enter the rest of God, which is complete trust and faith that God says, “It is done!”

A beautiful morning Holy Spirit spend it with me

I repent for spending far too much time watching chick flicks. When in my quiet time all I can meditate on, or all that comes to mind for meditation is lines from “You’ve got mail.” I have a serious problem, but not to serious for the LORD to straighten out.
So, on this beautiful spring Albuquerque morning Holy Spirit and I worked it out. He washed over me with the word of God that cleanses my conscience. He filled me with his favor and acceptance and I go on.

I asked Holy Spirit to speak the mysteries of the Kingdom to me. I yearn to know them.

Romans 14:17-18
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

I set there pondering what this scripture actually means. I don’t know about you, but the Kingdom of God fascinates me and I am equally perplexed by it. Whenever I read the parables that Jesus taught on the Kingdom, I always am left going what? What is he really saying? Yet, I can’t seem to get away from them lately. I am convinced they have valuable undisclosed instructions for all of us.

So, I am going to try and break this down. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking. Paul was dealing with the food restrictions written in the Law of Moses. He was trying to clarify that these restrictions and laws are not applicable in the New Covenant. He goes on to say clearly what the Kingdom is in relation to: righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17
The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Righteousness comes only through relationship with Jesus Christ. We all know the definition as it pertains to being born again. We come into right standing with God through the blood sacrifice of Jesus his Son.

Lets look at how it applies to us being righteous. I think it simply means for us to do the right thing. Daniel had a specific word for King Nebuchadnezzar about righteousness. I really liked how he phrased it.

Daniel 4:27
Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.

We who are part of the Body of Christ should be regularly aware of the needs of others in the Kingdom and also in the world. This will come easily to us as we are in Christ and are taking on more of the LORD’s character daily. The additional time we spend in His Presence will produce more acts of kindness. The fruit of His Spirit will begin to manifest in our actions toward others.

Romans 14:17
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit

The kingdom is about peace. I treasure this particular fruit more than any other one. To live without peace is a life filled with turmoil, and unrest. I was unsettled and filled with confusion before Christ filled me with his peace.

Luke 1:78-79
Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.

I was one of those people living in darkness and in the shadow of death! God came with tenderness and mercy and guided my feet into the path of peace! To live without yelling and strife is so amazing. After I came into Christ it took me several years to develop a peaceful and quiet spirit. I voiced this prayer frequently to God to give me a gentle and quiet spirit. Most often now people remark that our house is a house of peace. To live in the Kingdom of God is to live a life filled with peace!

Romans 14:17
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit

The Kingdom of God is Joy in the Holy Spirit. To have joy is pleasant, and agreeable, delighting in something or someone. Joy is an overall sentiment that all is well. Where do we derive our joy?

Psalm 16:11
You will make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your Presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Spending quality time with the LORD brings many benefits to the child of God. Joy is one of them. We discover the pathway of life. God’s plan and desires for us. We begin to see ourselves as God sees us! This my friend brings great inexplicable joy. We are filled to overflowing with his Presence, his purposes, and his JOY!

Luke 2:10
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Father I welcome Holy Spirit to lead me to the living word that is relevant for me today.

Hosea 6:3
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the spring rains, Like the spring rains that water the earth.

This is what I heard the Spirit whisper to me. Think on this; do not leave it so quickly. Ponder and consider what I am saying to you.

What does it mean to acknowledge the LORD? The definitions of acknowledge are: to admit the existence, reality or truth of, to recognize as being valid or having force or power.

I admit there is a God. I am acquainted with his reality and power in my life. Holy Spirit was urging me to press into God’s existence. I recognize that He is at work in and through me. The beautiful promise to me, if I choose to do this, is that He will appear. He will come to me and refresh me like the rains in spring. The sun raises everyday that is a certainty. Likewise the LORD’s daily communion with me is assured. The word also says that the LORD’s presence is as predictable as the seasons.

We can always count on Him. Do not fret lean into his Presence. Make yourself available to Him. I have asked the LORD at night before I go to sleep, “Wake me up later, so that we can talk.” One other thing I have begun asking him for is dreams and visions. He will not disappoint you.

Hosea 10:12-14
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people so that all your fortresses will be devastated.

God is calling us to righteousness, to actually sow righteousness. Plainly put, He is telling us to live morally. Upholding His standards that are found in His Word. By analogy God is teaching us to live relationally with Him. He is saying, “Don’t harden your hearts. Allow yourselves to be cultivated.” A heart that is soft is teachable and open to hear. When we humble ourselves through repentance, we also are breaking up the fallow ground.

I hear urgency in this cry it is time to seek the LORD! Don’t lay it aside for something to do later in life. He is waiting with mysteries and wisdom to impart to you! We are under New Covenant law. God does not respond to us in the same way He did to unfaithful Israel.

Yea Jesus!

We are living in an age of grace, but this is not a license to forsake our first love and do as we please. There is a cost for doing as we please. One of the first things I notice, is my strength is gone. Strength is linked to faith. When I forsake my quiet times I am weakened considerably in how I stand. Secondly, my quietness of mind and heart are altered. When I am troubled over many things, my mind seems to be pulled in many directions. This is the perfect ground for deception as it reads in the above verse.

We cannot walk this walk alone! God made us relational. We were created for fellowship with our Creator!

John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

That is a strong statement and narrow in its application. But I believe it!

God created us with a free will, but He likewise created us to be dependent on Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He wants to be a vital part of your life. Consider who He is: Creator God, the God of the Universe. He brings with him love that abounds, fullness of riches, all wisdom and understanding, and the mysteries of Christ revealed! Wow! These are good things.