Pathway To The Gate

Lo, behold the pathway.
It is narrow .
Brambles grow and try to obscure it from sight.
Look closely and you can see the faint outline of footprints.
Whose footprints have trodden upon this lesser taken path ?
Why do the tares and brambles grow so thickly trying to hide the way ?
Why are there bits of clothing scattered among the thorns ?
Who is that man standing,beckoning me to come towards the gate ?
Why doth He hold out His hand ?
I have such a compelling urge to go to Him.
The look of love on His face,
He glows with a light that I do not understand.
I must go to Him to find out why He glows with this love.
I must know why He beckons me onward towards Him.
I fight my way through the brambles and tares.
They snag at my clothes trying to keep me from Him.
The more they grasp hold on me the harder I fight to reach Him.
I hear the tearing of my garments as I gain ground.
I feel the bite of the thorns as they nip my flesh.
But onward I go.
I reach for His outstretched hand.
I touch it and feel the warmth of His glow flow through me.
This feeling I know.
It is God's love.
I look at the hand I am holding.
I notice the nail scars.
I cry out for my Lord stands before me.
I fall down at His feet and ask Him to forgive me.
His tears fall upon me as drops of blood when He lifts me,
With His nail scarred hands.
His love flows through me,
Cleansing me and making me whole.
I am covered by His blood and made anew.
I look upon His precious face and see the love,
The acceptance and the forgiveness.
I thank Him for beckoning me to Him,
I praise Him for the forgiveness that He has graced me with.
I notice that where the thorns had torn my flesh,
All was made whole.
I asked Him how this was ?
How had I been made whole from my journey ,
Through the tares and brambles as they vexed me so?
He smiled and said unto me,with His love all aglow,
"My child, as you walked along the path to me,
The one I beckoned you from,
The tares and brambles that tore at your garments and flesh,
The ones that left you bruised and bleeding,
Those were the sins that were keeping you away from me.
Those were the people who tried to turn you from me.
They caught at you and tore you, your heart, your soul.
But I saw you struggling along.
So I reached out my hand to you.
I knew that you were in the place and time,
That you needed me the most.
So I beckoned to you and you answered my call.
When you made your way through,
The tares and the brambles of sin,
I was here waiting to forgive you ,
To take you in.
To wash you free of sin and make you whole again.
Look behind you.
The pathway to the gate is narrow.
The tares seek to overcome it.
The footprints are few and oft times faded.
But now you see where you trod,
A new set of footprints line the pathway.
This pathway to the gate will always stand.
For it is the pathway to the gate of Heaven.
The clothing left behind on the tares and brambles,
Are the reminders of what everyone,
Who has trod upon the pathway have come through,
In order to come to me when I beckon them.
It is not an easy pathway to the gate.
I call many but only a few make it all the way to me.
By your so choosing to come unto me,
You have left a trail for others to follow upon.
They too, as you did, will look upon the less trodden path,
They will wonder why the tatters of clothing line the way of a faded
path.
They will look up and see me beckoning unto them.
Some will turn away,
Some will start towards me,
Only to find the pathway to the gate too hard to travel,
Some will choose to come as you did.
When they arrive and touch my hand ,
As I before them stand,
I will wash away their sins and make them whole ,
From all the thorns that have pricked their flesh,
Their heart and their soul.
I will ease them and give them rest,
Just as I have you.
Enter ye into the Kingdom of Heaven, My Child,
As thou hast followed the pathway to the gate."

Given to me, NancyJean, by God this
2nd day of April,2005. Thank You Lord
for your blessings upon me.

Ripe For The Harvest

I was picking Blackberries, yesterday, when the Lord gave me a revelation. I had just stooped down to pick a berry that appeared to be ripe for the harvest. Yet when I pulled the branch out, that the berry was attached to into the sunlight, I saw that the berry was not fully ripe yet. It hit me then, the message from the Lord.

