"Let Your Light Shine"

"I will praise Thee, O Lord among the people: I will sing unto Thee among the nations." (Psalms 57:9) The older I get, the more I realize how much little time I have left; also I realize that all my friends and people I knew growing up are quickly leaving this earth; it's a little scary in a way, not that I can't stand the thought of leaving myself, but that it's like a passing train, here today, gone tomorrow. We all have been given a gift that is not something we were meant to keep to ourselves, it is meant to be shared, not only among our friends and family members, but to those that we may not know, and that need to know Jesus. It is way too easy to just blend into the crowd and not let yourself stand out as someone that is different, or that has something in you that others might want; all that you have to do is act busy, if you aren't already as busy as you can be. I rush around so fast each day, I can hardly keep up with myself, so I know how little light is shinning through me; everyone just sees a streak of light go by, and wonders, "What was that?", because I hardly have the time to share any of this Light that I have been given. And I really don't think that it's just me, because I see other believers that I know spinning their wheels just as fast as I am, trying to accomplish as much as they can in the little time they think that they might have left. It wasn't always like this, because when I first got saved, I could not be contained, and I needed to tell everyone I meet about this wonderful gift that I had been given; now it feels as if I have run out of things to say, or that the gift I have been given is not all that exciting anymore; or maybe, I just have grown up and learned to be reserved, and less intrusive into the lives of others, especially people that I do not know. Please don't get me wrong, I do still share my faith when ever someone might ask me for a reason for the hope inside of me; I just don't take the initiative to just start up a conversation about Jesus with a perfect stranger, like I once did, decades ago. Is it just me, or do we all need a little jolt of freshness in our experience with the Lord? More than half the people I know have been saved for thirty years or more, and most of them seem as though they are just waiting to die; or that they had their little red wagon stolen, and everyone is a suspect. I think this verse describes something of a ticket to what is required of us to let our Light shine, in that we must praise the Lord; just praise Him for His goodness, for His mercy, and for His mighty love that He has shown for us! It's like there is a pilot light inside of me that is always flickering and waiting to be ignited, and it is the valve of praise that ignites the fire...
"And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to Thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto Thy name. And again He saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud Him, all ye people. And again, Isaiah saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15:9-13)  

"Living in The Light" -2

"Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early." (Psalms 57:8) Now before you go trying to make getting up early a habit, let me warn you about something that you are going to need to know: you are going to face some opposition! It hardly never fails, you try to get to sleep by ten, and your still kept awake until eleven; or you get to sleep by ten, but get woken up at twelve-thirty; now try getting back to sleep. The devil knows how much this time means to me, so he will try anything to keep it from happening, or to get me distracted from spending time with the Lord. There are at least two way we can look at this verse, one would be the way of the worldly view towards heaven, the other of the heavenly view towards earth; seeing how it follows the verse before it, I prefer the latter way, which is to see things the way God sees things; thereby making "my glory" mean more of the same thing that we have been talking about, in that any glory we have is not ours, but it is the righteousness of God; thereby, the expressed glory that we can show is to just praise Him for the righteousness that He has bestowed upon us; the earlier, the better! I remember when I first accepted Christ into my heart, the pure joy that I felt by just knowing that my sins were forgiven and that He loved me more than words could express; it was as if a ton of burdens had been lifted off of my soul, and now I was set free to express my love back to Him. Sin has a way of weighing us down, and it will cause us to feel overwhelmed and defeated; not that we can't get that way anyways, but sin makes it seem as though it is pointless to go on, because there is one element missing from our challenge of life, which is hope; hope in something greater and more glorious than anything that this world has to offer, and hope in the glory to come. So in that regard, I will prefer to go with the worldly view towards heaven, which is me looking up for His soon return; then I can look forward to me looking down from heaven towards what remains of this earth... "Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. LORD, when Thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of Thine enemies shall devour them. LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O LORD our God, other lords besides Thee have had dominion over us: but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." (Isaiah 26:10-14)

"Living in The Light"

"Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early." (Psalms 57:8) I know it might be hard to get this, but there is something special about waking up to spend time with the Lord. How anyone can get up twenty or thirty minutes before they need to leave the house, is beyond me; but I guess it's all about habits. Even when I did not do morning devotions, when that was I can't quite remember, I still liked to have at least one hour of preparing myself for the new day ahead; preferably two hours, if it were possible. Sometime around 1985 I heard something on the radio about how we sleep one third of our lives, (it might have even been 1983, now that I think of it,) but from that moment I decided that I was only going to sleep of fourth of my life, and since then I have typically kept my sleeping to six hours a night; which really turns out to be more like four or five lately with the nightly interruptions. I try and give the Lord at least ten percent of my day for just Him and me to spend time together; most of the time it becomes more than that, but for the most part, it's at least two and a half hours within every twenty-four hour cycle. My morning time work habits actually started in my last year of High School; it was then that I decided that I would get up three hours before I needed to leave for school, to do my homework in the mornings, verses trying to get it done in the afternoon. I found it more refreshing to study and complete assignments very early in the morning, and rather enjoyed the quiet time for a couple hours by myself. As I began to start a family, my work involved several hours of completing reports in my after work hours; so I saved my work for the early morning hours while my wife and son were still asleep in bed; that way I could spend the evenings giving them my full attention. Basically my point is about how important these morning times are to me, and how I have always, as far back as I can remember, tried to be awake before the sun rises each morning; I prefer to wake up at 4:00, but for some strange reason, the Lord has been waking up at 3:35 about every other day; this morning it was 2:48, just to say hello, I guess. I know this without a doubt, that Jesus had to have been a morning person, because He really loves to spend time with me in the morning; it's when we have our best conversations, and when He best has my attention. We know that David was a morning person, because he mentions it several times in many of his Psalms, and here we have one of them. Don't get me wrong, I will not put you down for not doing your morning devotions, as long as you are getting some devotion times structured into each day, you are doing well; but if you do not have some specific time each day that you have set aside for spending time with the Lord, then I am more than sure you have several days that go without spending time with Him. And I can also tell you, that without a doubt, the early morning, before you do anything else, is the best time to plan it. I can hardly count on one hand the number of times that I have been distracted from having my morning devotions; nobody is ever awake at 4:00 to distract me, so I do not get the chance to not have the time, or to run out of time. This is not me bragging about something, but rather trying to give something away that I have learned over a period of many years: if you truly want to spend time with the Lord each and every day, then you had better make it the first few hours of every day... "With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9)

