"A Fish Out of Water"

"Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man." (Psalms 43:1) The first thing that we must remember, whatever ministry that we might be placed in, is that this world will hate us, because it first hated Jesus Christ (John 15:18-20), and the servant is not greater than the Master. With that in mind, we should not get discouraged by the rejection or lack of love that we receive from the world, because this is really not where we belong any longer, seeing that we have been reborn into another kingdom, and that we serve a God that is not of this world; He came into the world, but the world rejected Him, even though the world was made by Him (John 1:10 & 11). It might seem a little strange, but sometimes the world works it's way into our churches, either by those that are of the world being the ones leading the church, or by the leaders being influenced by an unbelieving body. That is why it is so vitally important that we have our instruction given by the Word of God; we must never leave off from the study of God's word as the foundation of our doctrine, and the source of what we believe. Yet, what we see happening more and more in many of our churches, are not people being led and taught by the Word of God, but by man's philosophy referenced by Scriptures; teachings which do not stand up against the whole counsel of God's word, because they are not using the whole counsel of God's word for their teachings. I know that I might appear to be off topic here, but there is something which we must constantly adhere to as we minister, or as we are ministered to, and that is God's word, because His word does not change. Man might try to change the meaning of God's word and use it for his own worldly lusts, but when the whole counsel of God's word is used, those types of teachings will not stand the test, especially against those that actually have God's Spirit dwelling in them... "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (John 16:7-11)

"A Man in Exile"

PSALMS 43 is an interesting little Psalm, because it appears to be a continuation of Psalm 42, but with a slight different twist, one that involves our service to God in an unjust place; yet, we must still continue in that thirst for God, even as we serve Him. As a matter of fact, if these two Psalms were to be sung together, then one would be the melody, while the other the chorus; or one would be set to one note, while the other is set to a higher, more aggressive note. The general point that I believe this brings us to, is that we are to never stop thirsting for God, no matter how spiritual or involved in the ministry, we must always maintain a thirst for God's presence and leading in our lives. Then you might be asking, How can a man be spiritual yet not be led by God? That is a really good question, because it can happen; and it happens more than we might care to know, by God's servants trusting more in what they know, than in what the Spirit is saying. When it comes to God's ways, His ways so unravel our ways, that there are miles and miles of unsolved mysteries, many of which we may never fully understand or comprehend; yet, it is not our understanding that He requires from us, it is our faith in Him, regardless of how things appear. The title above this Psalm in my Bible, again, is the title of this post; which depicts a man that is in exile from the place which he belongs, yet compelled to serve in whatever place that God has him in; even among those that are our enemies, we must continue in that heart of a servant. What we find most of the time in serving God, is that the closer we get to God, the further away we find ourselves from where we want to be, and the more we become "A Man in Exile"... "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,) concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: by Whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among nations, for His name: among whom are ye the called of Jesus Christ: to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 1:1-7)

"Faith Wins!" -2

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalms 42:11) Did you get that? God wins! He is eternally glorified, because He always wins! Therefore, guess what that means? It means that we win also! If the Lord is our God, and it is He that we serve, then we always win, plain and simple. Really makes a lot more sense than trying to worry about what comes next, because worry never solves anything, it just causes our health to fail and gives us ulcers, or worst. The next time that you feel down, or the next time you feel as though you have been defeated, then remember this: God always wins, and if you are His child, you will always win also! Whatever happens to you or in your life, it has happened because God allowed it, and because God can and will use it for good, whether that be your good, or the good of someone else, it really does not matter, because you become a part of something which brings glory to God; and bringing glory to God is really what it's all about. I'm sorry, but there is something missing here; something that is just a wee bit missing; oh ya, it's hope! That's right! Hope is what makes us have praise that is given in truth; we can worship God all day and night, but if there is no hope behind our worship, then who are we worshiping? Sure, we can just praise Him for those things which He has done already, but we serve a Living God, and He works in the now, and in every circumstance, or every situation of our daily living. That is what "Thirsting for God" really looks like, if you could observe it in our hearts; it's a heart that cries out for the Master, and understands how lost and destitute that it is without Him caring for our every need; for that is what He has asked us to, to cast all of our cares upon Him, for He is more than able to handle anything. Actually, I do believe that our faith is tested more often then we think; any time that God places any challenge before us that seems impossible or too difficult for us to handle, then God is waiting for our response to be one of looking to Him. It should be our natural response, that is if we are truly trusting Him with all of our life, and our hope is in Him; because we are not going to find answers or solutions to the impossible situations in this world; only God can do impossible, so hope thou in God.... "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)

"Faith Wins!"

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalms 42:11) If ever there were a time when our faith needs to be tested, today is that time. There is absolutely nothing God cannot fix, or nothing that He cannot turn from something that is destroyed, into something that brings life and hope; He gives beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). And here is the most amazing thing about how that works, in that it works for His glory; it's not about what I might get out of this or that, but it's about the Lord being glorified in the midst of everything and throughout all generations, even in tragedy and sorrow, as difficult as that might be to wrap our mortal minds around. There are a lot of things that we will not understand, nor will we get answers for on this side of heaven, but God's love for us demands that we praise Him in whatever it is that we might be going through, and in all situations, no matter how dark and unending things may appear; because there is an end, and that end is more beautiful than we could ever imagine! Just think heaven! No matter what this world might throw at us, or no matter what it is that has us feeling defeated, heaven is the goal that counts, heaven is the place where our sight is fixed upon, not the healing, or the mortgage, or any other thing that might have us feeling like our life is in a blender; there is nothing here that compares to what is there... "And Jesus answered  them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any serve Me, him will My Father honour. Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:23-28)

