The Last Few Months

The last few months have been times of pressing in.  Ok the last year and a half maybe, but the last few months more intense.  I had been praying that the Lord get me and my family ready for what is coming.  Unfortunately, that often means that the flesh must suffer things.  He will go to great lengths to prepare us.  He will allow suffering in the flesh to cause us to be able to walk in fullness of joy in the spirit.  I had gotten sick with that cold that seemed to last forever and was weak and worn out.  I realized that I didn't have any more strength and I was in a good place.  I had some weak days and flesh was screaming out, but His spirit was interceding on my behalf and God was in control and I was out of control.  It doesn't seem like a good place to be, but it really was. Then after that battle, things at home were stretched even farther on all ends of the spectrum. There was an internal fight in me going on and I felt like I was dying at times.  Little did I know, I was.  I was dying to self and living in Him alone.  I kept hearing that this was the dark night of my soul.  I sure hope that doesn't have to happen again.  It was so intense and so horrible at times that I didn't know if I was even a Christian.  How crazy is that??
 So, going through all of these internal and external battles, I did all that I knew to do and stood and when I was done standing, I stood some more.  I read my journals and words that the Lord has spoken to me and claimed everything that HE SAID HE WOULD DO.  I refuse to give up.  There were several times in the last couple of months or so that I REALLY wanted to give up though.  I had to fight through them.  Thankfully, He has me around strong believers who encouraged me to keep my eyes on Him. This is the only way to get through anything.  If we worship with all that we have and keep reminding ourselves of how big our God is, we can make it through ANYTHING.  We shall overcome satan's schemes by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony and by not loving our lives even unto death. 
So anyway, then all of a sudden, in the most intense time, we have a set of tornadoes on a Friday night that swept through our community and hit my sister's house and many many more. Then, while still dealing with the destruction, my brother goes to the Emergency Room with severe headaches that won't go away and they are concerned he might have an aneurism. So, now he is getting tests taken.  Then, the very next week, I get a call and they inform me that my father has been found dead.  It's just been a crazy ride.  It's all an occasion to testify to the goodness of God though.  He is faithful and is going to complete what HE HAS STARTED.  I will cling to HIS HAND and know that there is no other way but JESUS.  HE IS WORTH THE JOURNEY!!!  I have made up in my mind that I will NOT GIVE UP!!! I will keep fighting the good fight of faith and will be victorious in all through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me!!!!
 This has seemed like another Goliath season in my life, but I feel more like David this time around saying "The Lord helped me defeat the Lion and the Bear, WHAT IS THIS to HIM??? I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"  Though my flesh is weak, the Lord is giving me strength by keeping me in His presence where there is fullness of JOY. 

I will keep moving FORWARD and the only reason I have to look back is to remember all that God has brought me through and has caused me to see victory in my life.  HE HAS DONE IT!!! He will continue until it is complete. 