"Blinded by The Light" -2

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." (Psalms 57:7) Besides, if our heart is fixed upon the Lord, then there is quite a lot of stuff here that will not distract us. Sometimes the stupid things that cause us to fall are not from the world around us, but are the things that we think about in our own minds; not that we don't get influenced by the things of the world, because we always do; but it's those little things that we store up in our minds, those just in case I want to things, those are the things that have a greater influence upon a fall than the things of this world. All that I know, is that keeping my mind on Jesus is the only way to keep from falling; but when I do fall, I need to always remember that He is keeping His eyes on me. That is the second part of this verse for me, why "I will sing and give praise", because it's really not about how I perform, or how I can earn some kind of favor with the Lord; He loves me just the same, as if I had never fallen at all. I guess what I am trying to say, is that we are all going to have days when we loss it, and days when we feel less than worthy to be His children; but it's not about what we do or don't do that makes us worthy, it's about what He has already done for us; not only did He die for our sins, but He also fulfilled all the requirements of the law for us also by living a sinless and godly life, in our place; that does not mean that we don't need to try, but it does mean that He has accomplished what we could never do. I don't honestly know if there is a single day that I can remember when I have gone completely without doing something I did not want to do, or not doing something that I wanted to do; at least there is not one of those gold-star days that I can remember. But Jesus is my Gold Star! Which is why I can sing and give praise! As I am reading through the Bible from beginning to end, I am currently at the end of Exodus, and I have been noticing how often the priests need to purify themselves before they can perform their priestly duties, it's pretty much something they need to do every single day. But that is pretty much what I feel God is putting on my heart, because we need to acknowledge our need for forgiveness every single day; sometimes more than once a day, we might need to ask Him to forgive us every hour of the day, if that's what it takes; but He is always ready to forgive us, no matter what, we just need to ask. I can't remember who it was, it could have been Pastor Jeff Schreve, but I heard a message yesterday that I had never really heard before: it was that everyone's name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, based upon 1 John 2:2, which says, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world." What that means, if that is the case, is that we are all already forgiven for our sins by what Jesus did on that cross; which I kind of already knew before, I just never thought about it going as far as the Lambs Book of Life; but we all have the same chance to remain written in that Book, it's just a matter of acknowledging our need to be forgiven and asking for His forgiveness; but it's already been done, we just need to believe it and claim it for our selves individually, some time before we die; because once we die, then that's it, our name is stricken; it's like that old saying, "Use It, or Lose It"... "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:16-21)

"Blinded by The Light"

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." (Psalms 57:7) Micah is a pretty intense Book; when you get right down to it, when it comes to social and national sins, he hit the nail on the head. It's pretty complex to try and figure out, but the church can not help but be effected by the standards set by the world; it's meant to be the other way around, especially here in the United States, a country that was founded on the Bible and God's laws, not the rule of man. More and more, and little by little, the Word of God has become less of a standard within our modern day society; and when you try and defend it, you are laughed at more than praised for doing so. Here we have that word "fixed" that I spoke of earlier, which does not mean fixing something broken, although it might not hurt to fix the direction that this country is headed if we could just fix our eyes on Jesus; but it means to be firm, stable, and established; to be fixed or to be securely determined; to be directed aright, be fixed aright, be steadfast (moral sense); you get the general point, you are only as fixed as what you fix your heart upon, and nothing is as fixed as God. The more I think of it, the more I truly believe it's pretty much time that we see Jesus; although the world will not see Him yet, the church will; instantly, and without a warning, we will be transformed and gone. Jesus said that in the last days it would be like this, yet I constantly hear people of God say that we need to try and change it. How can we change what God has said would happen? Much like in the day of Micah, the prophets were told by the establishment to keep quiet, and the people were so insensitive to the problem that they believed God would still defend them. What we need now are voices crying out in the wilderness, "Get ready to meet Jesus!", because there is no fixing what does not want to be fixed. The general message that I believe God has given me this morning is all about "Keeping our eyes on Jesus"; it is Christ who must light our way, therefore we must fix our eyes on Him as our Standard, not the standards of this world; if we place ourselves above the standards of this world, we really have not set standards that are very high; the standards of this world have become based upon man's law, not God's laws, so even the highest standard of the world does not even come close to God's Standard... "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." (Titus 2:11-15)  

"Incidentally"

"They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah." (Psalms 57:6) The customary things to do when you have been wrong about something is to ask for forgiveness, yet it is not always as easy as some people might think; it would appear that having things our own way is more important to us than getting along, even if it makes us feel miserable. When it comes to our fallen nature, this flesh that we are walking and living within, is just as sinful and prone to evil as it ever has been; which is what Paul was showing us in Romans 7:14-15, in that sin still lives in us, and if we allow the flesh to do so, it will have it's own way. Here is something that helps explain how to break the cycle of falling into sin; besides just breaking old habits, which should be at the top of your to-do-list, we need to establish new habits; things like, if you feel like cursing someone, then bless them, or if you think evil towards someone, then pray for them; how about, if you hate someone for whatever reason, then love them unconditionally, that would be one that might actually make a difference. It's not that we don't have it in us, because if we have God's Spirit dwelling within us, then we can and should be able to even love our enemies, let alone love those who are of the family of God. I think that a typical marriage best illustrates how this all works; and if you have ever had one of those typical fights that seem to be the one to end all, then you can probably relate to the difficulty involved in being humble in the midst of the fight; it is almost impossible to not want to have your own way, or to have the last say. But God always has the last say, and we need to remember that with all of our hearts; God will always be right, and He will never be wrong about anything. That said, there is something that we need to remember when it comes to being a child of God, in that we are always taken care of by our Heavenly Father; even if we have left the path that He has put before us, we are never beyond His reach; more importantly, we are never outside the covering of His unending mercy and forgiveness, ever; I don't care what you have done, God is always right there to forgive you; and as for as I can see, the only sin that is not forgiven is the sin of not asking for His forgiveness. Bottom line, forgiveness might be the key to experiencing God's love, because if we have been forgiven, then we must in turn forgive everyone else, no matter what; just as He has forgiven us, no matter what, we in return must forgive one another the same. "Walk humble" is more important than you might think; it might be the only real thing that we are capable of on our own...  "Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth; and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against the mother, the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the street." (Micah 7:1-10)