"...Out of Control" -2

"As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:10) When is comes to thirsting for God, our hope is what keeps us looking up; and in looking up, we are taking our eyes off of this out of control world, and we are casting them towards our God, who is always in control. As Paul explained it, in six simple words, "For we are saved by hope", he makes the point about how it is our need for God to change us that makes us God's children; if we desire not to be changed, then we are are none of His, because He must change us for us to be fit for His kingdom. I might have been saved in September 1981, but I will not be completely changed until I am meeting the Lord in the air; in the meantime, here I remain till God either calls me home, or takes us all up in one big swoop. Are you ready? Where is thy God? Is He up there, coming at any moment? or is He less important than the things in your life? We really don't need to argue over whether or not He is coming, because He said that He would, and He made it very clear that He would come as a thief in the night; the day in which He comes back and places His foot upon this earth, that day is easy enough to know, but it won't be known until the day that His church is taken up; then it's just a matter of counting seven years to the date. Basically what I am trying to say, is that, if we are looking up for His coming at any moment, then we will be thirsting for God, not just for His soon return, but for Him to prepare us to go; our lamps will be full, because we have made preparation for them to be full; otherwise they will not be full, and we will not be ready... "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as in the days of Noah were, so shall also be the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and he would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 24:36-44)  

"...Out of Control"

"As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:10) If you have ever found yourself asking the question, Why? and then wondering afterwords if that was a rhetorical question because you really don't want to know the answer, then you may need to try and get some of the world out of your system. Any time we suffering through something that takes people or things out of our lives, we need to be asking the Why question, and we need to be asking with purpose. Did you lose your house? Then maybe God needs you to focus more upon the house He has built for you. Did you lose you spouse? Then maybe God wants you to present yourself as His bride. Did you lose your child? Then maybe God is needing you to come to Him as a child? I am not saying that God causes any of those things to happen, because those things are caused by this world and it's fallen state; but God does allow certain things to happen in the life of His children, and then He uses those things to shape us into the image of His Son. So, what I am trying to say, is that we must not ever make our question rhetorical, because God is doing something; things don't just happen, although many people will try and tell you different. We cannot control what happens in this life, that is totally up to God; but we can control how we respond to what ever it is that this world throws at us, by asking that Why question, and then letting God work His perfect will into our lives..."For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Romans 8:18-25)

"This Life..."

"I will say unto God my Rock, Why hast Thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" (Psalms 42:9) It's not that God has forgotten, or even that He has stepped away, because He is our Rock, and because He is, He does not move; because He is our stronghold, and a shelter in our time of need; which means that He is the place where we run to, and where we are always safe and secure; which is why David begs to ask the second question, "Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" It's a good question to ask ourselves, as we find ourselves hanging our heads and crying over something that is not significant enough to harm our eternal security; especially when all that we need to do is run to the Father of our soul and be strengthened. The better questions to be asking, are, Why have I forgotten You, O God? why have I forgotten Your promises? why have I forgotten how much You love me? and why do I let this life get to me, over and over again? Maybe I get too comfortable and begin to be satisfied by the things in this world; things which really do not last, nor do they supply me with any sort of peace, at least not the kind of peace that makes me sleep well at night. All these things will be consumed in the fire, and I sure want to make sure that I am not too attached to them, least I get a little taste of that fire! But this life has a tendency to pull me in, trapping me in getting comfortable with living here, if not just long enough to feel a little smothered; then I begin to realize that there is something wrong, asking, "Why hast Thou forgotten me, O God, my Rock?" While all along, I am the one that has gotten forgetful of where I am, and I have forgotten how to run to the Rock of my salvation, because I am holding on to too much of this world. Jesus said, "He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25). Really, the enemy can only oppress us if we have our focus upon the things of this world; he surely cannot take away our salvation or our eternal life that is waiting for us in heaven, so then, if we focus upon that which he cannot touch, there is nothing to be oppressed over, nor does it really matter what he does to me; even death offers a sweet release... "Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterward. Peter said unto Him, Lord, why cannot I Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for My sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied Me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." (John 13:36-14:4)

"The God of My Life" -2

"Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalms 42:8) If we truly believe that God loves us, then we know in our hearts that He is always there for us, which is what He wants us to be; God wants us to be reaching out to Him, as His children, in need of a Father who has the power to get things done, we are reaching out to the One who has the power to do all things. Just as God commands the seas and the waves, He commands His love for us, it is more than just His desire that He love us, it is established in who He is, and in the way that He made us in His image. You might say that God's love commands our response, as God might ask the question, "Why won't you love Me?", and He deserves an answer, because of the magnitude of His love for us. That would be much like the way God had asked Job, saying, "Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou Me" (Job 38:3), as we think we know God's coming and going, His ways and His thoughts, yet we can hardly comprehend what we ourselves are, and where we came from, and where we are going. Our safest and most sure way to respond to God, is to just believe that He loves us, and then do all that we can to love Him back! Another way for us to view this verse, is to relate it to the way God went before the children of Israel in the the wilderness: "by day in the pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go day and night" (Exodus 13:21); as we can consider how the cloud that God provided them gave them shelter from the sun; besides guiding them and showing them the way that they should go, the cloud was like an umbrella to cover them and give them shelter; just as God's love in the daytime, which we can view as those bright sunny days of our lives, in which all is going well and there are no worries because we know that God's love is over us; verses the night time, in which things are dark and gloomy, where all that we have to hold onto to is God's brightness; where there is nothing else but the Refiner's Fire, and that which will come out on the other side, as He burns away all that is not of Him. In this case, we enjoy the the covering of His love for us in all that is good, and yet, when things are bad we must praise Him all the more, because it is time for business; it is time for burning off some of that world we took on during those good times; all the while, we must pray, praying unto the God of our life; meaning that He is the one in control of our life, not us: He is the Potter, we are just clay... "O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Thy Holy Name, and glory in Thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD." (1 Chronicles 16:34-36)