God's Grace and My Dad

I just wanted to share things going on in the last few months/years of my life.  The Lord has been so faithful and gracious to me in that He has answered my prayers to "get me ready".  I had been going to deeper and more intimate levels of fellowshipping with the Lord than I had ever been.  I have had a hunger for the Word that was more than I have ever had over the last couple of years.  I have been learning how to enter into His Presence (in me) and worshipping deeper than ever.  This last couple of years have been a time of renewal and waking up.  I have been learning to sit under the fountain and receive so that I can pour out.  It has NOT been pretty at times, but the Lord has been providing EVERYTHING I need when I need it and not a moment too soon nor a moment too late (Thank you Daddy).
A couple of years ago, I was worshipping and I felt like the Lord was telling me that He was going to restore the broken relationships.  There were two people that immediately came to my mind--My dad and my husband's brother Jason.  Well, it wasn't long after that I finally found my dad again.  Our relationship had always been kind of odd (surprise surprise right?) I met him when I was 21 and we maintained contact off and on.  He lived in Oklahoma City and if I wanted to find him, I would call "Truelove's Pool Hall"  and they would get back with me.  It wasn't an ideal relationship at that point.  He had a lot of craziness in his life at this point, but he was trying the best he could in the way he knew how.  I believe I must be a lot like him.  I am a little hard to understand at times, but my heart is sincere and the Lord knows that.  I remeber before I was ever a Christian back in 1996, my dad mailed me my very first bible.  It had my name on it. He knew I needed one.  :)  At that point in my life though, I felt that if I went to a church, a big lightening bolt would come strike me dead. However, I read some of it.  Not a lot, but some.  It must have been enough to cause me to reach out a few years later though.  :)
Well, then in 2003 when I had my son, I got a call from dad saying that he had run out of his resources in Oklahoma and was going to come and try to make it in TN.  He was a pool player and made his living in the pool halls.  It wasn't the best of all professions, but he made it somehow.  So, he came to TN.  He stayed at our house about a month.  Then, he said he was going to stay with a friend closer in Cookeville and would call us when he got more settled in.  We never heard back from him.  At times, I would run into people that spent time in pool halls and I would ask them if they knew Bruce Gosselin.  They would say he was still living.  I would give them my name and number and send it by them to my dad.  I went through feelings of rejection all over again.  Only this time, my dad knew me and still didn't want to be around me.  OR SO I THOUGHT.  However, this wasn't the case.  In his mind, he didn't want to be a burden to me and the kids, so he stayed away.  He wanted to have a stable place to stay before he was a part of my life.  It was warped, but it was the way satan worked to keep us apart.  However, God is so much bigger than satan and has a way to restore all brokenness!! This was something that was near and dear to my heart and it caused me many sleepless nights so God made a way for us to meet once again.  In January 2010, I found him once again.  He was so happy that I found him.  He said he knew I would.  We talked through all the pain of how things were done and how it hurt and that I didn't want him to do me that way ever again.  He worked at maintaining this relationship with me and never giving up.  He fell in love with his grand kids and invested all his attention to them when they were around.  We didn't have many times together, but the times that we had were quality times.  We all knew he loved us and we all knew that he didn't want to lose us! Somehow, this helped in the healing process of all the pain of the past. I am thankful for that!
Well, in October of 2010, I decided to do more detective work and I ordered a free 3 day trial of a website to find family members.  I found my cousin in Chino Hills, CA and talked with her.  Within a week, my dad and his sister talked for the first time in about 30 years.  Once again, we had seen yet another restoration of relationship.  It was glorious!!! Then, about 3 or 4 months ago, my dad was able to talk to my cousin and cause him and his sister to start talking again.  He poured into my cousin's life and was so thankful that he was able to help him.  He thought he might have done some good.  (This was huge for my dad) Come to find out, he turned his life around and really began restoring relationships in his life.  So, the circle was complete.  God turned his latter into greater than his former.  His life had value and he now knew it.  He didn't have many friends, but the ones that he had he impacted in a powerful way. 

I have learned from my dad and for this I am thankful!!

Civil War inside me? The true Gospel?

