"No Doubt About It!"

"He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?" (Psalms 147:17)

  This is really not something that everyone will appreciate, but the Lord might have a bigger hand on what is going on than we might have ever guessed. The first Sunday, I was not able to connect to the LiveSteam, so I just gave up and did my own little devotion; but this last Sunday I was, and the time in fellowship was amazing! Just knowing that there were others all around view and singing, and that this same Holy Spirit that was working in me, was working in them; there was just no other way to describe how personal and intimate that service felt. Marianne was in bed, but she could hear what was going on; and usually she stays awake for the worship and falls asleep for the message; but when I turned around to check on her, she was wide awake. The Lord has a way of taking care of His church; one way or another, He gets to have everything work out for the Good! I heard a message from Pastor Mike Fabarez awhile back, where he spoke about our Heavenly Father as a disciplining, but loving God; how He has just such long patience with us, but that He can only tolerate so much: and then He gets up off the couch! I don't know whether you know this or not, but you had better believe it: the Lord is going to do everything in His power to protect His Church! Whatever happens, happens to bring glory to His Name; even if it might appear to be tragic and insane! I have watch and seen so much going on with different churches; many different religions becoming more and more one with the world; knowing full well that there was only so much that God could take. I have to be perfectly honest, because I do it in my own life also; as I catch myself in my sinful binge, knowing full well that He is watching me, and that there is only so much that He will take, and then He is going to get up off of that couch! The first part of this verse is something that reminds me of a discovery; and it really is very important that we all somehow make discoveries in God's Word; something that makes us want to dig for more and more, looking for new and amazing discoveries! This one is about the discovery of the snowflake; which was able to first be photographed in it's magnified state, just before the beginning of World War One. There were quite a few tragedies which took place in those days; but none so tragic as goes on today! But somehow we don't care or think too much about the little things; those things are destroyed before they have a chance to show off their brilliance...

""Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?"" (Job 38:22-23)    

"Seriously"

"He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes." (Psalms 147:16)

  If I have not shared this before, I need to share it now, because this made such a profound impact upon my life. Within the first week or so after I got saved, I spent almost all of my free time putting together a crossword puzzle that had JESUS spelt out up and down the page in the squares that did not have a letter. It was really quite amazing, but it is very similar in comparison to this blog; because it was mostly for me and my growth in the Lord; and whatever someone else received from it, I really did not actually know. I think I recall that the across questions were all from the Old Testament, and the up and down questions were from the New Testament; but each and every question was about Jesus; from every single reference I could find, about anything pertaining to Him, whether it be person, animal, or any other thing. You would be totally amazed how much there is, because it really didn't take very long to have that puzzle completed; two weeks at the most, if even that. I was fascinated by the fact that Jesus is God! After having been raised on and off through the J.W. cult, I was more than moved by this revelation; the more I dug into the Word, the more I discovered the truth that had been hidden from me over all of those years. Not only did I have a passion for sharing this awareness, but God allowed me to be able to witness to several guys that were connected to someone outside that were leaders in that organization; at least one of them I knew of got saved, the others were just a short encounters. Why I am sharing this, is because this verse is all about the ministry of sharing God's Word! I know I have shared on this before; but for at least ten years, maybe more, I was trying to study and discover as much as I could about Isaiah 55. I looked for commentaries and any sort of writings I could find that might have something in them to confirm what I felt was being said, and how much I believed it was about the amazing power there is in sharing the Gospel. It is never too late to make a difference; so if you might feel as though life has passed you by, as long as there is still breath in your lungs, you can be a vessel that God will use! As far as we know, maybe it only needs to be one person; just one person can be enough to make a very big difference...

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:9 - 11)

"Word of God Speak"

"He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly." (Psalms 147:15)

  Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it seem a little strange not be going to church today? I just could not help thinking about that, and how much I miss being gathered together to worship and to hear the Word being taught to a body of fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Reading this verse this morning really reminds me how much I am looking forward to The Song of Solomon; it just reminded me of the swiftness spoken of throughout those six Songs. The "commandment" spoken of here is God's Word, His speech; it just so happens, that when God speaks, His words are exactly that, Commandments! In other words, God does not use idle words that do nothing, and that don't mean anything! Nothing that happens here on this earth is beyond God's control; not even this out of control sickness that is causing everyone to freak out all over the earth! Don't ask me what or why; but there is always some kind message being sent out. God never allows anything to happen that can undermine His will and purposes! I couldn't help but think about all of the different ways that God could have cleansed the world back when He created that flood; but He chose to use water, of all things; a very large volume of Water! And then, when it came time again to pour out a cleansing, (no pun intended,) He again used Water, the Living Water! I remember sharing the lesson I heard from Pastor Jon, the one about the measurements of all the fixtures within the Tabernacle; and that in his teaching, everything had a measurement but one thing, the Water Basin that was used to ceremonial cleansing. As I shared this with this person, I mentioned that the Water Basin represented the Word of God, and how it represented that His Word was unmeasurable and infinite. I really thought they would get excited by that, just as I was; but instead, they became offended and corrected me, by saying that the Water represented the Holy Spirit, not the Word, and not Jesus Christ. There are just some things that are beyond our control; but nothing is ever beyond God's control, ever! If God wanted to, He could turn this virus off like a light; just like that, with a snap of His finger, it is said and done! So, do you know why those Jewish leaders wanted to through Jesus off of that cliff? It had a little thing to do with jealousy, because Jesus was making a point about the miracles that were done in the days of Elijah and Elisha; mainly the widow of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian. The Word of God is speaking, I have no doubt; the question is, is anyone listening. Oh, and I forgot to mention something yesterday about the One grain of wheat, it is found John 12:24; check it out...