"Always Changing"

"Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth." (Psalms 57:5) That's the point that was revealed to me last night, that we are always changing; our emotions always change, the way that we feel physically is always changing, even the way we feel about our relationships always change; some days we feel in love, and others we feel discouraged by love; there is really nothing that we have going for us here that is consistent and does not change, except God. Oh, I know; we could just keep this simple and continue to believe that this is all about hiding in a cave, but this is about life; just so happens, David had something to compare this living roller coaster ride of a life to, and to show us how much we need to focus on God, if we want to have anything fixed in our lives; because we surely are not going to find it here in  this world. And when I say 'fixed', I don't mean to have God fix something, even though I could use a little fixing in my own life; I am talking about "fixed' in place, never changing, and always the same. I never get surprised when I come to God, as if He changed His mind, or as if He has somehow gotten bored with me and my endless failure to get things right, because He is always right there, right where He has always been, and loving me just the same as He loved me when I first meet Him. You see, if God knows all things, then He knew where I would be in our relationship together today; and if He choose me then, knowing all that I would have done between then and now, I have got to believe that it is all about His love for me, because if it were based upon my love for Him, then I am going to hell and don't stand a chance to be called His child. Oh, I love God, don't get me wrong; it's just that my faithfulness has not shown that "whole heart, mind, soul, and strength" kind of love that I know we are commanded to love Him with; and I surely have not been able to keep the second command of loving my neighbor; which I don't even think is remotely possible if we are not doing the first one properly and with all we've got. But God; my God; the One that loves me just the way that I am; with all these imperfections, and all my unfaithfulness towards Him; He does not stop loving me, because His love for me is not based upon any of that stuff, it is based upon His love, which does not change, nor grow weary, nor loose hope, nor become impatient, but is always consistently loving me, no matter how much or how often I change, He remains the same. Although I know all of this, I still sometimes wish that there was a cave that I could go hide in; just sayin...
"Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day." (Isaiah 2:10-17)

"Know Your Enemy" -2

"My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." (Psalms 57:4) One thing is for sure, God is not your enemy! I really don't care what you have done, or even what you are doing right now, God loves you and wants only the very best for your life, especially your eternal life. We on the other hand are not so caring and loving; it's sad, I know, but it is so true; we are not as strong as we think that we are, and if we do not realize that is the case, then we are going to constantly fail at trying to love. Real love that is required to love with the kind of love that God has for us, can only come from God; any form or attempt to fabricate this love on our own will only disappoint, and is altogether phony; it is a love based upon an idea, not the true love of God. If I had to point to any particular weakness that we have, I would point to the way that we naturally love one another; which is closely aliened with the descriptions given within the verse above. The "lions", which I do believe are described again in a previous Psalm (22:13), are not really so much lions per say, but are depicted as such because of their roar; if they were to be lions, then they would be more like a lioness, which is always just interested in drawing first milk, as in, a hunger to be satisfied, with a hunger that is really never satisfied. If we base our love upon any sort of feelings or emotions, then those feelings and emotions will be that which is the basic hunger of our love, and it will be a love that is really never satisfied; at least it will not be satisfied for long. As far as "them that are set on fire", without getting into a very lengthy discussion on the breakdown in communication, I would just refer this one over to James 3:1-4:12, where he spells all the ways in which we can tear one another down, instead of lifting one another up; which is also a part of this need for some kind of satisfaction, the satisfaction that is missing in our made up love. Bottom line, your enemy is really your wicked heart, as hard is that is to comprehend. We are never going to be at place where our hearts are totally aliened with God's heart, not in this world, so we need to stop thinking as though we have obtained something, or as if we have arrived at the place where we know how to love, because we actually don't know anything unless it is God's love that we are walking in. It does not matter how long you have been a Christian, or even how long that you have been in ministry; if you are not totally dependent upon God to supply the love in your heart, then you have missed the point, and your house is not built upon the "Sure Foundation"...
"Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." (Isaiah 28:14-16)

"Know Your Enemy"

"My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." (Psalms 57:4) I can't help but think of all those people I have known and loved that have given in to the enemy's tactics of putting material things above those things of God; material things include pride and self-determination, in case you did not know. Just because God has given us free choice, does not mean that we should be driven by free will, because it is God's will that must be sought after, not our own. If you look at the most common causes of divorce among Christians, it's not what most people might want to blame it on, it's all comes down to putting their own will above that of God's. Jesus said in Matthew 19:8, "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." Sadly, this same principle applies to those that cause division in the church, and that cause strife among the body of Christ; it's not that we need to allow ourselves to be stepped on, but we need to pay close attention to the pain that is within the body. Paul puts this into a little better perspective in Ephesians 4:14-16, saying, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." That famous statement, "I am my own worst enemy", does not apply to our true brothers and sisters in Christ; the enemy is outside the body, even though they are still sometimes laying there among us. I was praying off and on all day yesterday, as I was trying to get these words right within my head; I know what God is telling me, but I find the words hard to fit the illustration in my mind. We get so confused by this word "love", mostly because it is used to express so many different things; I love movies, I love my wife, I love golf; whatever it is, it's all grouped together in platitudes of meaningless expressions of what we feel, or for the things that we like. But real love involves sacrifice, and it sometimes hurts; and it can and should be something that you are willing to die for... "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because 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." (1 John 4:7-12)