"The God of My Life"

"Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalms 42:8) Trials and tribulations have their place, as they keep us mindful of not only our need for God's help, but they also keep us mindful of God's love for us as His children; like the waves that come in along the ocean shorelines, sometimes small, and sometimes large and crashing, but always present. Thinking back, it's hard to think of a time when there was not something going on that needed to be dealt with; if there was plenty of money, then there was never enough time; or if there was security, then there was some sort of sickness; always something pressing that needed us to call upon the Lord and ask for His assistance. Because I believe that Jesus will come for His church before the Great Tribulation, that causes me to try and keep myself prepared for His coming; it's not that He will be returning all the way to the earth, because He won't do that until the end of the Tribulation; but the Bible says that we will meet the Lord in the air; actually it says, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 17) Trials and tribulations are part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and is the result of living in this broken world, having our eyes fixed upon a much better place; the Great Tribulation will be God's judgement upon an unbelieving world, which is altogether a different kind of tribulation, not brought on by the world, but brought on by God upon this world, of which God will not subject His children to (1 Thessalonians 5:9). With that said, we can try to understand what David is speaking of as he says, "Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime", because it is just that He has surrounded us with His lovingkindness, but that we shall never be separated from it, nor can anyone snatch us from His hand; but He will be snatching us from this world any day now, so we had better be ready to go... "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)   

"Going In Deep" -2

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me." (Psalms 42:7) Now then, if we are going against the flow, then we are sure to experience some bumps and resistance along the way; however, when we are submerged in the Word of God, all of that noise, if you will, is overcome by God's voice within our lives; in other words, He becomes louder and louder, the more that we are in His word and yielding to His Spirit. Do we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness? or are we okay with being questionably saved? If we have been transformed and we are living for God, then there is no question that we have been saved, and that God's Spirit is leading our lives; but if we have not been changed, and if we are not living for God, then where is the fruit of our salvation? And then, if we do not have the fruit in our lives, do we then set out to do those things that show fruit? or do we seek out the source by which the fruit is manifested? That is really a pretty silly question, if you really stop and think about it, because the fruit comes from abiding on the Vine; we can't just pick up fruit and start living and sharing, expecting that fruit to empower our lives, because it is dead fruit if it is not abiding in Jesus Christ. We must be changed; whether that involves a rededicating of our lives, or a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, it must be a work of God that happens within us, not us working to make it happen. Maybe somewhere along the way God's Word has become irrelevant, as if, we somehow think that we have a total understanding of His Word, and therefore we do not need to study it anymore to show ourselves approved? I would sure hope not, because God's Word will never be irrelevant; even in heaven God's Word will still be what guides our lives, for in Revelation 22:4 it says, "And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads"; His name will be everything about Him, all that He is, and everything that we need to know, which shall no longer be something we read from a book, but will be part of what we will become. In other words; not only will His Word still be relevant when we get to heaven, but it will become a part of what we shall be in heaven. After all of that said, I must confess that I really don't know how that relates; except to say... "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55:1-3)  

"Going In Deep"

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me." (Psalms 42:7) What sets the standard for our life? Is it the Word of God, or is it the world? I am sure that you have seen the bumper sticker that shows a fish swimming against the flow of the other fish, although I have not seen one in a while; but it is really the perfect picture of what we should look like compared with the rest of the world; if we are going with the flow, then most assuredly we are not going in the right direction, and the Word of God is not what is directing our lives. Which makes me wonder about what my life should look like when it comes to living for Jesus; am I just trying to get along and not make any waves, or am I making a difference for the kingdom of God? Better yet, can I honestly say that my life is a living sacrifice unto God? Oh, that hurt a little! It is kind of like fasting, but on a much more permanent fashion, that we have a life that denies the flesh all the things which cause us to not live our lives for the Lord; whereas, the simple act of our denying the flesh, makes us more focused upon the goal of heaven, and less satisfied by the things of this world. The reason for the fast is to draw closer to God, so too, living a life that is dedicated to God involves us removing those things from our lives that hinder our dedication, or that are unpleasing to Him, which makes them a hindrance to our dedication, because we know them to be sins, and any sort of compromise that we make, just leads to more compromise, and another, and another, until our lives are no different than those that live in the world. It is so easy to find ourselves setting the standard for our lives after that of the world; making our lives seem okay based upon the way the world lives, and not living holy lives based upon the Living Word of God. When I read this verse above, I imagine myself as a stone or a piece of glass getting smoothed over by the Living Word of God; each and every rough edge is being worn away by the Word washing over me; every imperfection is being removed as I yield my life to the Spirit of the Living God; until all that is left is a polished stone, that shines for Jesus... "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against your soul; having your conversation among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:9-12)  

"Faith Claims Victory"

"O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember Thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill of Mizar." (Psalms 42:6) The real answer to feeling cast down or bewildered, is to set our eyes on Jesus, proclaiming all the mighty works that He has done; for He has defeated sin and death, taking not only our sins away, but taking the sting of death away from us also: because He is risen, we shall rise also, in Him. Therefore, why do we need to feel defeated by the things that come against us? Is it because we have little faith? or maybe, is it because we care too much for the things of this world? How about taking the sensible side of this natural reaction, and understand that we need God in every situation? Yes, that's it; we are poor and weak, and we need God's assistance to have victory, both with our lack of faith, and with our cares of this world. In other words, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13), is not just a verse that we have memorized, it is what we believe with all of our hearts. If ever there was something that shows the victory won in Christ, it is the great contrast of the suffering which was displayed upon that cross, and the triumph over sin and death that resulted from it. We must put our faith in Jesus Christ, because in Christ the victory is ours, because He has already won; as soon as we begin to assume that we have any chance of victory within ourselves, then we are going to become sorely dismayed and our soul will feel cast down by the weight of the things which Christ has lifted off of us. This should not need to happen, but it does, and it does because we are still very needy when it comes to walking in victory; which is mostly because we have not yet received our glorified bodies, and still tend to glorify this current body, now and again. So what do we do? We take our eyes off of ourselves, and we look to Jesus, the Word of God... "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:1-3)