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect." (Psalms 33:6 - 10)

"What Sign Is This"

"He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat." (Psalms 147:14)

  Somewhere in this crazy world there has got to be peace; but it is not going to be found in the world, it is within us, those that have the Prince of Peace living within us! So, just when you thought things were getting interesting, we have a new wrinkle, another little ingredient being thrown into the witches pot. Now there is word that Christians are the cause of this pandemic; most likely, we will also be blamed for global warming, if not already! I think I can see who is behind this and why; because the church is being broken up, does not really mean that the church is no longer united! You would not believe how often I am overcome by messages that speak almost exactly in line with what the Lord puts upon my heart; that is the work of the Holy Spirit, who resides within each and every one of us! About this notion that Christians do not believe in science, they are totally wrong in that regard; it is not that Believers don't believe in science, it is the fact that those that believe is science don't choose to believe in God! Not that all Scientist don't believe, because I know a few that do; but most of the stuff they write or make opinions about, either don't get published, or do not get much attention. I told you what I think, because I believe most of their theories are hogwash; especially anything that tries to explain-away the fact that God created heaven and earth; because I 110% believe that He did! Study your Bibles! I don't mean to just read it, but study it; make it something that you look into for the answers to everything you are looking to know; because, in it, is everything that you need to know! Everything essential is found within that Book! Isaiah 28:9-10 says, "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." I bet you didn't know that God had breasts? I won't even begin to try and tell you what that means, you need to find that on your own! Basically, there is a sign here that speaks beyond borders; this sign is something that speaks directly into the church: because the simple fact is, that the church borders are made up by the fellowship of their love; and within those borders He makes peace! Oh, I know, it not about that, but about Israel's borders; isn't that what you're saying? That peace comes and goes like the wind; but the peace that Jesus gives never ever leaves us! And as far as this, "finest of the wheat," it is a single grain, and He fills each and every one of His children...

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." (Isaiah 9:6-7)

"The Well" -2

"For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee." (Psalms 147:13)

  Okay, so that might have seemed a little weird; but I can do weird pretty good, I will not deny that. Anywho, this is mostly about spiritual warfare, more than it is about any sort of discipline. The thing we must understand, is that there is more and more focus being placed upon an outside spirit, then there is being placed upon the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, the children of God. Maybe we need a little reminder, the Holy Scriptures say, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4) As I was listening to CSN yesterday, there was a caller that wanted to know about the portion of Scripture in 1 Samuel 16:14, were is says, "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." Troubling times are upon us, there is no way to deny that; but this sort of trouble is not the cause of the LORD, but is the cause of hardened heart! Pastor Mike gave a pretty good explanation about this, in the example of the hardened heart of Pharaoh. The Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart; but in reality, it was the miracles that God performed that hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Much the same as the time when Jesus called Lazarus from that tomb, the Jewish leaders had hardened their hearts, saying, that they not only needed to kill Jesus, but Lazarus also. As I thought about those things, it dawned on me how easy it is to forget about the miracle of our eternal life in Christ; not just the life that is to come, but the life we have right now, and the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. I was also reminded of that song we sang, once upon a time: "Spring up, O well," a thing about life abundantly came to my mind, as I remembered the words and how excited I was to be able to sing it, and live it! Not to be changing the subject, but there is something else that I heard yesterday, which was about the time Jesus read Isaiah 61:1 in the synagogue, and they threw Him out and took to the edge of a cliff to throw Him off. I guess I never really paid much attention to why they did that, but yesterday the explanation hit me, right in the heart! John makes this wonderful statement about what love is, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 John 4:7) And it has been said of John, that when he was very old, they would carry him out to deliver a massage to the congregation, and he would simply say, "Love one another!" Anyway; well, that's all I got to say about that...

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel." (Isaiah 44:3-5)

"The Well"

"For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee." (Psalms 147:13)

  Excuse me if this might seem a little odd, but there is something I believe God is showing me, and it might take a few minutes to let this sink in. I hardly ever let a little thing like that stop me from typing; just so you know. There are more and more messages that I feel have geared towards getting people back to reading the Bible; it seems as though I am hearing them more frequently every day. Why there are so many churches that are opposed to teaching through God's Word, I have not quite figured it out; but I know it is wrong, and there are way too many examples why, written in the Holy Scriptures. If I needed to place a finger on anything, I would entertain that it might have something to do with that word, Holy; or, if you like, Wholy! It is kind of like that rack verses wrack thing from the other day; because God's Word is Holy, the Whole of It! This is really quite simple, if you can just step back for a moment and examine it from a well's point of view. If I was a well, hypothetically, and if there were gates that allowed water to enter in, then the bars are like the filters to keep the water within me pure and safe. That is really not that hard to visualize, wouldn't you agree? The reason that we must accept and the Whole of God's Holy Word, is for the sake of the offspring, which is that which comes out of the well. I know, it might not quite have the impact that I envisioned, but you have got to admit, it makes you wonder; or wander, which ever way you want to except it...

"He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!" But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. "How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation."" (Luke 19:40-44)

"Keep On Praising!"

"Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion." (Psalms 147:12)

  Besides the fact that He is Almighty, He never stops loving us; even in our lowest state, He loves us! I just can't get over that, that as much as I fail to do what I want to do, and end up doing what I don't want to do, He never stops loving me and He never stops speaking into my life. What else should we do, but simply praise Him! There are some things I know, having been taught and shown certain moments from the characters in the Bible: the easiest thing that we can do, is to simply praise God for His great goodness! No matter what we might be going through, or how terrible our situation might be, it is always easy to praise God; even in the moment, that moment of our very last breath. As to that "matter" of what the matter might be, I do not think any matter is hidden from God. I was thinking about this last night, and it appears to me that God's forgiveness and mercy covers every single bit of my sin; it absolutely eliminates all sin! That includes the sins from yesterday, today, and tomorrow; there is no sin that He cannot remove from the record, because the record is swept away! Don't you know that Solomon knew that? That He believed in the power of the blood of the Christ that was to come! It might not sometimes look pretty, but holding onto the mercy that God is holding out to us, requires us to just reach out and grab hold; fearfully, thankfully, and joyfully, all at once praising Him for His wonderful goodness. His mercies are new every morning; thankfully, they are new...

"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)

"Keep Holding On!"

"The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." (Psalms 147:11)

  For those that don't quite know, Solomon was more than just a king, he was a Preacher; and God gave him great insight and talent to do just that! As to the measure of what kind of strength we might have to hold onto God's hand, that is not even something to ponder, because it is not about strength, it is about our weakness! To repeat the final proclamation, Solomon said, "Let us hear the conclusion of the 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) How's that been going for you? I don't know about you, but, "every secret thing," kind of raises some red flags in my life, or at least in the chambers of my mind. We seriously do not have a choice, not in the least! We must hold on, keep holding on, and keep reminding ourselves that we have got to hold on, at all cost! We can no more keep every commandant, as we can love our neighbor as our selves, let along love God as much as we should; so why does Solomon say that is the whole duty of man? It is really a matter of what the word "keep" means, and how that word matters to us, as His children. In a nutshell, this verses describes that matter! The Whole Matter! We fear God because we keep His commandment at the forefront of our minds, and His commandments constantly remind us how much we need His mercy! God is so good to us! There is where hope comes in to the picture; not that we hope to have something, but that we have been given something, so we are able to have hope...

