Effie Darlene Barba

Psalm 119: ³⁵ Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

³⁶ Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

³⁷ Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

I hope that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend.  I must say my joy has been overflowing with the grand opportunity that I had to spend the holiday with my son and his fiance.  God has so blessed me as I see evident in the lives of my children.  There is no greater joy for a mother than to watch their children grow in faith and flourish in their lives with God as their guide.  As we now enter into the Christmas season, I know that there may be many who feel caught in the wilderness of this life.  We listen to all the debates about the financial crisis that the country is in.  Many of you may be living in fear of your own financial situation.  This is made even more evident as some feel pressured to buy gifts beyond their means in order to "not let anyone know that their finances are crashing around them."  Much like our government, they are borrowing beyond their means–part of what has started the crisis that we find ourselves in.  But there is a much greater crisis lying at the heart of it all, that is the wilderness of our own hearts.  It begins with broken relationships that begin with a covetous heart. First and foremost is the broken relationship with God as we like Adam desire and seek after the counterfeit joys of this world and ignore the only true source of joy that is found in God, Himself.   We live in a world of broken relationships that begin with the words, "I deserve better, I want more, I will have more at any cost."   We are broken people and we need a savior–that is the good news which we must follow if there is to be any hope.  Christ came down from heaven to reach out to us in the very wilderness of our souls so as to offer a means of reconciliation with God.  He paid the price for our arrogant pride and covetous heart, so He might share His love, His joy and His Glory with such an undeserving bunch as we are.  The Gospel message must be more alive within our hearts and we need to cry out as David did in Psalm 119 that God incline our hearts toward Him. We need to cry out to Him to turn away our eyes from vanity and covetousness that we might follow after Him.   Today, my prayer is that God change my heart each and every day that I might be true to my Savior.  I ask that He remove all selfishness, all covetousness that I might be more like Him today.  I pray that He fill my heart with His love so that it overflows to the world around me.   

Psalm

95 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

² Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Let us all come together to rejoice and sing to the rock of our salvation.  As I gaze back over all the years of my life, I can see the hand of God writing my life’s story.  There were many years of journeying through doubts, illness, financial distress and what the world might look upon and refer to as sorrows; yet, I see His mighty hand that guided this my journey so that the eyes of my heart might see Him more clearly.  He has provided for me each step of the way.  My greatest joy of all has been to see how He has touched and blessed each of my children and now their families.  I spent the last weekend at the book fair in Miami which God blessed miraculously by allowing me to meet some wonderful people.  Sarah (Ron’s wife went with me) and was a blessing throughout the weekend–what a joy to be with her.  Very soon little Haley will be born to round out their family.  Aiden is so adorable and my heart melts when I walk in and his arms reach up with a wonderful smile shouting "Grammy".  Earlier this month I got to go see my beautiful daughter Melissa, her husband Alex, and my granddaughter Natalie.  She is a true princess.  We had lost "turtle" (a little stuffed animal) and could not find him for over a 15 hour search.  So, Natalie and I prayed to find turtle and there he was, recovered and safe.  How amazing it is to watch the faith of a 3 year old blossom–God is so good.  Tomorrow, I fly out again and this time to see Alberto.  I am soooo excited to spend Thanksgiving with him and Lindsey (his sweet, beautiful fiancé) at her parents house.  They so graciously invited me to share in their Thanksgiving dinner.  So, yes; I am overwhelmingly blessed in this world.  Still the greatest blessing that I have is Christ.  He is my greatest treasure and paves the path.  That He would so graciously has provided for me the payment of all my sins that I might have this relationship with Him.  He shares with me His love, His joy, and one day His Glory.  That in itself is more wonderful than I could comprehend and then He has also given me these Melissa, Natalie, Alex, Alberto, Lindsey, Ron, Sarah, Aiden and soon Haley–Wow, my heart must overflow with a joyful noise. I do hope you listen to this thanksgiving song by Kristyn and Keith Getty

http://www.gettymusic.com/hymns-myheart.aspx

And let me share with you this poem I wrote to thank God for my children a few years ago. 

God’s Blessing to Me, My Children Three

I asked the Lord so long ago

To bless my soul, I didn’t know

He’d take me down to depths so low

Before I saw which way to go

His gift He gave in bundles three

That brought me tears and brought me glee

Each pain they felt a knife ripped me

So oft I fell on bended knee

Nearer now to setting sun

I see the truth of what He’s done

My daughter dear and my two sons

A gift of perfect love I’d won

Melissa, dear – a sweet sweet flower

Who serves with love – whatever hour

With grace and depth her love to shower

And to all near her strength empower

Alberto with bewitching smile

Bubbling joy he doth beguile

The world around to stay a while

To learn of Honor, Truth—his style

And Ron, my precious son doth stand

With justice, truth held in his hand

With mercy, love he doth command

A tower strong the winds withstand

So, as I looked upon these three

No greater gift could ever be

Such perfect love gave God to me

With thankful heart I shout with glee

He answered thus my soul’s great plea

He blessed me with these wondrous three

His Glory to shine for me to see

Their lives reflecting Him to me.