"The Heart of God" - Too

"He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth." (Psalms 57:3) As I was praying about what God would have me say this morning, something I had asked my six year old niece on Sunday popped into my mind, which was, His banner of me is what? and then I asked her to fill in the blank. And I started thinking about all that Jesus spoke to us about love, and how much that "Banner", which we automatically assume is for us to claim for ourselves, is actually for others to know Who's we are. While at lunch yesterday, I spoke to someone about yesterday's post, and how I was trying to express how a changed heart is so simple, yet so complex; it's simple, because it is changed by God; and it's so complex, because we can never ever change it on our own. It is God that must change our hearts! And here is something extraordinary from my little prayer, I failed the test! I asked God to change my heart, and then I failed at letting Him change it. Do you ever have that kind of experience? You ask God for patience, so He allows you to enter into something that you usually have no patience in, and you instantly blow it; you get stressed out and loss all control; rational thinking goes right out the window. Do you know what I mean? Who can even begin to think rationally when you want to punch somebody in the nose? You can't, and you won't; as long as you are in the flesh, you cannot display the fruit of the Spirit; and without the fruit of the Spirit being displayed in our lives, we are not living under the "Banner of His love." Now isn't that pretty simple to understand? It's all about walking in the Spirit; and if you are unable to walk in the Spirit, then you had better start asking God to help you do it; "Pleading for God's Help" is more like it! Jesus, speaking to His disciples in John 16:7-14, said, "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. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you." It's pretty obvious by what Jesus is saying that we are dependent upon the Spirit if we want the mind of Christ within us; but in order to not be carnally minded, we must surrender our hearts completely to Christ. As simple as that might sound, it is not; it's not that we cannot figure out how to do it, but that we have not reached the point that we want to do it; we are still holding onto this world, and it is still holding onto us. I am way beyond the point of trying to figure this out; it's time to let go, and let God...
"But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians 2: 10-11)

"The Heart of God"

"He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth." (Psalms 57:3) Absolutely nothing can give us the peace that comes from knowing God's heart for us; beyond knowing that we are forgiven, it's knowing how much He wants to forgive us, that's what makes us cry out,"Abba Father! He wants nothing but good for us, yet we let sin cause us to doubt that is true. As I was waking up this morning, I could not help but think of the Book of Hosea, and Gomer's lack of faithfulness to her husband, yet Hosea's desperate yearning to have a faithful wife kept filling him with compassion and love for her. This is what God's heart is towards us, as He desperately yearns for us to be faithful to His love for us; a heart of compassion that wants to care for and protect us. I see a gospel message in this verse, the message of God sending His Son from heaven to save us from the mouth of hell; the sad thing is, many of us don't actually realize the danger associated with our unfaithfulness, because there are always consequences for our sins; even though there is still hope for the future, there is a price to pay, which is usually the loss of someone else. I know that might seem a little heavy, but it's unfortunately true in most cases; it's the old "sins passed down to the children" thing that becomes a reality; not that they have your sins, but that they suffer with the consequences of those sins. That does not mean that God can not perform miracles, because hope is never lost; but you can't dance with the devil and expect there not to be damage caused by it. The message of the cross is one of transformation, in that there is death which is risen in new life; Jesus not only died for our sins, but He died to get us new life in Him. Not only could we never ever pay the price for those sins, but we also need His life in us to make us alive! Oh, dear God, please change my heart!
"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to nought: but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:6-9)

"My Soul's Embrace"

"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me." (Psalms 57:2) The NLT says, "to God who will fulfill His purpose for me", which is more the interpretation that I see being spoken. In a literal sense, if we can rest in God's mercy, then it's His purposes for us that keep us around. Yesterday I heard two different pastors, in the span of less than an hour, say the same exact thing; speaking about a man that was thanking God that he had not sinned yet today, but now it was time to get out of bed, and he cried out to God to help him get through the day. How often do we actually do that? Ask God to help us get through the day? We would be well to do, if we would just realize how much we need His help to get through each day, let along to ask Him for His help; at least if we realized that we needed His help, then we would step out a little more cautiously. What is my purpose? you might be asking; and if so, then you are looking at it from the wrong perspective; because it is not our purpose that we should be concerned with, but His. What is God's purpose for my life? Jesus walked upon this earth to fulfill the Father's purpose; to do His will, not His own will: "Not My will, but Thine be done" (Luke 22:42). It is important that we remember who is in charge of our life, because it is so easy to get distracted by those that will try and tell you that you are in charge of your own destiny. Even the definition of the word should tell you that is not so, because the word actually means, a predetermined course of events; so if it's predetermined, then where does "you have control" come into that picture? If we really stop and think about how little we are in comparison to the plan that God has, we are hardly nothing; yet He has a purpose for our lives! That just blows my mind! We don't even realize all that God is doing in and through us; all we can hope to do, is to see a little fruit in our own lives; but those lives that we do not see, I don't think we can even imagine the chain reaction that God can create from one random act of kindness, or one word that is spoken in His name. I was listening to an interview that Pastor Greg did with Pastor Chuck, and Pastor Chuck said that there was something he heard, way back when, that got him to think about the ministry, because he wanted to be a doctor; and what he had heard was, "Only one life, it will soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last". So he was faced with a choice; he could either help people with their health, which really would not last very long, or he could help them with where their souls would end up, which would last forever... "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

"My Hiding Place"

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." (Psalms 57:1) As I think about all the different places that I have hidden, and there have been quite a few, nowhere did I think I was perfectly safe. I remember once when I was about ten or so, I hid under some apartments down the street from my house; not quite sure why I was hiding there, except that it had to do with some fellow classmates looking for me; I think it was part of a game called "Manhunt"; but my point is, even under there I was not perfectly safe. Do you know why that was? Obviously it was a pretty good place to hide, especially if nobody looking for me had flashlights. But I think that it did not feel perfectly safe because I could not remain there; in other words, it was only a temporary shelter, and sooner or later I would need to come out. Only God can give us the refuge that we need; a place of shelter from the storm, that is not confound to a cave, or under a building. There is no safer place to be than under the shadow of God's wings, for our God is mercy! I don't care what you are dealing with, or what kind of a mess your life is in, if you cry out for God's mercy, He will wrap His arms around you, and He will become your refuge from any storm. You have got to believe that is true; no, you have got to own it, as if it so real that you can reach out and touch it! I remember as a child, not much more than twelve or thirteen, I was sitting in a jail cell, and I prayed for God to help me; maybe for about twenty minutes I prayed and wept, asking for God to have mercy upon me; and you know, He gave me peace; so much peace, that I could actually lay down and go to sleep. If God could do that for me then, then what about now, now that I have put my life in His hands, now that I have His Son in my life, and now that I have His Spirit dwelling within me. That really was not a question, it was a statement. This has got to be made real, or it really does not count for anything... "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18-24)