We are like this blackberry. To others we may appear to be ripe for the harvest. Yet God sees us as others do not see us. God sees through the shade and His light is cast upon us revealing whether or not we are ripe for the harvest.

So many people , daily, put on a false front to others. They want others to see them for how they want to be seen. Fortunately God has a way of revealing what people try to keep hidden from others. God knows everything about everyone. Just like the blackberry that appeared to be ripe while it was hidden in the shade. When pulled out into the light it's flaws were revealed. It was not ripe for the harvest. Just as we, who strive to be God's children, God brings us out into His Light and it shines upon us revealing our flaws, showing that we are not ripe for the harvest.

Thankfully the Lord makes us aware of our flaws. The convicting power of the holy Spirit of God lets us know when we have and are doing something that we should not be doing. He chastises His children when we err from the path He has put us upon. Not everyone will turn back to the Lord but those that do are preparing to become ripe for the harvest. Those who do not prepare and stay in their flawed (sinful) state will be passed over and left behind because they were not ripe for the harvest.

The Lord tells us in His Word, the Holy Bible, to prepare, to watch lest we be caught unawares.

Matthew 24:42-44
42)Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43)But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44)Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 26:41
41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.


It is the same with a rose. When the rose is but a bud it is held tightly bound in itself. It takes time for that bud to open. The elements of the weather come against it. The heat, the wind, the rain, dust, bugs and more try to keep the bud from opening. So many things beset this bud trying to keep it from reaching it's full potential. That is much like we, who strive to be God's children. The forces of sin come against us. We have to daily fight against sin, the devil and all his workers to keep in the Light of the Lord. So many of the devil and the devil himself do not want us to reach our full potential for the Lord. But just as that bud, when it opens in full bloom and reveals it's glory, we too, who are God's children, will one day shine forth with God's glory when we are truly ripe for the harvest.

We all have the beauty within us but it is not truly revealed until the Lord enters into our life. The Lord sees us as no one else does and knows us as no one else ever will, unless they take the time to know us, as God does. This is a poem that God blest me with to write sometime ago. It has been published. It is entitled " The Beauty Within ".

The Beauty Within

A bud blossoms at birth,
It is given the breath of life.
It is nurtured with love,
It starts to grow.
A protective force covers the delicate bud,
Trying to shield it from the harm of the world.
Angels stand guard over it.
Wars come and go,
Trials and tribulations try to toss the soul,
Yet the bud continues in it's growth.
Milestones passed,
Evening shadows have been cast.
New day dawnings have brightened,
A world where true beauty lies hidden in slumber.
Awaiting to be awakened when mature.
Still it waits,
Silently gathering strength,
Growing in abundance of love, joy and peace.
Erupting forth into full blossom of a beautiful soul,
Exposing the beauty within.

Nancy Jean , November 8,2005

We all have that beauty within. Prepare so you will be ripe for the harvest when the time comes. Let the Lord help you to be ready for the harvest for that is the only way to truly be ripe for the harvest, is with and through Him. Let Him reveal the true beauty within.

Today

Today. What significance did today hold for you ? What did you do with your day ? Did you make certain to spend some alone time with God today ? Did you spend some alone time with your family today? Did you spend some alone time with your husband or wife today ? Did you take the time to tell your spouse or your children that you love them, today ?

How did you spend the time, that God gave you, today ? Where did you go ? What did you do ? Did you share the Lord with someone today ? Did you share the message of God's Love with another who crossed your way ? That man , who had the down cast look about him, did you smile and say hello to brighten his day as you passed by his way ? That young mother, with the small children who looked so exhausted, did you share a kind word and smile with her to ease the tension she was feeling while her children whined ? That little child, that was crying on the playground because another child had bullied it, did you stop to help out or just look and walk away ?Did you share with someone something they needed to know about their child or another family member so they could help them with a problem they have ? That store clerk who looked so tired and weary , after a long day at work, did you smile and share a kind word with them or did you just complain about how long you had to wait in line before you were checked out ? That person behind the register in the fast food restaurant you ate at today, did you give them an encouraging word or did you complain about how long it took for them to serve you ?That person in the convenience store who cussed right beside you, did you say something to them about their language being offensive to you or did you just look the other way and pretend you didn't hear what they had to say ?

