Genesis 32:10  I am not worthy of the least of all thy kindnesses, and of all the truth; which you have shown to thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 

Hebrews 11:21  By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped leaning upon his staff.

I have always loved the narrative involving Jacob’s life.  Even from my youth I was drawn to the unfolding climax that is present throughout his life. From the very beginning this miscreant is on the heels of his older brother Esau, supplanting and plotting a hostile corporate takeover.  Eventually he bargains and tricks his brother and family into an all out feud that causes him to flee to Canaan. There he experiences some of the same dirty, double handed dealing that has forged his own character.  But not to be out done by his wives father, he begins a plot that leaves his in laws looking at nomad bankruptcy because their entire flock now belongs to Jacob, except a few beggarly sheep and goats that are sickly. Overhearing their anger he is suddenly taken with fear and in the middle of the night he does a back door get away.  Now caught between Laban and Esau, Jacob begins to come to his senses.  Here is a man who has known God, encountered His presence and blessing, and even been filled with the hope of His promise!  He has had visions, seen prosperity, and been satisfied with all the good things of this world, and yet something is still missing?

As I reflect on Jacob, what I see is the patience of God in bringing one man to the end of himself.  Out of Jacob’s own mouth he declares that he crossed over the Jordan with his staff in is hand.  The staff represents God’s Word and His promise to be with us.  Moses parted the Red Sea based on the promise of God to deliver using his staff.  In the court of Pharaoh his staff turned into a serpent and ate the two snakes of Pharaoh’s magicians, and that is exactly how it is that God and His Word will always have the last say.  God instructed Moses to touch the Rock with his staff and water then flowed from it to quench the thirst of the masses.  David had a staff in his hand as he selected the stone that would forever defeat Goliath, that awful giant who defied the armies of the Living God.  Elijah gave his staff to Gehazi to heal a son who had been fatally wounded while in the field helping his father. Finally, King David wrote that, “Thy rod and thy staff, they do comfort me!”  As believers we find our healing, our daily provision, and our deliverance from the promise of God’s Word.  No matter our struggles, if we have genuine faith in Christ, we draw our hope and encouragement to endure our trials through the comfort we receive from the Holy Spirit as we give our hearts and minds to the Word Of God.

So how does all of this tie into our examination of Jacob? Remember the scene at Jabbok?  (See Genesis 32)  Here is Jacob stuck between his past and his future. With God’s promise he crossed over the Jordan River and there he became two companies of people. He had livestock and wives and children, as well as he was wealthy by anyone’s standard, but all of that was in danger. Why?  Because Jacob with all his cleverness and shrewd dealings had finally come to a place where he had no where to run and he was not going to be able to fix the mess he had made by himself!  Remorse for his thievery, fear for the day of reckoning, and concern for his family finally brought him to a place where God could deal with with this resourceful raccoon.  Jabbok in Hebrew means;  a place of emptiness, to pour out, to utterly make void, and to fail. There it is!  Jacob was finally empty in the very center of all his success, and full of the realization that all his best efforts had positioned him in the very worst position of all and that was in the position of dying at his brothers vengeful hand. Thus are we in the hand of God if we do not make our peace through Christ, with God!  Like Jacob we must come to the foot of the cross and wrestle with our own nature, laying our tainted character with all its futile ways at the foot of the cross. There we exchange selfishness for generosity. There we exchange lawlessness for self control. We trade our past and all our failures in for a future filled with the promise of God and a relationship with His Son.  We exchange fear of death with the hope and assurance of life forevermore.  Again, like Jacob, we trade in our old name with all its dependence and reliance on self, along with our blemished past, for a new name that Christ promises all those who come to Him.  We become princes and kings and queens because we have given up wrestling with God because He has touched us in our spiritual hip. We realize we can no longer run from Him and his purpose so slowly we walk, placing the full weight of our travels through this life on the staff of God’s promises.  We are finally and forever emptied of self that Christ might finally and forever dwell in our mortal body!  We are older, less capable physically and more aware of our limitations, but we are filled with the joy of knowing that in our weakness, Christ as the Prince of eternity shines brighter then ever He did when all the world saw was the supplanter Jacob in our old way of living.  And finally like Jacob, as  we have learned to trust fully in the staff of God’s truth and not just carry it, we will live the life of worship God deserves and as we do, then and only then will we become the agents of blessing that God has foreordained that we should become!

Quote of the day:   “A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart.”   Charles Finney 

Psalm 107:1-7-  O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good.   v:2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,  whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, v:3  and gathered out of the lands, from the east to the west, From the north to the south.  v:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way;  They found no city of habitation.  v:5  Hungry and thirsty their soul fainted within them.  v:6  Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,  and he delivered them out of their distress,  v:7-10  He led them by a strait way, That they might go to a city of habitation.

Hebrews 11:8  By faith, Abraham when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance;  and he went out, not knowing where he was going.  v:9  By faith he became a wanderer in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:  v:10  For he looked for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.  

Hebrews 13:13-14  Let us therefore go forth outside the camp, bearing his reproach.  v:14  For we do not have here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come.

Sometimes when I close my eyes in worship I imagine myself standing, kneeling, or prostrate before the throne. There I see Jesus and I am filled with awe as I drink in the majesty that is His glory.  Sometimes I imagine the New Jerusalem descending down out of the heavens with the angels and the saints of God riding on horses following the Prince of Peace on His white stallion. Other times I see myself actually descending with the holy city as heaven will be forever joined to earth, thus fulfilling completely the consummation of Christ and Adam, forever eliminating the separation of the spiritual from the physical, as the two will be forever joined as they were in the man Jesus.  These are my thoughts and then from time to time I have to to remind myself that while I am in this world, I am not of this world!  No, though I would like to fit in and be popular, accepted, or even appreciated, to most I am a thorn wandering through this life like a tumbleweed in some lonely prairie.  Perhaps you have on occasion  felt that way?  Doubtful any who name the name of Christ have not felt that way at some point, and if you are a believer and you have not felt that way for a long time, it wont be long before the times we live in remind you that Christ lived in this world without a home or some place to lay his head.  The Apostles wandered from town to town to spread the message of Christ, and the early church lived underground for centuries without a home, until they were buried in the halls of the catacombs only to wait in peace for the time when they would find eternal dwellings.  Our Judeo/Christian heritage demands that we consider our ancestory? Abraham, Isaak, and Jacob all lived in tents wandering as nomads in a land that was not their own.  After the great Exodus the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, initially because God led them there, and later because of their unbelief.  And that is the way it is; sometimes we wander because of our unbelief, and other times we wander because like John the baptist or Elijah, we are led into the wilderness where God might fill us up with His message.  In either case, whether we have homes or do not, unemployed or having been on a job for twenty years, all who belong to Christ are sojourners in this world.  Our bodies are like the tents of Abraham and they are a dismal, but adequate reflection of what is to come when Christ comes in His glory.  Our lives are but a vapor while we are called to be evangelist passing through this life with a message as we meet other travelers on the road to eternal purpose and destiny! Our sufferings in this wilderness remind us that we earnestly wait for something better when Christ comes and we will no longer hunger or thirst.  Like the children of Israel we remember the Feast of Tabernacles when after thousands of years God’s promises became a reality and the promise land with homes and sheep pens and a land flowing with milk and honey finally became a reality. Every year during the feast all of Israel would remember their desert wanderings and up on their roofs they would go as they lit their lanterns and the light of Jerusalem could be seen for miles outside the city.  Perhaps this is what Christ eluded to when He admonished us to be a city on a hill, light pouring forth in the dark so others who wander as nomads see the light and come to such a city!  This is true Biblical hope! That I realize that no matter how good I have it in this world, or how tough it may be, that one day I will dwell in a mansion that Christ has prepared for me.  Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.  May our light thus shine as we wait for His return!

Quote of the day:  ”Eternity is called whole, not because it has parts, but because it is wanting of nothing”.  Thomas Acquinas

Deuteronomy 21:22-23  And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and you hang him on a tree;  v:23  his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is cursed by God.

Mark 8:24-25  And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold them as trees, walking.  v:25  Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked steadfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly.

Psalm 1:3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That brings forth fruit in its season, Whose leaf also does not whither;  And whatsoever he does shall prosper.  

This past week I was driving home and as I drove along the country road I was on I noticed that all the trees on the road were all leaning toward the sun.  Now you might think I am exaggerating, but believe me when I tell you that the sun was low in the sky as it was late afternoon, early evening so all the trees had a significant lean toward the setting sun.  It was like they were trying to gasp in as much light as they could before the sun set and darkness prevailed. As their branches stretched into the warm sky, I could see the arms of nature reaching for the Light of Heaven and I was again reminded of a study I had done long ago and how God compares men to trees.  I would like to share that study with you now.  Many times throughout the Scriptures God compares men to trees.  Some of the most notable passages are found in Daniel chapter four when God compares Nebuchadnezzar to a great cedar tree that would tower over all the rest of the trees of the forest.  This was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream and Daniel interpreted the meaning of that dream telling Nebuchadnezzar that he would be cut down but that the stump of his life would remain after a seven year period which during that period of time the great king would be driven into the forest to live like a wild animal. True to God’s Word, Nebuchadnezzar returned to rule, just as Daniel had prophesied.  Again in the book of Ezekiel, God compares the great Pharaoh of Egypt to a giant Cedar, likening him in his pride to the cedar of Assyria or the king of Assyria, who was also cut down because of the pride of his heart. ( Ezekiel 31)  In the book of Jeremiah God tells Jeremiah that those who put their trust in Him will be like a green tree planted by the waters, and even in times of drought, the man who trusts in God will still bring forth his fruit in its season.  (Jeremiah 17)  Interestingly, the Hebrew word for the word ‘tree’ is the Hebrew word ‘ets’, or ‘ates’ as it would be pronounced.  It is found in your Strong’s Concordance # 6095, and 6086. The word means;  Carpenter, gallows, plank, sticks, stock, timber, tree, and the original word means to fasten or make firm, and to close the eyes.  What amazing foreshadowing is seen in the very word for tree. That a carpenter would come and be fastened to a plank and hung in the public gallows and their he would shut his eye’s having taken upon Himself the consequence of our sin.  This Jesus of Nazareth would be the Tree of Life in which mankind would be permitted back into the Eden of God’s presence as we place our trust in Him, coming to the tree of Calvary! The question then arises; who or what kind of tree have we placed our trust in? God knows if our trust is truly in Christ who was hung on a tree to bear the curse for our sins, or if we are trusting in our riches, our government, or our own resourcefulness.  God knows!   Furthermore, what kind of trees do we associate ourselves with?  Apple trees are found in an orchard among other apple trees. You do not find cedar trees in that same orchard, nor will you find a grove of Aspens in an orange grove.  Are you bearing fruit among the other fruit bearing trees in your church? Do you see men as trees, though like the blind man our vision may be blurred, we can ask God to lead us away from those who are among the scornful so that we may bear the fruit of His promise and bring forth our fruit in its right season.  We must not forget the admonition of Jesus in Luke 13:6-10 who for three years came looking for fruit on a certain tree and found none and was ready to cut that tree down.  Always we must ask the Lord how we can bear more fruit to bring glory to His name.  The purest fruit of any believer and the sweetest fruit to God is the heart of man lifting up and exalting the completed work of Christ. It is for His glory that we live and have our being and for that purpose alone we should hope to bear fruit unto His eternal praise!

Quote of the day: 

Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

The Westminster Larger Catechism

May we be trees that bear such fruit as we reach for the Light of Christ!

Psalm 16:10   For thou will not leave my soul to to Sheol;  Neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

Mark   16:2-7    And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun was risen.  v:3  and they were saying among themselves,  Who shall roll away the tomb?  v:4 And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled away for it was exceedingly great.  v:5  and entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and and they were amazed.  v:6  And he said unto them,  Be not amazed:  you seek Jesus the Nazarene:  who has been crucified:  he is risen;  he is not here:  behold the place where they laid him.  v:7  But go,  tell his disciples and Peter, He goes before you into Galilee:  there you shall see him, just as he has said unto you. 

Recently I was asked why I believe in the Bible or more specifically, in the Resurrection of Christ?  I could have given one of several academic reasons, but in a moment the greatest reason I could come up with was deeply personal and intimate.  You see, I know Jesus lives because He lives in me!  I do not expect everyone who reads this to understand?  No, I anticipate just the opposite from those who do not know the One who is Lord and Master of even death, for He is the Creator of all life.  But for those of us who have encountered the Messiah, felt His breath on our necks as He whispered life back into our empty souls, and have had His Spirit lift us out the tombs of addiction, prison, illness, or the thousand other crippling consequences of death and sin, we know the power that restores each of us is another re-enactment of that glorious day 2000 years ago.  We have endured the horror of death by living through divorce, bankruptcy, or the death of a child, and because of the timeless and eternal truth of the gospel, we have found purpose and hope, along with the courage to continue to live in our pursuit of life and true inner peace.  Many of us tried to find that in other things, places, relationships, or desires, but ultimately the desperation of emptiness led us to the foot of the cross where we laid the dead body of our own existence in the tomb with He that was crucified so long ago.  What we found was not some fairy tale involving a bunny or a dead prophet, but the promise of life as we have experienced a resurrection of our own because we believe in Him.  Marriages restored, bodies healed, hope renewed, and joy unspeakable, these are the many convincing proofs that seal the deal for those of us who believe!  And while I have given my life to studying God’s Word, the Holy Bible, ultimately my faith rests in the person that those pages of holy writ reveal.  Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be and He has done all that He said He would do, except return to take me home!  He asked me to believe and stretch out the withered hand of my unbelieving life and in return for my meager faith and fear filled doubts, He gave His life in place of my convict lust and illicit desires.  In 51 years I have never known such love and if I lived for 5,000 more years, I never would outside of Jesus my Savior! Yes, He has done all He said He would do and that is why I believe!  And like the message of the angel when he told the women at the tomb that Resurrection morning that Jesus had gone before them into Galilee, Jesus has gone before us into Heaven where He has sat down at the right hand of the Father.  Soon He will come again, just as He has said, and when He does, you will see the dead carcass of this unworthy child of God raptured up into the heavens and there I shall remain forever with the Lord.  Oh I believe, and it is my prayer that you will too!

Memory verse of the day:   Jesus said unto her,  I am the resurrection and the life:  he that believes in me, though he should die, yet shall he live.

Isaiah 62:10 -11   Go through, go through the gates;  prepare ye the way of the people;  cast up, cast up the highway;  gather out the stones;  lift up a ensign for the people.  v:11  Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth,  Say ye to the daughter of Zion,  Behold, thy salvation comes.

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;  Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.

Mark 8:12  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said,  Why does this generation seek a sign?  There shall be no sign given unto this generation.

 Growing up I remember a song called ‘Signs’ by a Canadian Rock group who went by the name, Five Man Electrical Band’.  The refrain to the famous song went;   “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,  Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind,  Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”   Then there is the infamous comedy routine by Bill Engvall titled ‘Here’s Your Sign’, where he brings to light some of the ridiculousness of humanity as we tend to sometimes overstate the obvious with a dumb question.  A classic example is the two painters that come into his home to paint and they lay drop clothes over all the furniture and as they do, one of the painters sees a piano in the corner and ask’ very naively, “Is that your piano?”  Mr, Engvall responds by saying, “No, it is our buck tooth coffee table!  Here’s your sign!”  

Our readings today deal with signs.  18 times in the book of Isaiah alone, and some where between 600 and 700 years before Jesus  ever arrived, God’s prophet under the unction of the Holy Spirit wrote that God would give His people a sign.  There are two Hebrew words that are used for the words sign, ensign, or insignia. They mean; banner, pole, flag, standard, beacon, and evidence, or miracle.  In other words, God was going to give a very clear ‘sign’ of the way of salvation and no one would be able to dispute the obvious.  Consider the symbol for the  Red Cross.  One of the largest humanitarian relief organizations in the world.  Ever wonder why the Cross?  Because the Red Cross was founded by Christian people who desired to bring aid to those who are victims of disaster.   Ever look at the road side and see a cross as a the symbol of faith demonstrated by those who have lost someone in a car crash?  Time would fail us if we talked about all the crosses within our view as we considered the churches and cathedrals that adorn the landscape of the world.  The cross is a common symbol of hope that decorates the graves of the poor as well as the tombs of kings and presidents.  The cross is God’s sign to the world and an emblem that leaves no question as to its meaning and purpose, or who it was that shed His innocent blood while hanging upon it! So what about those who do not believe in the triumph of the cross or the story of the resurrection?  Who would sneer at those of us who believe in Christ and who celebrate Spring by celebrating the new life that the cross and Resurrection Sunday declare?  There are those now, just as in Jesus’ day, who would say to us;  ”Show me a sign!”  Many of these naysayers will one day stand before God and they will be without excuse as they cry “How were we to know”?  Can you imagine the Holy Spirit pulling back the spiritual blinders that kept them in the dark and the Father revealing all the times they drove by a cemetery or a church with the flag of the cross standing as a sign of victory and then answering their request for a sign by saying;  ”Here’s your sign!”  God promised a sign and He has more then fulfilled His promise in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son.  No other sign will be given this generation so unless we fall into the same folly of the painter, we had best stop questioning the obvious and heed the sign God has already given us in the sign of the cross.  There and there alone is the path that leads us through the gate of life!

Quote of the day:  ”Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”   Martin Luther     “If ever there was a sign that portrayed hope, would it not be the cross?”   J.B.

Matthew 14: 28-31  And Peter answered him and said,  Lord, if it is you bid me to come to you upon the waters.  v:29  And he said,  Come.  And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus  v:30  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and he beginning to sink , he cried out, saying,  Master, save me.  v:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him and said to him,  O thou of little faith, why did you doubt?

Psalm 118:18  The Lord has chastened me sore;  But he has not given me over to death.

Sometime back I went through one of the darkest periods of my life.  Worse then prison or the separation I experienced while I was incarcerated was the impending sense of doom I felt.  It started in part, because of the attitude I had let creep back into my life.  I was ungrateful and frustrated over work and my family and some of the things that had hurt me since I got home five years ago.  I stopped trusting in God as I forgot that God sometimes ask’ us to wait for his good promises.  Like the prodigal son I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it and when I did not get my way I got angry at God.  Truth is, I already have received more then I ever deserved.  In a moment of frustration and dealing with this world’s rejection I spoke to God and said;  ”If this is as good as it gets than you can keep this life.”  What a mistake that was!  I do not know what happened but in a matter of days I found myself laid off from a job where I had just been promoted. My marriage was less then fulfilling and I was starting down a path that would had led me right back to prison. This went on for over a month and no matter how I wanted to be free of all of it, I was clearly sinking!  Finally, God in His infinite mercy began to speak to me again.  I was thrilled to hear His voice and like Peter, I stretched my arms upward crying out, “Master, save me!”  

The Christians journey is filled with difficulties that challenge our resolve.  I have learned much in the past several weeks and although I still am not sure what happened and why, I am sure that I will never act with such disrespect or ingratitude for the God who saved me again. I humbly bow before Him and I know that if I never receive one more blessing from Him, I have already received way more then I deserve.  I was not angry because I did not have a home or food.  Those things do not mean that much to me.  I was frustrated because I want to share the gospel of Christ, but it doesn’t matter what causes us to stop trusting in God as we wait on Him to fulfill His promises in our lives, in His time, if we take our eyes off of Jesus, we will surely sink into the crashing waves as our eyes are fixed on our circumstances and not on God.  Living life in the Spirit is like walking on water.  It requires us to rise above the natural laws of our senses and live by the higher laws of God’s truth.  There are times when God will correct us by letting us sink just a little in order to teach us that our walk of faith is not something we achieve on our own, but it is a life that requires us to fix our eyes on Jesus and leave them there, and this is a process that the Holy Spirit teaches us all the days of our lives here on planet earth.  Whatever it is that your dealing with, cast your cares upon God knowing that he cares for you.  Continue to trust in Him and let your faith be proven as you wait upon God’s time to bring about whatever it is that you are believing Him to do for you.  His promise is that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. And in those times when we begin to sink, cry out to Him and know that though He might reprove us for our lack of faith, He will never abandon us to sink in our doubts. We all doubt at times and when we do a simple prayer from a desperate heart depending on God and not one’s self goes a long way in the Master’s sight.  We may take our eyes off of Him, but He ever takes His eye off of us.  Thank God for that!

Memory verse for the day:   Micah 6:8   He has shown thee, O man, what is good and what the Lord does require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God

John 19:28-30  After these things, Jesus knowing that all things are finished, that the scriptures might be accomplished, said, I thirst.  v:29 There was set there a vessel full of vinegar:  so they put a sponge full of vinegar upon hyssop and brought to his mouth. v:30  When Jesus had therefore received the vinegar, he said, It is finished:  and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.

John 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her,  If you knew the gift of God and who it is that has said to thee, give me to drink; you would have asked of him and he would have given you living water.

John 7:37-38   Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying,  If any man thirst let let him come unto me and drink. v:38  He that believes on me, as the scriptures have said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water.