"Pleading for God's Help"

Psalms 57 [To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.] Odd as it is, we are going from "A Prayer of Trust" to "Pleading for God's Help"; which really isn't that odd if you stop and think about some of the examples in the Bible regarding going from being bold with trust, to being stuck down by fear. Elijah is one that comes to mind, as he took on 450 prophets of Baal, and then almost immediately flees to Mount Horeb to hide from Jezebel (1 Kings 18:20-19:14) The word 'Altaschith' is not really explained very well, except it is said to equal "Do Not Destroy"; I actually have written "Destroy Not" above this word in my Bible; which I wrote with blue ink, so that tells me it was written about 25 years ago. It really all comes down to the perspective that we have regarding the forces of this earth and the forces of God; depending upon your perspective, your mind can surely play tricks on you. Elijah tried all night to hear from God, yet all of strongest elements of nature did not display His voice; it was a still small voice where God showed up. Jacob wrestled with God all night, insisting to be blessed; yet it only took a touch from God to change his life forever. The greatness of God goes so far beyond our imagination, our minds cannot even begin to comprehend how great He is; yet, He does so much in His weakest and most gentle actions. The cross is the big one that comes to mind, as He took on human form, and then gave His life for our sins. You really can't get much more weak and gentle than that, because He could have fought back; yet He humbled Himself to the point of utter humiliation and agony. That kind of puts a little different perspective on the words "Destroy Not", don't you think? You might have thought that He was destroyed, had He not risen from that grave. But you know what was destroyed, sin and death, that's what! Talk about putting things into perspective, thousands of years of sin and death, all swallowed up in the act of total weakness... "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence." (1 Corinthians 1:25-29)

"It Is What It Is" -2

"For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalms 56:13) They say that discouragement to one the devil's most used tools against God's people, and that he uses it more than anything else because we can get so easily discouraged, especially when it comes to our walk with God. Is it any wonder why we can get so discouraged with ourselves? No, not if we are focused upon all of the sin in our lives; which is why I believe Paul used that wonderful suggestion in Philippians 4:8, about how we need to dwell upon all the good stuff, and we need to lay aside the bad; actually, push aside might be a better way to put it. Yesterday, as with most days, I heard several messages that seemed to blend into what God has been putting on my heart; the one that came to mind this morning was given by Pastor Ron. Although I really don't usually like his style of teaching, and some of what he says I might not totally agree with, yesterday he said something that we all need to put into practice much more often. He was speaking about what goes through our minds, like say, when our spouse is late getting home; they were to be home at 5:00, and now it's 7:30; do we assume the worst, or do we think and pray about the best? The worst being that they might be having an affair, or that they have been in an  accident; the best being that they are ministering to someone, and if so, they need me to pray that God would give them the right words to say, and that whomever they are sharing with would receive God's Spirit upon their life. In this modern instant communication society in which we live, it sure is easy to get offended by something as simple as a text message that is not returned, or a call that is not answered; we automatically think that they are ignoring our communication, or that they just don't want to talk to us, for whatever reason; because you know that they never put down their phone, so it's not that they don't know you are calling them. What a perfect opportunity to pray for them, especially if it is someone that is near and dear to your heart. Discouragement comes in many shapes and sizes, and when we are in the mood to accept being discouraged, things can quickly line up to give us reason to be discouraged. Instead, what we really need to be about is encouragement; not just for others, but encouraging ourselves by just thanking God for loving us just the way that we are, and despite the walk, crawl, or whatever else you might want to call it; God is for us, trust Him with all your heart... "But I rejoiced the the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:10-14) 

"It Is What It Is"

"For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: will not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalms 56:13) What a strange way to end a Psalm, with a question; but if you really think about it, we do not know what to think sometimes; is God teaching me patience, or is He stretching my faith? Maybe He is just wanting me to care for my relationship with Him more than anything else! Was John the Baptist doubting who Jesus was when he was setting in prison? or was he looking to be delivered and just reaching out? I seriously doubt that John was doubting that Jesus was the Christ, not after having baptized Him, and seeing what he saw, and hearing what he heard; but he surely was looking for some answers, like, "Why is this happening to me?" I'm sorry, but sometimes we really need to get a life; and when I say, Get A Life, I mean that we need to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and start caring about others! It is actually more about making our life count; like that famous saying, "Life gives you lemons, so make some lemonade and be happy!" If you don't know how to do that, then start praying for God to show you how, because God is the Master Lemonade Maker; in fact, He can make rotten lemons into the best lemonade. Is it a sin to feel discouragement? No, I don't think that it is, because even Jesus felt it in the garden the night before His encounter with death. But, I do believe that it is wrong for any Christian to live in discouragement; it might even be considered sin, if it causes other to stumble; and it would surely be a shame if it caused others to give up on God. I like to look at Paul's life, as he was a great example of someone who took what he was given, and then made it into something to show the light of God through; whether that might be a shipwreck, or a stoning, or a encounter with prison, he was always prepared to just go with whatever, whenever. You might not think that is such a big deal, but nothing speaks to putting your trust in God, like just letting go and let God use you in every circumstance, no matter what! People can say that they trust God, and maybe they do; but you really won't know until they are given the chance to prove that they really do...
"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men, The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4:4-9)    

"Regardless!" -2

"Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee." (Psalms 56:12) You know, God is the one that has called you, you did not choose Him; so if you have been called by God, then you are special in His eyes, for one reason or another. Besides, God sees the end of the matter, not just all the stuff alone the way. So, just in case you missed the conclusion to yesterday's post, we are obligated by thanksgiving to give God praise no matter what we are going through; it's not just a thing that we do when things are going well and we feel like praising Him, we are obligated by what He has already done to praise Him regardless of these temporary circumstances or trials. If you don't feel like praising Him in the midst of your trial, then look beyond your trial, because it will not last, and thank Him for what you have waiting on the other side. This life really is but a vapor, so we shouldn't put so much into the hurts along the way; God will get us through to the other side, because His vows are upon us; and His vows are true and everlasting. I took my wife to church last night, after taking her out to dinner with the family, and I was reminded again why it is that I am doing what I am doing: I made a vow to her that I would never forsake her, and that I would care for her to the death, and I truly believe that God honors that vow that I made; not that it was His vow, but that I made it before Him and a host of other people, and He remembers every tear that I have shed, every moment that I have depended upon His strength to help me cope, and every prayer that I have prayed; He counts each as a stride towards finishing the race that is set before me. I really do not take this lightly, we must be totally committed to our marriages, just as our God is totally committed to us, because our marriage is a reflection of the relationship that we have with Him... "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let your words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-5)

"Regardless!"

"Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee." (Psalms 56:12) It might seem like a strange way to put it, but it's not really up to me how God works it out, God is totally in charge no matter what. I don't think we totally understand how that works; yes, I have made some mistakes, and I think that my life might have been different had I not done certain things the way that I did; but I believe that I am right where God wants me to be, no matter what; it's just the way things are in the will of God. When you think about what David is saying here, it reminds me of the traditional wedding vows, and how in the traditional vows, only death can separate the couple, not physical condition, or finances, not even the person that you might become; nothing matters more than the vow to love and cherish each other, no matter what! When you actually look at things that way, they seem so certain, yet so uncontrollable, all at the same time. God has vowed in His word that He would, that He will, and that He always has loved us, and there is absolutely nothing that we can do that will stop Him from loving us. Listening to a message yesterday, I don't even remember who it was from, but it was about king Hezekiah, from 2 Kings 20. As I was listening to this message, I could not help but think about yesterday's post and my regrets for things that I had done in the past. If you know the story, God tells Hezekiah to prepare to die; basically, God gave him notice that he was going to die, so set your house in order. That was not a bad thing God was doing, because Hezekiah had been a good king; God was letting him know that it was his time to go, and that he should prepare to depart. That is what I would want God to do for me, if it was my time to go; that way I could make sure that my wife was taken care of, and that things could continue in some sort of structured order after my departure. But Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and he pleaded for God to give him more time on this earth; and God did, God gave him fifteen more years; and boy, did he screw things up! But God, God makes beauty from ashes; He takes the most stupid things that we do, and He can make into whatever He wants, to suit His will and purposes, not only for our lives, but for the plans that He has that extend far beyond our little bubbles. As James puts it, "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14). So what do I do with that... "And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." (Isaiah 12)

"This Much I Know"

"In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." (Psalms 56:11) I may not know a lot, but I do know where my real help comes from, and it is surely not from anything from this earth. How I wish I could turn back the clocks about twenty four years or so, because I sure made some real stupid moves back then, and I had some real challenges that I faced because of them; but the thing was, I looked for help to come from the things of this world. It was not like I was not praying to God for help, because I was; it's more like I was looking for the help I needed, and then asking God to provide what I thought that I needed. At one point, for a period of about a year, I played the Lottery, and I actually thought that God was going to provide my help through a winning ticket; I even told God that I would give 10% of the gross winnings to the church, as kind of an incentive for God to make it happen. I can't believe how sideways that I had gotten in what I thought and how far I could stretch my imagination. Call it desperation, or whatever else you want, but it was actually sin; maybe even worse than sin, because sin is missing the mark; I was not missing the mark, because the mark I was aiming at was not God. When I was praying about this verse this morning, I felt the Lord telling me something about our perspective, as to whether our eyes are set vertical or horizontal when it comes to our relationship with Him. If our eyes are set horizontal, then are relationship with God is based upon relationships that we have known and experienced here on this earth; making God's character out to be based upon that which we know, instead of being something totally the opposite from what we know based upon our life experiences. How can God forget my sins? I mean, if God is all knowing, then how does He not remember my sin? I know that I sure do; and I am tormented by many of them all the time. But God, He somehow wipes them from His memory, and He sees me as if I had never sinned; that is just so amazing to me, but it shows us the mighty power the blood of Jesus has over our sins, that even the Father can no longer see them; and just in case we mess up now, then Jesus is right there, at the right hand of the Father, and He is making intercession for us. It is our vertical relationship with God that helps us to keep our eyes focused in the right direction; because if we are not putting any trust in the things of this world, then we also won't be all that afraid of what comes out of the world...
"Hearken unto Me, My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation: for a law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth, and Mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall was old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished." (Isaiah 51:4-6)

"The Bible Tells Me So"

"In God will I praise His word: in the LORD will I praise His word." (Psalms 56:10) Before you go and make a hasty move based upon the fact that God is always for you, let me remind you that His will for our lives is always the best; we can really miss out on some pretty awesome blessings if we do not seek His will for everything that we do, especially when it comes to ministry and serving Him. As I was preparing to take some mental notes on a message that I will give this Sunday, I could not help but think about how we can really get in the way of God's blessings upon our lives; not because we try to prevent them, but because we try to help Him out in blessing us. God does not need our help in giving us His blessing; and if we see a blessing coming, we surely don't need to start figuring out how to help God pull it off; especially if things start turning and it looks as if the blessing will not come. "Verily, verily", a term that Jesus used often to express the truth behind what He was about to say, kind of like, "Mark my words, it will happen"; and if it has not happen yet, you had better mark His words, it will happen! I think we have a tendency to ignore some of what the Bible says; maybe we think that it all does not apply to us personally, or that some of it was for way back then, and that it really does not apply anymore to the world in which we are currently living; but without a doubt, I can assure you that the entire word of God is meant for each and every one of us, and it is totally still applicable in this modern world in which we live, every last page of it! Probably the most vain thing that we can do, is to somehow think that certain Scripture does not apply to us, or that we somehow do not need the instruction that it gives, because the world has outgrown the applications and the principles that are contained in the word of the God that made us; as if God has not been able to keep up with the growth of His own creation; what utter nonsense! The most important part of trusting God is to take Him at His word; if we doubt or deny that any of His word is applicable to our lives, then how are we going to react if we don't feel loved, or if we feel alone? There needs to be something to hold onto, especially in our moments of doubt and despair; and there is no greater Thing that we have been given than His very Word...
"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." (John 14:1-3)

"Because He Loves Me"