Recently I felt like the Lord was telling me that there was a Civil War going on and that I would be a voice used to help end slavery in His People.  I accepted it and wrote it down.  I have pondered at times how I could possibly ever end up helping people be set free from bondage when I myself seem to struggle in areas. For example: I felt as if I had been set free from bondage to food, but I am by no means perfected in this area.  A few times I have knowingly ate something that I felt like the Lord told me to avoid and I paid heavy prices for it.  Be not deceived, what we sow, we will reap.  There are consequences for sin.  When we know to do something and we don't do it, we will reap destruction.  Jesus came to bring us FREEDOM FROM SIN and the power to overcome it.  He didn't come just to cover it all up and act as if everything is great regardless of what you are doing that is against God's nature.  He chastises those He loves, but that is a totally differen't subject.  I guess the main thing that I am realizing is that the Civil War that's going on inside of me is being fought between my "flesh" and my "spirit" and the "mind" being slave to one or the other.  If my mind is being controlled by the spirit, I am full of life and peace and victory, but if it is being controlled by the "flesh" I am walking in "anger" and "bitterness" and "resentment" and it's torture.  It causes me great sorrow when I am being ruled (governed) by the flesh man.  In that part of me, there is NO GOOD THING!!! It's ugly and I DON'T like it.  If I am governed by the Spirit man (who is controlled by the Holy Spirit) I am walking in LOVE, JOY, PEACE, and all the other fruits listed in Galatians 5:22.  So, if I have a choice in everything and have been given freedom over Sin, WHY DO I STILL CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO THE FLESH MAN? That's my question for the Lord.  This is what I am learning. When I allow the Lord to govern my body, HE keeps everything working just right.  It may look like I am being CONTROLLED by giving up things that the flesh wants, but in fact, I am receiving FREEDOM instead If I decide that I want to REBEL, then there are serious consequences and I am trampling the blood of Jesus under my feet.  My friends, the TRUTH of the Gospel will SET US FREE from all of this.  We need to know that WE CANT but HE CAN!!! We have been taught that we can NOT BE SET FREE from sin and that once a sinner always a sinner, but that is not the case.  You see, Each and every one of us have fallen short of the Glory of God according to the book of Romans and NONE of us can be cleansed apart from the blood of Jesus.  We must each recognize our NEED for HIM and we must TRUST IN HIM daily.  Instead, we have been watering down this glorious gospel that claims total and utter dependence on a savior who was WILLING TO TAKE THE WRATH OF GOD for ALL SIN (past, present, and future) and do our life our own way.  Oh God, have MERCY on us for trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot, whether knowingly or unknowingly.  We have failed to see the truth of your glorious gospel.  Help us to recognize our NEED FOR you so that we can walk free from sin.  We CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT YOU.  We thank you that the Power of the Holy Spirit is with us so that we can walk this journey and we pray you lead us every step of the way.  If we side step from your GRACE, bring us back into TOTAL DEPENDENCY UPON YOU LORD.  WE WILL DIE if we don't.  Instead, this day, we choose ABUNDANT LIFE and VICTORY OVER THE SIN by not just "accepting" your real GOSPEL that YOU DIED for us to have, but recognizing our NEED for the gospel each and every day.  It wasn't just a one time event, but a daily reminder that GOD HATES SIN AND SINNERS, BUT THAT YOU CAME AND TOOK ALL THAT WRATH UPON YOURSELF SO THAT WE COULD LIVE.  Oh let us NEVER forget that APART FROM YOU, WE CAN DO NOTHING!!!! Jesus you are worthy of ALL I HAVE TO GIVE. Thank you!!!!! Thank you!!!! Thank you!!!!! Help me to live a life worthy of the calling.  One that I am willing to lay down my life for the life of others.  Thank you for your great mercy toward us all!!!!!  I recommend the book, "RADICAL" by David Platt for anyone who would think that they are living their Christian life to the full potential.  It might shock you!  I know I am floored so far.  May the Lord have mercy on us all and may we ALL recognize our need for the blood of Jesus where we are hidden from the wrath of God that is coming!!!