"Sense Meets Faith"

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." (Psalms 42:5) And yet, I don't care how mature or strong that you are as a believer, there are going to be days of wavering and doubt; I know that it is bound to happen, because it happen to David. As a matter of fact, even Jesus had an hour or so where His sense of what was about to happen took Him off His game; where He sought for the Father to find another way, that it did not need to happen as originally planned. More than that, I believe Jesus prayed as He did for strength, and for the courage to go forward; which is basically the same thing that we must do, as we give all the glory to God, knowing that it is His will that must be done, not ours. If you really take the time to think about it, God's will is always the best to seek after, because when we are seeking God's will for our lives, then we know that everything will turn out just fine; actually, those things that look the worst and don't appear to make much sense, are usually the things that do the most good, because God's hand is pressing hard upon our lives. I heard a very interesting thing at the Men's Conference this last Saturday, which was about the reason Moses covered his face after having been in the presence of God, that it was so the people would not notice how his countenance changed afterwards; after the passing of time, how the glow disappeared from his face. All of our hope needs to stay focused in God, not in how we might appear, or how things might appear around us: "For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Sense takes those things that are seen and tries to make sense of everything, but the things of God do not make sense in this world; neither can we, without faith, hope in God without first taking our eyes off of the things of this world, and place them firmly upon the Lord. The second thing that we must do, after having hoped in God, is to praise Him; praise Him for trial or tribulation; make known in our hearts how much that we trust Him, for we know that His perfect will is being worked out within our life. That is how faith must act, by rejoicing in the midst of the fire, and by giving God the glory in the midst of the tribulation or circumstance; that is what faith looks like compared to sense, because faith can not make sense of what is ahead, and sense can not understand faith; they just don't see eye to eye... "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)    

"Hanging On"

"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday." (Psalms 42:4) No matter how you slice this, there is just a multitude of stuff within this verse that speaks forth normal days of asking for something more. Those would be days like today asking for the experience of yesterday; or even the afternoon longing for that which was felt in the morning. It might be something we tend to look back on, something which caused us to get serious with God, maybe even a certain word that spoke into our hearts; and yet, we try and reproduce that experience or that fervent moment, and the words just don't seem to have that same affect as they did when they affected the change that they did before. It's okay, because God does not always work in us the same way each and every time; which is actually a really good thing, because we need to always be expecting something new and exciting to happen in our lives, because God is always working in us a change in Him. It is kind of like the simple verse of The Song of Songs 1:16, which says, "Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green"; for there is nothing that is old or mundane when it comes to our relationship with the Living God; there really isn't a routine relationship when you are walking in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God goes where He wants to go (John 3:8). We do however need to make sure that we are holding on, which is made sure by staying in the Word, fellowship with other believers, a dedicated prayer life, listening for and obeying His voice, and dying daily to the flesh; all of which require us to stay committed to the battle, and pressing up to the front lines of the personal battles within our own lives, and then letting Jesus take out our giants for us. When we live our life as a warrior in His army, then it's not a matter of holding on anymore, it becomes a matter of hanging on, because the ride is going to be filled with all sorts of exciting things... "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain into life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:2-8)

"Swept Away" -2

"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:3) I can understand why some might think the way that they do, because there are days when I have moments of doubt and unbelief; especially those days when I am focused upon the past, which is a topic for another day. It absolutely comes down to our perspective on heaven being that place which we belong, not this earth; having been reborn in the Spirit, this is no longer our home; our home is now heaven, so nothing that takes place here much matters anymore, at least when it comes to suffering and circumstances. What does still matter is where our focus is, and how much we live towards standing before our Lord; because the day will come when we are going to give Him an account of what we did with what He gave us to do. With that, the next question we need to ask ourselves, never mind what others say, but we ourselves must ask it of our own hearts, "Where is thy God?" Is my God that which I live for, day in and day out? Is He the last thing on my mind when I go to sleep, and the first thing I think of when I awake? Or am I more concerned about the business at hand or how it is that I get a handle on this life? In other words, even the way that we view the battle can be a hindrance and a distraction from giving God the glory, because the battle has already been won, we just need to learn how to walk in the victory that has been accomplished for us. Am I set free from sin? I am when I do not focus upon sin, but upon God! Has God delivered me from the bondage of sin? Yes indeed, far more than I realize, because I have never "yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4). He has swept away all of my sins, and He has placed my feet upon a road of righteousness and holiness in Him; a road that is not dependent upon what I do, but upon what He has done, that He receives the glory. There is thy God! He is right there, with outstretched arms, with His nail pierced hands stretched out, say, "Come and enter My rest"... "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:16-21)

"Swept Away"

"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:3) I'm sorry, but I just wanted to say what I was feeling, or what it was I had a sense for after reading and meditating upon this verse; just the thought of being swept away in the emotional desire to be with God, right now, and in the moment of pure worship and devotion. I can totally relate to the idea of tears being my meat, because on those days when I cry out to God for deliverance, I really don't feel like eating much; it's almost as if I do not have the energy left in me to eat. And when it comes to asking God for something as important as healing my wife, there is really no such thing as asking Him enough, because until she has either been healed or taken home, I will still continually ask Him to heal her; even though I have heard Him say to me, My grace is sufficient, my reply has been, Yes Lord, I know that your grace is sufficient for me, but I am asking for her!!! Words cannot express what I am feeling when I have those moments; but one thing is sure, God is not dead! In the midst of so much pain and suffering, God pours out His Spirit and comforts my heart with the presence of His mighty love. You cannot share that, or try and explain how it makes you feel, because words cannot give justice to the splendor and richness of His love. And then we have those that look upon my situation, and say, Where is thy God? as if God has not and will not answer me because He has left the building. Those nonbelievers that know me and my situation just shake their head and wonder why I can keep believing in a God that does not answer my prayers, or let's me keep suffering; as if God does not work in the midst of all of this, maybe even to their own good. God is good all the time; and all the time, God is good... "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be besides ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." (2 Corinthians 5:11-15)