I travel across the Rocky Mountains between Grand Junction and Denver quite often.  I love the splendor of observing the mountains as the mood is always different depending on the weather. The trip is not an easy one as it in includes two very steep passes which I have crossed in all kinds of incremental weather.  It also includes passing through two very deep canyons and although they are pristine, they are, at times, more dangerous then the snow packed passes that ascend to 12,000 feet. I get to see the grandeur of God’s creation as I worship him for the majesty of being the Creator of all that is!  I also listen as the Holy Spirit teaches me things in my travels.  I have often contemplated the way that the head waters for the Colorado start at the highest elevations and they begin with a trickle.  Slowly those trickling streams become small creeks that coalesce into the Colorado River.  The Colorado then forges its way through the canyons I described earlier.  Through rocky terrain creating white water the Colorado river presses through those canyons and as violent as it may seem from the surface with the waves splashing and trees being swept away, it is amazing to think that the river follows the path of least resistance?

As I consider the verses today I wonder about the promises of God and all the times Jesus said that he would quench my thirst.  I remember the times when I thirsted to the point of death and my soul was ready to give up to the struggles of this world.  We fight the fight of faith and along the way we have to be refreshed with the Living Water of fellowship with Christ and His Holy Spirit.  Without that we are doomed to self reliance and fighting spiritual battles in our flesh and in our own strength, and that is certain doom for the believer. I have been there!  Jesus tasted of the vinegar of the struggles which create our thirst and the scriptures say that he tasted of death for all men.  ( Hebrews 2:9)  He then bowed His head and gave up the Ghost.  Three days later the Holy Spirit entered back into His dead body and He was raised from the dead. There is the key to the ‘path of least resistance.’  The Living Water of heaven flows into the canyons and valleys of humanity when the souls of men are dead to self reliance, pride, ego, and self will.  God looks for dead men and women who have surrendered to His purposes in order that Christ might be raised again and again in anyone who will say yes to God.  Sometimes, like the Colorado River, life in the Spirit appears to be a violent process filled with a great deal of turbulence but eventually the Living Water of Christ will flow into the valley of our communities where life will thrive because where there is water there is life! Will you bow your head with Christ and give up your will to live the life you imagine and surrender to what God will raise up in place of your expectations? I know how tough that is!  I am learning too that to find the water that takes away all our thirst, God looks for the path of least resistance.  He looks for dead people who want the new life Christ offers.  Are you thirsty?

Memory verse of the day:  Isaiah 49:10  They shall not hunger nor thirst;  neither shall the sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water will he guide them.

Psalm 149:1   Praise ye the Lord.  Sing unto the Lord a new song,  And his praise in the assembly of the saints.  

Psalm 148:5  Let them praise the name of the Lord:  For he commanded and they were created.

“Lord, how feeble are my efforts to exalt your name.  My thoughts scatter, my mind fogs over, and away I am carried in frivolous pursuits that take me away from you.  Ah, but then my heart takes hold of the reigns of my imagination and what my mind cannot perceive my soul now longs to express.  Lord, all of my life I have wrestled with an inability to focus and my concentration seems destined to run away before I can put my hand to the plow.  But you Lord reel me in as you are the only person or thing that has ever set me free from me.  In your presence I sit spell bound with my imagination set intently on your Word.  The Holy Writ is opened to me and it is as though all the chaos of this world is suddenly brought into perfect harmony with the very essence of who you are.  Lord Jesus, prostrate I fall at your knees and I know I am unworthy of the least of any of your considerations, but I am laying hold of the hem of your garment for I know that without you there is no hope for a man like me.  What is your purpose for me?  Lord, humbly but desperately I am clinging to you.  Everything you have created screams of order and grand design, yet the life I live too often feels like chaos and confusion.  Father, if it is vision I lack then I implore you to give to me just a glimpse of the purpose for which I was created so that I may bring praise and glory to your holy name.  I pour out all my expectations and desires before you.  My dreams of serving you and doing exploits for you, I give all that to you Lord.  I give you the rejection and the lack of opportunities, as well as my fears and all that is my past.  Empty, without expectation, I sit here in your presence quiet and with my mind fixed on you.  Speak to me Lord and your servant will obey.  Holy Spirit, fill me as I empty myself before you.  Let me see what you see.  Let me hear what you hear.  Then may my hands and feet become the vessels of Christ as you take the shell of what I now lay at your feet and use them to bring glory to my King and Master.  Lord, I ask nothing for myself other then you might show me how I am to serve you.  I am tired of wandering Lord.  Whatever your will is I ask that you show me and as you do, I pray for the grace and courage to carry that out.  I am here Lord, and here I will remain until you have lifted me out of the ashes of despair and set my feet upon the Rock.  Then will many see and hear and put their trust in the Lord giving you glory for you and you alone are the only one who can heal a man like me.  To you I give all praise and glory, and I thank you Lord for loving me, even before I was born, and that is why I know this prayer was ordained before the foundations of the earth.  And that which you have ordained you will surely answer.”

Quote of the day:   “Prayer, in its truest form, is the desperate cry of the human heart to touch the heart of  Father God.”   Author Unknown

1 Corinthians 5:7   Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, even as you are now unleavened.

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.

How easy it is to forget who we are!  I speak from personal experience.  Sometimes we get bogged down in the battles of life, working and taking care of our responsibilities, dealing with our families and before we know it we have let the enemy take ground in our minds and our lives that we believed to be securely placed in Christ.  It can happen to anyone! What I have learned and am continuing to learn is that the Christian walk is ever an offensive engagement against our flesh, against sin in our own lives, and against the tragedies that confront us in the world we live in.  We cannot sit back in comfort and believe that while we rest the enemy is not lurking about seeking to devour. I see two very clear examples in scripture.  The first was King David. Content to let the rest of his troops go out to battle he stayed home, taking a reprieve from engaging in the battle to win more ground for God, and it was in that very attitude he became bored and fell into sin.   (see 2 Samuel 11:1-4) The second is in the Garden of Eden when God told Adam to dress the garden and to keep it! (see Genesis 2:15)  No one knows how much time went by as Adam and Eve lived in the garden. We don’t even know if time, as we know it,  had even started as there was no death until disobedience came and that is the final tick of time for the length of our lives. What we do know is that somewhere Adam failed to protect his wife and as he allowed the serpent access to his wife, he also became vulnerable to the lies of the enemy.  He did not KEEP the garden free from the enemies of faith.

I have given this a subject a great deal of thought and I believe that for me, as well as most believers, we simply forget who we are!  We forget that we are the blood bought children of the Most High God with a heritage that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden where God first promised to bring the Messiah into the world.  We forget that we are the vessels of the Holy Spirit and that the Living Word of Christ dwells in us.  We forget that we are called to be ambassadors of  truth and that that truth can liberate the hardest heart from the worst sins and that because we carry His truth in our very breath that the impossible is only a word away.  We forget that there is an eternity of promise and hope that is filled with unimaginable goodness where we will forever be free from disease and sorrow.  We forget that there we will fall helplessly at the feat of Christ and there we will wash His nail scarred feet with our tears.  We simply forget who we are and where we are going and Who it is that is preparing a place for us.  

We are children of God and because we are, the enemy will ever be trying to find a back door that we have left unattended.  We must stay in church, we must stay in our Bibles, and most of all we must stay in faith by engaging in the fight for our own lives, our families lives, and the communities we live in.  Our faith is a proactive one where we take the battle to the the enemies door step, we do not wait for him to bring it to ours. This is the best way to live in victory. We are commanded to GO, not sit.  When we go He promises signs will follow.  If you have forgotten who you are and the enemy buffets you with desires you thought you had long ago dealt with, maybe your not where you are suppose to be?  Maybe the grace of God is just waiting for you to remind yourself who you are and remember what and who is waiting for you on the other side.  I want to see Jesus and we must fight and hold out until we do.  Remind someone today who they are in Christ.  We are New Creations and as we do, watch and see the old things pass away.  But be assertive in your quest for that is who we are are called to be and that is who we are! Purge out the old to make room for the new and take an aggressive stand in doing so.

Quote of the day:  ”Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”  Psalm 103:2   King David

Joshua 8:3 -7   So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai:  and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them forth by night.  v:4  And he commanded them saying, Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city;  go not very far from the city, but all of you be ready:  v:5  and I, and all the people that are with me, will approach the city. And it will come to pass, when they come out against us, as the first time, that we will flee before them;  v:6  and they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say,  They flee before us, as they did the first time,  so  we will flee before them;  v:7  and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city:  for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. 

Joshua 8:14  And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed,  before the Arabah;  but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

The Bible is unlike any other book because it is inspired by God and it is unique in that to truly understand the beginning of the book, you must first understand the second half of the book, or the New Testament.  The more we give ourselves to the reading of the gospels and the epistles, the more we will see Christ in the pages of the Old Testament.  Perhaps one of the best examples of this is seen in today’s readings out of Joshua.  In the previous chapter ( Joshua 7) sin is found in the camp of Israel as a young soldier took of the devoted things and buried some of the treasures of Jericho under his tent.  Because of this the children of Israel were routed when they advanced against the next city which was much smaller.  We should make no mistake in our understanding of the price of sin as the Bible teaches that the soul that sins will surely die.   Joshua cries out to God to show him why they were defeated after experiencing such a great victory.  God leads Joshua to rid the camp of disobedience and then gives Joshua some very specific instructions which lead the inhabitants of Ai out of there city and into an ambush. The army of Israel begins to flee as though they were being defeated once again, only this time there is a second company of fighting men waiting in the shadows and as the men of Ai poured out of the city in pursuit of God’s army, the second company of soldiers rushes into the city setting it ablaze.  Then once the smoke of the city begins to be seen the first company of Joshua’s fighting men turn and trapped between the two armies the helpless men of Ai have nowhere in which to retreat, and there they fall victim to an ambush which was fed by the pride of thinking that their army had defeated the army of God once, why not again?

This is the very heart of Satan as Christ set an ambush before him.  Being convinced that he had defeated Adam, God’s first man and in whom sin was found buried in the tent of his flesh, the children of Adam lived separated from God because of sin.  But Christ, who was crucified outside the city walls, enticed Lucifer right into His trap.  The Bible says that if the prince of this world had known he would not had crucified the Lord of glory.  (see 1 Corinthians 2:8)  Jesus set an ambush for the devil and because of a prior victory the devil walked right into His trap, just as the citizens of Ai did thousands of years before.

So the question is simply this;  How has a previous defeat kept you from walking into the promise land of God?  Is there sin in your camp that prevents you from living in victory?  Do you believe that no matter what mistakes you may have made in the past that Jesus is Commander and Chief and that through His victory on Calvary,  He is capable of turning what appears now to be a defeat and use it to set a  ambush in which the enemies of the gospel will be silenced as they are taken captive by the purpose of God?  This is the sovereignty of God that in the face of death Christ paid for our sins so that we may walk in the victory of God’s foreknowledge as He sets life and death before each of us.  God intends for His children to live in victory, but sometimes we must first admit that we are defeated and that whatever our struggles may be, they are bigger then we are, but through Christ we can know victory!  Trust God in your struggles and rid your life of sin to the very best of your ability and God will do the rest.  He will turn it all around and you will see that what the devil meant for destruction, God meant for the good and for the saving of many people alive!  He is the Author of the Great Ambush!

Quote of the day:   “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there will always be someone to tell you that you are wrong. There will always be difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right.  To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them.”     Emerson

Jeremiah 38:17-20  Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel;  If you will go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live and your house;  v:18 but if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hands.  v:19  And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest I should be delivered into their hands, and they mock me.  v:20  But Jeremiah said, they will not deliver you.  Obey now, I beg you, the voice of the Lord, in that  which I speak unto thee: so it will be well with you, and you shall live.

I think that one of the saddest accounts in scripture is the story that surrounds Jeremiah as he prophesied to Israel before and during the early years of their captivity in Babylon.  And even sadder then that is the story of Zedekiah within Jeremiah’s story.  Jerusalem was on the verge of being ransacked.  Just days before Nebuchadnezzar invaded the city Jeremiah comes to Zedekiah and begs him to surrender, with the promise that if he did, he and his house would live and it would be well with his soul.  In other words, “though you will suffer the indignity of forfeiting your throne, you will be satisfied to retain your life and the life of your family”.   Zedekiah fails to listen to Jeremiah and as Jeremiah had prophesied, the city was destroyed by fire and most everyone in it was murdered or taken captive by the Babylonian army.  Zedekiah, attempting to avoid the responsibility of rejecting God’s Word, tries to slip out the back door and is apprehended outside the city trying to escape.  In that moment he watches as his son’s are put to death and then he has his eye’s put out and is led away captive into Babylon where, because of his blindness and rejection of God’s Word, he is kept from seeing the glories of the kingdom that had conquered much of the known world.

There is a King coming and when He does, He will conquer every throne.  Jeremiah’s promise to you and I is that if we will surrender the throne of our own hearts and surrender to His Lordship before He arrives, then and only then will it be well with our souls.  There is no escape.  We can wait until the final moments and let our disobedience infect so many others that we will be remembered for all eternity as disobedient and unfaithful servants, or we can surrender with the hope that we shall live, and so shall our families.  We can surrender to the will of God or we can watch our children be cast out into the abyss of death?  For all eternity we will remember the words of the prophets as they cry out, even now, “surrender and live”!  I wonder what it will be like for those who reject Christ and His offer of hope and peace?   I have imagined myself standing before the Great White throne of judgement.  There all the glories of the eternal realm are visible but because of sin I am blinded by sin of the love and majesty of Christ, and though I am conquered, I still have not surrendered and therefore I am cast into the prison of hell for all eternity to suffer in the remembrance of my stubborn pride.  I can hear the words echoing out of my mouth ;  ”I should have surrendered.”  Alone and filled with guilt and shame, there I would suffer remembering my children being put to death because of my stubborn pride and disobedience.  ”Dear God, give me the will to surrender!”  Like Zedekiah, we will be conquered, one way or the other. We can choose our pride and suffer as he did, or we can surrender before the King of all kings and live.  It is our call to make, but one thing is for sure, Christ will come and when He does, conquered we will surrender.  What happens after that I hope none of us has to find out!  Whatever it is that you must surrender, please do so and do it now!  There is grace and pardon with the promise of life on this side of His return.  Surrender and live and it will be well with your soul! 

Luke 15: 6-7  And when he comes home, he calls together to his family and friends and his neighbors, saying unto them,  Rejoice with me for I have found the sheep which was lost.  v:7  I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance. 

Luke 15:18- 21   I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight: make me as one of your hired servants.  v:20  And he arose, and he came to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him.  v:21  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;  I am no more worthy to be called your son.

Weary is the way and costly is the path that leads to destruction.  Tonight I want to to talk to all the prodigals.  You know who you are!  You have tasted the good Word of eternal life and you have had fellowship in the council of the Almighty.  Do you remember those days when you gladly suffered loss for the kingdom of God because you were in love with the One who breathed life into your soul?  You often went to church and opened your heart to the Lord as  you walked in the light of His truth.  You remember the prayers and the inner joy you had and you needed not money or fine things because Christ was the All Sufficient One in your life!  Remember?  You read your Bible and even committed verses of it to your memory.  Out of bed you would rise early to speak to God about the issues of your life and when you went to work you visited with Him throughout your day.  When was it that you lost your first love?  What distracted you?  When exactly did you slip out of relationship with God to pursue the world and its many deceptions?  Wake up sleeping saint and know that He will return for a Bride without spot or blemish! Patient is He with our failures, but think not that He will be mocked! The fires of hell are kindled with those who do not fear His corrections.  Say “no” to those things you know will destroy your soul.  Be lifted out of your complacency and run to the One who can set you free for it is said in the Good Book of Life that He is a Consuming Fire.  Run to Him and never away!  He waits for you though you may repent a thousand times in one day.  If your heart is tender and your striving complete, He who worked victory from the grave shall work victory in you! Or do you suppose that your sin is greater than the sins for which He was laid in the tomb? It is a sin to doubt His promises and it may be that this is the first sin for which you must turn?  To trust in Jesus is to lay all the miseries of our broken efforts quietly at the foot of the cross and to weep with gratitude for it was for our feeble efforts that He was made to be sin on our behalf.  The Father sees you from afar! In the moment you decide that you are not the judge, but that He is the Judge and He has rightly judged you to be worthy of life because His Son died to give all who call upon Him the right to become the sons and daughters of the Most High; in that moment you shall live.  Listen to your heart and relieve your mind, for if the Spirit of God dwells in you, you will hear His voice and return to the Chief Shepherd of your Soul.  Dear brother or sister, the time is drawing near and with every breath we near His arrival.  Will you be counted among the wise virgins who have trimmed their lives of besetting sins so that the light of His glory may dawn in you?  Will you be among those who will be marveled at when the resurrection takes place because you hungered and thirsted for a His breath, which is the testimony of life?  To be called a faithful servant is the longing of those who fight against the flesh. To serve Him is to deny self.  Will you pray with me for even now the Lord runs to you.  Do not leave Him outside the door. Look into the eyes of love and see the open arms of a forgiving God who cries for you;  ”Come unto me all of you that are weak and heavily burdened and I will give you rest!”  Trust Him and turn from your sins and He will give you rest!

Luke 22:17-19  And he received the cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, Take this and divide it among yourselves:  v:18  For I say unto you,  I shall not drink from the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.  v:19  And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them saying, This is my body broken for you: do this in remembrance of me.

Ephesians 5:20-21  Giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;  v:21  subjecting your selves one to another in the fear of Christ.

There is nothing, in all the world, more difficult then to give God thanks when your whole life is coming unraveled at the seams!  When tears are streaming down your face, your nose is running, and your groaning’s cannot be articulated, that is when the worship of thanksgiving is the purest.  How do I know that?  Because it is what Jesus did the night before His life was to come to an end and His world and all His relationships forever changed!  He took the cup which represented His sufferings and He lifted it up to God the Father, and He gave thanks.  Then He took the bread which represented His soon to be mutilated body, He lifted it up to the Father, and He gave thanks and began tearing it apart piece by piece and distributing it to His disciples.  Worship in its purest form is the human heart crying out in gratitude to the One who gave us life!  Yet, there are times when we look at life from our limited perspective and giving thanks feels like the last thing we want to do.  All our questions and pain swell up in a cataclysmic confusion that causes us to doubt there is a God at all?  His message of love becomes as foreign to us as Jesus was to this world!  I have been there so I understand.

I want to share something with you that God has taught me.  Do you see the words of Jesus telling His disciples to divide that cup of suffering among themselves?  What do you think He means? That maybe that same cup that would cause Him to feel the unbridled and full weight of the wrath of God knowing that His very human blood would fill the cup up, would be measured out to you and I in doses that would be palatable, though sometimes excruciating?  None of our sufferings compare to the weight of Christ’ sufferings, though sometimes we may feel completely forsaken by heaven, His sufferings have been divided up among us that we might bear with Him the brokenness of this world and all its sorrows.  And like Jesus, who knowing the trial He was about to endure, simply gave thanks!  How did He do that, you may ask?  Well, what I know now, after having gone through years of brokenness and alienation, separation and incarceration, is that God is good all the time.  Though we may not see the purposes for which we suffer, we give thanks because the same scriptures that talk about death and sorrow promise life and hope.  Jesus knew of the brutal torture He would endure, but He also knew that those same scriptures promised a resurrection. (see Psalm 16:9-10) Thanksgiving does not depend on our present circumstances but instead it depends on our trust in a God that is bigger then our circumstances! It rests solely upon the proof that His love is so great that He sent His own Son to bear the full weight of all of humanities sins against a holy God and in doing so Jesus innocently suffered the consequence which is death, on our behalf.  He ask’ his followers to help absorb some of this present worlds problems by dividing up among us some of its hurts and sorrows.  For some that is the death of a loved one or the poverty of our neighbors.  For some it is a malady and still others it is to be imprisoned for their faith in Christ.  Whatever it is, we are told to divide it up and to drink from His cup of loss and rejection so that others might see us the way that Peter, James and Bartholomew saw Jesus, always giving thanks, not because of, but in spite of! This is radical faith and for those who achieve such a trust there is a glory that the present sufferings of this world cannot hold down.  For when His trumpet blows the dead in Christ shall rise and there will be a day of celebration that will never end.  We shall assemble at His foot stool and remember our present conflicts only to have our faith confirmed as we look upon the nail scarred hands of the Prince of Heaven.  Oh dear brothers and sisters, do not weep, for the hour of our trials will soon pass and when the curtain has been lifted and the tear filled canvas that clouds our judgement is removed, He will Himself wipe every tear from our eyes and avail us of all this worlds torments as we will forever be with Him.  That is why we give thanks.  Because He is worthy and because it is what He did, even in the face of death!  There is hope and it is Jesus Christ!  In your trials always give thanks for soon our sorrows will all be over, and for that we give thanks now! This is the true worship of a heart that has been conquered by the One who holds the keys to everlasting life!

Matthew 22:35-40  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, trying him:  v:36  Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?  v:37  And he said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  v:38  This the great and first commandment.  v:39  And a second like unto it is this,  Thou shall love your neighbor as yourself.  v:40  On these two commandments the whole law is hanging, and the prophets.  

Romans 12:9-10  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil;  cleave to that which is good.  v:10  In love of the brethren be tenderly affectionate toward one another;  in honor preferring one another.

