A Christmas tradition

                                         MERRY  CHRISTMAS AND  HAPPY NEW YEAR

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to each and every one of you who read and  follow "Dottie in Him" . I pray that the Lord will personally bless you with His love, grace, provision and health in the New Year. The Lord loves us so much and cares in particular for the details of our lives. We are a blessed people,

For the past fifteen years, when our family would get together for Christmas, we would first start with the Christmas story.  Pop Pop would sit to the right and read, while the grandchildren would act out five scenes, ending by singing Silent Night, Holy Night. For several years we had a real baby in the manger, until our last grandchild was promoted to an angel .  Everyone played a part.

As each grandchild grew older, they would help the younger ones to dress back stage, lead the singing and tend the curtain. The adults were the audience and we looked forward to the children each year performing their changing parts. It was set it up in our home between two rooms, so the children felt like they were on stage.  When it was over, off came the homemade customs, down came the curtains, and then the mad dash for the Christmas tree.

This picture was taken in 2001.  The littlest angel is now  grown up in college, and the  director a mother of four.  The baton has been passed to the next generation. We will always remember  our little wandering two year old angel with her crooked halo.   

Be reconciled

Christmas time is a time for great rejoicing.  Our Savior is born, the Kings of kings and Lord of lords .Jesus Christ is the the anointed Son of God.  God the Father is calling out through the Holy Spirit to this dying world, "Come, come and be reconciled to your God.  He is reaching out to you through the birth and death  of His Son Jesus, saying, "The manager is empty, the tomb is empty and the world is empty, COME!  The world holds no answers.  My Son is resurrected and your sins have been forgiven.  Come back to me.  Forsake the world and let me fill your hearts with My new life. 'Though your sins be as scarlet, you will be washed as white as snow." If you hear My call this Christmas, repent and turn to Me. I am only a prayer away.

This another beautiful Christmas song.  I pray that it will bless you.

http://www.andiesisle.com/singfortheking.html

FAMILY IDENTITY

My husband and I first became acquainted with the principle of family identity 1992, when we were asked to teach a class on biblical parenting. It is blessing to many young families, I only wish we knew about it when we are raising our girls.

Family identity birthed at a young age will give a child security, purpose and a healthy self image. It will help to separate your family from other families.  For instance, when  your son or daughter comes to you and tries to convince you that all their friends are going to a party that you disapprove of, you can respond to the manipulation  by saying, " But, we (your surname) don't go to those kind of parties." If you clearly can give a biblical explanation, it will really helps your child to submit to your authority as unto the Lord. 

If family identity is established early in an earthly family, how about God's eternal family? I believe this concept can be translated into the family of God. We have a new family identity. Jesus being our elder brother shows  us the love of our heavenly "daddy", Father God. 

 One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit is to establish us as children of God in His Kingdom. We are different then the world. 1John 3:9 says it this way, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning . For God's SEED ABIDES in him and he cannot KEEP on sinning because he has been born of God.  By this it is evident who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." This does not mean that we are prefect and never sin, but it does mean we want to obey God.

 We have a new identity created in the image of Christ.  Daily we are dying to the old self life. Our minds are renewed and growing to accept God ways as our new identity.  

 2 Peter 3,4 says, " His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him, who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious  and very great promises, so that through them you may become PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE , having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire......."  We are in the world , but not of it. The spirit of this world is no longer our identity.  Our flesh, (lower nature) is NOT WHO WE ARE.

We have a  new family identity in Jesus Christ.  We are sojourners, ambassadors on earth, to proclaim the gospel, and MUCH MORE, until our work on earth is finished and the Lord calls us to our eternal home. 

MercyMe - Even If (Official Lyric Video)

Identity Who Am I ?

Who am I?  You will love this video It is short and makes its point.

If you are born again by the blood of Jesus  you are a new creation.  You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Enjoy your new life and  I pray you will enjoy this little video.

THE BEST KEPT SECRET

How long can you keep a secret? One year, three years, a life time? We all have secrets that we don't want anyone to know until it is time, and so does God.  We are told in Deuteronomy 29:29 that, "The secret things belong to the Lord, our God , but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children's children forever." God kept one of the most amazing secrets ever revealed until St.Paul was converted. 

For three years, St Paul received revelation after revelations of God's best kept secrets in the Arabian desert. Many of these mysteries were given to St. Paul to share with the early church, concerning, who we are in Jesus Christ and who He is in us. 