"A Sincere Thirst For God" -2

"My soul thirstest for God, for the Living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (Psalms 42:2) If you don't have it right, then get it right; it's really just that simple. As a matter of fact, God is for you making the right choices; He is wanting you to seek Him with all of your heart, and He wants you to make Him your all in all; so go ahead and ask Him to make it happen. I am absolutely serious about what I am saying; if you really truly want to have God be the most important thing in your life, then ask Him to change your heart and to make it happen in your life; but be warned, your life is going to change; and be prepared to have your life flipped upside down. Whenever we ask God to do whatever it takes, we had better be prepared to react right away, because you could end up having everything taken away, if you persist in trying to resist Him and turning your life completely over to Him. Know this: God answers prayers; one way or another, He is going to answer our prayers; it may not be the answer that we were looking for, or at the time we were expecting Him to answer, but nonetheless, He will answer; so be careful what you ask for! How bad do you want Him to take something out of your life? or how important is it to you that He is Lord of your life? Are you willing to count the cost? But, you might be asking yourself, Why should I need to give up everything, just to follow Jesus? It is really not a matter of needing to give up anything, but more a matter of a willingness to give up everything, if that is what it takes. Yes Lord, I am willing to give up everything and anything, just to be able to come and appear before you, spotless and unashamed... Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." (1 Peter 1:13-20) 

"A Sincere Thirst For God"

"My soul thirsteth for God, for the Living God: when shall I come and appear before Him?" (Psalms 42:2) We are all responsible for our own salvation, which means that you can not blame your lack of knowing upon what you have been taught, or how you were raised, or even that you were never told the truth; each and every one of us are going to be judged according to the same truth, so we had better make sure that we have it right. I use to think that God might have different judgement areas; you know, like Municipal Court for small sins, verses Superior Court for large infractions, or even something like Traffic Court, for those that just liked to live life in the fast lane; after all, if God would be fair, shouldn't everyone be judged according to how bad they were? But that was before I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, and I came to understand that God died for our sins, each and every one of them, large and small, they have all been paid for by His blood upon that cross; therefore, since He bought them with His blood, then He has every right to judge them any way that He wants to, so we are not going to have any defense when it comes to trying to get out from under the punishment for sin, except that our sins have been removed; and if we are not washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, then our sins are not removed, and He will be judging those sins. Unlike many might believe, minor infractions, such as little white lies, or not telling the clerk at the checkout that they gave you too much money back, are still within the group of sin, and sin has only one place in the end, which is Hell. Before you go any further in this life, you had better make sure that you are prepared for the next, and you had better make sure that you have a real relationship with Jesus Christ; not one that is based upon what you have been told about Him, or based upon instruction from a church or religion, but you have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus, the risen and living Lord; the kind of relationship where you know Him, and more importantly, He knows you... "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth a ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-33)

"A Thirst For God" -2

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." (Psalms 42:1) I guess what I am trying to say, is that if the Spirit of God is not dwelling within you, then you really don't know where to find God, even though He is easy to be found, if you know the right source of water. As Jesus told the woman at the well, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews"; so it was for me before Jesus Christ; I had no clue who God was, or how to worship Him; I knew that God was there, but I did not know what He looked like. Jesus Christ came to show us the Father, and as He told the Jews that asked Him, Where is thy Father?, Jesus said, "Ye neither know Me, nor my Father: if ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also" (John 8:19). If we think that we can just go to the Father, we have can't without first going to the Son, as Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6). And as to seeing God, Jesus follows that statement up with a revelation of what God looks like, by saying, "If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him" (John 14:7). It really comes down to knowing Jesus, because without knowing Jesus, we really can't even know who God is, nor can we come to Him; and if we can't come to Him or know who He is, then we really will not have a thirst for Him; not the True Living God, but rather a god that we have made in our own minds, and one that is more of this earth and fashioned after the things of man, or the things of this world; much as the woman at the well, who thought that the mountain where the well was dug, was the place which God was to be worshipped (John 4:20). True worship of God is not conditional upon a place or a particular action, but is conditional upon knowing who God is, and entering in through the heart of worship, which is that heart where Jesus Christ dwells... "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded." (1 Peter 2:1-6)  

"A Thirst For God "

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." (Psalms 42:1) When it comes to water, we know that water represents God's word, as in the water spoken in John 3:5, and "the washing of the water" from  Ephesians 5:26; but we also know that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), and that Jesus has referred unto Himself as the Living Water, and that those who believe in Him, in them shall be "a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:10-14); and within this same portion of Scripture, Jesus tells us that the water He gives us will satisfy our thirst forever, because there is a well of water flowing up in us. Basically, it really is all about knowing the source of the water, and where to continually find it; "the water brooks" are the places where the water flows from, such as streams or rivers, and are the places where water is consistently found. Remembering back to when I first accepted Christ into my heart, there was such a thirst in me for God's word, I just could not get enough of His word; I also could not get enough of fellowship with other believers, and I was always looking for some way to find time to be in fellowship, both at church and at home. I don't know how to explain this, but it was that thirst which kept me satisfied; in other words, the well springing up in me was having fellowship with Jesus Christ, which was by the reading of the Word, and the fellowship with the body of Christ. It was the Spirit of God in me that gave me that thirst, while at the same time, He would satisfy me as I would do those things which He led me to do; things like reading the Word, sharing the gospel message, have fellowship with other believers, and having fellowship with God through prayer and worship. When we are born into the family of God, we have the Living Water within us; and yet, the thing about living water, is that living water must flow, and it must stay moving from it's source to it's destination...
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23 & 24)  