"When I cry out unto Thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me." (Psalms 56:9) So you might think security and safety are the same thing, but they are not; security is secure and cannot be tampered with; while safety, well let's just say works do matter when it comes to knowing what you believe. As many of you may know, if you have been following me long enough, I do not believe that works do anything towards or for our salvation; we cannot add one fraction of a percent to the saving grace that has bought and paid for our sins, not even the smallest little piece, because our salvation is in Christ alone. What we believe, especially when it comes to the security that we have in Christ, is where our works come into play and they matter; not that they will change anything about our being saved, but they prove that we are by the faith that is behind them. Another way that we could look at this 'challenge', if you will, is those three words, "this I know"; in other words, Do you know that Jesus loves you? or, if you want to make it more specific, Do you know that God loves you? I think the example of Daniel 3:16-18 gives the clearest picture of what it is that I am trying to say. It is the fact that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were secure in God's hands, and they truly believed that they were, and that nothing the king could do to them could take away that security; therefore, they were safe to declare what they declared, saying, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." The works were displayed in the actions of their words and in their faith that they were secure in God, no matter what; had they not believed that, then they could not have been able to state so with such certainty and conviction. Those are the kind of works that matter the most; not that we could even come close to being thrown into a fiery furnace, or getting that kind of chance to take a stand like they did; but we are faced with situations all the time that require us to take a stand for what we believe, or require us to make proven that we are loved by God... "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:31-34)

"Safety In Numbers" -2

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears in Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?" (Psalms 56:8) I am not sure when it was easier for me to cry, now that I am older, or when I was young; one thing for sure, the reasons that I cry have changed, because before I cried more about my life, but now I cry more about His. As a matter of fact, since starting this blog, I find myself crying almost every morning; how can we not cry thinking about how much He loves us, despite all the sinful things that we do! The word "tellest" means to count or to number. You know, I don't know if I have shared this before, but my mom always would tell everyone all of my good things, never any of the bad things that I had done, especially those things that I had done to hurt her. Why do I mention that? because God is counting and numbering all of the good things that I do; every tear that is shed, every prayer that is made, every selfless deed that is done; whatever I do in His name, or for His name sake, He treasures up and stores it for when I meet Him face to face. But; oh my: my God, He does not count all the stupid sinful things that I do; because of the blood of Jesus, I am washed as white as snow, and that is how the Father sees me. And on that day, when all those books will be opened, there will be a judgment for all that we have done, every single thing whether good or bad; but guess what will be listed in my column? only the good!!! Do you know why that will be? It will be because there is another book that will be open, and it will be the Lamb's Book of Life, which trumps all the other books; canceling out all of the sinful and evil stuff, and only showing the good and righteous stuff. Actually, as hard as this might be to imagine, we will appear before Him as holy virgins; that is how powerful the blood of Christ is to the washing away of our sins; you really can't get any cleaner than that...
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." (Malachi 3:16-17)

"Safety In Numbers"

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?" (Psalms 56:8) Don't ask, it just jump into my mind as soon as I was getting ready to type something else; I was going to type, "Safe and Secure", and then this happened; weird, I know, but it might be alright in the end. Actually, I was trying to explain something that I heard Pastor Jon saying yesterday, and it was pretty hard to explain in a way that Jon came across; but then again, he has a way of making things blend together; things that you would have never thought were connected, all of the sudden will seem to fit like a glove. He was teaching from the book of Numbers, and long story short, the illustration was concerning the way God formed their camp in the wilderness; based upon the numbers of each of the tribes, and upon the locations of where they were positioned, they actually did form the shape of a cross; if you were to look down upon them from the air, then you would see this giant formation of a cross stretched out in the wilderness. And not only that, but at the head of four tribes, which represented three other tribes, there were banners, each banner represented the lead tribe; one banner was that of a lion, the next of an ox, the next of a man, and the last of an eagle. Then we were told how these four banners matched the creatures that were illustrated in Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4, and how each face represented each of the four gospels. Wow, I was blown away; so much so, that within the span of the next hour after hearing this, I had to try and describe what I had heard to three different people. The bottom line to what this illustrates is so simple, it's as simple as the message of the cross, which just requires us to believe! Here you have maybe three million people, all wandering around in the wilderness, all camping out together, and all the while in the shape of a cross; and heading the cross formation is the gospel messages of the four sides of Jesus: He was a King, He was a Servant, He was a Man, and He was God; the Servant King, and the God Man nailed upon the cross. The point being, in case you were wondering, is that no matter where we aimlessly wander, as long as we are camped in the cross, we are eternally safe...
"In all of their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old." (Isaiah 63:9)
"The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and for evermore." (Psalms 121:8)

"It's Not Up To Them"

"Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God." (Psalms 56:7) As I was praying about what to post this morning, I could not help but think of something that Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1). Here is a really good example of Jesus telling it like it is, and just letting His disciple know who He is, and what the real miracle is that He came for; because all those miracles of healing people were only temporary, and did not provide any lasting cure; especially not for the cure we really needed to have for eternal life. The word "iniquity" used in the verse above is one that speaks of 'emptiness' or 'vanity', especially that of idolatry, or the vanity of idols; used in the context of what the whole verse is saying, it would appear that God's anger is triggered by those that worship idols; which goes back to the question being asked, Can they escape God's control if they are not worshiping God? How interesting is that question, because I know a whole lot of people that live like that is what they believe; they think that if they have no part of God, or any of His laws, or any of this "Religion", then they have no need to worry about any sort of judgment or wrath from God. Little do they know, but what they believe or think really will not mean much when they stand before God. The only real important thing that will matter, will not even be all of the sins that they committed, but will be whether or not they are written in 'The Lamb's Book of Life"; that would be Jesus' book, for those that may not know who the "Lamb of God" is. Yesterday I heard Pastor Matt giving the case for why Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me", and he used the term "Substitute" to make the case, stating, "I never need to worry about being forsaken by God, because Jesus was forsaken in my place." He went on to say, I never need to worry about being judged, because Jesus took the judgment for my sins on that cross." As I heard these words, I could not help but think of someone I know, that once asked me, Why would God need to come down from heaven and die for us on a cross? This person studies with the JW's, so I knew what was motivating the question; but it's not a bad question to ask, if you really want to know the truth; unfortunately, she did not want to know, because once I told her, said argued against that sort of explanation. Whether it was a rhetorical question, or one that was asked sarcastically, it is a very important question that must be answered in each and every heart that wants to be written in that Book of Life...
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

"Is It Up To Me?"

