Posted by Patti Foster on July 25th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Come dive into God’s Word with me!
Circumcision is on my mind. (I know, a deep subject not often talked about or studied today!)
Circumcision of the heart - that has kept going through my mind this morning. It made me wanna dive into God’s Word and find out what He was saying to me!
Immediately, I opened to the second chapter of Romans: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all… (Romans 2:28,29 and 3:1,2; NIV).
As you search and roam the Scripture, remember this: circumcision signified Israel’s covenent relationship with God.
I know there’s a lot for us to think about here, but here’s what keeps sticking with me: the outward and physical vs. the heart
Happy Studying!
~Patti 
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Posted by Patti Foster on July 21st, 2010 — Posted in M.A.D. Now!
Uhmmm…how true it is! Beware of the pitfalls of confronting…MERCY must always have its place!
Here’s something I recently read by Rebekah Montgomery. See what you think…
I’m Not Perfect But…
2 Pitfalls and a Big Blessing in Confronting in Love
By Rebekah Montgomery
I don’t know about you, but I hate to confront people. I’d rather sulk and smolder with resentment. Or better yet, step back and watch God drop some old-fashioned smiting on them.
Yet confronting those who have wronged us is the only loving, just, and right thing to do:
If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. Matthew 18:15
Yikes! Secret sulking is not allowed. Nor is smiting. God makes us—you and me!—responsible for addressing wrongs committed against us.
Which brings us to Pitfall # 1: Beware of assuming “they know what they did and it’s up to them to apologize.” Your offender may be totally unaware you are offended.
Here’s a hint from someone (me) who frequently gets tongue-tied during confrontations: Before you confront, articulate the wrong you feel has been perpetrated against you. Be specific. Write it down if you have to. The problem may not be theirs at all. It maybe YOU who were having the bad day.
Which leads us to Pitfall # 2: Beware of transferring your motivations and judgments to others.
Did you hear the one about the three ladies returning from a concert given by famous Gospel soprano “Susie Songbird”? Susie wore her hair long and loose, Lady Godiva-style, and the women were discussing it.
The first lady (with a short-cropped, fuss-free haircut) said: “Susie must be very haughty to wear her hair so long.”
“Oh, no,” said the second lady (sporting a piled-up Pentecostal ‘do). “Susie’s long hair shows her great humility and godliness.”
“You’re both wrong,” said the third lady (a busy career woman-mother-community volunteer badly in need of a trim). “Susie’s just too busy doing important things to get a decent haircut!”
Funny, but too true: When judging others, often we are gazing in the mirror rather than looking through a window. The faults and motivations we think we see in others may, in fact, be our own reflection — so be aware of your own shortcomings.
Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5
In short, the speck we think we see in someone else’s eye may, in fact, be an up-close view of the log in our own eye.
However, when we confront in love, there comes to us the Big Blessing: God confronts us gently about our sins when we gently confront others who have wronged us.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12
As we behave toward others who wrong us, we show God how we want to be treated when we sin against Him. In other words, demand that God smite and you’ll be smitten. And believe me: God really knows how to smite. Ask the Philistines, the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah, or anyone else ever smitten.
Makes you think twice about demanding God smite your enemies, doesn’t it?
© Rebekah Montgomery 2010
For reprint requests, contact Rebekah at her website, www.Rebekah Montgomery.com
Rebekah Montgomery, author/speaker/teacher, is a gifted, dynamic communicator. She is the author of more than five books and has penned 1,100 articles. To book Rebekah for your next event visit www.rebekahmontgomery.com.
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Posted by Patti Foster on July 18th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Go back in time. Maybe last year? Last week? Yesterday? Right now?
What has it been like for you … when you’ve taken a risk and stepped out of the familiarity of your “comfort zone?” What’s it like for you when you can’t see in front of you, and your “yesterday” is only a memory? What do you do?
A quote from M.L. Haskins has been coming to me over and over this afternoon (it certainly meets me right where I am!):
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
“Give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown.”
He said to me, “Step out into the darkness; put your hand
Into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light
And safer than a known way.”
As the Lord Jesus made clear, remember: He is the Truth, the Life and the Way. Keep your eyes on Him.
Following the Leader,
~Patti
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Posted by Patti Foster on July 11th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Who’s calling out to you? Can you hear it? Listen…what are they saying?
Put the Phone of Proverbs 8:1-21 (The Message) to your heart’s ear and listen to what God says to you:
“Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?
Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She’s taken her stand at First and Main,
At the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square
Where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
‘You — I’m talking to all of you,
everyone out here on the streets!
Listen — learn good sense!
Shape up!
Don’t miss a word of this — I’m telling you how to live well,
I’m telling you how to live at your best.
My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth –
I can’t stand the taste of evil!
You’ll only hear true amd right words from my mouth;
not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.
You’ll recognize this as true — you with open minds;
truth-ready minds will see it at once.
Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money,
and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.
For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth;
nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
‘I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;
Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil,
whose ways I hate with a passion –
pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics;
I am both Insight and the Virture to live it out.