Today you were given the opportunity to make a difference for the Lord. Today you were given an opportunity to share God with someone. Today you were given the opportunity to help someone. Today you were given the opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life. How did you use the opportunity God gave you of today to serve Him ? I encourage each of you, every day to use the opportunity God presents you with, a little more wisely, for and in God's service.

God's Blessings

God is awesome. His blessings are truly something to shout about. We have been in drought conditions here in Kentucky for quite some time now. Yesterday God blessed us with a nice rain, which helped us out some. Today however God blessed us more so. I am jubilant. That is the word, jubilant, that describes how I feel at this very moment. It has been a slow steady rain for over 4 hours now. I praise God for this blessing.

Sometimes we have to get to a certain point in order for God to bless us. If you search within yourself you know this to be true. Maybe we, our self, are doing something that is hindering us from being blest by the Lord? Have you ever wondered about this ?

Have you ever got to the place in your life where you wondered if you were doing the right thing ? Say if you were in a situation that kept you down trodden and beaten low ? Have you ever wondered, within yourself, if that is what God wanted for you ?

Truthfully what God wants for His children is for them to be happy. He wants us to rejoice in Him. He does not want us to be down trodden nor beaten low. He wants the best for us. God has our best interest at heart. He wants His children to prosper, to work for Him, to spread His Word and to help others in showing them the way to Him.

We are tested as God's children to see how we will react in certain situations. He strengthens us to overcome. In our time of need all we have to do is cry aloud to the Lord and He will hear us and He will help us. He told us that we would not be tempted past that which we could bear for He would provide the way out for us. This is so true. Jesus Christ/God is the way out of every trouble, trial, or situation that keeps you down trodden and beaten low. All you need is to on His name call. He knows each of His children's hearts and He knows how much each one of us can bear. When it gets to the point to where we can not take anymore, if we cry out to Him, He will help us. I know this first hand. We just have to get to the point to where we cry out, from the depths of our heart and soul, to Him for the help we need and then He rescues us and He blesses us. He does not put more upon us than we can bear. As I said, God knows how much each of us can bear.

I realized, yesterday, that I had to be at the point to where God wanted me to be. When I reached that point and cried out to Him from the depths of my heart and soul,He heard me and He strengthened me. He gave me the strength that I needed and then He blest us. I am so very thankful to Him for His wonderful blessings. I know that whatever I am faced with, down the road, God will be with me through it. He is my strength and my fortress, He is my shield and my buckler, He is my help and He is my God.

Psalms 121:1-3 1) I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2) My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3) He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

God is awesome.

Thank You Lord Jesus Father God in heaven for Your many wondrous blessings. Thank You for the rain , especially, and for strengthening me when I call out to You. Thank You for hearing my cry and for hearing and answering the prayers of myself and of so many others. Thank You for dying at Calvary for a wretch like me. I Love You Father God and I thank You and give You the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus Christ's Precious Holy Name, Amen and Amen .

Praise And Thanks

Praise ? How do you praise God ? Do you give God the praise due Him ? Do you thank Him for the blessings you receive everyday ?


Psalms 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.


I know in myself , I find that I do not always praise God as I should. I sometimes get downtrodden and feel sorry for myself. There is no other word for it but feeling sorry for myself. I am sure that you do this also at times. But I know for fact that I do, on occasion, feel sorry for myself. The question is, is it right to feel sorry for oneself ? Truthfully we should not feel sorry for ourselves. However, we are human and we do.


Psalms 7:17
17) I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.