Have you ever been in a tight spot needing someone’s help, only to be disappointed because they left you hanging?  I have and I would venture to say anyone reading this probably has been disappointed by someone, at some time in their lives?  We all have been and it is these little hurts by our family and friends that can creep up in our hearts and overtake us leaving us in a state of resentment that is crippling to our joy and peace.  Resentment is an emotional cancer that has only one travel partner and it is un-forgiveness.  These two comrades invade our lives in a whirl wind tricking us into believing that we are the innocent victims of a cruel world that has dealt us a rotten hand.  As I said, we all have been left ‘hangin’ at some point, by someone we loved and attempted to care for.  And I am not saying that some of our feelings about the hurts we encounter are not legitimate.  The realm of the human mind is a complex mystery that has baffled humanity since day one of our fall in Eden.  Because since that day humanity, you and I included, have been guilty of violating all of God’s commandments and what we feel in the way of offenses committed against us is only collateral damage from the fall, and often our own sins coming back to haunt us.

When the lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest commandment, Jesus summed up the all of the commandments in the two famous passages of our text today.  The first commandment is inclusive of the first four commandments.  Everything relating to putting God first in our lives is included in the first four commandments of the ten commandments. Loving God, using His name reverently, not bowing down to the worlds pagan philosophies, and going to church are all about how we love God as near perfectly as we can in this fallen world.  The last six are how we love each other by not violating the commandments of the God as we live in the community of His people.  No one wants to be stolen from, or have their neighbor cheat on them by entering into relations with their wife.  When we do these heinous things killing and stealing from one another we are not putting our neighbors above ourselves, but rather we are pretending to be something that we clearly are not during the moment we make choices that violate the commands of God and the warnings of the prophets who declare judgement on those who do such.  But God’s commands are not just about not doing certain things, but they are also about being proactive in doing certain things.  Things which we cannot do if we are crippled with bitterness from the things people have done to hurt us.  The consequence? The orphans get left hangin, the widows get left hangin, the prisoners get left hangin, and the homeless, the strangers and the immigrants all get left hangin because we feel we got left hangin by someone who hurt us?  But the truth of it is, Jesus is the only one who got left ‘hangin’! He suffered and bled for our offenses and on the cross the Father allowed His own Son to hang for all the guilt and shame of our sins.  When we have resentments and we carry those in our hearts we are not loving without hypocrisy, but rather we are focused on others faults when we should see that we are a the reason Jesus was left hangin.  I am not suggesting that we sweep offenses committed against us under the rug?  I am merely offering a way in which we can deal with them more perfectly.  Next time someone leaves you hangin and it cuts you in your heart, remember how our sins and shortcomings cut Christ and then go reach out to someone the way Jesus reaches out to us, even after He was left hanging for our sins.  Someone is waiting for you to come and be a neighbor and God promises that if you will go in His Name, good things will follow those who believe! Jesus was left hanging so that you, your neighbors, and our world need not be left hanging in times of need.  If we truly believe this, it will be the defining difference in our lives, even when it feels like we have been left hanging.  Those are the times when Christ is merely allowing you and I to suffer with Him so that we may realize what has been done for us!  This is the knowledge that all the Commandments hang upon!  Our guilt, His suffering, God’s mercies, our mission.  Now go in His Name and forgive along the way!

Quote of the day:  ”When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ.”   Oswald  Chambers

Deuteronomy 11:10-12  For the land, where you go to possess it, is not a land like the land of Egypt, from where you came out, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your feet as a garden of herbs;  v:11  But the land, where you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks in the water of the rain of heaven.  v:12  A land which the Lord thy God cares for:  the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. 

Deuteronomy 10:13-16  And it shall come to pass, if you will hearken to my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,  v:14  that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.  v:15  And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be full.  v:16  Take heed to yourselves, unless your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.

Psalm 65:11  Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;  And thy paths drop fatness.  

When I first got home from prison I was fortunate enough to go to work helping to build a new hospital.  Floor by floor I carried concrete and a plethora of other back breaking items in and out of the hospital.  Floor by floor I got to see the hard work and energy, as well as the shear determination it took to erect such a beautiful building.  There was a massive foundation and then huge steal girders  that were put in place floor by floor.  My wife has worked for the hospital for several years and we have spent numerous hours there with our daughter who was sick constantly for three solid years.  Several months ago our pastor got a job there and now we see him wheeling sick patients around using his calling to spread the Word of God throughout the hospital.  Sometimes I will catch a glimpse of that building from far away as I travel in the valley and because it towers  over all the other buildings in the region, it stands out even when I am far from it.

Today’s verses remind me of my ties to St Mary’s.  The children of Israel were on the precipice of entering into the promise land when God told them that He would water their land with the latter and former rain because His eyes were upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.  All this because God had a place He was leading His people and though it was filled with giants who inhabited the land, God would fortify His people and they would inherit what others had misused in their service to false gods, sometimes sacrificing their own children to demons.  When I look at St Mary’s I see a place of healing.  I see a high rise building that took time to build.  I see people like my pastor who who walk the halls praying so that those who are there can experience the healing hand of God through the clergy, the physicians and nurses, and the rest of the staff.  I also see something that has a very significant contribution to this community through employment, services, and volunteering.  It is a place where life is celebrated at 12:01 AM New Years Day and it is also a place where life returns to God at 11:59 New Years Eve.  Isn’t that just like life though?  Every year, at the beginning of the year, we take inventory of the things that have passed and we resolve to give more of our time, our money, and we hope that as we incorporate more discipline into our lives, that somehow we will squeeze out from the next year more happiness or satisfaction from the one that has just passed.  I believe that those intentions are God inspired.  We are suppose to purpose in our hearts that in this next year we are going to worship more by giving more of our time and of our resources to the causes we most believe our Lord is a part of.  We are told that if we will obey God He will bring blessings on us which we will not be able to receive.  Those are not just finances, but what I pray and hope for is that like the hospital, my life will have a solid foundation that allows the work of God to touch countless lives in the community.  I pray that it will be a place where there is evidence of hard work, but also a place that allows my pastor and my church an open door in the community to spread the love of Christ.  I am trusting God to bring the healing necessary for all of my family as we involve ourselves in our church, and I pray that as Tracie and I build a life together in this valley, many years after we are gone our lives may still be touching and healing the lost and hurting.  I pray that from wherever a person may be in this (his or her) valley, they will see Jesus towering over all the other activities we might engage in and know that He is the place where healing is found.  We are suppose to purpose that we are going to take the land God gives us, wherever we are planted, and know that year by year God will give us the early and latter rain if we would just serve Him.  Let us purpose now that the accumulation of our years will erect something that glorifies Christ through the darkest valleys, starting this year and every year, until Jesus shines on the horizon to take us home.  May the Blessings of Christ overtake you as you delight yourself in Him in this New Year!              Jim and Tracie

Proverbs 8:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eye’s;  But he that is wise listens to counsel.

Proverbs  24:6  For by wise counsel you shall wage war;  And in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs  11:14  Where there is no wise counsel the people utterly fail, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Many years ago I was given a helpful piece of information that has served me well.  I would like to share it with you in the hope that it may serve you as well as it has me.  I was told a long time ago that criticism only comes from two places.  It either comes from someone who intends to harm us with malicious words.  Or it comes from someone who cares about us and only intends to help us make decisions that are good for ourselves and our families.  In the  moment I was given that piece of advice it was like God downloaded a filter that allowed me to discern whether or not I should heed the words of those who spoke into my ears.  Sometimes we encounter people who just want to be mean and hateful and in such instances their hatefully inspired words can be dismissed because they do not have love as their motivation.  Other times however, God sends counselors into our lives to help us with tough choices that can potentially end our lives, or worse leave us stranded miles away from home, broke, sick, or in prison.  I resisted counsel for many years of my life and the toll on me and my family was great.  The Bible is clear about the fools pursuits as he plows headlong into destruction without so much as the slightest consideration for himself or those that may depend on him.  He rejects the most important source of counsel which is God and His truth.  At times he may appear to be a religious man on the outside, but inside he rejects the voice of the Holy Spirit who begs from the rooftops of the fools  existence and still the fool will press forward against the grain, rejecting all admonitions to proceed with caution.  God’s Word is disregarded while tradition and disobedience reign and so it is no wonder that those God sends to this person to speak life find themselves rejected and heartbroken, knowing that the advice of miscreants, cheats, double crosser’s  and liars is preferred over the counsel of the Holy Spirit.

This same scene is played out over and over in the scriptures as the kings of the Old Testament were dissuaded from following God to follow after their own selfish lust’.  They preferred the ill gotten opinions of people like Jezebel who murdered the prophets of God  while King Ahab sat and watched her bring an entire family and nation to its knees in service to the false god Baal.  Others like Absalom took the advice of one man and pursued his own father, and the greatest warrior of the Old Testament, King David, into battle where he lost his life and his father’s throne because he rejected the counsel of  his other advisers!  It makes no difference if you are a senator, a son, or a father, bad counsel and one sided counsel will lead to ruin. Wisdom cries out with balance in His wings and He does not act impetuously, spontaneously, or to please the nagging of a queen who will lead the charge in a full out rebellion against God.  Instead, wisdom who is Christ and His Holy Spirit, will weigh in the presence of the Father decisions that are life changing and that will effect generations to come.  Wisdom is never so self centered that it rejects the opinions of others and if godly counsel is resented, it is a sure tell sign that iniquity is at work in the heart of the one that is filled with resentment!  Sin never wants to be exposed!

Finally, the Bible tells us to never call anyone a fool.  (see Matt 5:22) Though we may look at the actions of others and perceive the dangerous slopes they may trod, who among us has not played the fool at some point in our lives?  Left to ourselves we are all fools who reject the magnificence of Christ and all His glory to wallow in the mud with the pigs.  Our temperaments are often clouded by the twisted messages of this world and so it is that all of us struggle to find liberation from the fool we face as we look in the mirror.  Which one of us cannot honestly say to ourselves that somewhere in our lives there is someone who is crying out to us to pay closer attention?  When I consider what the Bible says of the last generation and the hardships they will face, folly or a lack of paying heed  to the numerous warnings that God will give before He brings judgement, is at the top of the list of reasons for their demise!  I can only speak for myself in this respect, but as I consider the numerous times in my life that I failed to listen to correction, what is the point of knowing the truth about those decisions only to keep repeating them?  I feel like it would be a heinous slap in the blood soaked face of my Savior to reject counsel now, and especially having the influential teacher of experience as a witness against me on the day I stand before Jesus. We need to tread softly in the arena of our decisions and wisdom learns from the mistakes of the past, our own and other peoples.  Especially those who were foolish in scripture as God has purposely recorded their folly as a warning to us that if we continue being head strong in spite of the cries of the counselors He places in our lives, what will God record of us for all eternity?  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! In the multitude of God fearing counselors there alone is safety!

Quote of the day:  My people ask counsel of their lot; and their staff declares unto them;  for the spirit of whoredom hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot, departing from the protection of their God.”       The Prophet Hosea  Chapter 4:12

Psalm 23:1  The Lord is my Shepherd;  I shall not want.

1 Timothy 6:6 -10 But godliness with contentment is great gain;  v:7  for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out;  v:8  but having food and clothing we shall be content therewith.  v:9   But they that set their attentions on being rich shall fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish lust, such as drown men in the destruction of perdition.  v:10  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil:  which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Covetousness is at the heart of all sin.  When we learn about the Ten Commandments we tend to think that God categorized them from the most egregious to the least offensive, but I do not believe that to be the case.  Paul was a “Pharisee among Pharisees ” to quote the Apostle.  All his life he had lived by the law to the best of his ability.  He was not guilty of forsaking the Sabbath or, God Forbid, bowing down to a false god?  No, he never committed adultery or  used the Lord’s name in vain.  You can almost see him going down the mental checklist of things to do and not to do, smiling as he nears the end of God’s Commandments while believing himself to be without fault,  and there in the midst of  all that self righteousness he comes to the very end of the holy prohibitions and suddenly, the Holy Spirit lifts the veil off his eye’s and he is convicted of  being a transgressor of all ten of God’s commandments.  (see Romans 7:7-12)  Like I said, covetousness is at the heart of all sin!

I know this because I am filled up to the brim with it.  When it is cold I covet being warm.  When I am warm I lust for a cool breeze and I complain about both.  O wretched man that I am!  I am like Moses who, when commissioned by Christ at the burning bush, put his hand over his heart only to pull something leprous and deadly back out.  Oh I might look white and pure from the outside, but I know that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells nothing good and that all my righteousness is as a filthy rag!  I am filled up to the core with the dis-ease of constantly wanting to reach for more.  That is the great lesson of Moses’ life.  We reach for the rod of God’s truth and instead we are confronted with a serpent reminding us that only God can make what we reach for something other then the deadly sting of the serpents bite.  As I look back on my life I cringe in horror as I am filled with the memories of my disobedience and worse, though I know those things to be death to me, I still want to reach for them at times?  Is it any wonder why Paul, or you and I for that matter,  should not cry out to God to be delivered from this body of death? This morning as you read this devotional I am making a humble plea and also confessing to all the world that I am guilty of being covetous.  I am not worthy to instruct the least of souls in the kingdom and I tell you that if not for Christ I would return to the vomit from whence I came.  My heart breaks as I consider my true state, ever longing and never being satisfied.  That is until……………….Jesus came into my heart!  When Moses stuck his hand back into his bosom he pulled out a clean hand able to handle the rod of truth and that same serpent that he feared in the desert, now became a symbol of God’s transforming grace in the court of Pharaoh.   A clean hand is a hand that reaches for nothing more then that which God has purposed that we should obtain.  It is a hand free from the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.  Instead, it is a hand used to reach out to the poor and the sick.  It is a hand that is reaching out to those incarcerated and the widow or orphan.  That is why Moses pulled a healthy hand back out of his robe, because Christ was teaching him, and us, that on our own we are lepers, but in His presence the sin of our leprous and coveting disobedience is made clean.  He alone has the power to transform the sinners heart.  He alone can change my heart, your heart, or the hearts of those we love.  The Bible teaches that Jesus never aspired or grasped to be like God, but was in every way equal to the Father.  Instead He reaches out to you and I by stretching out His arms and having His hands nailed to a cross for our covetousness and for all the times we have reached for something we never should have, but did, and sometimes still do.  Sometimes we lust to obtain, even the good things God longs to give us but will not until we learn, as the Apostle, that there is nothing in this world that is worth reaching for if it does not have Christ at the end of our pursuit.  Covetousness is not the least of the commandments, it is the sum of our guilt regarding all of the commandments.  Because when we reach for anything in the hope that that thing which we reach for can bring ultimate satisfaction, then that thing in which I reach for has become my god and I am guilty of breaking the first through the tenth of all God’s commands.  No wonder the Apostle later declares that to be content with food and clothing is a godliness that brings great gain!  Oh to be free of the sin of covetousness!  Let us reach for Christ alone and therewith shall we be content!

Quote of the day:

There seethed all around me a cauldron of lawless loves. I loved not yet, yet I loved to love, and out of a deep-seated want, I hated myself for wanting not. I sought what I might love, in love with loving, and I hated safety… To love then, and to be beloved, was sweet to me; but more, when I obtained to enjoy the person I loved. I defiled, therefore, the spring of friendship with the filth of concupiscence, and I beclouded its brightness with the hell of lustfulness.

— Confessions 3.1.2     St. Augustine

 

Dear Heavenly Father,  It is Christmas Eve all the world over. Thank you for the gift of this day!  Because of Jesus the whole world celebrates His coming with acts of kindness.  For a minute we are more mindful of our neighbors and the strangers in our midst.  For one day all the world takes a moment to pause from wars, violence and bloodshed.  For those precious moments we concentrate more on our families and less on work or our daily routines.  All because you placed your only Son into the hands of Mary and Joseph.  Dear God, may this Christmas be a reminder to all of us of what you have placed into our hands.  As we gather to celebrate we pray for manifold blessings on those less fortunate.  We ask that you comfort the sick, lonely, and those incarcerated.  Lord Jesus, fill our hearts with gratitude as we realize the hope of this season.  The tie that binds us all together is the bond of peace and goodwill, the very thing the shepherds heard as angels announced your will for mankind in the hills of Bethlehem.  Lord Jesus, I pray for anyone reading this, no matter what they are feeling this Christmas,  I pray that you would comfort and reassure them of your loving desires to bless and encourage.  Lord, thank you for the gift of yourself.  You knew that as the Father placed you into the hands of Mary and Joseph, you would one day be placed into sinful hands to be delivered up for our sins.  Lord, you willingly came!  Thank you!  We wait for your return so that when you do comeback, everyday will be Christmas!!!  We love you Lord Jesus!

2 Peter 3:3-4   Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lust,  v:4  and saying,   Where is the promise of his coming?  for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

Acts 1:7   And he said unto them,  It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has set in his own authority.

Matthew 24:27  For as lightening comes forth from out of the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.

As we all know this past week the Mayan calendar ended on 12-21-12.  There was a great deal of hullabaloo leading up to the day of the winter solstice when, supposedly, the end of the world would transpire.  An event as widely publicized as this one has no difficulty rounding up fanatics who are willing to sell the chicken farm?  Then on the other side of the coin there are those who make light of anything to do with prophecy.  So we saw every kind of Tom Foolery known to man this week.  I have had this devotional on my mind for several days now but this morning in church my dear pastor, David Crowley, made the following statement;  ”I have lived through 5 end of the worlds.”  That got me thinking about some of the false predictions that I am aware of.

In 1873 a man named Nelson H. Barbour was inspired to predict the end of the world.  He was a magazine editor who had studied with an Adventist group.  Inspired by their belief that the end would take place in the year of 1873 he started a magazine called ‘The Midnight Cry.’ When the end did not come as he had declared he was embarrassed so rather then admit his fault, he changed the name of the magazine and started a doctrine which is now called, The Secret Return of Christ.  Mr. Barbour taught that Jesus did return, as he had predicted, and that Christ was establishing His kingdom on earth through the teachings of Barbour.   Later on a young man named C.T. Russell, the founder of the Jehovah’s Witness religion, studied under the wayward Barbour but later had a falling out, not because of his false predictions, but rather because his doctrine was in perpetual development.  Later on Russell started is own magazine called the Watch Tower.  He created an elaborate pyramid scheme by convincing his followers that, as they went from door to door selling his materials, that they were working their way up the pyramid to God.  Influenced by his mentor, and with the first World War breaking out, Russell had no problem convincing the masses that the end of the world was upon them.   He sold magazines by untold millions.  The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is now one of the biggest religions in the world, but their short lived place in the history of Christendom is marked with several false predictions of the end of the ages, along with teachings that drastically detour away from orthodox doctrines.

Considering everything that has been said and written this week about the ‘End Of The World’,  I can’t help but remember the lessons taught us by men like Barbour and Russell!  What Bible were they reading out of?  Did they not read or hear the words of Jesus who plainly taught that no man knows the hour of His return, including the Mayans. Were they not aware of the warnings of Christ who said many would come in my name, saying, “I am here!”  Or was it just a matter of greed as they used the horrors in Europe to persuade their readers that Jesus had already come?  Only God knows for sure what their motives were, but this we do know!  There is today, just as their was in 1874, countless people who will be deceived because they have no personal knowledge of Christ’ teachings.  They will hear of the wars and rumors of wars and they will be completely swept away because they did not care enough to humble themselves before God and read the Bible on their own.  They would rather buy a 2 cent edition of someone else’s false predictions then to diligently seek God and live in a manner worthy of eternal life.  Then on the other side you have naysayers who dismiss all of Christ’ teachings because events like this one of the past week and  Y2k have come and gone.  Their senses are completely dulled into absolute lethargy toward the subject of their eternal destiny.  Maybe this is the devil’s scheme to start with?  To use one camp against the other so that men of avarice may prosper from the ignorance of the deceived?  Either way it is up to each of us to use the good sense God gave us and to search out the truth for ourselves.  When I stand before God I will not be given a free pass because I can blame  any man or organization for my demise.   I will stand before God for my own laziness and lack of love for not only my Savior, who died so that I could walk in the light of His truth, but also for the lack of love I have for my family because I did not care enough about them to set the record straight.  No man knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, but what we do know is that when He does come back it won’t be in secret.  Every eye shall see and every ear shall hear!  Until then we are suppose to use every means available to encourage others to patiently wait for the coming promise, for he who promised is faithful, and at just the right time God will send His Son to take us home.  For everyone else left here there will be no doubt or speculation about the end!  There will be only the fearful expectation of judgement. We must warn them while we can!

Quote of the day:  ”The only thing that can be said with any certainty, and that on the basis of scripture, is that He will return at the end of the world.”   Louis  Berkhof  in Systematic Theology 

Exodus  8:23  And I will put a division between my people and thy people:  by tomorrow this sign shall be.  

Exodus 9:26  Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

Exodus   10:23  And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven;  and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;   v:23 they saw not of one another,  neither rose any one from his place for three days:  but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 

I sometimes wish I could explain the mysterious workings of God, but then I wonder how would I be captivated by His majesty if  I understood Him completely?  The reason I say that is because I have had the subject of this devotional on my heart for a couple of weeks now.  As I have given consideration to what I felt God wanted me to say, the days past and still I had not received an unction to actually write, that is until two nights ago.  I had been thinking about how the children of Israel were not effected by the plagues that befell all the rest of Egypt.  I pondered how God had set a seal on His people as the land of Goshen was not infested with the plagues that had destroyed the rest of the country.  

Two nights ago our furnace went out.  We called the maintenance man and he came and began working on it.  He told us how the old furnace was worn out and that he was going to have to replace the motor and thermostat and filters and so on.  I was genuinely concerned about my family because it has been very cold and our home is old and drafty. The maintenance man left for a while and brought back a couple of portable heaters.  When he brought them in he noticed our lights were on but everyone else on the block had lost their lights so they had no electricity at all.  Then I began understanding what the Holy Spirit was saying to me as I had been meditating on the book of Exodus.