AFFLICTIONS

Ok, this is probably one of those posts where I could go on and on and on.  I will probably add to this one on occasion, but lately I have been learning about God's grace and how we have His grace which is sufficient in EVERY trial that we go through.  We don't deserve HIS GRACE, but we GET HIS GRACE because we are HIS own.  Like my husband likes to say, it's not because of Worth, but because of Birth.  We didn't deserve to be God's children, but HE IS SOVERIEGN and HAD MERCY on us and made a way for us to become Sons and Daughters! Hallelujah!  Ok I better stay off that rabbit trail.  Back to the subject.  He gives us GRACE to carry us in various types of afflictions we know.  The other day at Vince and Samantha's (as usual) the Lord was dealing with me about GRACE.  He was telling me that I need to give myself more GRACE.  I am too hard on myself which actually makes me behave inapporopriately when I should just surrender to the GRACE of God and praise HIM for HIS Mercy which is new EVERYDAY!.  So, I heard a podcast teaching from a church called "Cornerstone" in Singapore. He was talking about God giving us various types of Grace that the Lord gives us to deal with the afflications that we go through.  He gives us exactly what we need to go through everything He calls us to endure.  He ALWAYS EQUIPS THOSE HE CALLS! Amen! This guy was talking about how his father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and had came to him and told him that if he would stop full time ministry that his father would include him in the will, but that if he did not stop full time ministry then his father would disown him. Wow!! I can't imagine!  How many of us can say that we have went through that much affliction and still pressed forward? God gave him a special GRACE to get through that situation and when we go through things, God gives us the GRACE, too.  There is purpose in the afflictions.  Most of the time, we don't want to go the hard way, we want the microwave ministry and that won't always happen.  We need to let that go.  If we get things without it costing us something, we probably won't keep that thing very long.  The afflictions that we go through actually root us and ground us in a TRUST that nothing else could accomplish.  When it is all said and done, we will be able to say "If it had not been for the LORD, I would not have made it!" I want to be that servant who has totally learned to TRUST and OBEY and LOVE and WORSHIP to the fullest that I have been given.  If I had NEVER had to go through trials and tribulation, my love for Jesus might not go deep enough and I might not make it through some of the afflictions that are coming, but I have learned to be content with the LORD through trials and tribulations and am continuing to MOVE FORWARD with HIM.  I am walking in HIS GRACE WHICH IS SUFFICIENT.  I pray that I continue to do so.  One of the purposes of affliction is to nourish us. Really??? Wow, I never saw it this way, but this morning,  this stood out to me so deeply today while reading Revelations 12:14 (But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.) Of course the woman is the Bride of Christ we know and when I read that, my heart lept within me.  We are NOURISHED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE SERPENT???? Really???? You mean that we don't have to go around casting the devils out of anything that would cause us to be afflicted?? But isn't that what a lot of people like to preach?  Oh come to the Lord and ALL YOUR TROUBLES WILL BE GONE?  Oh I beg to differ.  In fact, when you surrender your life to the Lord, your troubles will come.  Let's look at Jesus, for our example.  When He was baptized by John in Matthew chapter 3, the heavens were "opened up to Him" and HE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT.  Then Daddy SPOKE HIS IDENTITY by saying "This is my beloved Son, in whome I am well pleased."
 IMMEDIATELY, not later on, but IMMEDIATELY after this LIFE ALTERING EXPERIENCE, He was DRIVEN(that's what the word used means.  Led sounds so nice, but instead He was DRIVEN by HS) to the wilderness by None other than the Holy Spirit of God (our best friend, right?) Hallelujah!!! God knows what we need to fulfill our destiny.  Beloved, don't be afraid of various trials and tribulations that you MUST GO THROUGH.  These things work God's purposes in your life.  They are nourishment for you just as much as the WORD of God is.  In fact isn't that what the parable of the sower says? When the word is planted in us, it causes tribulations and persecutions to come? (Matthew 13:21) Like my dear friend Samantha says "Things that make you go hmmmm"  I love it!!! Through the many tribulations and persecutions (WHICH DON'T EVEN COMPARE TO WHAT SOME HAVE SEEN) I have seen so much fruit come out of it.  I am thankful for every persecution and tribulation that comes.  I know that there will be more.  I pray that the Lord give me the GRACE to handle EVERYTHING that He has called me in this life and in the ages to come.   We NEED afflictions. We NEED persecutions.  We will be more than conquerors through Christ if we endure them.  How can we be MORE THAN CONQUERORS if we HAVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO CONQUER??? Hallelujah!! The troubles that I have went through in the last 7-8 years have only prepared me for what I am walking through now.  HIS GLORY!!! HE DOES THE WORK.  He leads us to the Wilderness experience and HE LEADS US OUT WITH VICTORY!!!! 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our AFFLICTION, which is but for a moment is working for us a FAR MORE EXCEEDING and eternal weight of GLORY, while we do not look @ the things which are seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  OH BELOVED, HANG IN THERE if you are going through tribulations and trials.  God is doing something beautiful through it.  I pray that your faith does not fail and that when you come out of this trial that you are like a refined gold!!!! Hallelujah!!! May you come out and carry the GLORY OF GOD to this LOST AND DYING WORLD!!!! This just EXCITES ME SO!!!! It was rough to go through some of the things that I have went through, but it was far worth the abundance of Grace and Glory that has been revealed because I ENDURED!  I wasn't always perfect in the middle of the affliction, but next time, I will ask God to cause HIS GRACE TO ABOUND FOR THE SITUATION.  He will HONOR that prayer I am SURE of it!!! Be blessed today as you ENDURE with the JOY OF THE LORD BEING YOUR STRENGTH!!!

FREEDOM

I was looking back at things the Lord has shared with me over the last year or two and came upon this one from February 2011

“The same power of God that was used to deliver Israel from her bondage destroyed the idols of Egypt. This was because the spiritual yokes and fears that keep us in bondage are often linked to our idols. By this example we also can be sure that the power of God that sets His people free will threaten those who seek to keep people in bondage to them and their idols. They know that when we lose our devotion to their idols they will lose their influence and control over us.
 When I finally pressed through to get into His abiding presence the power of God has made idols that I had useless and as I yearn to set others free, there is a lot of resistance from people who don't want to give up their idols!!”