Ephesians 5:20
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;


I Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Psalms 106:1 Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. We are to praise God in all things. We are to give thanks to God in all things. Even when we are downtrodden,feeling sorry for ourselves, having test and trials we are still to praise the Lord and give Him thanks. Yes, we often fail this but did you know that if you start praising God in the midst of whatever it is that is besetting you, that you will start to feel better and soon you will be uplifted in the Lord. Give it all up to Him. God knows of all you are going through and all that has befallen you. Give it to Him and praise Him through it all. Be thankful to Him for everything that you have, for all the blessings He blesses us with each day , we should praise Him and thank Him. As the verse in the Bible,God's Word says,He does not allow us to be tempted past that which we can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. We are to praise Him and give thanks to Him through it all. I fall short of this, oft times. In truth we all do. I encourage you that the next time you start feeling sorry for yourself to start praising God and thank Him for all the He has done for you and all that He has blest you with. So what if life isn't going as we want it to. What truthfully matters ? Yeah it hurts when things don't go as they should or as they were promised , one gets disappointed when promised things are not delivered. But in truth when promises are broken it hurts the one who made and broke those promises worse than it does you. The one is not being true as they should, you can't help what someone else chooses to do. You can only pray for them, as you should, and let them know how you feel about the disappointment. But in the long run of things you can't change it. It is up to them to make things right. If they choose not to make things right then they have to give account for what they did. We each have to give account for what we do, no one else. It is better to praise god and give Him thanks through all things and in all ways, even in the face of disappointment. If we face it by praising God and giving Him thanks for the opportunity to learn and grow, as we should, we are in fact growing closer in our walk with God and learning the lesson He is trying to teach us. We have to give account for ourselves so I intend to start praising Him through it all. The next time I get disappointed, start feeling sorry for myself, I will start praising God and stay true to Him because I don't want to be a person who allows the disappointment and sorrow of what has happened win. I want God to have the victory and in order to do that I have to praise Him and give Him thanks through it all. I am not going to allow anything else to take the victory that belongs to God. I urge you to do the same. Stand and praise God, give Him thanks in the face of adversity and give God the victory as He deserves it . He deserves all the praise, the honor, the glory and the thanks in all things.

Good Steward ? Good Servant ?

Good Steward ? Good Servant ? Are we truly a good steward and a good servant for God ? My question is the time that God has given you, do you use it wisely or unwisely ? The parable of the servants who were given talents by their Master comes to mind . Matthew 25:14-46. Even start reading from the beginning of the Chapter for it all speaks the same message Matthew 25:1-46 are you using what God has given you wisely ?


From the time we sought and accepted Jesus Christ's forgiveness time was no longer ours to do with as we wanted to. Our time is God's time. We, who are His children, owe our time in service to the Lord. We are His servants. He bought and paid for us with the highest price , His precious blood at Calvary. Our time belongs to Him it is not our own. We are supposed to spend our time being in service to our God.

How do you spend the time God has given you ? Wisely ? Unwisely ? When you have time on your hands, how do you use it ? Do you go out and do things that bring you fleshly or worldly pleasures, pleasures that fulfill the lust of the flesh and mind ? Or do you spend that time serving the Lord by helping others or by studying your Bible, reading an inspirational book, in prayer, in quiet communion with the Lord ? There are so many ways to serve God by spending the time, wisely, that He has gifted you with.

Is your mind and heart truly set on serving the Lord ? This question will help you to answer the other question of, do you spend your time wisely or unwisely ? If your heart and mind are set on truly serving the Lord then you will spend your time wisely in service to the Lord. One has to examine them self to see where their heart truly lies. If one finds more pleasure by doing worldly things that satisfy the lust of the flesh and mind than they do in serving the Lord, then something is not right. Set your heart and mind on the Lord. God can and will give you what you need that fulfills what needs to be fulfilled. The things that truly are good are things of the Lord.

When the Lord comes back do you want to be as the 5 unwise, foolish virgins who did not prepare as they should have ? Do you want to be as the unwise servant who hid his talent instead of using it for his Masters service ? Or do you want to be as the 5 wise virgins and as the wise servants? They used their time wisely as befittingly they should have in service to their Lord and Master. Which of these people do you want the Lord God/Jesus Christ to see you as when He returns ?