I would be lying to you if I told you I have no concerns for the future as I read about what is going on in our country or the world?  When I consider the vulnerabilities we face as a nation and the potential threats that loom on the horizon I can feel the fear in myself and others.  Maybe I am aware of it because I want to provide protection among other things for my family and I am acutely aware of my powerlessness over any of it?  Sometimes I talk to other believers who actually do not believe we are living in the end.  I wonder if denial of what seems plain to me, is simply an avoidance or survival mechanism fabricated by our minds to deal with the fear?  We all have them in some form or another!  Cowardice and fear are two different things all together.  As I look back on times in my life when I acted cowardly it was because I failed to take action based on my beliefs and convictions, even in spite of my fears.  Sometimes fear is a healthy response to danger!  What is not healthy as a Christian is to let fear cripple us into inaction or an ungodly contentment with this world.  To quash the love or hope that the Holy Spirit wants to give us for the return of Christ because we fear potential persecution or worse, seeing our families in need, now that would be sin.  As I consider the night our furnace went out what I hear God saying to me as a father, a husband, and a concerned citizen is simply this;  ”Don’t worry, I got you!”  God is able to provide, no matter what the rest of the world is doing!  My home and my family are not depending on Excel Energy, we are trusting in Jesus.  We are not blind to the problems of humanity, we simply choose to look beyond them to a Sovereign God who can provide power when everyone else is in the dark.  We are not any better or worse and we have our share of trials like everyone does, but we believe God enough to live in obedience to His Word.  That is the difference between heart felt faith and a faith of mental ascent.  Heart faith moves us into obedience, in spite of the things that may concern us, we walk on in trust.  Jesus is the Light of the world and He is like Motel 6, He will leave the light on if we walk in obedience trusting Him though the darkness may surround us, we simply choose to believe God over the 5:00 o clock news!  God has never forsaken His people…..not once, not ever!  His promise is that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.  No matter how stiff necked the Pharaoh’s of this world get, God will not leave His people in the dark.  Like I said, God used a squeaky old broken furnace to teach me His message.  What broken thing in your life is He trying to encourage you through?  Trust Him!  He is so worthy of the only gifts we have to offer Him, our trust and obedience, in spite of our fears!  We don’t need to understand, we just need to believe! Understanding will come when we need it! Remember the children of Israel and their experience just before their great Exodus!  Should we expect anything less when God, through the death of His own Son, has done so much more?

Quote of the day:  ”Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation.  Yet he commanded the skies above, and he opened the windows of heaven;  And he rained down manna upon them to eat. And he gave them food from heaven to eat.”  Asaph the Psalmist  Psalm 78:22-24

Isaiah 49:14 -17   But Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.  v:15  Can a women forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb. Yet I will not forget you.  v:16  I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;  thy walls are continually before me. v:17  Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and those that laid waste of you shall go forth out of thee.

Isaiah 60:18  Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation or destruction within thy borders;  but you shall call your walls  Salvation and your gates Praise. 

I will never forget pulling up to Sterling Correctional Facility.  Wrapped in chains and sentenced as a Habitual Offender for checks out of my own bank account, I looked up at the foreboding walls that towered over us as we past through an electrified kill fence and then on through the walls of Castle Gray Skull.  I have never felt such an impending sense of doom or hopelessness.  I was hundreds of miles from everyone I loved and cared about.  My parents were moving out of state and my mother was sick. The girl I loved was seeing another man and my kids were scattered in the wind, all because of my sin and rebellion toward God.  I had so little hope and no one to comfort me.  It was out of sheer desperation I clung to God and His Word.

The Bible is a book of themes.  Like the threads of a beautiful quilt God has woven these themes throughout His holy text in order to prove the authenticity of divine inspiration.  Such themes as the blood covenant, salvation by faith, and life after death run throughout the Bible.  These threads are interwoven so uniquely and coherently that they convey a picture of hope in the face of the absolute worst circumstances.  This was the hope I found in the text I share with you today.  As I read how the Lord Jesus had his palms nailed to the cross and how Isaiah prophesied about this event 600 years before it happened, I began to wonder if my walls were before God as I considered all the verses regarding walls?  As I sat in a maximum security facility looking strait up at concrete I was reassured that my name and all my sins were inscribed on his hands.  I imagined that as He bled on the cross that me and my family were in His thoughts as the precious blood of an innocent man poured freely from His dying body.  I could see Him whisper my name upon that cross and I could hear Him telling me that my walls were before Him and that though I could not see my children or family, He does and their names were inscribed on His nail scarred hands as well.

What walls lie before you? Do they feel like the walls of Jericho keeping you from living in God’s promises? Is there some besetting sin that makes you feel like you have been walled out from the garden of His presence?  Do you feel like a stranger in your own home or in the church you attend?  Is there a wall between you and your spouse?  God has called each of us to be like Nehemiah who when he heard about the broken walls of his homeland was so moved by the heartache of his people that he risked his life in order to return home and rebuild the walls that had been torn down by invading armies. What walls lie before you? Can you imagine Jesus whispering your name as He bled outside the walls of Jerusalem?  He saw you in your situation before He ever took His first breath on earth and you were inscribed on His palms.  He suffered so that one day we may live in the New Jerusalem with Him and that city has walls 1,500 miles wide and long and high.  There is no such thing as walls too big for Him!  In this day of violence, trial, and agony our nation is just feeling the birth pains of our disobedience and rejection of God.  But in all of this God has planned that when we come to Him in faith and no matter how grave our circumstances are, if we call on Him then those same walls that once were our nemesis will later be called our walls of Salvation if we let Jesus be the Lord of our circumstances and trust that our individual names, and circumstances were inscribed on His hands long before we found ourselves in them. You and your family are always before Him.   I can tell you that if you will take Him at His word and believe Him to be all He reassures us He is, He will do all He promises us He will do!  If we will just believe that as He bled we were in His thoughts and that His blood shed for us was sufficient to allow the Holy Spirit to either build up, or tear down the walls of our lives and our individual circumstances that need His holy touch.  We are forever inscribed on His palms.  Today I can now call those walls at Sterling Correctional Facility my Salvation because Jesus met me inside them!!! My family is back together and my kids are slowly but surely coming home.  Jesus died for you and you are not forgotten! 

Quote of the day:   “Let me tell you what true surrender is. It is simply resting in the love of God, as a little baby rests in its mother’s arms.”   Fenelon 

This message is dedicated to all the grieving families of our nation who have been impacted by the events of this past week.  Dear God, pour out your grace and tender mercies on all of us!

Genesis 4:26  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. 

Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam.  In the day that  God created man, in the likeness of God he made him; male and female he created them, and he blessed them and he called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.  

Genesis 10: 1   Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, namely, of Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were born sons after the flood.

The Bible is a book of ancestry.  From the very beginning of its pages God records the lineage of His people, proving that ultimately all people are the descendants of Adam.  What stands out clearly in all its records are the distinctions between the lineages of those who follow God and those who do not.  The Bible does not record the years of Cain’s descendants, only their names and their ancestry.  I have often wondered if this is God’s assurance to the believer as the days of the righteous are recorded in His book?  What is His message to us as we consider the stark contrast between those who follow His commandments and those who do not?  Examine the record!  Genesis the 5th chapter outlines generations of people who walked with God.  Some of the greatest Bible characters are found in Genesis 5 as it unfolds a genealogy that includes men like Methuselah,  Enoch, Lemuel, and of course his son Noah. These were men who called on the name of the Lord and who were so pleasing in His sight that He just snatched Enoch from off the face of the earth.

This is the main reason I do not hold the angel theory of Genesis the 6th chapter as I once did!  The heart of the matter of Genesis six is not what angels were doing, it is what humankind is doing, and that was that all the human race had gone after the way of sinners.  If no one followed after God how would He bring His Son into the world?  It was out of mercy that God brought judgement on one generation in order to spare countless other generations.  Judgement on this side of eternity is always filtered through the mercies of Christ.  He corrects and chastens those whom He loves and He loves the world.  From then forward the Bible is a narrative of those who made themselves available to be used in His message.  The Bible is a history that unfolds His story from one cover to the next as it provides, in great detail, the many men and women who were willing to risk their all in order to see Christ and His glory promoted in their homes, their communities, and in their generation.  People like Esther who risked her life in order to save her people.  “It may be that we were born for such a time as this.”  (see Esther 4:14)  God is the giver of life and in every generation there is purpose for life and for every life there is purpose.  You may not have imagined that your life could be used in such extraordinary ways, but when all the world has ceased to be and the final curtain has fallen on human history, where will you be in relation to His Story?  Will you have raised godly children that were  used to preach to a dying world as Noah’s father Lemuel? Will you have prophesied to your family and friends about the coming of Jesus?  What will your life have meant in this unique and perishing generation?  Now is the day of salvation the Bible tells us!  Not tomorrow or the day after, but today!!!  Today you and I can decide together that this is our moment to live for God and His purpose!  We have this assurance as believers that if we do, our names and our years will be recorded forever in His Holy Book, the Lambs Book of Life! Who knows, you may have been brought into the kingdom for just such a time as this?  If we do not follow God, how will He bring His Son into this dying world?

Quote of the day:  ” Before we can be His hands and feet, we must first be His eyes and ears.”  Author Unknown

Luke 11:24-26  The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says,  I will return back into my house from where I came out.  v:25  And when he has come, he finds it swept and garnished.  v:26  Then he goes in and takes with him seven spirits more evil then himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse then the first.

Luke 8:28-29  And when he had come to the other side of the Gadarenes, there there met him two possessed with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man could pass by that way.  v:29  And behold, they cried out saying,  What do we have to do with you, the Son of God?  Have you come to torment us before the time?  

Luke 4:13  And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season.

When I was in prison I remember watching the naive souls that entered into the prison house and how they were recruited into the various gangs.  Scared and alone they would be promised provision, protection, and camaraderie.  One by one I saw them endure a time of courting only to be turned into puppets on a string, trapped in a life they can, only by the grace of God, escape.  Commanded to extort from weaker men they become predators in the name some ghetto gang promoting violence, hardship, and often death.  What a tragedy and all for the sense of belonging and for security.

As I examine the scriptures I see the same scenario being played out in the spirit world.  Demonology is one of the toughest subjects in the Bible because, by comparison to many other subjects, there is little that is said about demons and where they come from.  Jesus and the writers of the gospel’s talk more on the subject then any of the other writers of the Bible and even that is limited.  Undoubtedly because Jesus had the ultimate success in dealing with them, since he has all authority over them, the gospel writers were compelled to advise us as to the strategies of our enemy, the devil.  Like the  gangs, these demons look for entrances into our lives through the things that are forbidden.  Many believe them to be the fallen angels that rebelled with Lucifer, but I do not hold this view.  Demons, from the little we do know, are tortured without a body.  So much so that when Jesus cast them out of the man from Gadarea, they begged to be cast into a herd of pigs.  I believe they are disembodied spirits from the flood of Noah that were sentenced to roam in the earth without the hope of a physical resurrection.  This is the great hope of the Church, the Bride of Christ, that we will one day be raised from the dead where our spirit will be rejoined to a new body.  Demons have no hope!  They are forever separated from their bodies and so the only relief they have is to enter illegally through the mind and will of man so that they may purport their evil intentions on humanity.  I believe that whatever sinful activities they were in when God condemned the world in Noah’s day, these same activities they now engage in through the minds of those who look for comfort, satisfaction, and community in activities and behaviors that only destroy life.  They prey upon the weak and uneducated promising fulfillment but leaving the life of their host bankrupt and marred beyond description.  They are often referred to as ‘Familiar Spirits’ because they are familiar to a particular pattern of behavior as well as they are familiar with our weaknesses, and so they return time and time again to see if we will give them room in our hearts, minds or our activities as we struggle to let Christ live in our lives and forsake our own sins.  They are the ambassadors of Satan as he uses their lust for drugs, sex, fame, power, and greed to destroy us in ours.  They have no fear of God, except His judgement, because they have been turned over to their evil desires and for all of eternity they will burn with discontentment, sorrow, and fear, all the while falling further away from God’s original plan for them.  Their only purpose is to wreak havoc in the world and to destroy as many lives as they possibly can!  The Bible says that the angels that fell with Lucifer have been locked up waiting for judgement.  (see 1 Peter 2:4-5 and Jude 6)  Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 that because sin abounds, the love of many will wax cold.  No one is above being tempted or slipping back into our old life. Our only hope of escaping the sins that are common to man is Christ.  He alone has the keys of death, hell, and the grave.  If we are in Him we need not fear, Jesus assures us of the victory!  But we cannot be guilty of flirting with our past behaviors because we do not know if we will be granted the opportunity to repent.  The Bible says that today is the day of repentance.  I implore all who read this to flee from sin and the unfruitful works of darkness.  Do not be naive in your understanding.  The devil promises security in possessions, alcohol, and sinful relationships, but before you know it you have a gang of demons running your life and you will only be a pawn in the devil’s workshop.  Rather, give your life to Jesus and trust Him. He will bring goodness and hope, delivering you from all the shackles of sin that enslave you.  I know, I spent many good years allowing these familiar spirits to rule my life with addiction.  Jesus has a plan for you so become familiar with His Holy Spirit and you will find freedom that leads to everlasting life.

Quote of the day:  ”Like alcoholics on the path to recovery, we share a mutually acknowledged weakness.  Gravity tempts us to believe we can make it on our own; grace corrects that error.”  Author Philip Yancey

Proverbs  6:27-28  Can a man take fire to his bosom and not be burned?  v:28  Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be burned?

Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seems right to a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs  16:17   The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:  He that keeps his way preserves his own soul.

When the children of Israel came out of Egypt God told them several times that the Law which He was establishing in their midst was for their own good.  The Law brought order to a people who had only known tyranny and injustice under the cruel hands of Egyptian rulers.  In the great Exodus of Israel out of Egypt their was a giant vacuum that left them without guidance or a means of settling domestic or civil disputes.  For many years they had been exposed to the worship of false gods and they witnessed the utter bankruptcy of a nation that relied on those false gods as they tried to withstand the will of the One True God.  Entering into the wilderness they had no idea how to govern themselves so God established His commandments so that they would know what God required of them in their service to Him and to one another.  Again, God exhorted them to know and believe that their obedience was not for His sake, but for their sake.  (see Deuteronomy 5:29 and 6:24)  And over and over again succeeding generations found out, the hard way, that to depart from God and His Law and purpose only brings heartache and death.

Today’s scriptures out of the book of wisdom or Proverbs we read that we  cannot take fire to our bosom and not be burned.  Imagine sitting around a campfire.  The sun has set and you might be cold?  Your perception of need, which would be for heat, would never cause you to reach down into the center of the fire and withdraw hot coals.  You would never think about taking those hot coals and placing them in your coat and over your heart and stomach because you know, almost instinctively, that to do so would leave you worse off then withstanding the temporary discomfort of wanting to be warmer.  Many times in our lives we have these perceptions of need which cause us to reach into the fires of forbidden activities and take into our hearts, minds, eyes, and ears the things that only lead to death.  Like hot coals they leave our lives scarred with divorce, responsibilities we end up shouldering on our own, and sometimes a prison record.  We never see the consequence until it is entirely too late, unless we open our hearts and minds up to God’s law and ask Him to show us the end of the matter.  No one can escape the consequence of sin because the Bible say’s that when we sin, not only are we sinning against our own souls, but we are sinning against a holy God who died to set us free from the consequences of sin.  Sin has only one outcome and that is death! That does not mean we can willfully sin and hope that we won’t get caught as the Bible clearly teaches that God will correct and punish those whom He loves.  It is for our own good that we serve God, following His desires for our lives, and to do so is a highway that leads to eternal life.

One final thought,  I cannot help thinking about the whole ‘bosom’ concept.  In the gospel of John, in the thirteenth chapter, Jesus warns His disciples about one that would betray Him.  In a panic they all ask who it will be saying;  ”Lord, is it me?”  Except John, that is!  He is comfortably reclining with his head on Jesus’ bosom or chest.  Peter, maybe sensing his own weakness, says to the young disciple, “Tell us who it is?”  John then leans over and ask’ Jesus to tell them who it will be that will betray them and Jesus indicates that Judas is  the betrayer.  The story really stands out to me as I consider the many times I have taken fiery coals to my own soul.  Oh the heartache I could have spared myself and so many others if I had, instead, simply kept my head on the Master’s chest, listening for His heart beat.  I wonder what things He would whisper in my ears to share with my family and friends  as we stare into the greatest event in history, next to His first arrival?  We clearly have a choice as we can look for or participate in those things that can never satisfy and can only hurt us. Or we can have an ear for His whisper as we rest our heads on His truth, the Word of God.  It is entirely up to us, but one will lead to life and joy. The other leads only to heartache and death.  We make the choice by first simply saying, “Yes Lord, show me the way,”  or not?   If we put ourselves in the right places and avoid the wrong ones, He will do the rest!  He loves you and has only your best interest at heart!

Quote of the day:  ”This is the tragedy that human kind faces.  All because of our pride and our inability to admit that we are hopeless, helpless, and in that we are absolute paupers, we reject it all. This is the greatest tragedy of all!”    D.M. Martin Lloyd Jones 

To All Our Readers;   I would like to formally apologize for the use of the word ‘Trinity’ in the title of our last post. The doctrine of the trinity is a cornerstone to the christian faith, and although my thought was to communicate the devil’s  impersonation of God, I feel as though I should not have used the holy word in conjunction with the word ‘ evil’.  God is full of grace and mercy and He is holy.  Out of reverence for Him I should never have put the two words in the same sentence because they just do not belong together. God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. I am persuaded that the uneasy feeling I have had today about this issue is due to what may appear to some as a misrepresentation of God, in any way?   To the God I serve I publicly admit my fault; and to all my readers I ask that you note the change in the articles posting and forgive my error.     jim

Revelation 13:1-7  And he stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.  v:2 And the beast which I saw was  like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:  and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority. v:3  And I saw one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death;  and his death stroke was healed:  and the whole earth wondered after the beast.  v:4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast?  And who is able to make war with him?  v:5  And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.  v:6  And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, even them that dwell in the heaven.  v:7  And it was given unto him authority to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.  

It is said that imitation is the truest form of flattery.  If that is so, then the devil worships God by default. There is coming upon the world a deceiver that will cause all the world to believe that he is Christ.  In  reality, he will be the devil incarnate.  He will be a man in every sense of the word, but the difference between him and all other men is that he will become the supreme habitation of devils.  Lucifer, or the dragon will invest all authority in him.  Again, this is a copy of what God has done as He has given all authority to Christ.  This man will endure a fatal wound and recover from that wound and as he does he will convince the world that he is the prince of life forging a replica of the resurrection of Christ.  As he sets up his one world system bringing the illusion of peace, he will assemble a united kingdom that reflects all the tyranny, avarice, ego, and arrogance of wisdom that Greece, Babylon, and Persia represented in history.  He will be given authority for 42 months, namely by those who elect him, to make war on the saints.  The true church of Jesus Christ will shine in triumph as God’s people will suffer untold hardships at his hands.  The beast is a world system that imitates the omniscience of God using data collected and stored.  From our very DNA strand to our address and phone numbers the false prophet will wield control over all humanity pretending to be sovereign as he watches, via technology, our every move. Those who reject his authority will be cast into prison or murdered at his command.  Yes, God is a triune being, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  He exist’ in three distinct and separate persons who are so unified in goodness, love, grace, power, and wisdom that God is one.  How He is all these things the human mind cannot conceive.  We are not encouraged to understand, we are only exhorted to believe.  Satan is a real being also.  He is not omniscient and he does not know our thoughts.  What he does know is that humans, from the very beginning, are guilty of the same fault for which he was cast out of heaven, and that is that we want to be like God.  Ultimately this lust will run away with humanity as we will crown a deceiver who has let this awful sin carry him and us to the very brink of destruction.  Lucifer or the dragon will embody a man who is called the false prophet. He will rule the world with the help of ten nations or more like provinces that he elects to help control and inflict his will on the world.  Together with the beast they will rule the world for a very short time before God brings judgement on him while at the same time He delivers His people forever from any and all tyrannical kingdoms that would enslave or deny the true right of rule to Christ and His followers.  Many who say they believe will faint in the time of trouble and giving into the deceiver they will accept his mark, which is the mark of the beast.  Will you be one of those who give in to be eternally damned?  Now is the time of our preparation as the Bible teaches that we stand by faith.  Faith comes in increments and through prayer, reading God’s Word and fellowshipping with other believers, we grow in our level of maturity.  Only the truest of believers will have the courage to stand.  Will you allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in your life?  Not tomorrow or the next day, but today!  God is crying out to the world as the grains of sand have all nearly passed trough the egg timer.  His mercies will only persist for so long as He has calculated the precise moment when He will allow the world to follow their self appointed  deceiver into a pit of eternal darkness.  With tears in my eye’s I humbly implore all those who read this now to build your house on the Rock of Jesus Christ because everything else is sinking sand!  Build your most holy faith one brick at a time and one day at a time and when it is necessary, God will give us the grace to stand until the true King of Kings comes to take us home.  How I long to see you there!