"Thirsting for God"

Book Two: Psalms 42 - 72, and we start off with this interesting Psalm which begs to ask that question we all need to seek out the answer for, each and every day, Where is God? and why am I feeling afraid? And then again, maybe there is some sort of a pattern here, because there are those moments like these, when you feel all alone, when you wonder within yourself, Why don't I feel His presence as I did before? or Why am I feeling as though God has left off guiding my life? These times usually follow after times of great victory or spiritual awakenings, as we experience a little taste of God's awesome power, and then life goes back to normal and we are thirsty for that experience again. The title above Psalm 42 in my bible is the title for today's blog; and without getting too carried away by titles, let me just say, this title is perfect for getting the right perspective on where we are with God, because He never leaves anywhere; God remains, because God is omnipresent and is everywhere, so it is all about our perspective and our feelings, not God's location. The introduction to this Psalm, which says, "To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah", is meant to be about instruction for those that sang perpetually in the temple, after the ark had rest (1 Chronicles 6:31). We must never get to that point in our life where we think we have arrived, or that we don't need anything else from God, as if we have achieved holiness or have come of age in our growing up in the Lord; not even if we are full time ministers before Him, we are never without a need for more of God in our lives. That said, we are also never to think that we are without God, because God is always with us; and because He is always with us, we are to have joy always, and in all things we are to rejoice. Some believe that the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35, which says, "Jesus wept"; translated from the Greek, it might appear to be the shortest; but actually, the shortest verse in the Bible is actually found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, which says, "Rejoice Evermore"; based upon the perspective we must have towards heaven, it is the joy of going to be there one day, compared to the misery of where we are today, the joy is everlasting. Are you without joy in your life? It is not because God has drawn away from you, it is because you have drawn away from Him, and you have quit "Thirsting for God"... "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)  

"Getting A Grip"

First off, let me say thank you to anyone that has kept up with this blog over the last three years and five plus months; I still have not missed a single day, but there were times of testing. Better yet, let me say that I have been encouraged by some of the traffic; and yet, I try not to base this blog on popularity or followers, that is not what I have intended this blog to be all about; it is about this being a living journal, in which I post what God puts upon my heart every morning after my devotions. Beginning on January 1st, 2012, I started the Book of Psalms as my topic of discussion; although I am reading more than just the Psalms, my intention was to take one verse at a time, and let God speak to my heart. Sometimes there was good study material that came out of that, and sometimes there were mornings where I really did not know if the text was covered at all; but there was hardly a single morning in which I did not hear God speaking into my heart, and that is really what this blog is all about. Having come to the end of the First Book, that being Psalms 1-41, I tried to discover if there was any kind of a pattern or structure to these five Books; but it would appear that they are as random as the days of our lives; sometimes giving thanks, sometimes complaining, and sometimes just overwhelmed by the fact that God even loves us at all; but in all things, we are secure in the hands of a God that does not change! We are the ones who change, sometimes within seconds; and if we are going to have any stability in our lives, then it is God that we must cling to, and it is God we must seek after with all of our hearts. I have just learned the news about Pastor Bob, whom I had thought had a church of about 8,000 people, but I based that on the last time I had personally meet with him, which was about the late nineties; I guess it has grown quit a bit since then, because the post I saw yesterday said it was 18,000 people. I'm thinking about now, Bob wishing it was still 30; just 30 people to love, which is still enough to be held accountable for, yet not enough to make you leave your first love. We are weak and worldly people, we need to understand that, and it is only by the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling within us, that we even have a snowballs chance in hell of making it unscathed through this world. Oh, we might be saved, and we might be going to heaven, but it's not just about us individually, it's about one another; it's about making sure that we don't stumble or offend each other, and that we love each other with a sacrificial love that puts others first, which means that we take a back seat to the concerns of others, placing the needs of others before the needs of ourselves. This is the "reasonable service" that Paul speaks of in Romans 12:1, because it's not just about purity or holiness, it's about our bodies being "A Living Sacrifice"; we are to be slaves for Jesus, for Jesus is our MASTER, our LORD, our KING, and our GOD... "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of ME gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with ME." (Revelations 3:15-20) 

"His Love Remains"

"Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen." (Psalms 41:13) Are we all God's children after all? or is it a question of, Are we a child of God? Personally, I believe that God's children are called by His name; those that are not His children are those that refuse to believe that He is, and that He loves them, and that He has provided a way for them to become His child; and all of those, no one but He knows who they are, and they have already passed from this earth; anyone that is alive at this moment, is still able to become His child, if they were to believe. As a matter of fact, God is either waiting for that last child to be added, or He is waiting for all His children to come home, because any moment now He is going to snatch away His church from off of this earth; but we do not know the hour or the day; just another thing that is in the "Do Not Need To Know" category of this relationship. What we do need to know is that God loves us! It is not just an idea, or something that we settle in our minds as truth, it must be our total existence, it must be like the blood flowing through our veins, or the air that fills our lungs, without which, we cannot go on any further; that is what His love for you and I can be compared to, because it is our life, our everything, our all in all; without His love, we cannot become a child of God! Just like the children of Israel, who, without God's unconditional love for them, they would not be considered His children; so if anyone is to be considered God's children, then it would be the Jews, who are His chosen people; and because they are His chosen people, we are deeply blessed... "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all." (Romans 11:25-32)

"Remaining in God's Favor"