I encourage each of you to spend your time wisely in service to God/Jesus as He asks us to. Be ever watchful for not one of us know when our time shall end and then we will have to give account of the time we spent, whether it was spent wisely or unwisely. The wise servants ,whom served their Master as they should have will enter in to the Kingdom but those unwise and foolish servants who chose to spend their time as they wanted to instead of serving the Master will be cast into hell and then into the Lake of Fire.

You are faced daily within every moment of everyday, that God has saw fit to give you, with making the choice of spending your time wisely or unwisely. Which way will you choose ? Be it wisely ? Be it unwisely ? The choice is yours, but remember whom you have to give account of your time to and whether you spent your time wisely or unwisely that He gave you to serve Him.


As is spoken in Joshua 24:15
15)And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Truly Loving Your Children

There are people who have children and then there are parents. Among those parents there is a sub category of parents. Parents who truly love their children and care about where their children's soul will spend eternity.

We , as parents, have the ability and the means to teach our children about God/Jesus Christ. If we truly Love our children as God wants us to, then we will teach them about God/Jesus. The Bible, God's Word, tells us to raise up a child in the way he should go.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

This passage tells us that we, as parents, have the responsibility to teach our children about God/Jesus. The responsibility to teach our children right from wrong. To teach them what they need to know so they can make decisions on their own, that will benefit them in their future life as a Christian, here on Earth. Also to teach them the things they need to know that will ensure them of having a Heavenly Home with Jesus one day. We have that responsibility and if we , truly, Love our children then we will teach them the right way, God's Way.

For example, the way we ,us parents, live our life, each and everyday, shows whether we are true Christians or whether we are pretending to be something we truly are not. If you go around cussing and swearing or drinking, having sex with someone other than your spouse,view pornography, say things to your child like," Wow did you see the way that girl/guy looked wasn't that sexy", if you lust after others other than your spouse and you let your children see or know any of these things then your children are learning by the example you are setting for them. Just as what you watch on television or listen to in the form of music says. You are teaching your children to learn by the example you are setting for them. You, as a parent, are the first and most effectual examples that your child will ever focus upon.

Just as if you live your life by going to Church, reading your Bible daily, saying prayers, blessings over food, praising the Lord out loud , singing gospel songs, doing things that will benefit others, actively serving God in whatever you do, not being afraid to serve God and share Him with others.If your children see you doing this for the Lord , they will learn by your example. By living your life , as a parent, for the Lord and in God's service you are teaching your child to learn by the example you are setting before them. Again you, as a parent, are the first and most effectual examples that your child will ever focus upon.

Other people can look at you and tell whom you live your life for, whether it be for God/Jesus or for the devil/world. Just as people can see how , the way you live your life, affects your children. You reflect upon your children , just as your children reflect upon you. Children learn by example.
Proverbs 20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

In all of this , if you truly Love your child and care about where their soul will spend eternity ,you will teach them of the Lord and the Lord's ways. You will live a good godly life before them.There comes a time in every parents life, when they have to step aside and let their children go out on their own. It is best to prepare that child, for when the time comes for it to go out on it's own, to be prepared in and of the Lord. With God in their life they will know how to live for the Lord instead of serving the devil/world and the ways of the devil/world. For we live in this world but we are not to be a part of it. Yes, that can be done. And we, as parents, if we have taught our children of the Lord, armed them with the Full Armor of God, then our children are prepared to live in this world/devil but not be partakers of the world/devil and it's ways. We have prepared them to be able to live and work their way as a Christian, a true Christian, if we have set the proper example before them and have instructed them as God directs us to in His Word, the Holy Bible.

If you Love your child you will teach them of God/Jesus and the right Way, the only Way, to live their life. By doing this you have insured them with God.