"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD harkened, 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. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." (Malachi 3:16-18)

"To Be Held"

"He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man." (Psalms si147:10)

  Talk about racking my brain, this verse really stretched my imagination; my mind was literally running all over the place! (No pun intended!) As I tend to do with catchy phrases, I usually search for common meanings to see what might come up; the most popular topic for, "rack my brain," was whether the word is rack or wrack; as if it really matters! What would you rather be messed up by, a tornado or an earthquake? If there is anything we need to take comfort in, no matter what we are going through or how hard life is crashing all around us, it is the fact that our Heavenly Father is holding our lives in His caring hand! He cares for you and I: and with that little bit of knowledge, we really do not need to worry or concern ourselves with what might happen to our lives! Easy to say, not so easy to put into practice! That simple song just came into my mind, "Put your hand in the hand," making me think, who is holding onto who? But we don't have the strength that it takes to hold onto God like we should; so, the thing we need to be assured of, is that He is holding securely onto you! Jesus made this point, saying, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are One." (John 10:27-30) Notice something here, because it is easily overlooked, that Jesus did not say, 'My Father that gave them to me,' but rather, "My Father, which gave them me!" You know that saying, Love is a two way street! (I'm just saying!) I heard something yesterday that I was dying to use: "God doesn't clean any fish that He hasn't caught first!" It is really not a matter of how strong we are or how hard we try to do anything: God is the One that makes us new! He catches us and then cleans us up; and guess what He does with us then: He never lets us go...

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." (Ecclesiastes 9:10-12)

"All Things!"

"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." (Psalms 147:9)

  Typically, we seldom give much thought to this, but God is so good to even the least of all of His creation, even those things that feed upon other things; it is all part of something good! Those of you, if any, that might have looked at any videos of the Emerald Cockroach Wasp, like me, you might have witnessed how detailed and specific the wasp was at making a perfect vessel for the egg to move into and have all of the nourishment it might need to pupate within; and then even use the carcass of the roach to become the shell by which it becomes a mature adult. Anywho, this is only a small part of something incredibly complex and extraordinary. The funny part of discovery, if that is what we want to call it, is that since I have been alive, almost 62 years now, actually more if you count my time in my mother's womb, I have incredibly aged over billions of years. Don't ask me how, but I recall being told years ago the the earth was millions of years old; now we are being told that it is billions of years old. Where has time gone? No, I do not believe it now, and I did not believe it then: God made everything, both old and new, all at the same time, over a period of six days! And, if you really want to get technical and specific about how that could be possible; He is going to remake everything anew, if the flash of an eye; it will be so fast and so spectacular, yet no one will be able to deny that He did do it, because we will witness it, first hand! Don't ask me how, because that is not how this works; I can only tell you what the Bible says, and then say, Believe it or not! That is totally up to you, because my mind is already made up! It is really funny, now that I think of it, that I have believed in God's creation since I was just a young child; I just was not aware the Creator was Jesus Christ, until September of 1981; and that is when my world was Rocked! Today is the anniversary of my son's graduation; something I would have never expected to witness, but I really look forward to the day that I will see him again...

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

"To All Things Good" -Too

"Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains." (Psalms 147:8)

  Oddly enough, the Lord gave me a vision this morning about upcoming Easter Sunday services, and people gathering out in the open places, such as places where devastation and destruction have recently taken place; Sunrise Services all over the country, where people can stand and sit, while still keeping their distance from one another. Shouldn't that be something amazing to witness! I can see the hills and mountains around my home, which last year where just black and looking like the backside of an old dog which had lost most of the coat from the back; which are not turning green and show signs of life and luster. I truly believe that God listens to our prayers, and not only does He listen, but in some sort of fashion, He will move upon them, and make certain things happen. Does that mean He will do the exact thing that you might ask for? No, not in the least; not the way you have seen it happening or the thought you might have put forth. Because as He says in His Word: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 55:8) But one thing is absolute, it might not be the way you thought it was going to be, but it will always be the best way, and that is something you can ultimately count on, for sure! I love what He says at the end of that chapter: "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:13) We might see what is going on as something bad and devastating, but God sees what will become of it and what comes out of it; something we could ever know for certain, nor can we see it as He does. I don't quite know why, but "the" is appearing more important and specific to me now then it has previously; how "a" could have been used, but it says, "the," as if there is a specific thing that replaces another specific thing that was meant to happen, or that might have looked like was going to take place. God's ways are so much higher than our ways...

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind." (James 1:2-6) NLT

"To All Things Good"

"Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains." (Psalms 147:8)

  What an amazing God we serve! Whether you are sheltered down or needing to be out working, God is your refuge and your strength; don't you forget it! We do not control anything; so what is it that we are trying to do? I am simply amazed by the oddness of this thing happening all around the world, because it seems as though it has a silver lining; yet, that cloud is just waiting for the Light to shine, all around it. People are being changed, that is for sure. Priorities are being evaluated and the freedoms to do certain things are being discussed and dismissed as unnecessary, if not foolish. The way I see it, there is really nothing but good that can come from this; much like this wonderful verse we have before us today: which is actually part of the same verse we looked at yesterday; which basically means, it is all about your point of view! Back to the topic of last week, the Word of God; it is by far the most important thing that needs to be shared in these times; more important than any sort of treatment or isolation, because God's Word changes everything that God wants to change! His will is more important than our wants, and even more important than what we think that we need. I think our busy lives have made us forget how important it is to seek His will first; verses, starting out in a certain direction, and then asking for His will in that! If I seem to be preaching, the choir is looking back at me through the mirror! Seriously though, I am starting a Book today that previously changed my mind, literally changed the way I was thinking: The Book of James! For those that don't know, I was very heavy into goal setting and planning out things based upon a series of steps and routine procedures. For almost twenty years I made that the way to be successful and to prosper; and it actually worked; at least it was working for my goals and plans, but not for what God wanted! The very familiar verse, "Those that wait upon the LORD," was not being put into practice, because I was always trying to be five or ten steps in front of what the LORD wanted to do in my life. I know that might sound kind of silly; but it is the way I actually saw myself living, as I kept trying to reach certain goals: you are always reaching out to obtain something and never really enjoying what God has already given you...

"Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed and sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray of each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was a human as we are, and yet he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield crops." (James 5:13-18) NLT

"Change of Mind"

"Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp unto our God:" (Psalms 147:7)

    For the ones that know how this works, if you are one of His children, then you might not have a choice; you are either going to throw yourself down, or get thrown down by Him: it's just the way it works, and for that we most sing praise with gladness in our hearts! The question becomes that of the wicked: Who are they? I have a pretty good idea, but then again, it depends upon when you ask and where they are at; and most importantly, who it is that might be asking. Oddly enough, God changed Jacob's name to Israel; but there were times after He changed his name, when He referred to him as Jacob. Does that sound a little familiar to anyone else? Well it wasn't Abraham, if you were thinking of his name being changed from Abram; because his was a covenant transition that was entirely God's covenant to him. I was talking about Simon, who has his name changed to Peter by Jesus, when they first meet. Did Jesus call him Simon again after changing his name? Yes he did; especially the times when He asked him, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" I couldn't help but think of those cartoon character angels, the ones that were once people or other animals, who died and are shown with harps and wings in heaven. Of the three main usages of the word, wicked basically means what it says, someone that is guilty of a crime, of someone hostile to God. I remember an illustration that I was given once about grace, that it was a lot like being under an umbrella; as long as your standing under the umbrella, you are protected by grace; when you get outside of that umbrella, thankfully, mercy shows up, one way or another...

"And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:8-10)

"More Than Just"

"The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground." (Psalms 147:6)

  There are more than enough reasons to place our hope in God; but the biggest reason of all is not found in this life, it is found in heaven. This is why we must keep looking up and knowing where it is that our help comes from; because it is not coming from anything here on this earth. I know, my life here does count for something, and each of us have a gift that God has given us, something that we are meant to do or be in this world. But in all seriousness, all of this is very temporary and it is all going to pass away; or as Peter says, "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat?" (2 Peter 3:11-12) I am more than guilty of forgetting how important this might be, since I have no room to talk when it comes to holy conversations and godliness; but I do know that we are living in some very interesting times, and we had better start paying attention to the things that matter most. Maybe that is a good place to start, by asking ourselves the question: What do I care about the most? or better yet, Who matters most in my life? If you stop for just a moment, that question is a little questionable, to say the least! Why would my life be something of question? "He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." (John 12:24) Those are the words of Jesus, speaking about "a corn of wheat that falls to the ground and dies." Interesting thing about the verse we have before us today, in that it involves lifting up and casting down; I guess it matters, quite a lot, who does the lifting and who does the casting down...

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:5-7)

"More Than Enough"

"Great is the LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite." (Psalms 147:5)

  We might not understand a lot, and it doesn't take a lot of understanding to put our faith in the One that knows everything and can do anything: so what seems to be the problem? I couldn't help but think of those Israelites that were out in the wilderness gathering manna; how there were those that gathered more than they needed during the week, just to find out that any lift over had worms the next day; yet, on the day before Sabbath, they were told to gather twice the daily amount, and on the Sabbath, the manna would be fine. Incredibly as it was, there were the ones that went out to gather also on the Sabbath, finding no manna, and they did not understand why. We are being told to limit our contact, which is something that might be difficult for some, especially those of us in the service industry. Be that as it may, this is for the protection of the elderly and those that are vulnerable to be seriously harmed by this virus. It might not appear that there is any protection available, but, it is not that hard to pray for God's protection and His will to be done! Lord, your will, not mine! Isn't that what we should be seeking and walking after? This is really not that hard to understand, that God has a handle on the situation; not the ones who might think they can handle it, but the ultimate One that can cure and heal is God! There was something I saw happening as I looked out the hotel room window yesterday morning: it was snowing! The ski parks were all closing, and there was snow being dumped all over the mountains. The feeling I got was that of God's cleansing; much the same as the rain that is pouring down here at my house this morning, God is pouring out a cleansing. It might not be the one to stop the virus, but nonetheless, there is something that needs cleansing. Can't quite put my finger on it, but then again, that is not my area of expertise, that is God's! By the way, if you do not know this, Abraham's seed include you and me, those that believe! As Paul says in Galatians 3:7, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." I will never forget the time in that little church, on the jail compound; as about 8 to 10 of my fellow inmates and I stood in a circle and sang that song: Father Abraham, had many sons; many sons had Father Abraham; And I am one, and so are you; as we go marching on...

"The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear. The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither. In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence. The LORD is good, a strong when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him." (Nahum 1:3-7) NLT

"No Comparison" -Too

"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." (Psalms 147:4)

  Well, so much for snowboarding; the park is closed for the rest of the season, due to health concerns. As far as this title goes, it was meant to be about us, all of us that are all part of God's family; all that are part of Abraham's seed! We might not always get it, but we are special! And there are many more special people that have yet to realize who they are; but God knows them, by name! I remember something the Lord showed me, while I was putting together a study on Genesis 15. God told Abraham about how his seed would be strangers in a land that was not theirs; and how they would be afflicted and would be slaves for four hundred years. Up to that point, Abraham had his seed pictured as stars in heaven; so many stars, that they could not be numbered: but after God had spoken those words, the description of what they would go through, they became etched upon his heart, and they put on flesh! This is our time to shine, you and I; to show those that do not know Him, that there is more to this life than what can be seen; that there is hope for the hopeless and even the sick and dying can have hope; because this is not the end, but the beginning, for those that believe...

"After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:1-6)

"No Comparison"

"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." (Psalms 147:4)

  To put this into a special kind of message, something a little bit more direct and to the point: God is the One who is in control! It might appear to be something that is out of control and going quicker with each passing day; but this is something that is going to do something that He is working out for the good; if it was not so, He would not have allowed it to happen. I was listening to a message that was about this topic yesterday, where the Pastor was speaking about how the churches in China were being allowed to go about the cities and preach the Gospel message in public. I don't know about you, but there is something special with that, because there, churches are usually not even allowed to come together, let alone, share God's Word out in public! It might not be something that people want to hear, but they need to hear it anyway! Maybe we can call it, "Last Call," as in, God is sounding the trumpet and letting the whole world hear the, Last Call, all at once! Those that need to hear, need to hear; because He already knows who they are, they just need to chance to respond. If there is one thing that I know, we must rely on what we know; never ever rely on what we do not know! If you believe that God is Almighty and All-powerful, and the He knows all things, then that is really all you need to know, because He knows everything else. That is what it means to put your trust in God! We do not put our trust in man, or government, or any other worldly thing; it is only God that can deliver us! And, just so you know, I think I am going to go snowboarding, just for the heck of it...