With my help, leaders rule,
and lawmakers legislate fairly;
With my help, governors govern,
along with all in legitimate authority.
I love those who love me;
those who look for me find me.
Wealth and Glory accompany me –
also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;
the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
You can find me on Righteous Road — that’s where I walk –
at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
Handing out life to those who love me,
filling their arms with life — armloads of life!”
God’s going before you…He’ll take care of you.
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Posted by Patti Foster on July 4th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
…. www.spiritcountry.cc
I was talking with one of my dear radio friends up in South Bend (Indiana)…she and I were catching up when she suddenly said, “Hey, let me tell you some good news!”
And with no hesitation, I squealed, “Yeah, tell me!”
“I was asked to be on internet radio,” she said. “Christian Country radio on www.spiritcountry.cc
When we let God lead us, He makes a way for us when there definitely seems to be NO way!
He leans down to us and whispers into our hearts, “(Fill-in your name here), trust in me with ALL your heart, don’t lean on your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge Me, and I will driect your paths.”
Just like He did with Brenda and lifted her to a world-wide-web radio station, not merely one, local radio station, so will He do for you…beyond-beyond, as Priscilla Shirer said at Pink Impact this year.
God’s blessings to you!
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Posted by Patti Foster on June 28th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
Have you had one of those mornings when you woke up with a certain song on your mind, like your “jukebox” brain was playing a particular tune?
Well, this morning was that time for me. It’s a song from, I think, the early 90s - God Will Make A Way. Listen to these words:
God will make a way
When there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way
God will make a way.
Trusting God to make a way is sometimes hard because we can’t see ahead and oftentime it makes no sense to our human ways.
I urge you to meditate on this Truth today, only this one verse: Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me” (John 14:1).
Keep Believing!
~Patti
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Posted by Patti Foster on June 20th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
“Oops!” the little girl squealed as the plate crashed to the floor, “I didn’t mean to do that, Mommy. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s okay, Baby Girl. I’ll help you pick it up,” said her mother as she stooped down to help her.
Simple illustration. And a simple truth that all of us can relate to: God stoops down to help us in the midst of our “plate-crashing” moments of life. Whether it be a trust we’ve broken, a word we’ve spoken, an important date we’ve forgotten, or whatever pit we’ve fallen into, God bends down/stoops down to help us in our times of need!
Uhmmm…reminds me of the richness of Psalm 40! Soak in this: I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord (Psalm 40: 1-4).
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Posted by Patti Foster on June 14th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
I’ve heard it said, So many times we don’t listen and follow because we want to lead and tell. Wow, how true this is! So often our pride gets the best of us and we show our total color before we know it!
Where is God in your life? Is it merely a once-a-week relationship you have with Him, or is He in your heart leading you day by day? Take a Calgon Moment in these Words and see what He says to you: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming; that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:8-13).
Please friend, today talk to the Lord and receive Him into your heart.
As Beth Moore has written in her book, So Long, Insecurity, “Your eternity will be secure and your salvation will be complete and absolute.”
God’s blessings to you!
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Posted by Patti Foster on June 12th, 2010 — Posted in Keepin' Up with Patti
* June 2 - BIR; Dallas, TX
* June 3 - Casting Audition; Baylor; Dallas, TX
* June 12 - PFY Class; MADD Smith County; Tyler, TX
* June 16 - BIR; Dallas, TX
* June 17 - Center for Counseling & Enrichment; Arlington, TX
* June 17 - Guest Speaker at BH Carroll Theological Institute; Arlington, TX
* June 18 - 8th Anniversary of Wreck
* June 18 - Photo/Video Shoot w/Baylor Media; Dallas, TX
* June 26 - BIR; Friends of Hope; Sherman, TX
* July 4 - Afton Grove Baptist Church; Jacksonville, TX
* Sept 4 - MADD, Smith County; Tyler, TX
* Sept 18 - God’s AMAZING Grace Women’s Conference; Oak Grove Bible
Church; Bullard, TX
* Sept 25 - East Texas Book Fest; Tyler, TX
* Sept 25 - Guest Judge for High School All-Region Choir; Whitehouse, TX
* Sept 25 - Harvest Fest Youth Rally; Jacksonville, TX
* Oct 2 - MADD, Smith County; Tyler, TX
* Oct 9 - BIR; Friends of Hope; Ennis, TX
* Feb 1, 2011 - Golden Jubilee; Jacksonville, TX
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Posted by Patti Foster on June 6th, 2010 — Posted in Patti's Brain Waves
I’m just curious - what has the Lord been teaching you lately? … ya know how He brings a particular verse to your mind and then it keeps coming up in different places with different people?
Well lately, Ps 32:8 has been that verse for me. It appears here, then there…God keeps getting my attention with it! The Psalmist says, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way thou shalt go, and I will guide thee with mine eye.
Like a little kid, I SO love how the Lord will stir-up my insides and teach me what He wants me to learn, in ways that I can “get”!
How about you, what has He been teaching you lately?
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