"And as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face for ever." (Psalms 41:12) I can't do this, it hurts my brain too much to try and figure out when I became God's child; was it really the day that I accepted Christ into my heart? or was it some other time, long before I was even conceived in my mother's womb? This much I know, God's hand was upon me from the time that I was born, because I should have died at least ten times that I can remember on my own; as a matter of fact, I seem recall my mother telling me that I tried to swallow my own tongue when I was born, and that they needed to staple it down so that I could breath. If God knows everything, then doesn't He also know those that are going to accept His gift of salvation, long before they actually make that choice? Are there any accidents with God's ways or His thoughts? Does God ever say, I did not see that coming? No, He knows way before we even do something, that we will be doing it; and yet He still calls us His child, even knowing those things that we will do, and those thoughts that we will conjure up in our minds. I personally think that we would have a better chance of moving a mountain with a word, then we would have getting God to release us from His hand, because He's not letting go; for ever is a really long time, much more than we can ever spend messing up. So what do we do with that? How about a little reverence? We must respond to God's love with love... "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselour? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

"Remaining in God's Favor"

"And as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face for ever." (Psalms 41:12) Touchy subjects are sometimes the things that need to be settled in our own minds, not swept under the rug, or left up in the air, as if they do not need to be determined true or not; things like, Can I lose my salvation? or If once saved, am I always saved, no matter how I chose to live my life? These are topics not spoken of very much in the open, but they are surely the topics within our conscience mind, and are the things we wonder in the night; night mostly meaning dark days, but it could also literally be the night time. I think that one of the most looked upon messages regarding this topic is the parable of the Prodigal Son, as the father never gives up watching for his son to return; and when he does return, he is not made to live like a servant in his father's house, as he thinks that he should, but is given the royal ring and coat, and there is a celebration of his return. In case you did not know, that is the illustration of God's grace; which is God's unwarranted, unconditional, and unprecedented favor upon His children; His children being those which He has called His own; meaning that He has chosen who are His children, we have not chosen Him. So then, the thing with the Prodigal Son, and what makes God's grace abound so much for him, is that he is His son; once you are His child, you will always remain His child, and there is nothing that you can do that will change that! David understood that, and he trusted God's faithfulness so much more than his own. To thine own self be true, is more than just a quote from Shakespeare, it is absolutely necessary and essential to our relationship with God; after all, God knows everything there is to know about us, so we can surely not hide anything from Him, so why would we try and fool ourselves by thinking we are hiding anything from God? Besides, here is another thing about the Prodigal Son, is that he wanted to go out into the world, and the father let him, but the world chewed him up... "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 5:19-6:2)

"Being in God's Favor"

"By this I know that Thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me." (Psalms 41:11) When it comes to being in God's favor, there is something that we must be perfectly clear about, and there is something that we must fully understand, God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). We all have sinned and fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23), therefore, we all need to be punished for our sins; and the punishment for our sin is death, seeing that death is the price to be paid for sin (Romans 6:23). But at the same time, Jesus has paid the price of our death, dying in our place; it is the gift of God, to all that will receive it; not just for some, but for anyone that will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved (John 3:16). That being said, and hopefully, completely understood, once we have received God's free gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, we are henceforth and forever more in God's favor! What that actually means, for those that might not get the point, is that we have changed locations when it comes to God's respect, and He now looks upon us favorably because we are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ His Son. There is really nothing that we can do, or not do, to take away from, or add to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, so we need to get over the thought that we can; but what we must be about, is walking in the favor of God; meaning, that once we have been brought into God's favor by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, then we must live out being a child of God, and a son of the KING. That is the whole thing about being lifted up, in that we are to be strong in the Lord, because He has made us what we are in Him; therefore, we have humility before God, but we have power and strength over the power of sin in our lives; not because we have any power or strength within our selves, but because Christ is living in us, we are more than conquerors, for indeed the battle has already been won (Romans 8:37, Ephesians 1:3-14). This is what John is speaking of in 1 John 4, as he describes how that we know we are in God, and that God is in us, because we have the power living in us to love; if the power to love is not within us, then we need to understand that God's Spirit is not alive in us, and we need a changed heart; we need the heart of God... "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." (2 Corinthians 3:3)

"He Won't Let Go!" -3

"But Thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I might requite them." (Psalms 41:10) I think this will be it, but I can't promise anything; I always pray that God would speak, not me. But here is the thing that Jesus shocked everyone with when He came on the scene, because His message was all about love; loving even your enemies, and repaying good for bad treatment; turning the other cheek, and offering them another chance to slap you, if that is what they want to do. These were hard things to except, let alone to practice in our every day lives; but they are very possible when we have the love of God within us, just as it was possible for Jesus to demonstrate these things in His own life, as He went to the cross. So what is key in these impossible practices? What is it that makes or breaks us from accomplishing God's will in our lives, and not our own? Well it's not that God is not willing to give us everything we need to make it happen, because He is more then willing to do that; and it's not because God has removed His had from us, as to let us do things on our own, because He never let's go of His children. However, when it comes to doing things either the hard way or the easy way, the key ingredient to the easy way with God is our humility; which is also the key to this verse above, as David cries, "But Thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me". What ever the case, or what ever the cause, our hearts should cry mercy; that is where humility starts, at the foot of the cross, begging God to have mercy upon us, and asking Him to raise us up; not to give us strength within our selves to rise, but that His Spirit would rise up in us, making us into the image of Jesus Christ. Humility is not just bowing our heads and asking for forgiveness, it is a heart of surrender, it is letting go of all that you think that you know, and letting God rule and reign in your life. He surely is not going to let go of us, but at the same time, we need to be reaching out and grabbing hold of Him... "And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4)