"To whom then will ye liken me, or shall be my equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by numbers: he calleth them by their names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth."
 (Isaiah 40:25-26)

"The Healer" -2

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." (Psalms 147:3)

   As for the urgency of what took place yesterday, I was somewhat disappointed, at first, thinking that our President had caved to the pressure and hysteria; but like a veil being lifted, I believe that God has opened my eyes to something totally different. Every morning I pray that God will give him wisdom, as I believe that many more people do; and I believe God has answered our prayers. Unlike the pandemic that broke out ten years ago, I believe that there is something happening to head this off and keep the damaged caused to a minimum. Enough on that, because I have something to say about where all of this comes from, because it is not the work of our Heavenly Father! As I was thinking about this, waking up this morning, I couldn't help thinking about Jesus and His ministry here on earth. Not once do I recall reading anywhere that He caused someone to be sick, or that He caused someone to be blind; with the exception of Paul, which was much like Zechariah becoming dumb, not able to speak; both of which were temporary, causing no harm, and for their own good. God is good, and everything that He does is for our God, not to harm or destroy us. When He does need to do something critical, it brings Him much pain and grief. That said, there are things that God allows to happen, which are the natural result of this fallen world; something that He never created, because He created everything to be good! We need to step back and see: the true enemy is the one that first revolted against God; and every since, God has been trying to keep the damaged caused by that revolt to a minimum! God is on our side! We might not see all of the stuff that is going on all around us, but He does so much more than we could possibly see or even understand. I heard a doctor speaking this morning and it reminded me of something incredibly strange and mysterious; that even a virus is a living organism and it wants to live and thrive. It might sound crazy, but if you have the time, check out a couple of videos about the Emerald Cockroach Wasp. Incredible as it seems, but there are things in this world that do not actually need to be taught, they just know what to do, and they are naturally very good at doing it...

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears."" (Luke 4:16-21)

"The Healer"

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." (Psalms 147:3)

   Whether or not you know it, but Jesus came to heal the broken hearted; as is the case, a hard heart is what gets broken, not a soft and pliable heart. I looked up a few quotes from Pastor Chuck, and one that really stuck out was, "Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know." I think there are just too many people right now that are focused upon the unknown, because the unknown can be scary and blown way out of proportion. If you know that God is the one who decides where it is your time to go, then that is what you know; so what do you do with what you know? This might seem a little strange and overreaching, but we are more in need of a spiritual healing, than ever before! I was listening to someone sharing yesterday, and they were speaking about why they don't care to listen to science, and how science says it is okay to take the life of a child in a mother's womb. For anyone that might not know this, there are approximately 3,000 babies being aborted in the United States, every single day! That makes the total number of lives that are taken, close to one million a year; lives, I said, lives that could have been given a chance to live. As of today, we have 1,832 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States; 41 that were fatal; and 31 that have recovered. According to the information online, the first case reported in the United States was January 21st; which was one month and three weeks ago; and there has been 41 deaths as of this date. If you want to see how that compares to the number of babies that have been killed, in the same amount of time, that number would be over 150,000! I don't know, but I think the real healing needed is related to the heart, not the lungs! I cannot get over these numbers, because the majority of those that have died, of the 41 cases, have been elderly people that are at the end of their lives. It seems a little odd to me, but who has the most to contribute, those on the way out, or those on the way in? Anywho; this is meant to be about Jesus, our Mighty Healer! What do you know about that...

"The High and Lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts. For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away - all the souls I have made. I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going on their own stubborn way. I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn, bringing words of praise to their lips May they have abundant peace, both near and far," says the LORD, who heals them." (Isaiah 57:15-19) NLT

"The Builder"

"The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel." (Psalms 147:2)

  If you could only see what this looks like from God's perspective, it might stop you from doubting what it is that hurts you, is not really part of your pleasure to come. Don't ask, I really don't know what the heck I am saying: sometimes, I just type random words without even thinking what they might mean. (Just a little inside information!) Actually, I feel as though God is trying to show me something about what I know with the type of repairs that I do, which really does not require a Building Contractors License, because my License is based upon repair to parts of existing structures, not based upon building something new. Although I do have a Contractors License, I just don't use it to do what I do. As a matter of fact, when I do apply for a permit, I do not even need to give them plans or a even a plot plan; I just give them a copy of my Report and pay their required fees based upon the cost of repairs. Anywho; a lot of what I do is repairs that can be done with scrapes; small pieces of left over lumber, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We hardly ever through away anything that is longer than two feet; and a half of a sheet of siding could be used for a $300.00 repair. I guess what I am trying to say, Lord willing, is that God will sometimes work in the exact same way! We really can't see this from our point of view, especially when we might be a part of the scraps; but sometimes the scrape is exactly what is required to fill in the missing piece! If you are a builder, of any sort, then you know exactly what I am talking about. The thing that brought me to this thought, is the meaning of the word, "outcasts," which is actually a word that means to throw down. You would not believe the effort I will go through sometimes to save a piece of material that has been thrown down by one of the guys doing the repairs. They laugh at my efforts, until I explain how a two foot piece of lumber could actually be used for a $300.00 repair under a house. A one foot piece of a 4" x 4" could actually be a couple hundred dollar repair to a girder support! A piece of scrape, is not scape if it still has a purpose; so we really should not throw it down as if it has no value; neither does God discount those that are outcast: every single one of us have value and are part of the Builder's plan! More incredible than that, God might have been the One that threw down the scrape; but He is also the One that picks it back up and uses it again, for something special...