In Colossians 1:26  through the Holy Spirit, St. Paul reveals  "The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY."  Brothers and sisters, how great it is to have this mystery known. Under the law, Israel could never know this mystery.  The Holy Spirit was always with Israel, but never IN the individual. It wasn't until Jesus came, fulfilled the law (10 commandments) and took His shed blood to Heaven's Mercy Seat that we could say "Christ in us, the hope of glory."

The more this reality of "Christ in you the hope of glory" is settled in our hearts, the more we will realize the importance of NOT letting anyone put us under the law by striving to perfect the old man of sin.  The good news is the LAW IS NOW BEING WRITTEN ON OUR NEW HEART by the Holy Spirit.  We no longer have to do, do, do, because Jesus has already done, done, done.  It is finished.  We are totally forgiven. Jesus has rescued us from eternal judgement, amazing grace.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He finds no fault in us. His blood not only COVERS our sin, but  takes it AWAY as far as the East is from the West. Because He lives in us, we are alive in Him forever. 

This is our true confession,"We are children of the living God, the hope of glory." His glory is in us, His church. We are the body of Christ on earth today to express his resurrection power and glory..

One day the Nations will bow to His righteous rule.  Until then, the secret is OUT.  WE ARE GROWING UP IN CHRIST  TO RULE WITH HIM!  We are being trained up NOW to walk in His righteousness and to BELIEVE His Word.  Jesus Christ is our future, and we belong to Him forever.

LOVE CAME KNOCKING

The following is a poem the Lord give me in 1999, when I will dealing with a spirit of fear.  It was blocking me from receiving God's love. I knew His Word said, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear...whoever fears has not YET been perfected in love." God's love was not YET in my heart. (1 John 5:18) (1John 4:) God is love.

I am so grateful that the Lord never gave up with me.  He came knocking and didn't stop until the I opened the door. The Lord came in and He has never left. 

Love Came Knocking
       1999

Love came knocking
My heart was stone,
Fearful, afraid,
Left all alone.

Love come knocking, 
Again to say, 
"Let me love you, 
My much afraid"

Love came knocking, 
Against the tide,
confronting my fear,
Deep inside.

Love came knocking,
Persistent one,
To my corner,
Where fear had won.

Love came knocking
The battle fierce,
Penetrating, warm,
Arrows pierced.

Love came knocking,
Could I believe?
Relentless love,
Just you and me?

Love came knocking,
Gentle embrace,
My fear had faced,
Amazing grace.

Love came.....

FREEDOM IS OUR NEW NATURE

 

Freedom is simple, yet we tend to complicate it by continuing to deal with our sin nature.  

When God looks at us, He cannot see anything wrong, only what is missing. He is in the business of strategic life exchanges: new for old, and He never requires us to look a  the old.  He wants us to lay it aside, put it in the grave and never dig it up again.

He is not dealing with our sin any more because Jesus dealt with that at Calvary.  He who never experienced sin, was made sinful on our behalf, so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him.  This is absolutely brilliant!

He is only teaching our new man how to live in His righteousness by only focusing on our righteousness in Christ.  That's what He's dealing with!

He has made Jesus our wisdom, righteousness, and lifestyle of practical holiness.  He is our full atonement and freedom.

He does not deal with our fear, He comes as perfect love and overwhelms fear.  In our anxiety, He offers a new place of rest and renewal instead.  In our worry, He focuses only on our fresh revelation of peace.

God does not help us work on our anger because it is dead; instead He empowers us to become gentle.  He displaces irritation with patience, bitterness with gratitude, and turns sorrow into joy.

The OLD HAS PASSED AWAY, AND HE IS ONLY WORKING ON

THE NEW, REAL AND TRUE US IN JESUS.

Since freedom is His nature; it's also ours.

By Graham Cooke.

THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS

I would like to share a revelation from reading Mathew 9:2-7.  I love it when the Lord opens up the Word to understand more about Him.

This is the story about the paralytic who was lowered through the roof to Jesus's feet.  Jesus saw the friends faith, and said to the the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you."  The scribes got all hyperventilated  and cried out, "this man blasphemes!" Jesus knowing their thoughts replies, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?  For which is easier, to say, ' Your sins are forgiven' , or to say, 'Arise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" He turned to the paralytic and said, "Arise , take up your bed and go to your house."  And he arose and departed to his house.  Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

When Jesus said, "Which is easier for Me to say, your sins are forgiven or arise and walk ,"  This spoke to me..  I felt like Jesus said to me, "Dorothy, when you are sick or ill , check the areas of unforgiveness in your heart, because you are forgiven and by my stripes your are healed. Unforgivenss is a huge hinderance to healing. My most loving act in your life is My forgiveness and must be given to all men. Sin, sickness, and disease is the consequence of Adam's sin in this fallen world. But be of good cheer, "I have overcome the world."  