"He Won't Let Go!" -2

"But Thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them." (Psalms 41:10) Here is the thing that we must come to realize, God wants to give mercy unto us; He wants us to experience all the goodness that He has to offer us, and all of the beauty that is available, not only in that which is to come, but right here, right now, in this world that He has created. God does not make junk, and the more we take notice, the more we can experience and share in the splendor of God's majesty. That said; it takes that same way of thinking to examine and enjoy what God has done within our hearts; God does not make junk, and when He makes our hearts new, they are made in His image; what was once a hard and unloving heart, is now a heart made of clay, soft and pliable, and filled with His love. Because He has replaced that hard and loveless heart with this new loving heart, we can now love Him as He is to be loved, and we can love one another, just as we love ourselves, because we are all one heart, one love, and of One God. So, if you feel as though you don't love as though you should, then there is a sickness within your heart, and you need a touch from the Great Physician, who is more than willing to heal your heart; after all, He does not make junk, and anything that might be broken, He can fix. This word "requite" that David is speaking of means to be at peace, as in, one in a covenant of peace; to be whole, or to be complete; this is something that can only happen through love... "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit." (1 John 4:7-13)

"He Won't Let Go!"

"But Thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them." (Psalms 41:10) This is one of those, "But God", verses in the Bible that requires faith, as do many of the others; the major difference between this type and the other, which is all God on His own, is that this is subject to us believing that God will, while the other, God just is or does. Now, as to that heart condition I was speaking of yesterday, we must fill our hearts and minds with the things of God; spending time in fellowship with God, reading His word, meditating upon His promises, and let us not forget, being obedient to the Holy Spirit that dwells within us; all of which are required to keep this new heart that we have been given strong and fortified. If we fail to do these things, then other things will take up residence within our hearts, and sooner or later we have ourselves the battle of a lifetime, one that will surely leave scars. But God! Oh, how I love saying that! God is so merciful beyond that which we need; which means that His mercy that is available to each and every one of us is more than anyone of us will actually ever need! He is not going to let go of us, I don't care how much we try to run or hide, He will chase us down, and He will find us; even if you say, I don't want to do this any longer, I want to live like those rich and happy people in the world. God might not stop you from making mistakes, but He sure can lift you up when your mistake has destroyed you. Besides, we cannot fully enjoy those things like the world does, not after we have come to know what real peace and joy is, and from where it comes; everything else just falls short and does not satisfy, and there will always be something that is missing that will cause us to feel empty and unfulfilled. I truly believe that it really is a matter of "How hard do you want to make this?" when it comes following God; where God is saying to us, "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way; which one would you like?" But as for God disowning any of His children, that isn't going to happen, so you had better just go with the easy way... "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:14-17)

"The War Inside" -2

"Yea, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." (Psalms 41:9) We are instructed that we should have no confidence in the flesh, but to worship God in spirit, and to rejoice in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:3); this, if you will, is the basic foundation of our faith; it is the simple conclusion that we are sick and that we need to be healed, and that without God's redemption we are not going to be healed, and more than that, that God wants to heal us, and has provided the cure for our sickness. The flesh, on the other hand, wants to try and pretend that it is not sick at all; as a matter of fact, even if it might be sick, it wants to bring about healing on it's own, thereby making the way for it to receive the glory in doing something. I'm sorry, but you cannot perform heart surgery on your own heart! Our sickness is of the heart, and we require a new heart, one that is in love with God and that does not harden itself against His voice, but wants to hear and obey what God says. Again, the title of the Psalm is, "A Sick Man's Prayer", at least that is the title in my Bible; the point of which is, before we can be healed of the sickness that we have, we must come to the honest conclusion that we are sick in the first place. But you might say, Yea, but I got healed from that sickness a long time ago; and so you did, but that does not mean you are done with treatment; that does not mean you don't need to continue taking your heart medicines, or that you don't need to watch what you eat. If we are not careful, we could find ourselves being worse off than we were when God first changed our heart; that is, if we do not take care of this new heart... "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." (Matthew 12:43-45)

"The War Inside"

"Yea, mine old familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heal against me." (Psalms 41:9) There are just some things which become to easy to accept; no, let's say, to live with and to accept as normal. Having gone through the Bible many times over the last 33 years, and even several times prior, at least the New Testament, I have come to the conclusion that man is really his own worst enemy, and that if not for God's unconditional love, then we all don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it into heaven. It seems as though, as soon as we have a little success at doing anything, then we let that success go to our head, and before you know it, we are gathering things unto ourselves, as if they have been earned by our success. I might try to explain that a little more later, but for now, I really want to focus on "mine old familiar friend"; because the way I see it, since we are our own worst enemy when it comes to living for God, this old familiar friend is none other than our own fallen nature. As we read Paul's version of how this works, he reminds us that sin lives in us, and since sin lives in us, it is always wanting to come out to play and to be satisfied (Romans 7:14-25). There is a constant battle going on inside of us, the flesh and the Spirit are at odds with one another, and only one of them is truly our Friend; while we might like to think that our old nature is who we are, so really, we are really one with it; but the whole point of becoming a new creature in Christ, is that the old man can be done away with and the new man can rise up in Christ, thus having the power and the authority over that which has been done away with, once and for all. Therein lay some of the problem, not that Christ has given us power and authority over the flesh, but that we have been given power and authority at all; because as soon as we think we are strong and successful in anything, we are surely going to gather things unto ourselves, such as little tributes of our own accomplishments. If you now the parable of "The Sheep and the Goats", then you might recall how the goats had placed upon themselves all kinds of works that they had done for the Lord, yet the sheep, they wondered how that they had given the Lord food, or drink, or clothing; in other words, the sheep were just loving others as they had been instructed by the Spirit within them, while the goats, they had just been loving themselves, and had been counting all their works as things of great value; but the only thing of any value at all is our relationship with Jesus Christ, for He, and He alone has laid down His life for us, and there is no greater friend we have than that... "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:2-11)