"For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united the Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of the law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. Together, we are his house built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself." (Ephesians 2:14-20) NLT

"Praising the Almighty"

PSALMS 147
"Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." (Psalms 147:1)

  Without changing the subject, we move forward to another dimension and layer of what appears to be a crescendo and intensity in these final chapters; each and every one of them, as Matthew Henry says, "begin and end with Hallelujah!" Just so you know, I did not run out of time yesterday, but I had one more aspect to the point; it just so happens, this particular Psalm will clarify more on what that point might have been. Not to leave you in suspense, it is the point about what a generation actually means; because in the case of yesterday's verse and Peter's inspirational use of the word, it means a certain group of people, not a particular period of time that people lived, or particular people that live in a certain time; unless you my be referring to those that are given eternal life! Matthew Henry has this Psalm divided into two different sections: one that declares that we should praise, and the second that declares all of the reasons to praise. Those reasons are the demonstrations of what God has done and why it is that He deserves our praise; but I would like to admonish us to pay close attention to the benefits of simply praising God for who He is, regardless of what it is He will do, but for what He has already done! There are three reasons that are given here within this verse; all of which speak to the beauty of praise, each to a certain degree and character. When it comes to the worship of God in spirit and in truth, the most important thing to be present in that sitting, wherever it might be, is you! Every part of you, without hesitation or reservation; you come to Him just as you are! The first word to inspect, is, "Good," which is, for the sake of discussion, the opposite of bad. I know this Psalm might be mentioning singing, as if it is talking about singing songs; but for the sake of argument, let's just pretend it is meaning to prepare our hearts to get plucked or pruned. If we can agree on that, then we can actually see why "good" has the ability to be more about beauty and less about being good. The second, which is, "Pleasant," is much to do with agreement or delight; in other words, you are delighted to be in agreement with God, no matter what the topic or subject might be; and no matter how pressed you might feel, it has got to feel good! The third is a little more the reason why, and more the result you really want: becoming one with your Creator, The Almighty. It simply does not get any more beautiful than that...

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family be bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son." (Ephesians 1:3-6) NLT

"God Really Does Save Us!" - Too

"The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD." (Psalms 146:10)

  I couldn't help but think that there might be someone out there that might have not seen the connection between what I said and what is being said, so I felt inclined to talk about it, and see if we can work any differences out. Isn't that what we are called to do? Work out our differences; to at least agree on something, even if it is to agree to disagree! I am really sorry, but the enemy was punching me around yesterday, and I felt I needed to kick the cat, or whatever else is close by and won't kick back. The first thing I would like to call our attention to is, "Zion," which is something that has the meaning of a parched place. Not much to get excited about, till that parched place receives another identity, which it did, Jerusalem! We all know that there will one day be a "New Jerusalem" that will be the place in which we shall all dwell together, for ever more, right? That said, because the LORD reigns for ever, that mean that He has a Kingdom which He reigns over; not only is it His Kingdom, but He actually fills His Kingdom with His children; unlike earthly kings that have subjects in their kingdoms, that most feel as though they are servants or people lorded over and ruled, our Heavenly Father has established a Kingdom and a place where His children will be joint heirs in something that is far beyond anything that we could ever imagine. That meaning of parched place becomes something entirely different, something that is called, the joy of the whole earth! I know it might not make sense to everyone, because it just does not make sense; but God does not just change things, He makes all things new! Therein lies the crux! New is something different, which means that it is not the same thing that it once was! If you want to agree on something, then let us agree on that and move on with sharing the Good News that we are New Creatures in Christ, despite our differences...

"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 you 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 as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up 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. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head or the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 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 the darkness into his marvelous 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." (1 Peter 2:1-10)

"God Really Does Save Us!"

"The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD." (Psalms 146:10)

  Regarding that little joke, it is pretty much descriptive of the stuff that is in their heads, those that might not only not believe in God, but those that show God no respect. How is it even possible to not respect the One that can either give you life or destroy you, for ever! (That really wasn't a question, but more a statement.) Let me get this "Grab, Go, and Give" thing straightly laid out, because there might be some confusion in the way we see who's role is what. First and foremost, God is the One that Grabs us, literally, He actually grabs hold us of and gets our full attention! It might be for a few minutes, or maybe for a few days; but He gets our full attention long enough that we don't look away or get distracted: long enough for us to make the biggest decision in our life, to believe in His Son and the free gift that is being offered! This is His doing! We cannot do this on our own, nor would we ever want to! That is the part that many people don't understand; not that they don't try, because they mostly do try to figure something out, they just don't know what it is that they are trying to see. I had several years of being misled by trying to find God, looking for Him in all sorts of different ways and in different desires; but I never expected to find Him on the cross! Oh my! If that doesn't grab your attention, nothing else will, ever! You might not get that right away, but the people that hung out with Jesus, they were radically changed! If the one that betrayed Him had not committed suicide, he too would have been changed and no doubt been saved. The Grab part of this is the part where we are Justified in Christ: Just as I had never sinned, is not for the few moments or few days, it is for ever!
The "Go" part is the race, no doubt; but we are participants in a race that has already been won! Some of us are going to run through the things we are given to jump over, and some of us are even going to drop the baton, now and again; but none of us are getting out of the boat! He is so much stronger than our will, because His will for us is to finish the race! What ever it takes, He will get us through, even if it means our flesh is torn off completely and literally, He will get us through. That is what it means to be Sanctified in Christ; it means that He makes us holy, one way or another! And, as far as the "Give" goes; it goes and goes and never ever stops: the is what it means to be Glorified in Christ...

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isaiah 52:7)  

"Word of Peace"

"The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and the widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down." (Psalms 146:9)

  Odd, don't you think? Peace seems to be something that was not really expected, but then again, it is never something you really ever can expect or plan; it just will be! The Conference yesterday was totally amazing; every part of it was anointed and focused upon the importance of God's Word; which I was pretty much expecting that it would. It was built around Hebrews 12:1-2, and had a focus upon the Great Race, which involved three aspects of what we do with the Word of God; or more importantly, what the Word of God will do in us! I was amazed how that illustration I gave yesterday about the mirror was brought to life and demonstrated by the, "Grab, Go, and Give," illustration in the teachings. That is what we started the Conference with, the illustration of the runners in a race, who grab the baton, run their portion of the race, and then hand the baton to the next runner. All of that is true and applicable to what we do with God's Word and our responsibility. The Conference ended with the mirror affect, as it showed how the Word of God works in us, from start to finish! I know that I don't have everything perfect about my life; and I know that I lack the ability to be perfect: but I know the One who is perfect and makes my life prefect, in Him! So I really don't have anything to worry about; nothing at all in this world can take away my security in Christ! The crazy thing about peace, is just that, people think your crazy when you have peace in the storm! The disciples questioned what was going on with Jesus, as He slept in the boat and it was being tossed around by the wind and waves, saying, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38) The one thing I remembered most this morning, is the thing about faith and the two bridges: All the faith in the world does not work on a broken bridge; but just a little faith will work on a strong bridge: And our Savior is a Very Strong Bridge! Basically, my point is that crazy is not the case for the one that has the peace, just so you know! I remember a joke we would tell when I was around 11 or 12; it was about hell and three doors to choose from; where the first door had fire and people agonizing, and the second door had big rocks falling on peoples heads; but the third door had everyone standing around in waist high waste, while sipping coffee. Which might have seemed a whole lot better than the other two doors; that is until the load speaker came on, and said, "Coffee break is over, back on your heads." I guess that seems a little childish, but it seemed funny back then...