Quote of the day:  ”Behold, the day is coming, and it shall burn as a furnace; and all the proud, and all those who work wickedness, shall be as stubble;  and the day that comes shall burn them up says the Lord of hosts, and it shall leave them neither root or branch.  But unto you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his  wings; and you shall go forth,  and leap as calves out of the stall.”  The Prophet Malachi.  Chapter 4:1-2

Luke 11:13  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask.  

John  17:25-26  O righteous father, the world did not know you, but I knew you, and these have known that you did send me;  v:26  and I made known unto them your name, and I will make it known:  that the same love that you have had for me may be in them also, and I in them.

There is, in my opinion, no greater responsibility or higher call to duty then that of a father.  I have come to this conclusion after many years of living and I do not arrive at it because of my own success as a father and husband, but rather just the opposite, because of my failures.  As I counsel people  I never cease to be amazed by the imprint, or lack thereof, that a father may have on a young persons life.  Many of us have lived our lives with a  father shaped wound that has caused us to make all kinds of irrational choices.  The crisis of living without paternal guidance or care leaves a wake of destruction that no one but God Himself can heal. Prisons and cocktail lounges across this nation give witness to the destructive trends that the American family has endured as father’s, myself included,  have been absent from their children’s lives.  With all my heart I long to reassure my children of their value and worth, not only to me, but to the  God I serve.  What I now know of my heavenly Father has healed my life from the wounds that carried me through so many broken years that I did not think it possible to know such joy or love.  It has been a process and it does not happen overnight, but He has taught me how to not only live my life without drugs, He is teaching me how to be a father.  I know there are many of you who will read this and dismiss it because the pain is too deep and the effort too great to muster the will to believe.  Some have thought that they can live their lives without a man in order to escape the pain of not having a decent father figure.  Just once more I am asking you to consider the testimony of someone who understands your pain.

Who is your Father?  A father is someone who gives us life and is responsible for the life that they create.  Anything short of that is not true fatherhood.  A father is strong and brave, and yet sensitive, compassionate, patient, and most of all he is loving.  A father is wise and always willing to invest his time in those he loves.  He is warm and brings laughter and life into our lives.  He cares more for those he shepherds then he does for himself.  He is a servant.  He is a good provider as he works tirelessly to see that his family, including his wife, have all that they need, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.   He nurtures while also gently disciplining those in his care and always with love and a desired goal in mind.  Fathers come in all shapes and sizes so as to be able to relate to their own offspring.  A father is never perverted or obscene!  He is self controlled, confident, respected, admired, and humble.  He is as concerned with his families spiritual state as he is with keeping a roof over everyone’s head.  His duties do not stop when he walks through the door in the evening and in fact, everything else he does only prepares him for the privilege of going home to a loving wife and family where the true investment of his soul begins.  A father is someone who has a vision for our lives and he patiently guides us toward that vision while allowing us the freedom to choose the right path for ourselves.  Most of all, a father loves us no matter the mistakes we have made or the plethora of times we have failed.  There is always love and acceptance, though it may come with the appropriate discipline necessary to cause us to change our negative course, he never turns his back on his children.  And when we grow up and go out on our own and attempt to be parents and citizens, he waits patiently for our return because he knows that until we go out and try it on our own, we will never truly appreciate having  good and loving parents.

This is your Father! Everything I just described is God’s heart for you!  He is in heaven and He sent His only Son to die for you so that you could forever have that hole in your heart sealed up tight by His Holy Spirit.  Jesus suffered on our behalf so that we could know the richness of a relationship with God that would heal any parental wounds we might carry.  He knows about every single hurt, every tear, every betrayal and the resentments we carry due to those hurts.  And He wants you to be free…… forever from them.  Will you give Him a chance?  Will you put away your bias and prejudices that are not based on truth, but the lies of the enemy who deceived you when you were hurting and vulnerable?  Jesus loves you and not only will He manifest the Father’s love to you, but He can and will teach us how to be be good parents and citizens if we ask Him to with all our hearts.  What are you waiting for?  Today is your day to bask in the warmth of your Father’s heart for you!

Quote of the day:  Jesus said to her, Do not yet touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;  but go and tell my brothers that I ascend to my Father and your Father:  To my God and your God.  John 20:17

Hebrews 10:5-7  Therefore, when he comes into the world, he says,  Sacrifice and offering you would not, But a body you did prepare for me;  v:6  In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins you had no pleasure:  v:7  Then said I, Lo, I am come ( In the roll of the book it is written of me)  To do thy will, O God.  (Old Testament Reference  Psalm 40:5-9)

Hebrews  10: 9  Then he has said,  Lo, I am come to do thy will.  He takes away the first that he may establish the second.

Matthew  5:10  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, as it is in heaven, so on earth.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 8,  after Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount, a leper comes to him and says; “Lord, if it is your will, you can make me whole?”  Jesus immediately stretched forth His hand and says to the man, “I am willing.”  Perhaps there  is no greater subject in all of Christendom that perplexes both those who know God and those who remain lost because of the confusion that surrounds, ‘The will of God?’  This is to me a sad irony when I consider the length, height, width, and depth that God has gone to in order to relieve His creation of any doubt regarding His will.  From the very beginning when Christ knelt down and formed the first man Adam, He knew that He himself would one day dwell in a body.  When the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 40:5-9, it is to remind his readers that God is good and all that He desires or has in store for His creation is only good.  The refrain of heaven after every act of creation sang;  “It is Good.” (see Genesis 1 and 2)  That is because God’s will is always good and God’s will is written in the scroll of the book we call the Bible. There we look into the rich and detailed history of God’s people and how they encountered an omnipotent, all knowing, ever present Creator until, after thousands of years of prophecy, He finally came to His people wrapped in the innocence of a child with no earthly father, but instead a heavenly Father.  Forever he stripped the devil of the lies he had perpetrated on humanity as He has made known His will and He wishes no one to perish but for all to have everlasting life.  The Bible promises that if we are in need and we cry out to Him, He will answer!  (see Jeremiah 33:2-3) Jesus stretched out His hands, one to a blood stained beam on His right, and another to a blood soaked  timber on His left, and as His arms were opened as wide as His reach would allow, His hands were nailed to those beams signifying that the gates of Heaven were now open to anyone who would take Him at His word and simply believe.  And no one is beyond His reach as He promises that as far as the east is to the west, our sins will be stricken from His memory because we trust that God has nailed our transgressions to the tree of Calvary.  (see Psalm 103:12)  Can you see Him?  On one side of Him a man who believes  as his hand stretches east toward the man. On the other side of Him a man who sadly does not believe as His other hand stretches west.  Christ reaches no less to the unbeliever then He does to those who believe, but His promise of assurance is only found in the heart of those who believe. “Today you shall be with me in Paradise,”  He says to the believer.

From the foundations of the earth God prepared a body for Himself and when He gave man life, He did so with a kiss from His own breath. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss so that what God gave man, man took of his own purpose back from God and there is where the confusion begins!  We are lost in sin and it is our self will that keeps us from receiving and knowing His will.  If we pray and ask that His will be done and not our own, then just like His will was embodied in Christ, our lives become vessels of grace that allow those things that are written in heaven to be done on earth.  No matter what we face in our bodies they are only on loan and someday we will give account for how much of ‘His Will” we allowed Him to bring to earth while we were in them.  Our ultimate example  forevermore is Jesus who so lived for God’s will that no matter the cost to Himself, He was willing to pray; “Not my will, but thy will be done!”  In prison, in sickness, in death, poverty or betrayal, no matter what we are going through, our sufferings are a small palatable dose compared to the cost our Savior paid for us. Will you will the will of God in your life and believe for your family, your friends, your church and your co-workers? To one life at a time we preach the gospel of our Lord so that what God has willed for all of humanity will finally be done in the earth as it was written it would be? In His time it WILL be done!  The first creation will be done away with so that the new will forever be established.  Worthy is the Lamb! The first will (self will) has to be done away with in order for Him to establish the second and that is a choice we each must make.  ” Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth (that’s me) as it is in heaven!

Quote of the Day:  The only life that God can bless is the one He died to give, not the one we choose for ourselves.   Author Unknown

2 Samuel 18:19-23   Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord has avenged him of his enemies.  v:20  And Joab said unto him,  You shall not be the bearer of tidings this day, but you shall bear tidings another day;  but this day you shall bear no tidings because the king’s son is dead.  v:21  Then said Joab to the Cushite,  Go tell the king what you have seen.  And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.  v:22  Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab,  But come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite.  And Joab said, why will you run seeing that you will have no reward for your message?  v:23  But come what may, he said, I will run.  And Joab said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plains and out ran the Cushite.

2 Samuel  18:29  And the king said,  Is it well with the young man Absalom?  And Ahimaaz answered,  When Joab sent the king’s servant, there was a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.  v:30  And the king said,  Turn aside and stand over here.  And he turned aside, and stood still.

I remember looking at photos and news reels of the of the Los Angeles riots.  In the Spring of 1992 the streets of LA erupted after four LA police officers  were acquitted on charges of brutality.  One year earlier they had apprehended Rodney King after a high speed chase through Los Angeles where he was driving recklessly.   When police finally got the vehicle stopped there was some fighting and then the police brutally beat him hitting him over 50 times with their batons.  What ensued after that was a full week of craziness that ended with, not only the National Guard being brought in, but also Marines from Camp Pendleton in order to restore civility.  When it was all said and done the loss of life was over 50 dead, 2,000 injured, and damages that exceeded a billion dollars.

Our verses today deal with just such a rebellion.  Absalom, King David’s son, had spent several years sitting outside the city gates feeding on people’s ignorance.  They came from all over Israel to see their king in order to plead their case and instead they were offered a quicker, softer way.  In their haste to find equality or justice they were content serving anyone who made them feel that their cause was worth while.  Little did they know that Absalom had absolutely no regard for them except to exploit them by using his following to dethrone King David.  Eventually David fled Jerusalem and as soon as he did his son usurped his throne. Not long after that, and in an effort to completely destroy his father, he heads out into the wilderness to ferret David out of hiding.  There is a battle wherein Absalom is killed by Joab, David’s captain.  Hence we pick up our passages with Ahimaaz wanting to run and tell David the news that his throne was secure once again. The problem for Ahimaaz, and for so many of us, is that we run and have no message to deliver to the King.  Ahimaaz was a good man.  Scripture records him as being the son of a priest and loyal to David.  However, on this particular day when there was so much at stake, Ahimaaz ran in vain!  Refusing the counsel of the Joab, Ahimaaz chose to run, even though he had no message.  Outrunning the Cushite he hastily runs into the presence of King David and then he is told to stand aside because, by his own admission, he witnessed nothing.  How humiliating would that be?  What is the point of expending so much energy only to be left feeling empty and cast aside? What was his motivation?  Some speculate it was pride in his giftings and others assume it was an ill prepared love for his king.  The amazing thing is that Joab chose a man to run who was an actual witness of the events, and he was not an Israelite!  That tells me that what God is looking for are messengers who have witnessed something.  He will tell many on the last day to stand aside out of his presence, even though they ran their whole lives thinking they were good and after all, “my dad is a priest or pastor.”  Their natural gifts and time of outstanding membership in  the community will mean nothing when they find themselves in the presence of the true King of  Kings and their whole lives will have been spent running, only to find there is no reward! In fact, there will be a certain expectation of sorrow that will lead to eternal doom.  Now, this very moment, we all have the opportunity to cry out to God and ask Him to make our lives a message worth running for.  We are not going to run for fame, wealth, pride, ambition, or praise!  Instead, we will run to announce to all the world that the enemies of our Lord have been put to death.  The rebellion of evil has been forever crushed and we are free.  Or we can live for ourselves and what we think life should offer us and be a part of that awful rebellion called sin and self.  But I would have you think about how one man’s sin effected an entire city.  Look at the LA riots and consider that what happened there happens in the spiritual realm every time any of us chooses to rebel against the good we know we should do!  Are you running with a message?  If your not, talk to Jesus and ask Him to give  you one.  He will if you ask!  

Quote of the day:  ”Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak.  Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you.  Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory!”   Oswald Chambers

Psalm  18:28  For you will light my lamp:  The Lord my God will bring light into my darkness.  

Psalm 119: 130 The opening of thy word gives light;  It gives understanding to the simple.

2  Timothy  4:13  The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when you come, and the books, especially the parchments.  

I once heard a story about a man who wanted to travel.  He was well traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, but his dream was to go further west.  Sadly, the man was imprisoned and accused of spreading propaganda and eventually he was put to death.  In the years before his execution, and because he could not travel, he was resigned to writing the people he had met during his travels.  There he sat in a prison cell waiting a certain outcome and his only desire was to protect those he had come to love and care for.  The man’s name? Paul, the Apostle!  I have often wondered about the man who wrote over half of the New Testament?  I have heard many sermons on the man who suffered, as much as anyone ever has for their faith, and few captured the heart of who I see Paul to be.  He had an indomitable perseverance that refused to be subdued by anyone or anything except the Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course,  it took being stricken off a horse and blinded by the Light that is the Son of God as he was on his way to arrest those who followed Christ, but once he was converted there was no stopping him.  In His own words he spoke about his difficulties as those who opposed him and made his life unbearable, except for the presence and reality of God.  At one point he asked God to remove a ‘thorn in the flesh’ and although no one knows what Paul referred to, many have suggested it was some physical malady that remained from being stoned and left for dead outside the city gates in ancient Ephesus.  As heartbreaking as that sounds to me, I do not see Paul giving voice to the pains of his body when the pulse of his ambition pressed him forward in spite of shipwrecks, being stoned,  beaten, half starved, and locked up in prison numerous times.  No, I think the man’s thorn was just that?  Wanting and willing to travel to the farthest reaches of humankind, instead he was detained and stuck away in a cold prison where he was left to rot.  In that space he cried out to God for help and relief and none came except for the comfort he received in the admonition from the Holy Spirit of God when the Lord told him;  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  In lieu of not being able to return to those he had established relationships with he began writing.  “Bring me the parchments,”  he tells  his beloved son in the faith.  Parchments are animal skins, but primarily sheep skins that have been carefully soaked in salt to cure them.  This process has something to do with releasing collagen which makes the skin resist decay and pliable to be written on.  In that inhumane existence Paul begins to write.  As he studies the scriptures and records the message of God to the churches he had established he begins to find his own salvation from circumstances that confined all his hopes and abilities to a cold wet dungeon. There angels appear to him, the writings of the prophets reveal their ancient mysteries and the lies of the enemy regarding Christ and his truth are dispelled forever as God unfolds His plan from before time began.  Can you see the man hunkered down by a fading torchlight feverishly writing his message?  In the agony of not being able to do what he loved which was to preach the Word of God, he learned to do what God required of him, and that was to write the Word of God.  So he did!  He wrote letters to the flock that God gave him and as he wrote, he figured out what God was saying, not only to Paul, but to all of us.  We are all sheep (skins) being cured so that we may receive the Word of God.  Our prisons are different as we all struggle with something of our own, but if we are faithful to accept what God gives in place of what we want, like Paul our influence on this world will have a far more reaching effect then we might imagine!  Just like Paul, there is someone you know, some place you have formerly been, and something God wants you to do.  You may feel tied down by a thorn in the flesh but if you are faithful to the Word of God, you will see the grace and power of God.  That is His promise!  From the beginning of time God has been saying; “Let there be light!” It does not matter how cold, dark, and lonely our circumstances might be, God’s Word is our salvation.  I believe with all my heart that Paul eventually realized that his goal to travel to the west would one day be realized as his followers would carry his epistles or letters to the west as he intended.  I wonder if he could have imagined a free society where the government was established on godly principles, or maybe his hope rested on a government that would one day be ruled by Christ Himself?  Either way, what I do know is the Light of God was born in a man who altered the course of history innumerable times over.  God’s salvation lies in the written word of God and in our darkness and brokenness there is always a plan that, if we obey, will alter the course of history.  That should make us all say;  ”Bring me the parchments. Bring me the Holy Bible!’ 

Quote of the day:   “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; being made manifest that you are a letter of Christ, administered by us, not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God;  not on tablets of stone, but in tables that are the hearts of flesh.”    The Apostle Paul     2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Genesis  2:8-9  And the Lord God planted a garden eastward,  in Eden;  and there he put the man whom he had formed.  v:9  And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food;  the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:15  And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Ephesians  6:12  For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Tonight I got on Facebook to instant message a good friend whom I have known for thirty five years.  He was wanting a quote I shared with him from St Jerome.  In the side column there was an advertisement that stated the following comment.  ”Personal development never made anyone rich. Click here for information on how you can become wealthy beyond your dreams.”   If ever there was an advertisement that read like the third chapter of Genesis where the devil tempted Eve, I read the 2012 New Unliving Version tonight. And that is just how this world trains us to think.  Unless we have the newest shoes that have Kobe Bryant’s or Duane Wade’s initials on them, we feel like miserable miscreants that do not fit in!  From everything from our apparel to the vehicles we drive, we are literally brainwashed into believing there is something more and life’s best is eluding us, but is it really?  I was talking to a young man at work today and he was telling me what his dreams are.  It felt like I was watching a commercial.  My heart ached for him because he has been sold swamp land on Mt. Everest.

In the beginning, you remember the story, when God created man?  It was not meant to be that we went out into the world and labored for the things we needed.  God provided everything in a garden that he put man in.  Everything that man needed was in that garden.  He had fruit trees and all types of flowering and life giving plants.  Everything humans needed was freely provided, but it was all contingent on one single thing, our obedience to God’s wisdom.  We know the story as Adam fell from grace.  He and his wife felt like they were missing out on something and in that deception they lost everything.  Now banished from Eden, they had to go out and labor with their own hands to til the ground and earn their bread.  So the lie begins.  Here it is!  I have more goats then you.  I have more oxen then you.  I have more…….and so on and so on.  Through the ages nothing has changed as all of us are in a perpetual state of discontentment with what we have, and so much so that what we possess really possesses us?  The lies of the enemy entangle us in every form of debauchery under the sun.  For me, I never had enough narcotics and for years I was a slave to that lie.  And while I am on the subject, God did not put the Coca plant, the Poppy plant or any other form of mind altering drug here for humanities wreckless indulgence!  Some of these things sprang up as thorns and thistles.  Just because we have learned how to numb ourselves from all of it, does not mean that was ever God’s intention.  In fact, I believe it is just the opposite!  As I have wrestled to remain free from my own lust I have learned that what God intended for man was a perfect fellowship with Himself that far surpasses any form of euphoria that drugs, clothes, sex, wealth, or cars could ever produce. Those ill gotten images that pornography or materialism left upon my mind were only lies of the devil repackaged and matriculated upon this generation and upon me.  I spent sixteen years in prison believing the hyperbole of the enemy and I can testify, as a confirmed hedonist, that nothing I ever  stuck in my arm, nothing I ever drove, and no one I was ever with satisfied me like Jesus.  Since giving my life fully to the Lord and staying in His Word, the Holy Bible, I have never known more happiness!!!!!!  I have learned to hedge my garden, the soil of my mind and I do not allow the enemy to sow his miserable infections into my thought life.  One day at a time I get up and I put on my helmet of salvation by reading the scriptures and I pray, with all my heart, asking God to keep me from the lies of the enemy.  I know he is ever trying to get me kicked out of the Eden of fellowship I share with God, and that is what Eden is.  It is a place where God comes to visit with His people.  It is a place where we do not need to work to earn our own way into His presence because we never could.  Everything we need has been provided for in the cross of Jesus which is the tree of life!  All we have to do is abide in His presence by staying in church, reading our Bibles, and continually rebuking the enemy who comes to us with his modern, twisted up deceptions of what our lives are suppose to look like.  Believe me when I tell you that if it were not for the scriptures, we would all be lost.  In them I have found the cure to what ailed me.  I was deceived just like Adam and Eve.  Now my mind and heart are a garden that  God comes to visit me in.  Some may read this and think I am on the lunatic fringe, and maybe I am?  But this brand of crazy has caused my whole life and all my relationships to blossom with a fertility of joy that screams for the presence of God.  I know that none of it is my doing for left to myself I would have spent the rest of my life in prison.  If you want to know what paradise looks like then begin by making your mind His Eden.  I can promise you that it will bring you so much more peace then any pair of shoes Nike will ever make.  He is waiting for you so just do it!

Quote of the day:  ”The scriptures are shallow enough for a child to drink in, and deep enough for theologians to swim in and never touch the bottom.”   St. Jerome

Exodus  3:7-8  And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows;  v:8  and I have come down to deliver them up out of the hand of the Egyptians,  and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

Luke  2:25 -32  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon: and this man was  righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel:  and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  v:26  And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  v:27  and he came in the Spirit into the temple;  and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,  v:28 then he received him into is arms, and blessed God, and said,  v:29  Now you can let your servant depart Lord,  according to your word in peace;  v:30  For my eye’s have seen your salvation,  v:31  which you have prepared before the face of all people;  v:32  A light for revelation to the Gentiles,  And the glory of your people Israel.

In Genesis chapter 28 Moses records a very significant event in the life of Jacob.  Jacob is on the run from his older brother Esau and on his way to Canaan.  He is so tired he pulls up a rock to use as a pillow and there he goes to sleep.  Jacob has a dream and in it he see’s God standing at the top of a ladder that is descending out of the heavens.  This passage is eluded to by Christ Himself when he says to Phillip and Nathaniel that they  would see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.  In other words, what Jacob saw was a ladder and through his descendants  God would come down that ladder, each generation of prophetic promise being a wrung in the ladder,which was fulfilled when when He took on human flesh.  (see John 1:51)  What Jacob had seen millenia before, had now become a reality and God was in the earth.  This is the prophetic promise of Exodus chapter three when God said that He had heard the cries of His people  and had come down to deliver them from the taskmasters hand.