"They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul." (Psalms 56:6) Let's understand something right from the start, God is the one who is in control; no matter what we think is going on around us, or what we don't even know, it is God that makes the call on our life; He is the one who says whether or not it's time to come home. Now, as to the lie, David was just a man; he might have been one of the most spiritual kings that Israel had, but he was just a man, and he had no righteousness of his own to compare with the righteousness of God. None of us do, and we all fail the test when it comes to being holy. The whole point of God's word is to show us how imperfect we are, and how much mercy and grace God has for us. There are some who can read the Bible and come away thinking that God is like a mean kid in the sky, scorching ants with his magnifying glass, and wanting nothing to do with Him; but that is not my God; my God took my place on the cross, dying for my sins, and paying the penalty that I could never pay on my own, ever! That is why God can say over and over in His word, Do Not Fear, because we should not sweat the little stuff, He has everything under control. The main point from yesterday was one of living in the Spirit, which requires us to not lean on our own understanding; which means, we do not really know anything when it comes to the spiritual life that is going on all around us, only what God shows us, and even then, it's not enough for us to fully comprehend. But one thing is for sure, if we walk in the flesh, then we are drawn to care more about the flesh than we do about the Spirit; even though the spiritual life is more a reality than the fleshly life, our life in the flesh will appear more real. That is why prayer is so important, because God is in control, and there is nothing that is up to me, it's all up to God...
"And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:15-18)

"What is Reality?"

"Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil." (Psalms 56:5) Maybe the best place to start is the beginning; and when I say beginning, I mean all the way back to Genesis 1:1, where "God created the heavens and the earth". Say that over and over in your mind, and try as hard as you can to picture it happening; planets being formed, stars being placed in the heavens, all within a matter of seconds, just as it would have had to happen if it were completed in five days. That is 'five' literal days, if you are trying to get technical about God's ability to create matter, because it does matter what we believe God is capable of doing. I can base my belief upon the type of days that it happen based upon the third and the forth days, as God made all the plants on the third day, and then made the sun and the moon on the forth; if a day would have been a thousand years, then those plants would have been starving for light; but then again, God can do whatever He wants, and He is not limited by the laws of nature. Actually, reality is all about what we make it; what is real in our hearts dictates what our reality is, whether that is real or not. Based upon what fear represents, False Evidence Appearing Real, we tend to spend more time dwelling on the false evidence then we do dwelling on the real evidence. If you want to dwell on the real evidence more, then you need to start reading your Bible; and when I say reading it, I mean that you keep it with you and never put it down. However, the reality for most of us that call ourselves Christians, is that we maybe spend about ten to twenty minutes a day reading our Bibles, if that; and the majority of us only open our Bibles when we are in church, and when the pastor says, Let's open our Bibles. Okay, here's the point that I believe God is trying to make; because I do believe that God is the one helping me to press this keys down. If we are not trusting God with everything, then everything is not going to be our reality; which means, that we are going to have fear in places where fear does not belong, because we are not trusting God in that certain area of our life. And how do we know when we are not trusting God in that certain area? Well, first things first: God does not lie... "And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezerites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road today? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever." (1 Samuel 27:7-12)

"Continue!" -2

"In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." (Psalms 56:4) Before we get back to reality, if that is what you want to call reality, God's word is more than just laws and commands; if we study God's word, and if we see God's love for us pouring up out of those pages, then the basic law that takes over, is that His love commands application of His word in our lives. It is almost a natural conclusion that takes over: Do I listen, obey, and get blessed? or do I not listen, disobey, and face destruction? Hum, I don't know; the choices seem so similar, it"s hard to make up my mind. Actually, this title came from a movie that I watched the other night, called, "Welcome To Inspiration", about the 'Seven Revelations to a healthy and prosperous life in Christ', or something to that effect. The second part of this verse, "I will not fear what flesh can do unto me", is the best way to describe how this works; because if we are walking in the Spirit, then flesh and blood take on second nature to the things of the Spirit; and when that takes place in our lives, then we must 'continue' to walk in that! Things like truth begin to matter more than the way things appear, because if the truth is not in what we are doing, then what we are doing will not prosper; as hard as that might be to understand, it matters in the way God works things out in our lives, because the truth will prosper, no matter how it might appear otherwise. Having said that, you have got to understand that David was not being very honest with his hosts; which makes me wonder, what part of trust is associated with lying? It's a little like Abraham telling people that Sarah was his sister, so that they would not try and kill him, and then take her for themselves. Oddly enough, we are not saved by coming to Christ, we are saved by responding to His offer of salvation; it is Christ who saves us...
"For Moses described the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed." (Romans 10:5-11)  

"Continue!"

"In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." (Psalms 56:4) I think my post yesterday was shorter than my closing verses; but you have got to admit, Paul brings some pretty good points to life, the point about "not being ashamed" is by far the most important. If our faith is based upon Jesus Christ, and His righteousness, and not our own, then there is nothing to be ashamed of, because our hope is in Christ, the "Author and Finisher" of our faith. Think about what Jesus went through to establish this hope that we are so confident in, and to demonstrate the courage that we have available to us, if we just put all of our trust in God. Confidence is such a demanding characteristic, because there is no room for doubt; if you are confident in something, then it means that you have 'a firm' trust that is based upon something that is true and proven. When I talk to people about the truth of the Bible, there are so many different excuses that they have on why they can't buy it, or how it does not make a strong enough case to challenge everything that they have been told or learned; yet, that's the whole point of what Paul was getting at, because we cannot even begin to see the truth without first putting our faith in Christ. The truth is still the truth no matter which way you are trying to look at it; or better yet, no matter which way that you fail to see it. Yes, God has given us a map and a guidebook, and it is contained in the sixty-six chapters of the Bible; all sixty-six chapters contain "His Story", and we must 'affirm' it is so in our hearts... "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:8-9)