"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)

"Word of Change"

"The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:" (Psalms 146:8)

   Good News to all that seek to be changed, even though you might not feel so much like changing! It is God that changes our hearts! I have to admit, there are so many things that I don't really know and understand; but there is absolutely one thing that I know for sure: the LORD loves the righteous! Oh, but wait, what if I don't feel very righteous? Wow, that is really something to think about; maybe there is a connection between the blind, the humble, and the righteous? You think! This is probably the most important thing that we must realize about God's Word, because without His Word we are totally blind! Without His Word, we would never have been shown the love that makes us bow down and realize how much we need the love He so freely gives! Without His Word, we would not be able to study and show ourselves approved! Do you know what that means? What are we approved of, and by who? You want to know the answer, it is all about love! We might not have the ability to love God as we should, but we have the ability to love Him as mach as we possibly can or are able. If you really want to know the sequence, the reverse is pretty much our time table of events. From God to us: He opens our eyes, we are humbled, and we learn of and see His great love. From us to Him: we love Him, bow down and worship, and He enlightens us, opening the eyes of our hearts. Basically, it looks like a mirror, if you could physically see it. Those that love Him are righteous; those that are humble, He lifts up; those that know they are blind, He opens their eyes. How do we come to any of these conclusions without the Word of God! I will simply go back again to the beginning: If you cannot completely accept the words, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," then you are going to have issues with everything else that God can do, including changing you...

"The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see." (Isaiah 42:14-18)

"Word of Help"

"Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:" (Psalms 146:7)

  If there was something I said yesterday that might not have been agreeable with what you feel or think is important, then get over it and pray that God will change your heart; because there is nothing more important than God's Word: It is the very Bread of Life! Jesus said so Himself, saying, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) If you don't know, the Bread references the Word of God: God spoke and life came into existence! In the previous chapter of John, Jesus makes a very bold statement regarding who He is and what the Word of God represents, saying, "And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." (John 5:37-40) Do not think for a moment that Jesus was trying to say that searching the Scriptures was wrong, because that was not His point: but He is the Word, written or spoken, He is eternal life! If you don't know what it might feel like to be in jail and yet feel free, it is really a thing; which is something that does not need to just apply to those that are incarcerated, it can also apply to the oppressed and the hungry, because it is all about a frame of mind. The one thing that the oppressed, the hungry, and the prisoner, all have in common, is that they need help; they all have that same condition of helplessness in their current situation. The oppressed need to feel vindicated, the hungry need to be feed, and the prisoner needs to be loose; but each and every single one of those things can be made possible by simply changing of your mind. Okay, so you can't see how that works, but it is really pretty simple. The oppressed has no help from those that oppress them, but if they believe that their oppression will be vindicated and judged rightly by the Lord, then they simply no longer will feel oppressed by those who oppress them, but will feel used of the Lord. Hunger is something that can be turned off, but it requires something else to take the place of it, which causes the one who is hungry to longer think about being hungry. If you have ever fasted, for at least three days of going without food or water, then you know this is true. The more you think about hunger, the more you feel you need something to eat; so put your mind on the Lord and dwell upon His Word. The thing I might know best, is that of feeling loose, but still locked up behind bars; we are never locked up when we are free in Christ! The only thing that makes us realize we are locked up, is thinking about being set free; but while we are serving the Lord, we are free already. It is all about where your mind wants to be! That said...

"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 judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is in me, saith the LORD. Ho, every man 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 that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 54:16 - 55:2)

"Word of Hope"

"Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:" (Psalms 146:6)

  Real truth never needs to be defended! There is really no need to argue with anyone that might not agree with the truth, because the blind will not see anything unless the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of their heart, and He allows them to see the truth. What makes a man or woman, who says they are born again, be offended or scoff at the teaching of the Word of God? How is it possible to even begin to consider the Word is no longer relevant or something to be desired? To be serious here for a moment; whether or not you know it, it is the Word of God has given you New Life! If you were to put that in a relative illustration, it would be the same as telling your parents, those that came together for you to be created in the womb, that they were not relevant to your birth; nor does anything that they are, belong to your existence. Why does a Pastor of any church ever need to apologize to his congregation for opening the Bible and sharing Scripture? Is the Bible just a relic? Something once important, but only now an object of reverence from times gone past? I am sorry, but the truth is, I am more than concerned about some of my brothers and sisters. I get to talk to people all the time, people I don't even know, but that are immediately like family, as we start talking about the Lord and church, or as we share about the wonderful works God has and is doing. But as soon as I mention Bible study, or happen to start talking about how much I enjoy my church's way of teaching through the Bible, they clam up and roll their eyes back, as if I just ruined their day. I truly believe this is something we need to talk about, because there most be a Foundation to the faith that we place our hope in! If it is not the Word of God, then where is the foundation of your faith? Is it the Holy Spirit? Not quite sure how that looks, because you cannot have the Holy Spirit without the Word! Is it the Father in Heaven? Is that where you place the foundation of your faith? Without the Word of God, you don't even know the Father, nor can you know the love He has for you. This is the point John makes in the beginning of his Gospel Message: Without the Word, we do not exist...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:1-3)

"Living Hope"

"Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:" (Psalms 146:5)

   As sad as it might be, the one who puts off accepting God's free gift of Salvation, and then ends up having life taken without actually doing what he has put off for another day, there are people who might have been spoken to by his hesitation. If you think about it, the life you miss out on living, by just having hope, there is really nothing better than knowing you are safe and secure in the Lord. I guess it just depends on how you accepted the Lord, as to whether or not your security is sure or not; because those that came looking for happiness and prosperity, might not feel all that secure! I am reminded of the illustration Ray gave in his book, "Hell's Best Kept Secret," about the young man that put on the parachute in the plane because he was told it would make him comfortable and feel secure. He was not comfortable in the least; and people laughed at him for wearing a parachute on the plane; any security he might have felt, was in the sureness of getting that parachute off, as soon as possible. Just so you know, this verse is speaking about proof; which for the sake of time, means that the facts are proven by a life that has already lived out what hope looks like! You really don't need to try a investigate whether it is the case, just read about his life and the truth will be quite evident. Not to be overly pragmatic, but nothing speaks about hope better than seeing it fulfilled in the life of someone else. Basically, isn't that what Hebrews chapter 11 is all about, HOPE? They call it, "THE HALL of FAITH," which it surely is, because without faith, hope is never actually lived out! What is it that faith does, if it doesn't cause us to move in a certain direction? No matter what comes against us, or how uncomfortable things might get, faith is what makes us keep moving in the direction of what it is we have hope for; no matter what...

"Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

"Life's Terms"

"His breath goeth forth, he retuneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalms 146:4)

  We are still on the man, the man in which there is no help. Actually, this takes a little twist, as it goes from comparing the trust we can place in God verses putting trust in man, to the single most important thing we can do as mortal mankind: Don't die without getting right with God! There are some important things we must remember, as there are very few chances afforded man to get this right; actually, so few, you can count the chances on a single finger. You know, I remember I had a poster on my wall when I was about 13 years old; two posters as I recall: one had a cat hanging onto a chin-up bar, that said, "Hang in there, Baby," and the other once said, "Last Act of Defiance," and had a mouse flipping-off a hawk that was about to grab him. Anywho; you might not get that right away, but there is a point to that which obviously not the way you should plan to go. Basically, this is the point that David, if this be him, is trying to make: You don't get any more chances after you are dead! I actually though this was a thing, that you could actually lay there in the ground and still have thoughts; that you could actually still confess your sins and ask for God's forgiveness, after you were dead and laid there buried in the ground. Don't ask me where I got that idea, but nonetheless, it was something I believed once upon a time. There are no second chances! This is it, there is nothing left for you to do after you draw your last breath; you are either saved or you're not, and then comes judgement! (Hebrews 9:27) Yes, there is an option: Thank God for that! Get right with God before your life is over; don't put it off another moment, because you don't know when your time will come! We had this thing we would always say, stupid kids that we were, "It only takes a second to say goodbye!" I really don't remember how it got started; maybe it was because of the drills we did in class, where all the kids needed to hide under their desks, tucking there heads between their legs. We actually made fun of that, because it illustrated what it looks like to Kiss your ### goodbye! Those drills were for what to do if there was an Atomic Bomb being dropped on us; like, are you kidding me! This was not too far removed from when they took prayer out of public schools. Go figure; take prayer away and give us a desk to hide under; like that's going to help...

"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. 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." (1 Corinthians 2:2-8)

"Trust Only God!"

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help." (Psalms 146:3)

  Sorry to say, I did not make it out there yesterday; but today I will be in that area, so I will actually try and make it happen today. This is a pretty easy verse to set your compass by, because there is only one way that it should point, directly to God! David was thought of as a prince; a prince meaning someone that is noble, generous, and is willing at heart. If you recall, when David was willing to take on Goliath, he was not willing to wear Saul's armor, saying, 'I have not tested this, therefore, I will not be needing it!' (My words that I see David saying, just so you know.) David knew full well that the battle belonged to the LORD; if this giant was going to be defeated, God was the Slayer, not him. That said, we are the vessel that God will use; as strange as it might seem, He loves to use broken people to do extraordinary things. Yesterday we took a little look at Jehoshaphat and his proclaiming of a fast throughout all of Judah. Fasting is a good thing that is sometimes needed to stimulate prayer and to get us to focus on worshipping God and not our belly. Have you ever noticed how much of your time is put into thinking about your next meal? Maybe it is just me, but I seem to be standing at the pantry of my mind several hours before I eat, just going through all the options in my mind. Things were so much easier when I came home to my wife's cooking, looking forward to what she might have made, and the surprise she had in store for me. Anyhow; believe it or not, but it is pretty easy to get our compass needle pointing in the wrong direction; not intentional, but by placing anyone between God and us. Actually, it does not even need to be a person, it could be almost anything, even an actual fast, if there is something you are looking for the fast to accomplish. To be perfectly clear, if you are looking to become more spiritual by fasting, then it is not right direction; even prayer can give you misdirection, if your intention is to be enlightened or more spiritual. When we fast or pray, we are doing so to worship God, plain and simple; in all honesty, fasting and praying will bring you to a point of feeling less worthy and more dependent upon God. Which is actually right where God wants us to be: Taking our eyes off of the problems, and putting our eyes on the LORD...

"O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." (2 Chronicles 20:12)

"Reviving Life"

"While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being." (Psalms 146:2)

  Some might say the glass is half full, expecting that there is more to be added; while others might say the glass is half empty, expecting what is left to soon be gone. I see that there are about 60 verses left, which means I should be done with Psalms before my birthday in May; providing the Lord keeps me here long enough to finish. I am having a little apprehension or second thoughts about what comes next; my plan was to move ahead to The Song of Solomon, which is something I have wanted to experience every since Pastor Bill taught through it back in the 90's. There was a point during the teaching where he said, "I don't know what that means," regarding verse 1:16, where is says, "also our bed is green." I was so surprised by that, I needed to confront him after the service and ask if he was just saying that to get us thinking, or did he really mean that he did not understand what it meant; because there is really nothing else it can mean, but new and exciting! It is considered that these last five Psalms are written by David; most likely, if they were, they were written towards the end of his life. The closer we get to the grave, the closer the grave gets! Actually, it just so happens that I was going to try and get out to the grave site today and take some pictures. I was going to give a few to the guys working of the video for Easter Sunday, and thought the marker for Marianne and me might make a pretty interesting statement of our life. We have our son's marker to the north of ours, and his picture shows him looking over his shoulder towards us. Marianne's plot is next to his, and mine is on the south of her's; 776, 777, and 779, those our the numbers of the plots. Tim, the superintendent took me out to look for the site, and I could not see anything that seemed special; so I asked to look at the plot diagram that he had in his hands; saying, "It looks like this is going to be a numbers thing," and I picked the square that said, "77," which happened to be empty. According to Tim, each of the squares has ten plots, so we get first choice at the remaining seven, if we so choose. With that, our marker is shown with our wedding picture, the one that is attached to my profile in this blog; and below the picture it says, "Forever One." Our born dates are inscribed below our names, and then there is the dash. If you are looking for the meaning to what David is trying to say, "while I have any being," it is pretty much talking about that dash...

"My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof." (Psalms 71:15)