Fast forward approximately three thousand years.  Israel is now enslaved again by  the Roman Empire.  In the temple there is an old man who is serving out his life in service to God and His people.  I can just see him now.  He is praying and meditating on the Word of God and remembering God’s promise to come down.  Maybe he was searching through  some Messianic passages in Isaiah or Zechariah, while remembering the mighty deliverance of Israel from Egypt when the Holy Spirit spoke and told him he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ? What a hope he must of lived with. All around him people are in rebellion, celebrating the evils of the day and yet in the middle of all of that, Simeon had hope!  Why?  Because he was waiting for God to come down! God came down in Moses day when the children of Israel cried out to be delivered.  God heard their cries and He responded.  Maybe the politics and economy, the avarice and deceit of this world are all designed to move us toward a greater hope?  Just maybe we should be surveying the landscape of where this world is going and that should be enough for us to realize that this is not our home.  I believe hard times are coming, and though I am no prophet, I do not see this generation being whisked out of here without a bloody fight.  Where will that fight and determination come from? Our hope and assurance that just like Simeon, we very well may see the Lord’s Christ return on clouds of glory.  Rise up church!  It may be that we were born for just such a time as this, when we will declare before a dying world that though you may slay me, I still will not bend my knee.  My trust is in the living God and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He will come down if we tire enough of this feeble planet and all its perversions, to actually pray;  ”Come quickly Lord Jesus.”  This is Israel’s consolation, that God heard their cries and He will not leave us to the taskmasters hand for long.  If we trust in His promises then we should pray as if we do.  He who is faithful is also true and when He returns, He will destroy His enemies with the breath of His nostrils.  I know many oppressed people who live everyday with addictions, disabilities, financial struggles, being without a home, and who have a past that this world will not let them live down.  I am quite sure that these same people are tired of the broken promises that  a sin stained world has offered.  Maybe that realization needs to take place in the rest of the body of Christ if we are to see Jesus in our lifetime?  ”Lord, hear our prayers! Come quickly! Bring us up out of this land to a land flowing with milk and honey. We are waiting upon you Lord and in you alone do we put our trust!”  

Quote of the day:  ” We should preach the gospel with eternity stamped upon our brow.”  Robert Murray McCheyne  Scottish Pastor  1813-1843

Dear Heavenly Father,  I am here tonight by myself in prayer before you.  My heart is filled with hope as I cannot help but think you will be sending your Son soon to get me and my family.  Lord,  Is it time?  Has the time of your favor passed?  It is not hard to discern the times we live in Lord as all indications point to your immanent return.  Lord, tonight I am asking you for a season of grace.  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed asking for your mercies and you heard him and gave him fifteen more years before you brought judgement on the next generation.  When Joshua fought against the Amorites he commanded that the sun would be still in the heavens so that the enemies of God might be defeated before the night set in.  Oh Lord, you listened and you acted on behalf of those who believe.  In Noah’s day you waited 120 years while Noah preached to a world that was soon to pass in a great deluge.  Lord Jesus, you have promised that if your people, those that are called by your name, that if we would humble ourselves and pray, that you would hear and forgive, and that you would heal our land.  Holy Father, throughout history your people have often been surrounded, out numbered, and hanging on the precipice of destruction, only to cry out to you that you might show your Mighty Hand in their midst.  Lord, we have heard of your fame and we have read about your victories, but what about now Lord? What about this generation?  In wrath remember mercy Lord!  Remember your covenant and give us time to build an ark for America’s young people Lord.  There is much work to be done Jesus and the fields are ripe for harvest. Tonight we ask you to command the sun of prophecy to be still in the sky as we preach like Noah to this generation Lord!  Have mercy on us as you did Hezekiah and remember how we have been zealous to spread your Word out to all the world.  America has many faults and we are a nation that has been awakened to our short comings, but forget not your people Lord, forget not your promises.  We repent of our ingratitude and we will no longer take our precious blood bought liberties for granted.  Holy Spirit, move in your people to proclaim liberty to all who would hear.  There is no freedom without the Word of the Living God and His Son Jesus Christ.  O God, hear tonight and bring about a mighty deliverance in this land.  Give us just a small window of opportunity and we will not grow complacent.  We will trim our lamps, we will allow you to circumcise our hearts, we will follow you Lord and we will not put our hope in any man, other then the Lord Jesus Christ.  No matter what the future holds Lord, we will serve you with all of our heart, mind and soul as we trust in you to do for us what we cannot do on our own.  Thank you for all you have blessed us with and may you ever shine on the freedoms of this nation as we serve you and you alone, in Jesus Name!  Amen

1 Corinthians  15:53-55  For this corruptible must put on incorupption, and this mortal  must put on immortality.  v:54  But when this corruptible shall have put on incorupption , and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  v:55  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting? 

Leviticus  23: 41-43  And you shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year:  it is a statute forever throughout all your generations;  you shall keep it in the seventh month.  v:42  you shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are born in their homes in Israel shall dwell in booths;  v:43  that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths , when I brought them out of the land of Egypt:  I am the Lord your God.

1 Corinthians 5:4   For indeed we  that are in this tabernacle do groan,  being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would put our clothes on, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. 

 Fall is a special time of year.  It is a time when we gather with family and friends to celebrate the years harvest.  Personally, I love the fall with the changing colors and the big juicy peaches that this valley is known for.  In the Old Testament the fall season was also a special time  and for some of the same reasons we celebrate, the children of Israel also celebrated.   Though they had many more reasons  their celebrations were of such special significance that God commanded them to keep three feast’ or times of celebration a year.  We will only talk about the last feast of the year in today’s article because it is appropriate for our season.  The last feast in the year was called ‘The Feast of Tabernacles’, or ‘The Feast of In Gathering’.  It was originally given to the children of Israel as a time when they would remember their years in the wilderness after their Exodus from Egypt.  They remembered how God provided manna and water, along with pheasant during those 40 years.  This tied into their year end harvest times when all of us remember the bounty of God’s grace and give thanks for His provision.  It began as a celebration lasting seven days and then an extra day was added after the time of the Jewish exile, although the eighth day was provided for in the law. (See Leviticus 23: 34-36)  No one knows for sure why, though there is much scholarly debate.  I think it ties into the resurrection of Jesus which took place on the eighth day, as He alone delivers us from those things that enslave us.  After the time of Nehemiah and Ezra,  the week long celebration was concluded with a torch light parade.  The main focus of the feast centered on two things.  The first was the sacrifices which started on the first day when 13 bulls were sacrificed.  On the second day 12 bulls and on the third eleven and so on….ending on the final day when one bull was sacrificed and seventy total.  Again there is much debate about why seventy bulls in total?  The best answer I have read stems from Jewish scholars who deduce that the genealogy listed in Genesis 10, after the flood of Noah, gave birth to seventy nations or tribes of people.  ( See Genesis 10:32)   So the sacrifices of the feast would be inclusive of all the peoples of the earth ending with one final sacrifice, that being Jesus on the cross.  During the week long celebration the people would remember their time in the wilderness by leaving their homes and erecting tents or booths on the roofs of their homes.  The city streets would be lined with people as they came from all over to present themselves before the Lord.  They would dwell in these tents to remind themselves and to teach their children that at one time they wandered in the wilderness living in temporary dwellings, but now they had real homes that were permanent structures to abide in.  Can you imagine entering Jerusalem at the time of the torch light parade?  In the dark and for miles surrounding the city the light could be seen.  Perhaps this is what Jesus eluded to when He said we were to be like a city set on a hill?  The lesson here for all of us who believe in Jesus is that one day Jesus is coming back, and when He does, we will put off this mortal body and put on our eternal dwelling.  Paul said we would be clothed with life itself and then we too will look back on our years of wandering in the wilderness of this world and we will remember how God provided for us a Savior in our wilderness experience.  What hope the people of God have!  We live in the day and the hour of Christ’ return and now our lives should be burning bright, like torches filling up Jerusalem, the light of our hope should be seen by all!  Soon, He who promised will return, and when He does mortality will be swallowed up by immortality.  There we will forever be with the Lord!  Let us pray for the strength to endure what is ahead as we celebrate the fact that God will provide in this wilderness experience.  Soon we will be delivered of our wanderings in this world to receive heavenly garments and treasures unknown as we will receive Christ Himself.  It is almost time so stand fast to the end that you might receive your reward!  He is about to (in) gather the fruit of His harvest in the twinkling of an eye.  See you there!

Quote of the day:   “The spiritual body will therefore be our very same material body, modified by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost so as to be no longer animal, but rather so as to be a fit temple for the divine Guest, and a fit organ for the perfectly sanctified and spiritualized soul.”  A.A  Hodge

1 Timothy 4: 1-2 But the Spirit says expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of demons,  v:2  through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies,  branding their own conscience with a hot iron. 

2 Thessalonians  2:9-10  Even he, whose coming is according to the working of  Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,  v:10  and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish;  because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Judges  17:6   In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

I was reading some time back about a man that was traveling down the road in his car and ended up getting into a collision with an oncoming vehicle.  I couldn’t help but feel great empathy for this man because there was a life lost because of the wreck.  When asked about the accident and what caused it, he replied;  ”I could not see the lines in the road and I crossed over them.”  If ever there was an example that typified our modern day culture better then that one, I have yet to come across it.

Our universe is filled with lines in the road and we know intuitively that if we cross those lines we will experience tragedy.  If we throw a rock into the air we know it will come down and on our own heads if we are not careful.  Gravity is an absolute.  The sun comes up  in the morning and always around the same time because our world spins in orbit and that is an absolute that we have the utmost confidence in or else why get out of bed?  Entropy, one of the laws of physics, says that everything in our universe is moving toward deterioration.  It also means that there is a loss in measurable energy or a transmitted message.  So we see that even in the slow ebbing away of our systems as a species the one thing that is consistent is death and decay.  Yet, in the face of the very evidence that stares us plainly in the face this generation has thrown off the notion of absolutes as if they some how constrain us from being all we are capable of?  And though we can see the absolutes that govern our existence, we disregard the Bible as a moral compass that declares God’s absolute and perfect will for man.  But in the end, the selectivism which now guides this generation, like the man going down the road who cannot see the lines that prevent him from crashing, we will crash and there will be a loss of life.  Selectivism is not a new philosophy.  It has been the moral compass of generations past and without fail those cultures have perished.  Selectivism basically teaches that whatever is right for you does not necessarily fit what is right for me.  But again, like throwing stones in the air, we are trapped under the gravity of our lack of reason.  If Selectivism is true then what prevents someone from killing me or you, after all, its up to each of us to find our own way? Maybe I like killing people and that is my internal compass?  Ultimately, this notion is heavily favored by those who cling to Darwinian theories and followed to its end it leads to ruin, as we are now seeing as our nation has taught this hyperbole to the young minds of American youth for several decades.  This is exactly what the Bible also says will happen in the last days.  That because we have rejected the absolutes before us, giving heed to these doctrines of demons, that many will perish for their lack of knowledge because they rejected the truth.  Instead, every man does that which is right in his own sight and all because there is a lack of godly leadership in the land.  We are in a time when all of God’s people must stand up to the false notions that will ultimately drag scores of people into the pit of hell.  Our lives need to be examples of absolute integrity and sincerity as we endeavor to reach those around us with the absolute truth of Jesus, so helps us God!

Quote of the day:  ”And say, We piped for you and you did not dance;  we cried unto you and you did not mourn.”         Jesus Christ    Matthew 11:17

Genesis  23:2-4, 9,  And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron),  in the land of Canaan:  And Abraham came to mourn for her and to weep for her.  v:3  And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and he spoke to the children of Heth saying,  v:4  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you:  give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.  v:9  That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is at the end of his field;  for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying place. 

Genesis 23:17-20  So the field of Ephron, which was Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which were therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border round about,  were made sure  v:18  unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.   v:19 And after this, Abraham buried his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (the same is Hebron),  in the land of Caanan.  v:20  And the field, and the cave that is in them, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the children of Heth.  

One of my favorite movies is the movie ‘Far and Away’ with Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman.  There is a classical scene in the movie where people lined up for several miles with flags and registry numbers from the United States government.  Then when the canon was fired they raced off to stake a claim on some piece of soil which they had previously spied out.  Now I am not exactly sure about the historical content of that part of the story, but I do know that there were several land give aways in American history, the most famous being the Homestead Act of 1862.  Three things were required of the settlers who participated.  They had to improve the property by growing crops or planting trees.  They also had to erect a 12 x 14  structure to live in and inhabit the land for 5 years.  Upon completion of these requirements they could file for a deed to the land that they had built a life on.  The whole purpose of the land give away was to cause people to move west to settle lands that were going to be annexed into the United States of America.  What has always stood out to me was the whole “driving the stake into the ground” concept.  I think one of the most vivid pictures of that idea is the photograph of American soldiers straining to plant the American flag on Iwo Jima. The flag is a giant stake with the red, white and blue flying in the air.  Our display of the flag as it is forever immortalized in that historical photograph was our way of declaring to the enemy that we had fought to unseat tyranny and that land that was once occupied by those who lusted for power was now returned to its rightful citizens.

It occurred to me one day as I was reading the passages I have selected today that that is exactly what God has done through the cross of Calvary.  He has driven a giant stake into the ground reclaiming a planet from the evil one and those who choose to do his bidding.  This was foreshadowed in the death of Sarah as Abraham bought a field to bury his wife in.  And so no one could come back on him or his descendants at a later date he insisted on paying the full price for the field.  The word for field in this passage actually means;  ’to spread out, country, ground, land, soil’.  What a cool glimpse we get of God’s plan as He purchased in full through the death of His Son a field or the ground of planet earth.  This was not just a field Abraham bought with a cave that would be used as a tomb. The scripture says that all those coming and going from the gate of the city witnessed the transaction between Ephron and Abraham.  Dare we speculate that the city was Jerusalem in ancient times?  Nonetheless, we are like those prairie travelers as we pilgrimage into lands far and away to spread the gospel of Christ.  And as we do we imitate those valiant soldiers of Iwo Jima who fought to liberate people enslaved by sin and evil.  We declare by faith that we believe the cross of Jesus Christ to be the stake God drove into the ground reclaiming earth from the curse of Adam.  Jehovah Nissi, the Lord  our Banner or flag.  What a thought!  Someday God’s people who have fought for the expansion of a King and Kingdom not of this world will, in fact, be joint heirs with the One who died to buy it back!  Glory to the Living God! Amen  Jesus has given us homesteading privileges and it is up to us to improve the lot.

Quote of the day:  ” I am unable to avoid the feeling of fascination which my entire stay here has increased.”  Charles M Sheldon  from book,  In His Steps

Micah 7:18-19  Who is a God like unto thee, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?  He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy.   v:19  He will turn again;  he will have compassion upon us;  he will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 

Genesis 22:2  And he said,  Take now thy son,  your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get thee into the land of Moriah;  and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will show thee.

Matthew  21:21-22  Verily I say unto you,  If you have faith and do not doubt, you shall not only do that which is done to the fig tree, but also,  if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed , and be cast into the sea, it shall be done.  v:22  And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Sometimes I imagine placing myself in Biblical times.  I do this  in my meditations throughout the day as it helps me concentrate on God’s Word as I relive the stories of the Bible.  A few years ago I was doing this and I was thinking about how some scholars believe that the mountain that Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac on was the same location as that of Golgotha?  They base this on the belief that God led Abraham to the very place where God would provide for Himself a sacrifice as Abraham had told Isaac, as he bound his son to be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord.  Can you imagine Abraham climbing to the top of  Mt. Moriah?  There he built an altar and by faith in the very same God who gave him a son, he stood ready to offer that same son back to God!  I believe Isaac was eight years old making Isaac the patient expectation of 33 years from the time of promise to the day of sacrifice.  Jesus was also 33 years old! He was raised on the eighth day and circumcision takes place on the eighth day, representing the circumcision of our hearts as they are changed by the message of faith in Jesus.

Through the years I have heard a number of sermons on faith and the passage quoted in Matthew.  I have often wondered about the validity of different messages as I have heard some crazy interpretations of this text.  As I said I often imagine myself walking beside Jesus listening as He speaks to His disciples.  Then one day it hit me.  What if the mountain Jesus is talking about when He says we will have faith to cast mountains into the sea, is Mt Moriah where He died to take our sins away and cast them into the sea as prophesied by Micah? What if Jesus and the disciples were walking by as Jesus pointed to the mountain where He would give up His life? The passage in Micah is a Messianic prophecy and it fits Jesus’ thought.  Jesus never gave us a license to claim whatever we want by faith.  What He did teach us is that the things we ask for that are in keeping with the Father’s will, as it pertains to redemption, these things we can believe we receive by faith.  Within God’s holy plan are mysteries that include miracles of every kind.  And although we do not always see His plan and the glory that He will bring about through the brokenness of this world, we can rest assured that Jesus died to see that every sin and all the consequences thereof will be cast into the sea of forgetfulness forever.  The word Golgotha stems from two words.  Goliath from Gath, hence Golgotha.  Tradition held that the very place where Jesus died to take our sins away is the same place where David buried Goliath’s head after he cut it off!  Jesus has cut off the devil’s head and all the accusations of the enemy are forever cast into the depths, never to be remembered!  God provided a Lamb for Himself and if we can believe God for the greatest need of our souls which is the forgiveness of sin, what could we possibly ask for above and beyond that that would be out of the realm of possibility?  We temper our understanding with a heart of surrender as we always pray for His will and not our own, but nonetheless, I will ask you;  Is anything too hard for the Lord? He has nailed our sins to the cross and by faith we believe that the greatest enemy of the human soul, which is sin, has forever been cast into the sea.  Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

Quote of the day:  ” For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes, even our faith.”      The Apostle John      1 John 5:4  

Hebrews  1:1-3  God, who at different times and in diverse ways spoke to us through the prophets,  v:2  Has in these last days spoken to us through his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.  v:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;

2 Timothy  2:13  If we believe not,  yet he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself.   

Hebrews 3:5-6  And Moses verily was faithful in all of his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken of afterwards;  v:6   But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

I left Saturday morning for the Pacific Northwest.  I drove 15 hours to get to my father’s house which was a thousand miles away.  When I arrived at twelve AM I was tired and ready for bed. My dad is in Arizona visiting friends so I found the key and went into the house.  It was not long before I realized the last time I was in my father’s home alone?  It was in 1996 and my parents had left town to attend the funeral of a family member. While they were gone I broke in to get off the street so I could get high.  I then took a couple of checks and cashed them so I could keep getting high.  My father was crushed by my actions.  He locked me out of his heart and home, and although I was allowed to return to visit, he has never trusted me in the house for fear I would steal from him again.  It has taken me two decades and many painful experiences to regain his trust.  As I sat in the house alone looking at the pictures of my mother I read the eulogy my father had written for her when she died.  I broke down on the floor and wept because my sins had taken me so far from my family and they prevented me from returning home for two decades.  The last time I saw my mother she visited me in prison.  When she needed me I was locked up because of my sins. I wept for several minutes releasing years of pain and regret.

I got up Sunday morning and put my stuff back in the car and drove away.  The house and all its belongings, except a few items I had permission to borrow, were all just as I had found them.  I began thinking about my Savior and how far He has brought me?  Then, in a moment I understood something I had never before seen.  Jesus had to be of the same substance of the Father, equal in every way.  Because He is, He could not betray His Father’s trust who committed all things into His care.  The Father did not entrust His own character and the message of eternal hope into the care of a lesser entity, but because God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,  there was never a doubt about the outcome.  The Father had complete trust in His own nature as Christ and the Father are one.  Maybe this is why my sins so grieve the Father and my Dad?  Because when I act outside of my new nature, I betray the very substance of who I am and who God created me to be?  I do not act in character with my father who is a good and faithful man.  Nor do I act in harmony with the Holy Spirit who lives in me. The Bible says that through suffering Jesus learned obedience.  Not because he knew sin, just the opposite! But because He had no sin and because He was of the same substance as of the Father He would not betray His Father’s trust.  For this reason Jesus was faithful in all His Father’s house and because He was, by faith He teaches us to be faithful in His house as well.  I cannot express the gratitude I have for my heavenly Father who gave me an earthly father that has taught me the value of trust. More then anything in my father’s house all I want is for him to know that his love and trust mean more then anything he possesses. Is that not the very heart of Jesus?  We are now of the same substance and nature as Christ and until we learn to be faithful we cannot inherit His wealth.  May we learn to be faithful in all He commits into our care as we serve one another in the house of God!  I am now in my son’s home writing this message……..I pray that I can have the same impact on my son as both of my father’s have had on me.

Quote of the day:  ”An ignorant and erring soul believes it has all knowledge.”  Author Unknown

I am leaving this morning once again for the Pacific Northwest.  I will be gone for approximately one week and during these road trips I try to spend as much time hearing from God as possible.  Please pray for me as I cannot do what I feel God has called me to do without the intercessions of my friends in Christ.  I will endeavor to write as much as I can while I am gone and I will be praying for each of you and your families.  There are no words to express the gratitude I have for the amazing life I have been given except, “Thank You Jesus.”  And thanks to all of you who have supported Tracie and I through some really tough stuff.  May God bless you and provide for all your needs.   Jim

Matthew 5:13 -16  You are the salt of the earth:  but if the salt has lost its savor,  how will it be salted?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under the foot of men.  v:14  You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  v:15  Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a stand;  and it shines throughout all the house.  v:16  Even so let your light shine before men;  that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

Ephesians 6:13  Wherefore take up the whole armor of God,  that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  v:14   Stand therefore, having your loins guarded with truth, and having put on the breast plate of righteousness.