I know there is so much more to be revealed in this scripture. I would love to hear any thing the Lord has revealed to you about this story too.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE

Most of us are familiar with the story of the 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who held fast to their faith and were beheaded by ISIS in February, 2015.

But did you know that only 20 of them were actually Copts from Egypt?  Did you know that one of the martyrs was from Chad, and he had not been a Christian prior to the day of his beheading?

Although this story was previously reported, I had not heard it before this week.

But at this week's World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a Coptic leader shared the account.

It is a remarkable story.  All 21 men had been working in Libya when they were kidnapped by ISIS.

The Coptic Christians were given a choice to deny Jesus or die.  They refused to deny Him, knowing it would cost them their heads.

When the terrorists ordered the man from Chad to deny Jesus or die he answered, "their God is my God," thereby sealing his fate.

That is how moved he was by the faith of these Christians.  Their refusal to deny their Savior, even at the point of death-literally at the point of a knife to their throats- moved him to make a profession of faith. One that would cost him his head as well. 

The man had not been a believer.  All he had to say was, "I don't believe in Jesus" or,  "Jesus is not the Son of God," and he could walk away a free man. He would be with his family again.  He would not die a brutal death.  He would live to see another day.

Instead this man chose to proclaim "Go ahead and behead me,"  Your god is not my God  Their God is my God."

That is the power of the gospel, and that is how we overcome Satan, by not loving our lives to the point of death.  (Revelation12:11) May our Lord strengthen His people with these words.

EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH: PRAISE THE LORD

One morning I noticed that the only tree on our front lawn was dying. Something was wrong.  We had tried for years to plant other trees but failed. Our only survivor was  a little Japanese Maple tree and  this morning it  was loaded with Japanese beetles chewing on its leaves.  I was sick.

My first thought was to pray.  But what to pray?  As I started to praise the Lord for the little tree,  the beetles would rise up and stand at attention.  When I stopped, they continued to chomp. I got mad. The authority of Jesus rose up in me."In the name of Jesus, you Japanese beetles  have to bow and leave.  This tree belongs to the Lord and you have no right to it.  At the cross He won back what Adam lost. The earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof. We rule now in the Name of Jesus."

For the next week I faithfully prayed and declared the victory of the cross over the little tree. The Japanese beetles were stubborn.  They were trying to ignore me, but still stood at attention when I praised the Lord.  It was getting fun to watch.  Then one day they were gone.  The little tree became our "resurrection tree."  It has now been forty years,  and no bugs have dared to touch it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
I witnessed for myself the power and authority I have in the Name of Jesus.  He rules over His creation and at the Name of Jesus everything that has breath, praises the Lord. The enemy may have power to deceive, but no authority to rule. Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father! 

No Longer Slaves (Full Video) \\ Jonathan and Melissa Helser \\ We Will ...

This video was sent to me .  I thought you might enjoy the full version. I love this song.  It has really ministered to me.  There is no fear in God.  God IS love and to know God is to know LOVE Himself. We are no longer slaves to fear or sin.  Jesus has overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.  Let us continue to walk in the  spirit and not our flesh.  Together we will glorify our Lord and draw all men to HIm..

No Longer Slaves // Jonathan David & Melissa Helser // We Will Not Be Sh...

This is an encouraging song . If we hold fast to the Lord and His Word ofTruth, we will not be shaken.  Today, everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Only the Lord Jesus Christ will stand. If we are in Him and He is in us, Jesus is all we need. Now is the hour to strengthen our faith by forsaking the world and prepare for His coming.

GOD WHISPERS

It is so easy for me to take God for grant, when right around me the Lord is speaking.  God speaks in  many ways to get my our attention and I will just shrug it off. I pray you will enjoy this video and let God touch your heart.

Our EARLY inheritance

Wouldn't you love to receive an early inheritance, especially if you are young and have a small family?  Why wait when you could use it now? Talk about kindness and generosity. That is exactly what Jesus did for His bride, the church.

When Christ died and rose again, He bequeathed to His new bride, here on earth, His healing, His faith, His hope, His love, His peace , His forgiveness and everything He was on earth as the Son of God. Romans 8:16 says, " The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (ESV) His death and resurrection released the first installment of His inheritance. We don't have to first physically die to appreciate and appropriate His inheritance.  We can start by enjoying it here on earth and receive the fullness later.