Wow, this has been really true! When I first started my walk with the Lord in 2001, I remember walking out the door and telling my ex-husband, “Don’t worry, I am not going to go getting religious on you or anything.  I just need to start going to church” Oh boy, did I not have a clue or what?  Haha.  I think back now and laugh, cry, and just plain adore the Lord that brought me to that church that day and took all my burdens off my shoulders, and then proceeded to “clean me up”  It’s truly an amazing story.  Little did I know how I would respond to such an awesome touch from the Lord.  I learned in an instant that those “Jesus Freaks” were really awesome people that had an awesome God.  J From June 17, 2001 until now, I have never turned away from the Lord.  I can’t!!  He is the one who holds me in the palm of His hands. He is the only one who has ever truly understood me and still LOVED me.  He is the one that has taken this broken vessel and has formed and is forming something glorious.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly.  Amazing!!!  That same power is the one who has caused me to want to destroy all the idols in my life.  I want to make sure that absolutely NOTHING brings me back into a place of bondage to the enemy of my soul.  See, sometimes things look good on the outside and seem to be “right” and “ok” but they lead you into a place of death and torment.  I don’t want anything to do with them.  I thought I had gotten rid of all the world when I was born again, but then, after going through some tough times, I wondered am I just overboard? I began to doubt what I felt the Lord had placed on my heart.  Did He really tell me to get rid of “secular” things? After all, my ex-husband didn’t “stand” with me on this right? Did God really say…..??? Oh what a HORRIBLE TRAP STRAIGHT FROM THE PIT OF HELL.  It took a season of getting the LIFE choked out of me to realize just how dangerous “things” had become to me.  They had become “idols” in my life and my enjoyment of them caused me to spend more time with things that brought “entertainment” than to spend my precious and valuable time with the greatest form of Entertainment ever known to man (the Lord’s ‘Presence’)  Instead of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, I was hungry for things of this “world”.  I was trapped and walking miserably thinking that this was “normal”  after all, I didn’t want to be one of “those” Christians who was out there in whoo whoo land right? OR DO I??? J  Well, I can now say with ABSOLUTE CLARITY (because the Lord delivered my mind) that I would rather stay a zealous and passionate Christian that GETS to give up ALL THE WORLD than to HAVE ALL THE WORLD and not have HIS PRESENCE. He is worth the “sacrifice” (if you can really call it that).  I refuse to go back.  I pray I have a circle of friends that will keep me accountable and that I stay hooked up with people who refuse to stop until they have ALL OF HIS FULLNESS.  We can’t make it without HIM.  Our own understanding fails us!!! We THINK we know the Word and then HE REVEALS the truth and we are blown away once again.  HE IS GOD!!!! WE ARE NOT!!! J  I only want to be LED BY HIS SPIRIT and do everything that He calls me to do in this life.  I want to praise HIM with my HEART and not just my lips.  I want to press forward and not go back.  In order to do this, I have to be willing to lay down ANYTHING HE CALLS AN IDOL IN MY LIFE.  When I do this, RELIGIOUS people get frustrated! There are people that want their “organized” “pretty” “so nice” litte boxes that they try to shove God into, but HE DOESN’T FIT!!!  YOU CAN’T CONTROL GOD!!!! He is TOO BIG and guess what.  HE IS STILL HOLY!!! He will draw you into a life where HE WILL bring you into a HOLINESS that is of HIM and NOT YOU.  HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!  Why do people get mad when someone is SET FREE from idols? Because in their heart, they have said “I WILL NOT GIVE THAT UP”.  They are in a religious box and they want to try to get you to stay in that box, too.  God have mercy on their souls! I am FREE and I am REDEEMED and I will SHOUT IT FROM THE HOUSETOPS!!!

Where is your citizenship??