2 Corinthians 4: ¹³ We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

¹⁴ Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

¹⁵ For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

¹⁶ For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

¹⁸ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

As Paul continues his letter to the Corinthians, we have just passed the point where Paul has told us that as we see God’s glory (though dimly) we are being transformed into His image glory by glory (step by step, little glories followed by little glories) not by our own works; but by the work of the Holy Spirit.  Immediately to follow this great promise, he begins to tell us that this great treasure (this power of the Gospel itself unto salvation) was given to us within these easily broken, fragile earthen vessels so that the Glory may be of God and not in ourselves.  He points out that there will be sorrows, trials, and testing; but we are sustained by God Himself in the midst of all the trials.  2 Corinthians 4:

⁸ We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹ Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

¹⁰ Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

There in the midst of our trials we can see that there is a purpose.  Not only do we see God in His Glory; but as He sustains our heart and we learn to praise Him for His Glorious Grace in each storm we become a beaconing light that redounds ( have an affect or consequence) of showing a world the magnitude of His Glory.  We shine that light into the darkness with which the unbeliever lives in the hope that we might cause the eyes of their heart to see Him and seek after Him.   This thankfulness that we feel in the midst of the storm cannot be a phony cover up.  It is born out of sometimes years of trials, an understanding of who God is (with all His Mercy and Grace), a humility learned sometimes after many failures that gives greater depth and understanding of How Great is the Grace I have received.  It is a Thanksgiving that comes from a heart tempered and so overflowing with love for God that Joy shines forth no matter what the current circumstances.  It is founded on trust in the Omnipotent, Omniscient one who gave His very life that I might share in His love, His joy, and His Glory.  So consider all this as Thanksgiving Day quickly approaches and ask yourself what do you have to be thankful for?

 

2 Timothy 1: 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

⁴ Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

⁵ When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

⁶ Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

⁷ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

⁸ Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

¹⁰ But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

What a tender letter of love Paul is writing to this young disciple of Christ.  Paul was imprisoned and knew it was only a short time before he would be killed for his faith.  He saw Timothy as a son in faith in Christ Jesus.  Timothy had been taught faith from his grandmother and his mother.  Timothy was a young man when Paul began to take him on his missionary journeys.  Acts 16: 16 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: ² Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.³ Him would Paul have to go forth with him;

Timothy continued on as an evangelist both to the Jew and to the Gentile, proclaiming the name of Christ.  All began with faith filled Grandmother and Mother who pointed him to Christ. 

It was my mother who taught me about Christ and that was the greatest gift she gave me.  As a mother, I have made many mistakes along the way; but, the most important thing that I could do was to point my children and now my grandchildren toward Christ Jesus.  There is no greater gift I could give them in this world.  I am amazed by the Gracious Mercy of God as I look upon the faith demonstrated by my children in their journey on this earth.  I pray unceasingly that my stepson also has the eyes of his heart opened to the light of the truth of God unto salvation.   I truly hope you listen to the song that follows and let this beautiful song become the prayer you have for your children and grandchildren. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mtGp-hpJJs&playnext=1&list=PLE5FF65D1D1990FBA&feature=results_video

^{2 Chronicles 20: 12} O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

¹³ And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁵ And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

¹⁶ To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷ Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

¹⁹ And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

²² And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

²³ For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

²⁴ And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

Three armies had prepared to attack God’s people.  It appeared as though there was no hope and that all would be destroyed.  All the people went before God in prayer.  God’s answer? Don’t worry, don’t be afraid; I’ve got this.  So in full faith they marched forth with a praise band at their helm when they arrived, the battle was over and the enemy had fallen.  What mighty power there is in prayer.  What victory is ours to claim in praise!!  Do you have any problem that seems to be pressing in from all sides?  Are you battling against an enemy within your own soul? (perhaps an addiction, anger, depression, or some area of sin that seems to always win making you feel that there is no hope of victory)  Then, take heart, run to God and pour out your burden in prayer before Him.  There in earnest prayer you will hear Him say "stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you,… fear not, nor be dismayed;… for the Lord will be with you."  Then start Your praise song.  I am going to give you two incredible battle songs of praise–both are easy to remember and let play in your head whenever facing a battle that you might think impossible.  Every time during the day that a doubt or temptation pops up squash it with praise song to God.

 

     

BE BOLD BE STRONG FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU

  Be Bold, Be Strong, For the Lord your God is with you