Tonight when I got home I was greeted at the area where we pick up our mail by a couple of our neighbors.  Both of them believe in the Lord and as I approached them they asked me what I thought about the second presidential debate?  Before I could answer one of them began a lengthy explanation as to why it is a moot point for us to vote because, after all, God has predetermined what will happen and it is useless for us to even try to change it.  I wanted to scream but instead I quietly grabbed my mail and cordially excused myself.

Later in the evening I started reading about the struggles of the third century church and one of my personnel heroes.  I read about Athanasius who stood against the political tides of his day to eventually convince the Emperor Constantine to renounce the error of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was less then the pre-existant equal of the Father, but rather was brought forth of a lesser substance then that of the Father.  Athanasius stood against his whole nation and five times he was exiled while those who hated him hunted for him. Today our orthodox celebration of Jesus being equal with the Father is largely due to one man’s stand.  I could not help but remember the bravery of John Wycliffe who stood against the heresies of his day and was so hated that 43 years after his death his body was exhumed and burned.  He is often referred to as the forerunner of the reformation because he sharply stood against teachings that promoted heresy in the church while working to make the scriptures available to everyone as he published the first English Bible.  And what about Dietrich Bonhoeffer who stood against the Nazi Party and eventually died in a concentration camp.  I wonder if anyone of those men had the same view that my neighbor has?  I lean toward the teachings of John Calvin and I believe in fore-ordination, but not at the expense of escaping human responsibility.  And I also believe that God raised up men like Martin Luther to stand against falsehood, and though God knows the end from the beginning, we are to fight as though the lives of our children depend on our bravery.  Where would the church be without these brave souls who were willing to stand up to tyranny in order to preserve the precious truth?  They were truly the salt and light of their day and standing against insurmountable odds they maintained their courage as they were willing to lay it all on the line.  We now know them and their struggles and in Christian circles we often take their names and their sacrifices for granted.  If we presently are standing at the threshold of Christ’ return, then now is it time for us to take our place in the hallowed ranks of church history for we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  If not, then let us boldly stand against the erroneous philosophies and misconceptions of our day in order to insure that those who follow will look back on our generation and remember us the way we remember men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Athanasius.  We are the salt of this generation and if we lose our fight to preserve our nations freedom in order that we may continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, then what lies at the door? Will we be overcome by invading armies and trampled under the feet of men because we  carelessly speculated that it was too late to make a difference?  God forbid!

Quote of the day:   ” Remember yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow, and never stop questioning!”   Albert Einstein

Psalm 119: 160-165   The sum of thy word is truth;  And everyone of thy righteous ordinances endures forever.  v: 161  Princes have persecuted me without a cause;  But my heart stands in awe of your words.  v:162  I rejoice at thy word,  As one that finds great spoil.  v: 163  I hate and abhor falsehood;  But thy law do I love.  v:164  Seven times a day do I praise thee,  Because of thy righteous ordinances.  v: 165  Great peace have they that love thy law;  And they have no occasion of stumbling.  

Psalm  119: 170 Let my supplication come before thee;  Deliver me according to thy word. 

Two plus two equals four.  The sum of that equation never changes. There is nothing anyone can do to change it. It does not matter if you say two plus two in German or French, the total is always the same!  There is no other outcome.  Our universe and our ability to achieve in it, operates around a complex set of equations or math problems and our advancements as a civilization depend on the sum totals always being the same! Without that sure knowledge we would never have put a man on the moon if the universe did not have constants that allow us to build on those things we know to be constant.

As I read the passages in today’s meditations I cannot help but think that that is what the Psalmist sees as well.  The great constant in our universe is that the sum of all our (math) problems is that we have before us an obvious numerical fact, but unlike the Psalmist we cannot see the simple formula.  This insanity effects us all as we try to build our lives, our churches, and our governments on anything other then the sum of truth that is God’s Word.  Like some one trying to make two plus one equal five, we just do not understand that God’s Holy Word is the foundation of truth.

God formed the Heavens and He did it in six days and from the far reaches of the cosmos to the grand design of the smallest molecule, we live in a world that cries out the glory of God! There is not one error, there is no contradiction, and the Bible is not the inspiration of any human origin, it is the Word of Almighty God.  Every Word of it has eternal value and it is infinite in its purposes as the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of billions of people as the Sovereign purpose of God has seen fit from before the foundations of the earth.  Governments have come and gone, generations of people have encountered the same God, or suffered the consequences of rejecting the sum of His truth.  Kings have endeavored to destroy it along with those holy souls that have believed it and stood against their tyranny, yet history records them as broken and defeated.  Proof of its authenticity is felt in every realm of our existence!  From prophetic warnings heralded hundreds of years before the actual events, to our own condition as individuals touching our families and our future, we stand accountable for thousands of years of Biblical fact.  This generation has more archaeological and scientific evidence confirming the relevancy of the Bible then any gone before and because we have turned from God and the sum of His truth many will be lost in a flood of ungodliness.  The truth that God is in control and that every knee shall bow before Jesus Christ,  either by choice or conquest will be realized on judgement day.  Jesus is coming soon to reclaim the land of promise (earth) and He will rule the nations with justice and as the earth groans in violent travail waiting for events that were foretold thousands of years ago to unfold,  and we now have the plain confirmation of their arrival.  There is no weapon formed in hell that can stop Him as the victory has already been won.  God’s Word is truth and in it alone do we find the solution to the problems we face.  Until we can stand in awe of that fact as His people and turn to Him for guidance, we shall wander in the dark bumping our heads on the rafters  because someone had a tape measure that read seven feet, but really only equaled four.  It is time we stood in awe of God and proclaimed from the rooftops that Jesus is the truth.  The sum of everything from the foundations of the earth cries out to glorify the Son of God.  Whether we face challenges as individuals or as a nation, the Bible is our pillar of truth and by it we shall live or die and there is no other outcome. We have no one else to put our hope in but God and what He has said will come to pass just as He has said and there will be no other ending.  Though the kings of the earth may assemble to make war on God and His people we have the sure hope that even in death we are victorious because Jesus is alive and that is the truth that will equal the glory of God and life everlasting!  Oh that we would stand in awe of God’s Word and put our trust in His commandments.  Then would we cry out for deliverance and see the return of the Savior of the world.  That is the sum of our hope and there is no other remedy to what we face!

Quote of the day:  ” I am the way, the truth, and the life, and except by me no one can come to the father.”   Jesus    John 14:6

2 Chronicles 29:5 -6 And he said, ye Levites ; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.  v:6  For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.

2 Chronicles 29:35-36   And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings,  and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering.  So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.  v:36  And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people:  for the thing was done suddenly.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not cry out to God for the life of my children, and although I have been restored to them, we are not yet as close as I would like to be.  The reason is simple and I am to blame!  For years I walked after my own way.  I had my family ripped out of my arms very early in life and my solution was to numb the pain.  I failed my children because I chose to run from the fight of emotional difficulty that I would have had to endure in order to win the privilege of being there to influence their lives.  Now they are adults and living their lives and though I feel a sense of urgency to lead them to God, I must confess that their lack of faith is my sin!  If I had believed in the sovereignty of God I would have clung to my responsibilities instead of running from them.  I let the idols of the world over run my life and I wandered from God, though I believed in Him, just not enough to serve Him. Now, my adult children want very  little to do with me or the God I serve.  I am to blame and I am crying out to God to forgive me and my children as I cannot bear the the thought of standing before Him without first presenting them to the nail scarred Savior who died to give them life.

That is exactly what happened to Israel and that is exactly what is going on in America.  I am not the only one who has been more concerned with my own pain or pleasure, allowing those things to become idols in my life perverting my example, not only before my children but before my country.  In the meantime the enemies of God have arisen on my watch and during my lifetime.  I cringe to think about the judgement of Christ and although I know He forgives I wonder if the tears He will wipe out of my eye’s are those that form as I watch my children led away as they are banished out the Kingdom?  God Forbid! It is upon this hope that I am  crying out to God to touch, not only my children, but the youth of this nation.

It happened in Isaiah’s time as God raised up a young man who was only twenty five years old to lead Israel out of deep spiritual decline. He commanded the ministers of theTemple to open the doors and he removed the false images that the fathers of the nation had allowed to invade the hallowed ground of God’s holy dwelling.  God had promised through the prophets that He was going to bring a terror out of the north, but because of one godly mother who was also raised to fear God, the whole nation enjoyed a season of repentance as God stayed the judgement one generation.  The nation was not led captive until after Hezekiah died and because the youth and the previous generations of his day followed him back into the service of Almighty God, that generation was spared of being led away captive.

Fathers, mothers, and fellow citizens, this is our time to recognize that we are in the mess we are in because we have forsaken the Lord.  If our children do not believe it is because we have not given them a reason to believe.  It is because they have only seen our profession of faith while they have watched our lives be spent on self gratification. I am not alone here and I will not be alone on judgement day if we do not fall to our knees and plead the blood over our families and our homes, and our churches.  Will you join me as we cry out to God for forgiveness?  Not because we fear the end or because we do not want to lose our comfortable lifestyles, but rather because we have failed to teach this generation about the glories of God and His only begotten Son.  But be forewarned, if God grants this generation time to repent and He sovereignly raises up the youth to re- open the doors of truth, it will be because we are willing to offer up the fat offerings and the drink offerings.  In other words, it will cost us something, and maybe that is just what our children are waiting to see?  Just how much are we willing to give to give this next generation a chance at life?

Quote of the day:  ” For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do justice;  to the end that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”  Genesis 18:19   God

1 Samuel  8:4-5   Then all of the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah;  v:5  and they said unto him,  Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in thy ways:  now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.  

1 Samuel  8:18  And you shall cry out in that day because of the king that you have chosen for yourselves; and the Lord will not answer you in that day.

Jeremiah 17:5  Thus saith the Lord;   Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and who makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord.

I have not written for several days now as I have been in a season of prayer as I have given my mind and heart to the Holy Spirit for meditation on the title and topic of this devotional.  It is with a desire for great balance and wisdom that I now write!

Today I was listening to the upcoming Presidential ad campaigns on the radio and as I listened to them I prayed as I was listening. I heard an ad appealing to American voters about a womans right to choose abortion because it is her body to do with as she wants.  Then I heard another ad about how an amendment for same sex marriage would infringe upon the homosexual population and force a lifestyle on those who do not hold the opinions of the Christian extremist.  I could not believe what I was hearing?  Then I heard the words of Jesus as clear as I now speak to you.  Jesus told His followers that if they sought to save their lives they would lose their lives, but if they gave up their lives they would save their lives.  The whole debate about about what our rights are will usher in the end of the ages if we do not realize, no matter what our views may be, that the rights and privileges we hold dear as American citizens are God given, and the only reason we even have the right to debate the issue is because our country was founded on Judeo- Christian values!  Furthermore, we need to recognize the enemy who is lurking behind the scenes to control the whole world and he is using the blind selfishness of Americans who are so busy fighting for our rights that we are about to lose our freedom!  While we are arguing over the moralities of same sex marriage or abortion he is busy bankrupting America and he is using our  self centered politics to win enough popularity to achieve a New World Order.

I cannot help but remember what the children of Israel went through after they cast off God as their King and asked for a human king. God told them that their sons and daughters would be taken and that they would serve as soldiers  in the king’s army and servants in the king’s court.  He also told them that they would be taxed unbearably and that they would cry out for deliverance but God would not answer.  I believe it is time for all of us, no matter what our views may be, to fall on our knees in repentance as we have mistakenly put our hope in any one of the Presidents or anyone who runs for Office and not in God.  Our hope is in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and not in man!  And if we continue to bicker over ‘OUR RIGHTS’ instead of turning to God and asking Him to preserve our freedoms in order that we may serve Him, then when we and our children are taken away to serve the king we asked for, let us not think God will hear our futile cries then.  We will be just like all the other nations and we will regret turning from God to place our hope in any man. What has made our nation strong is that we are One Nation Under God! How I pray for a revival of this knowledge and now more than ever!

Quote of the day:  One of the key arguments that Jefferson made in this statute was that Almighty God has made the mind free and that any punishments that men might mete out against religious opinion deemed to be false and are a departure from ” the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord of both body and mind, yet chooses not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in His Almighty power to do, but to exalt it by its influence on reason alone.”  Peter A. Lillback in his book,  Sacred Fire

Mark 14: 18 -19  And as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you shall betray me, even he that eats with me.  v:19  They began to be sorrowful and they said unto him one by one, Is it I?

Mark  14:31   But he spake exceedingly vehemently,  If I must die with thee,  I will not deny thee.  And in like manner also said they all.

Recently I heard a story about a brother who stumbled in his walk with the Lord.  It caught many people off guard because no one ever thought that his life would take the course that it did, including him I am sure!  As the phone calls came in and the text messages piled up,  these verses kept coming back to my mind.   How easy it is to say like Peter;  ”Lord, I would never betray you.”  Yet, when Jesus broke bread with His disciples He knew who His betrayer was and instead of saying, “Judas, you will betray me;”  He took the opportunity to cause the rest of them to ask, “Lord, is it I?”  The problem with them, and most of us is that we are fearful of being the betrayer for all the wrong reasons.  We fear getting caught in our secret sins because we would be embarrassed or we do not want to face the consequences.  We fear losing our marriage or a job, or worse we are afraid of what the rest of the disciples in our church would think of us when the real reason for not being the betrayer is our love for Jesus Himself.  The truth is we are just like Judas and we are just like Peter and from both of these men we have much to learn.  Judas betrayed Jesus for greed and avarice.   Peter betrayed Jesus out of fear and peer pressure.  At some point we all have said we would never deny Him and yet we have!  So which one are we?  Some of us are too preoccupied with the world to think we could ever betray Jesus, but in the critical moments when what entices us is presented we fall by the wayside and we sell Jesus to our addictions and appetites as fast as Judas ever did.  Some of us are more like Peter.   We love Jesus and we have even confessed Him to be the Son of God,  but when we are at work or in the coffee shop, at the grocery store or at school, we fail to stand up to the world and say; “Yes, I know Him.”  We all want to believe we would never betray Jesus, but the truth is, we all do.  Every time we are confronted with fear or desire and we choose our will over knowing what God’s will is, we betray Jesus!  Maybe our sins are not as blatant or out in the open as other people’s sins, but they are no less egregious to God.  

When I hear of another believer that has stumbled in their faith or walk I am careful to remember my own times of wandering.  I remember that I stand by grace and grace is a gift that God gives to the humble.   In fact, the scripture says God resist’ the proud and gives grace to the humble.  It is the Holy Spirit’s job to search our hearts and as He does He knows if we have a haughty or proud look.  Do we look at those who stumble in their walk with compassion, praying for them to be restored?  Or do we sit and gossip, criticizing our precious brothers and sisters whom the enemy has taken captive in sin?  More importantly, do we sit in His presence confessing that if it came down to it, we all would be a Judas or a Peter and it is a miracle of grace that we have the life that we have?  There is a fine line there and it is by grace alone that we stand.   We would do well to remember that as we allow His Spirit to search our hearts  praying when we hear of someone that is struggling with sin and asking; ” Lord, is it I?”  Because we are not ignorant to the enemies devices and if we judge our fellow believers too harshly, then why should God expose their faults to the world and not ours?  Here we should tread carefully and prayerfully!

Quote of the day:  ” Though God keeps us from being as bad as the worst, we should be ashamed to think that we are not better than we are.”   Matthew Henry   

Jeremiah17:9-10  The heart is deceitful above all things, and exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?  v:10  I, the Lord, search the mind, I try the heart, to give every man according to his ways,  according to the fruit of his doings.

Ezekiel 36:26  A new heart also will I give you;  and a new spirit will I put within you;  and I will take away the stoney heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God;  And renew a right spirit within me. 

This past weekend my wife was sharing with me a story that deeply touched my heart.  It was about a three year old little girl who had a bad heart and she had undergone a heart transplant.  The pictures of this little girl were amazing!  She had a smile from ear to ear as she stood next to her mother with cameras snapping pictures.  You could see in her face the promise of life and hope.  I could not help but think about the pain she had gone through to receive that new heart?  Imagine the doctors and nurses hanging over her as they prepared her for surgery.  Think about the care of the surgeon as he began to make his first incisions.  Imagine the doctors as they removed that old heart that crippled this little girl from playing and enjoying the normal activities of a three year old? An old defective heart that stunted her growth and development was removed in order that she might receive a new heart that allowed her to live!

In the verses chosen today we see very much the same thing echoing in our ears as we hear the amazing story of this little girl.  Each of us are like that little girl as we seriously consider our own heart condition.  The scripture tells us that we have a heart of stone and that it is deceitful and full of corruption!  In other words, we have a heart that prevents us from enjoying the life God created us to have.  It is hardened by pride, self will, and self promotion against the truths of God and the message of the gospel.  We are not like clay in the potters hand but more like broken shards of already baked clay that is useless to the Potter.   God wants to breathe into our existence a breath of life that allows us to be pliable in His hands.  He wants to do open heart surgery where we get a new heart that allows us to live!  And sometimes we endure the pain of submitting to the Master’s plan in order to get what we need to live as we go under His knife.

How do we get this new heart?  Well, first we have to agree with God about our state of being!  If God says that I have a deceitful and corrupt nature then I have to agree with Him about my condition.  Jesus said that He came to heal the sick and not the whole.  Unless we admit we have a dead heart we have no need of a new one.  Then we must seek God continually asking Him to cultivate in us a willingness that allows His Spirit to rewrite His laws on the tablets of our heart and we must accept, in faith, that what He promised to do has been done. Only the Holy Spirit can give us this heart transplant through the engrafting of God’s truth.  The more we give ourselves to the scriptures the more God can do in our lives. It is a process for each of us and we must be patient with the process, but do not confuse patience with compromise?   Patience lives in God’s presence and compromise leads to destruction.  Beware of the difference between the two and let patience have its perfect or mature completion or work.  It is a process and one that, like the little girl, will put a smile on our faces that shines from ear to ear as we share the gospel with anyone that will listen!

Quote of the day:  ” It is not the amount of love we receive,  it is the amount of love we give out.”    Mother Theresa   Founder of the Mission of Mercy in Calcutta, India.  ( Someone who had a heart transplant )

Isaiah  30:18  And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you;   and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you:  for the Lord is a God of justice;  blessed are all they that wait for him.

Romans 8:28  And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.

Earlier this week I worked a twentyone hour shift.  I went to work Wednesday morning and did not get off work until Thursday morning. Talk about a long day! During that time I received a phone call from my friend Earl, but because I was at work I could not answer.  Then later on I got a text message from him and in it he expressed his hurt because I had not answered him in a timely manner.  I was truly touched by the disappointment expressed in the text message and so the first opportunity I had I immediately called him to explain why I had not answered and that it was because I was working.  After I went back to work I began to talk to God about Earl and the Holy Spirit showed me some things I needed to see.

I remembered moments in my life when I was desperate to get a hold of God and it seemed like there was no answer.  I did not understand why He waited so long to answer me, and like my friend Earl, I doubted His love and concern for me and my circumstances.  At times I wanted to just give up on my relationship because I believed that because God was quiet or that my answer did not come in the time I thought it should, that God didnt really love me and I doubted our relationship.  I also understood that my fear was based on past hurts and diappointments and that I projected those on to God.  I was heart broken over this realization as I know how much love I have for Earl and when I imagined my own disappointment over Earl’s doubt in our friendship it gave me a great deal of insight into the heart of our Father.  I am sinful and if I can love and grieve over the doubt of a friend, I wonder just how great God’s love for His children is and how it must hurt Him when we do doubt the love of Jesus who died to take all our fears away.  Oh Dear God, forgive our doubts.

My brother Earl blesses me and enriches my life in so many ways. He is hungry for truth and lives to serve others.  He is open about his faults and discusses them courageously with others creating a willingness in others to admit our struggles.  Again, if we as sinful people can see such good and blessing in one another can you imagine how God sees us as He looks at us through the perfect redemptive work of the cross where He sees us just as He sees His own Son?  We are so blessed!  God may sometimes delay His answers in our lives, BUT IT IS NEVER BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LOVE US!  God may delay but it is because He is working and when He does answer we will understand the delay.  He waits sometimes but let us be reassured that He is working all things together for our good and His glory!

Quote of the day:  ”Love does not dwindle into merely natural love but natural love is taken up into and made the tuned and obedient instrument of, Love Himself.”  C.S. Lewis   The Four Loves   

1  Samuel 16: 7 Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;  because I have rejected him;  for the Lord sees not as a man sees;  for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Mark 15:40-41  And there  were also women beholding from afar:  among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;  v:41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him; and ministered unto him;  and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem.