Ephesians chapter 2

He has made us ALIVE unto HIM!!!  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and not only citizens of this world (v 19) We are not to be comfortable here on earth.  We are walking around as foreigners (WITHOUT RIGHTS) in a land that is not our home.  While we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord (2 Cor 5:6) So, therefore, if we are walking in the spirit, we will be content in ALL THINGS as we go through this life living in a land where we have NO RIGHTS.  As long as we are living in a mindset that we DESERVE to be apologized to when wronged, we are not walking in our citizenship of the Kingdom of God, but instead with a mindset that is in citizenship of this WORLD.  We were never meant to walk in the bondage of this world, but instead walk in the freedom of our heavenly citizenship while living as ambassadors for the KING.  We don’t have to wait until the sweet by and by to walk in the Kingdom of God, but instead, we can be CONTENT with ALL THINGS while we are here on earth if we remember that we are citizens of a higher Kingdom already if we have been born of God.  Hallelujah!!!  Even though we have no RIGHTS in this world, we have the right to OCCUPY and bring heaven to earth.  We are AMBASSADORS in a foreign land for OUR KING.  Oh Lord, that we would be so consumed by your LOVE FOR US that we would walk in YOUR MINDSET when we are attacked.  When the very core of our being is attacked, let us walk in the nature of Jesus Christ Himself and not in the nature of Adam who has been crucified with Christ!  Let us walk in the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit and not the resurrection of Adam and his carnal nature.  Thank you Lord that we have NOT DONE THIS OF OURSELVES, but that YOU BOUGHT us with a precious price.  You poured out your precious blood of Jesus and redeemed us from the pit of despair.  Even in the smallest matters, WE CAN NOT CHANGE OURSELVES.  We totally look to you daddy!!! We depend on you for our redemption.  We depend on YOU TO CHANGE US!!! Thank you Lord for bringing us into FREEDOM!!! Thank you for the glorious inheritance of GRACE that you have bestowed upon us!!  Ok, that’s exciting stuff.  Now, as we take time to meditate on the faithfulness of God, we are brought into a place of RECEIVING GRACE from HIM.  We get our hearts into a place that is positioned under the spout of LIVING WATER.  As we allow HIM to penetrate our very beings with HIS LIVING WATER, we then begin to overflow.  THIS, BELOVED, IS HOW WE ARE TO WALK IN THE WORLD.  We are to be walking in overflow of HIS glorious grace.  We should be POURING liquid LOVE on ALL THE WORLD!!!! The world that doesn’t realize that YOU CAN’T FIX YOURSELF!!!! They are in need of a Savior!!! One who comes to dwell and cleanse and set free from sin, NOT SWEEP IT UNDER THE RUG!!!!  He loves us enough to SET US FREE!!!! We are then free to not hold anyone captive by our pitiful attitudes because we have had pain and sorrow from them.  NO!!!! IT’S NEVER THE OTHER PERSONS FAULT when we are wounded.  We have not been walking in the Spirit and allowing our flesh to stay crucified if we are offended.  Just get back up and keep walking the walk and fighting the good fight of faith!!!! In HIM, we live, move, and have our being. We have to walk in this precious faith!!! If we begin to walk in the pressures and cares of this life, then we have side stepped somehow and just need to get back on track.  Keep your eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith!!

They didn't even smell like smoke!!!

In Daniel chapter 3, I am reminded of just HOW BIG My God is!!!  As I have allowed my focus to drift from the awesomeness of my God into intercession for what is coming to the earth, I allowed fear to grip me.  So, this week, I was brought to Shadrach, Meshack, and AbedNego.  For those of you who don't know, these are the boys that REFUSED to bow down to an IDOL.  They knew how BIG their God was and they were more than willing to DIE if it meant honoring their God.  They had seen the hand of God in their lives and they had NO ROOM FOR ANY IDOLS in their lives.  Our God is a Holy God and a LOVING God and a PROVIDING God.  He is well able to provide everything that we need in times of Crises.  We run to HIM and HE IS OUR REFUGE!  We need to know this!! These boys knew it and when they refused to bow down to the idol, they were thrown in the fire.  However, even unto apparent death, they REFUSED TO BOW DOWN.  They KNEW who their God was and they KNEW that HE WOULD PROVIDE and that the Idol that they were being told to bow down to had NO POWER and their God did!!! So, when they were thrown into the fire, the LORD was immediately with them.  The fire melted the chains (or whatever they were bound up with) and they were FREE!!!! Where the spirit of the Lord is there is FREEDOM!!!! We may have to go through fire when we REFUSE to bow down to other Gods, but the FIRE brings FREEDOM!!! He says that when we walk through the fire, it shall not burn us (Isa 43:2)  Glory to God MoST HIGH!!! I am so thankful!!! These things that we are getting ready to walk through are nothing compared to the GLORY that shall be revealed in us and through us.  How do we see the miraculous power of God?  We ask because we need!!! If we never need anything, how can we trust God to provide it? We have an UNSHAKABLE GOD and He allows us to LIVE in HIS UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM.  We need to take full advantage to get HIDDEN IN HIM for this world will not be here forever, but HE WILL!! :)