The following verses are only a few of the many blessings we have already inherited in Christ. The full inheritance awaits us, but until then, the Lord has released to His Bride an amazing EARLY inheritance for us to receive by faith. As you mediate on these verses you will be blessed.

WE HAVE INHERITED..............


1.  All things that pertain unto life and godliness--2Peter 1:3

2  The divine nature of Christ--2 Peter 1:4

3. Power and anointing in the Holy Spirit--Acts 1:8, 1John 2:27

4.  Forgiveness of sins and freedom from guilt--1John 1:9 &
     Romans 8:1

5.  Divine health and healing--Matthew 8:17

6.  Prosperity in all things including our soul--3John 1:2

7.  Love, joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit
     Romans 14:17
 
8.  Victory and freedom from the bondage of sin--Romans 8:11

9.   More than conquerors in all things--Romans 8:37

10.  An Abundance of grace for every good work
       2 Corinthians 9:8

11.   Freedom from poverty --assurance that our needs will be met.  
        Matthew 6:36

12.   An understanding of the mystery of God's will--Ephesians 1:9

13.   Divine guidance--Romans   8:14

14.   Security--Psalm 91

15.   Co-laborers with God--1 Corinthians 3:9

16.   Seated in heavenly places with Christ--Ephesians 2:6

           and  much, much more.

In this life we already have received an inheritance far beyond anything that we deserve.  To receive and experience all this inheritance here on earth will take more than a life time.  Enjoy the journey.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN

Do you ever get tired of cold, rainy, cloudy days? It has been like that around here for the last few weeks.  This morning I was complaining to the Lord about His weather, "Lord don't you think enough is enough?  I am getting a little tired of the cold, damp rainy days."  I no sooner spoke those words when a brilliant string of light flashed through my living room window.  It got my attention. "Lord, You don't like my complaining.   Who am I to question Your weather patterns. What about the people who have lost their homes with some much rain. Where is a grateful heart?"

Then this thought came to my mind, "The sun was there all the time, behind the clouds and rainy days.  I didn't need to complain, just wait.  The clouds will pass and the sun will shine again.  I love my mother's saying,  "rain is like liquid sunshine". She was a cheerful person.

The sun continued to intermittently shine between the clouds.  It was a good feeling to know that the sun was again beginning to shine. Wait a minute. " Is this show and tell, Lord ? What are You really trying say.  I get  it."

There are days and seasons in my life when You allow the rain to pour and the clouds to cover the Son, wondering where You are?  How foolish of me. You have been there all the time, right behind the clouds.  The SON is always shining.  You are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Your  presence  is with me no matter what  circumstances are effecting my life. 

When the trials get long and it feels like it will never end, it is a good feeling to know that the SON is right behind those clouds.  The clouds will lift and I will see the SON again.

A SONG TO BE SUNG

This is an amazing little four year old girl singing with her daddy.  When I saw it, It confirmed to me the importance of family.  God created family. He has His own family.  As you listen to this little girl sing along with her daddy, just think how blessed our Father in Heaven  is when we sing along with Him in praise and worship.  He delights in His children.

 http://viralvo.com/4-yr-old-daughter/?r=jm

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A TRUE STORY

This is a true story.  I had to run to Walmart for a few things.  It was a cold and rainy day.  Entering the store, I put my brand new black gloves into my jacket pocket. The shopping didn't take long.  When I finished and was heading out, I went to put my gloves on and you guessed it, only ONE.  Don't you love that?  A brand new pair of gloves for one hand only.

My first thought was go back through the store where I was shopping and ask the lost and found... Nothing.  Then I thought "Dottie, why don't you ask the Lord  He knows where everything is".

"Of course, Lord, you have told me many times to ask for an angel to help me, because they love to minister to the heirs of salvation. " 

"Lord, I need an angel. I really would like to find that glove."  I continued looking some more and found nothing.  

Upon leaving through the exit out into the rain, a young man coming in the entrance said, "Hey, lady you dropped your glove.' I turned around and right behind me on the floor was my lost black glove. It was totally dry.  I looked for the young man and he was gone.  I believe it was the angel the Lord had sent.

 I picked up the glove and cried all the way to the car. "Lord, you are so good. Even a little thing like that You are mindful of. Thank you Lord for Your kindness." 

Hebrew 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for there by some have entertained angels unaware.  

Psalm 34:7

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.