Do You Have Peace?

Peace is hard to define, but if you have it, you know it.

Even when the hounds of hell are belittling you, Psalm 91:1-2 spells it out: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.'"

Colossians 3:15 says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." The Bible says God prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies (Psalm 23:5). That means even through your darkest days of conflict with others, God blesses you for your enemies to see. (He did it all through scripture for His children; He's not finished yet!)

God's peace transcends the human resources you and I may try to use to bring ourselves peace.

God cannot fill a cup that's already full with everything else going on in your life. So how do you have peace in the presence of every circumstance? You allow God to be your refuge. Psalm 32:7 says, "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

If that doesn't make you want to shout "Amen!", then your shouter is broken!

(Barbie will be speaking at First Baptist Raleigh's ladies luncheon this Saturday. Dates for 2011 are almost gone! If you are interested in getting Barbie booked to speak at your event, go to www.barbiebassett.com and click on "Contact".)

Stop Caring What Others Think of You

How long as it been since you've been so hungry for God that it consumed you to the point where you couldn't care less what people thought of you?

A lady viewer recently called the tv station and complained, "The blouse Barbie is wearing is too revealing. A Christian woman such as herself should never wear something like that." I think the producer who answered the phone was so shocked and offended by HER complaint, that the producer hung up on her!

It's time to rise up and pursue His presence and chase after God. God is uncomfortable with our self-righteous selves. We aren't as "all together" as we think we are. So what are we to do? John the Baptist suggested one thing: repentance.

Matthew 3:1-3 quotes him saying, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

Repentance prepares the way and makes the road of our hearts straight. You cannot live in His presence without repentance. Repentance permits the pursuit of His presence. It builds the road for you to get to God or for God to get to you!

So here it is: how long has it been since you said, "I'm going for God"? How long has it been since you laid aside everything that ever occupied you and ran down the road of repentance to pursue God?

(Coming Soon: Barbie's new book, "Carry An Umbrella When There's No Rain in the Forecast: 365 Days of Living by Faith")

Prophetic Words

The Lord is not against you. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

I believe in the prophetic word. When I was given a prophetic word, I knew it was for my future and not my present. My mother and others have spoken prophetic words over me at a particular time and I knew it was coming from God. It propels you forward and repels things off like the attacks of the devil, temptations and other things designed to make you stumble (all the more reason for you to prophesy over your children, your home, your marriage and yourself).

A few weeks ago, we totaled my husband's truck in a head on collision with a black bear on our way to Florida. Last week, I had a head on collision with a deer at night. Having had a few days to think about both instances, I remembered some prophetic words spoken over me years and even weeks ago.

The devil may try to get you to second guess what God is doing in your life or the direction in which God is leading you. But this is not a time to be conferring with flesh and blood, but a time to get a Word from Heaven.

I think of the Passover story and how the Angel of Death passed over the homes and families of those who had the blood over their doorpost.

In the same way, God still has a future for you!

Barbie had a collision last night with a deer. She is okay but is busy tending to personal affairs. She will return to the blog Monday.

High Entertainment Worship

It seems like our church services today are designed to be more man-pleasing services set to itch a tickling ear and to be full of entertainment. Unfortunately, these kind of meetings have very little of our sacrificial love poured out to God who alone deserves our praise and worship.

I believe God would rather have moments with a few people who really love Him than for everyone to come and be entertained. It's like we're hosting a party for God in which we trade presents with each other while totally ignoring His presence.

Psalm 103:1 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." It doesn't say "O Lord, bless MY soul." God is tired of reaching into His pocket to dispense the blessings of His hand. He wants us to enjoy the fellowship with His face.

(Barbie will be speaking at MADCAAP's Hope for Today event Tuesday night & First Baptist Church of Vicksburg Thursday night. This event is SOLD OUT.)