I am writing today’s devotional inside a Mc Donalds and as as I sit here the local High School soccer team has invaded the building.  Youths pour in and I am watching the flirtations of young men and women.  I cannot help but think of my own daughters and the boys that have made their advances pretending to be knights in shining armor when in reality they were wolves in sheep’s clothing.  And so it is with women, from almost the very outset of their lives they live on guard because most men have no idea how to treat them.  We regard them as objects of desire and we base their value on what we see, not on the inner beauty of their heart.  We have no idea their potential if we would just love them unconditionally! We have no clue the vulnerability they feel as they travel through life hearing about, or worse being victimized by heartless usurpers that would abuse their trust or vulnerability.  I will confess that in my youth I was worse then the average beast and I gave no thought to anything except my own selfish lust, God forgive me!

One of the most popular verses in the Bible is the passage in 1 Samuel that we are reading today. I have been a Christian a long time and I have heard this passage preached on no less then 40 times through the years.  I have heard many overweight or balding pastors preach that God does not look on the outward appearance of man, and yet never once have I heard this passage used in reference to anything other then men looking for validation in our pursuits of career or position?  How sad that is to my soul! As I confess this I am convicted as I remember every time I ever looked at pornography or a women passing by as I saw flesh instead of heart.  How many times I have missed an opportunity to pray for a human being in need of God’s help!

That is why they, the women that is, followed Jesus!  Nothing has changed since Jesus was on the scene.  Women were seen as livestock and not as humans equal to men in every way, except their ability to bench press a Volkswagen? He created them male and female and in all of creation no species demoralizes the female like human males.  Is it any wonder why the women followed Jesus?  For the first time in their lives they were seen as God, and that is who Jesus was, promised to see all of us, and that is through the spirit and in heart.  Jesus fulfilled the promise we read in 1 Samuel and the women came for miles and attended unto His needs because He did not see them as a piece of meat but as precious counterparts to the fragile balance that exists between men and women.  He knew something the rest of us have not quite figured out and that is that in order for us to be whole in our own masculinity, we have to have a proper perspective of the women in our lives.  If our perspective is distorted then our whole mental and emotional life is completely out of balance.  More importantly is women!  Why should they have to live such a guarded existence in a world that teaches men to victimize them instead of protecting and nurturing them.  The happiest day of Mary Magdalene’s life was the day she was thrown at the feet of Jesus.  For the first time in her life someone looked at her with something other then condemnation or lust. Examine her life afterwards!  In one single moment her life was forever transformed and she is FOREVER noted in scripture for her gratitude and servitude.  I wonder what would happen in the church if the men (that’s me included) loved our wives with a single devotion, treating them as the queens of our hearts?  I am amazed that Jesus, as a man, had such amazing success with women and never once violated the passion that the rest of us so easily succumb too!  He did not regard women as inferior by placing His own need above theirs.  And just to give men a proper perspective on women, He first appeared at the Resurrection to a woman.  Maybe if we would, as a society, get a right perspective on our women, we might also see a resurrection of His presence in our country once again?

Quote of the day:   “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it.”  The Apostle Paul     Ephesians 4:25

Romans  1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated for the gospel of God.

Romans  1: 6-7a  Among whom you are also called to be Jesus Christ’s;  v:7a  to all that are in Rome, beloved of God and called to be saints.

I love the opening verses of the book of Romans for so many reasons, none the least of which is Paul’s determination to bring an awareness to the mind of those believers in Rome that it was no accident they were called to their faith.  His confidence in this fact begins with his own calling and the responsibility he felt as a believer himself.  For Paul, being an Apostle carried a weight of responsibility that motivated him to endure great hardship as he worked unceasingly to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As it was with Paul so should it be with each of us. We have a specific call to be what God has called us to be, no matter what that is.  For some it is a teacher, for others it is music, and others are called to be caregivers.  No matter what our calling may be, we are to remain firm in the confidence that God has equipped us to endure whatever challenges our calling may require us to overcome.

More importantly then our responsibilities as believers is our call in our  devotion to Christ Himself!  We are called to be Jesus Christ’ representatives in the community that we live in.  Paul tells the Christians in Rome that their calling is to be Christ’ own possession to those in Rome. What a powerful witness it is when we live like our lives are not our own and we portray that to our families and friends, as well as those we work with in the communities where we reside. It is a full time job to live for that calling and one only the Spirit of grace can teach us how to achieve! In that endeavor we are called to be saints.  Becoming a Christian cost’ us nothing.  Christ paid the penalty for our sins and so entrance into the Kingdom is free admittance, but that does not mean that once we are in the kingdom that we get to live freely?  We are saints by birthright, but in practice it is a calling which the heart must long to fulfill. Only someone who has truly been touched by God will live for that calling as it reflects the sense of responsibility we feel as Christians as well as our devotion to Christ.  I ask myself often, as well as some of my close friends, if I am living a life worthy of His calling. I know I often fall short, but if we are to be discontented in anything it should be for our grasp for God and  His purpose for our lives, and not for the world and its pleasures.  God help us to live for your call!

Quote of the day:  ” Preach the gospel always and when necessary, use words”  Saint Francis of Assisi   “Lord, give us such a heart as this man!”

Mark 9:29  This kind can only come out by prayer! 

Mark 11:24  Therefore, I say unto you, All things whatsoever you shall ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.

Have you ever heard someone say; ” Well, there is nothing left to do but pray.”  I have  often wondered about the reasoning involved in that statement?  It is as if God is the last resort after we have exhausted every other avenue of human effort then finally, when our course is completely thwarted, we turn to God and begin to petition Heaven for help?  I will confess that earlier in my life this was also my habit. It is our human tendency to act independently in self reliance and one of the main causes for the fall of humankind.  I will also confess that still today I am often reminded of my own propensity to do that which is independent of God, but as I daily examine the scriptures I am challenged to rid my life of self reliance in order to humbly rely upon God.  I have great hope for Heaven and being free of this ugly crime against such a Loving Heavenly Father who patiently bears with my inadequacies.

In today’s meditation I see my sin blatantly as the scripture clearly tells us that we have no power except that to pray! The only strength I have is not in the feeble counsel I may give others, not in my ability to quote scripture like Martin Luther in three languages, nor is it in the strength I possess financially or otherwise!  My one ability is to pray!  To know so is to humbly know that it is through God’s strength alone that a life is changed and that I have so little to do with the process, except to pray, that to abandon this one request from God is to be lost in my own silly pride as I endeavor to try any other means of resolution outside of first praying and finding God’s mind on those situations that confront me! I see my pride clearly and what is worse my feeble faith?

Jesus commanded us to watch and pray! He also promised us that if we would pray then what is impossible through any other means, that those same things would be made possible to us through prayer.  Prayer is not a last resort but the faithful companion to the Word of God and when we put our trust in God’s Word, praying His promises, then no devil Hell has can stand in the way of the child of God!  Oh there is a power in prayer that changes lives and circumstances and we have a God who is on call just waiting for one saint who would take Him at His Word so that His glory might once again be revealed. Are you that saint? If nothing else, prayer changes us and maybe that is the whole point! Maybe through prayer I can finally be free of the pride that I am so often guilty of?

Quote of the day:  ”Almighty and most merciful Father; we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done. And we done those things which we ought not to have done.”   George Washington    His prayer before the First Congregational Church

Psalm 119:15- 16  I will meditate on your precepts, And have respect unto thy ways. v:16  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119: 32  I will run the way of thy commandments;  When you shall enlarge my heart.

Throughout the course of my life I have had occasion to fellowship with many believers.  As I remember the faces of my brothers and sisters I pray for their protection in the faith that we have commonly shared.  There have been so many men and women who have inspired my life, and those that had the greatest impression on me were and still are, people who are submersed in God’s Word.  

In today’s scriptures we see the reason why some saints just have a greater impact on the world around them then others.  Some believers flounder from one trial to the next while others seem to go from one victory to the next. Why is that?  Well, lets examine what scripture says?  I have highlighted the key phrase in each of the passages chosen and so observe the statement, “I Will”.  The human WILL is involved in every believers failures and victories.  I have told young believers my whole life that without a will to seek God in His Word, there can be no will to run in His ways.  That is exactly what David is saying to us in our excerpts today!  When we will to sit in the quiet and spend time alone with God allowing our minds to be renewed in the scriptures then we open the door for the Holy Spirit to come into our minds and enlarge our hearts to run  the race that is set before us.  If we fail to evoke this one discipline in our lives then there will be no change of discipline in any other area of our lives!  Quoting John Calvin on this subject he says; ” For our proficiency in the law of God will be small, until we cheerfully and heartily set our minds upon it. And, in fact, the commencement of a good life consists in God’s law attracting us to Him by its sweetness.  By the same means the lust of the flesh, too, are subdued or mitigated.”  In effect, what God is saying to all of us is that our ability to live in the good way which He has provided through Christ’ life, death, and resurrection is not simply a matter of our acknowledging that Jesus did these things for us, but depends more on our pursuit of God and allowing His truth to be our first and highest goal. As we labor to incorporate and maintain this one discipline in our lives, His Spirit will enlarge our hearts and allow us to run in the way of His commandments.  Success depends on our reliance upon God’s Word!

 Quote of the day:  ” To some men meditation is a task;  to the man of a cleansed way it is a joy.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

” Those that have found pleasure in the ways of God are likely to proceed and preserve in them.”  Matthew Henry

subject

Genesis  22:1-2  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham;  and he said here am I.  v:2 And he said, take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get to the land of Moriah;  and offer him there for a burnt offering  upon one of the mountains which I will tell you about.  

James 1:13-14  Let no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself temps no man:  v:14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and then deceived.  

For many years I wondered about these two verses because they seem to be in direct conflict with one another.  I used the King James translation here because both verses uses the word ‘tempt’.  So I prayerfully considered this verse never really having a settled peace about it for many years until one day, and long after I had resigned myself to believe that God does not tempt anyone, the Holy Spirit spoke to me the truth about these two passages.

In the book of James we read that we are drawn away and enticed by our own lust. That got me to thinking (small miracle in itself). Well if Satan appeals to our own lust which is the seed of the Devil, then what does God appeal to?  The answer came to me in a flash of understanding. God appeals to Himself.  The Bible teaches that we overcome the world by faith.  (John 5:4)  The Bible also says that we are each given a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)  So the truth is that when we are tempted, Satan appeals to the seed of Adam, which is the fallen nature of mankind and in essence that of his own seed, which is disobedience, rebellion, and immorality!  On the other hand, what God appealed to in Abraham was His own seed and that being the faith He gave Abraham to wait twenty five years to have a son.  That kind of faith overcomes the challenges of waiting on God.  And though we know Abraham was a man marked by faults along the way, in God he was able to pass the test!  That is what the word test means to prove something.  Where as the word for tempt in the Greek is to entice and draw away.  The difference between the two is simply this:  When God tested Abraham it was not that Abraham should be drawn away, but that He would prove the love and faith that Abraham had in his heart for God making their relationship stronger.  God appealed to Himself in Abraham and God or love never fails, and as long as Abraham, or you and I abide in God we will pass the test and prove our love as well.  Where we get weak and vulnerable is when we fail to abide in Christ and once having departed from our faith, we grow vulnerable? When that happens the Devil shows up to appeal to that old Adamic nature and when he does and because we are weak in our faith, we are enticed and drawn away.  Our victory depends on our staying in close communication and relationship with the Father through the Son, by the Holy Spirit!  Only God can say no to sin, neither can he be tempted by it, because He has no sin and that is how Jesus ,who was God in flesh, avoided sin.  He did not have Adam’s fallen nature.  And though He was tempted in every way as you and I, because He has the divine nature He could say no to sin.  You and I now have the divine nature as well and if we feed that nature by reading the Bible, going to church, and saying no to the things we can say no to, God will teach us how to say no to the things that once enslaved us.  Say yes to what you know is God and good, like reading the Bible, and God will come in and drive out that old nature so Satan no longer has anything to appeal to! Then we all can pass the test of proving our love for He who died to give us this amazing relationship with our Father who is in Heaven waiting for us to come home. Oh what a day that will be……no more Devil!  One last thing.  No matter what your test may be, because you have faith in Jesus, you have everything you need to overcome, not only the test but the temptation as well.  Trust in Him!  Prove your trust by abiding in Him!

Quote of the day:  ” Christ displayed His excellency by showing the strength of His arm being displayed in the infirmities of His instruments”.  Stephen Charnock in ‘Attributes of God’  17th century Theologian.

Job  39:11  Will you rely upon him for his great strength;  will you leave your heavy work to him?

Psalm  37:3  Trust in the Lord and do good;  Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness.

Sometimes we hear of people in far away places who are tortured and martyred for their faith.  We may even wonder where they get such extraordinary faith? Then as we face our own problems here in our own homes and country we stumble over trusting God for the small things that fuel our daily existence.  Things like gas in our vehicles, food in our cabinets, or a job to provide for our families? I have often wondered why God has not just automatically given me these things? Doesn’t He know I need them?  Well, the answer is yes He does, but God is a good drill sergeant.  All of the trials that we face on this side of glory are designed to increase our ability to trust in Him so that one day, like those faithful saints we read about in those far away places, we will have exercised our faith by developing a trust in God that would allow us to lay our lives on the line if need be? It is foolish to think we could die for Jesus if we cannot die to Him by putting to death the sin of unbelief, and all sin is the result of unbelief!  How silly it is to trust Jesus to save my soul from Hell, but then to doubt if He can give me a job?  What is more difficult? Saving me from the clutches of sin and the Devil, or finding me a job?  The answer is neither!  To God one is the same as the other as He is ALMIGHTY and His strength is not taxed by our need, no matter what it is?  That does not mean that Jesus did not labor to secure our salvation, but that is different as He had to do what Adam did not and that is obey God. The point is simply that when God sees our hearts He knows where we lack trust in Him?  So sometimes the things we face are there to be building blocks in our faith.  Remember, God is a good drill sergeant who is preparing us to face enemy fire in the future and He wants us to be able to endure the trials to come.  He does that by exercising our trust in smaller matters to help us achieve a greater goal.  So, today I hope you will join me in whatever you are facing by saying to the circumstances of your life;  ”Unemployment, or whatever else, I am trusting in God as His Word says to me that He will provide for all my needs.” Go to the scripture and find passages that deal with your unique trial of faith and read what they say and say what you read.  Be bold like David who stood before his giant, not intimidated by the size of his obstacle, but fully committed to the size of his God.  Choosing to have a heart of trust is just that!  It is a choice we make in the face of our difficulties, but though God may exercise our faith for a season, when He is done the muscle of trust will be stronger then it was!  Be careful not to fall prey to what you feel as feelings are a very temporal and unreliable friend.  Trust in what God says and you will find a Rock solid friend in Jesus!  Faith is a choice that grows in increments of trusting God, one day at a time with our choices!

Quote of the day:  ”Yet its attempts are not always so fruitless, but that it makes some discoveries;  particularly when it applies itself to inferior things.”  John Calvin in his ‘Institutes of Christian Religion.’  What might we discover as we believe God for these lesser things?

Isaiah 46:9-10  Remember the former things of old:  for I am God, and there is no one else;  I am God, and there is no one like me;  v:10  declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done;  saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Isaiah 45: 21-22  Declare ye, and bring it forth; yes, let them take counsel together: who has shown this from the ancient time?  who has declared it from of old?  have not I, the Lord?  and there is no God besides me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides me. v:22  Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no one else.

Have you ever considered all the prophecies there are in the Bible? There are hundreds and the chances of even a couple of these predictions coming to pass with the intricate detail with which they are described is like one in ten trillion, and yet we see such clear foretelling of events before they happen!  In the book of Ezekiel God speaks to His people and as He uses Ezekiel to describe the restoration of His people after their captivity God says to them some 70 times;  “that you may know that I am the Lord.” This phrase or something similar is spoken around seventy times throughout Ezekiel’s ministry, almost one for all the years of captivity which were seventy.  So what is the point of all of this?  Could it be that God orchestrated those seventy years and through Ezekiel He was reminding His people who was in charge, and it was not the Babylonians! Nebuchadnezzar was just a tool in His hands.

We read the papers and see stuff on television and most of us believe we are living near the end of the ages.  We wonder about prophecy as we hear of things that sound like they are prophecies being fulfilled in our ears, and who knows maybe they are?  But the whole point of prophecy is not to scare us, but just the opposite.  It is to provoke our confidence in the One true God who has been controlling the events of human history since Adam and Eve made their choice in the garden some six millenniums ago.  God promised He would  bring a Redeemer and everything He said in preparation for that single event has taken place.  The confidence we place in Scripture is largely due to the accuracy of the predictions that were made hundreds and thousands of years before the actual events transpired, by forty four different authors, all saying the same thing. This is a divine boast of God Himself as He plainly tells us that He alone is in control declaring these events and their outcome before they come to pass!  Why?  Because He wants us to know who is in charge so that as we see and hear the troubling news of our day we are not fearful, but instead, “that you may know that He is the Lord.” All the things we are hearing and seeing were foretold by John, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.  Remember who is in control and it is not the king of Babylon! It is the Lord!

Finally, it is not enough that you or I know that He is God!  When the end does come and the people of the world cast off restraint, those things that God has declared for the end will be to prove His might over sin, the Devil, and those of the worlds population who scoffed at Christ’ proposal of grace and mercy!  God will, through the events which He has declared before hand to take place,  show the riches of His might and glory so even His enemies will know that He is the Lord and beside Him there is no other!  We who love Jesus and believe in Him have nothing to fear as God knows those who are His and He intends for us to be with Him forever.  And just like everything else that has come to pass, we shall see the glory of God revealed just as He has said it would be. No plan of the enemy can thwart what God has declared.  That is the purpose of prophecy!  God comforting His people during their days of difficulty with the promise of life eternal.  This was Christ’ message to the church as the Apostle looked into Heaven and saw the Victorious Sovereign Savior seated in victory at the right hand of the Father! If God said it you can believe it will come to pass! Do not fret over the possibility of difficulty or of things to come.  What God intends for those who trust in Him is life everlasting and though we may see trials or persecution, or tribulation we need not fear, Christ has overcome and we shall reign with Him forever, Amen!

Quote of the day:  ” I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers that hold the testimony of Jesus:  worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.”  The Apostle John

James 1:12  Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord will give to those who love him.

Acts 2:22  You men of Israel, hear these words;  Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God to you by many mighty works and signs and wonders which God did in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know.

I have spent many years wondering what the ‘Crown of Life’ is?  I have pondered that it would possibly be a crown that God gives us on judgement day, and maybe it will be?  But the longer I have walked with God the more I am convinced that the ‘Crown of Life’ is more then that, so much more!  The scriptures have much to say about our being “approved of God”.  We  are commanded to study to show ourselves approved!  We are told that we must endure temptation and overcome our weaknesses through His strength to be approved. To be leaders in the church we are to have our families in order to be approved in the congregation of the saints.  Finally, we are told not to approve ourselves, but to seek the approval of God!

As we examine the verse in Acts while considering our verse in James, what we begin to see is that God manifest’ Himself in the lives of those who are ‘approved’. This I believe, is the “Crown of Life’!  A crown is something that adorns.  It is the symbol of authority and service to those who rest under the protection of our responsibility.  In Jesus’ life God showed up to set people free from all their bondage’s giving them a new life and hope!  So, I wonder if the crown of life is  simply the presence of God in our midst filling up our lives, homes, and churches with His presence, which is life itself!  Is it really that simple?  We live for God and He adorns our lives with the fruit of His presence? When we think about our struggles to get into God’s Word and to resist temptation, doesn’t it make sense that what we are fighting for is not just the Glory of God, but for God’s glory to be manifested in our midst.  As I ponder the verse in Acts this is what I see Jesus doing and as He resisted the evils of this world the Holy Spirit showed up to bless and anoint whatever He put His hand to.  That, to me, is the Crown of Life!  Having God recreating not only my own life, but the lives of the people around me!  ”Oh God, Give us the crown of life, which is your approval as we resist the enemy in the unseen shadows and instead we turn to you declaring ourselves to be new creatures who are blood bought and sold out to your purpose, which is to manifest your glory in this earth!”  Today, will you forsake the approval of man and turn to the approval that matters in order that the Holy Spirit may anoint our lives  with the crown of life?  Maybe, as we consider what is going on in the world, this is exactly what God is waiting for? Revival can start with you, a person approved of God! Maybe the crown we lay at Christ’ feet are the lives we are able to touch for Him as we live for His approval!

Quote of the day:  ”It is not enough to say, “I just won’t sin,”  Human nature being what it is, we need to replace sinful practices with positive alternatives.”  Robert M. West in Book ‘The Ten Commandments’

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her,  If you knew the gift of God and who it is that speaks to you asking for a drink of water, you would have asked of him a drink, and he would had given you a drink of living water.

James 1:17  Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

How many times in my life have I come to the well needing refreshing and healing only to once again thirst? The well of refreshing might of been a friendship or relationship that left me feeling empty and unsatisfied?  Of course there were the bad habits in my life that left me depleted and rejected, isolated because of sinful choices! Still, sometimes it is just going through the motions and not having that vibrant joy that God intends us to live our lives with, no matter what our circumstances might be requiring of our faith. All these things we all have been guilty of seeking after at some point because we are creatures of flesh and learning to live in the Spirit is the work and pursuit of a lifetime.  In today’s meditation we see a very clear point in Christ’ encounter with the woman from Samaria.

Jesus exhorted her to see that the Person who spoke with her was unlike anyone she had ever encountered.  He asked her to recognize the GIFT that God was giving her by revealing Himself to her. In doing so He promised that those things she had sought before for satisfaction would be replaced with a living relationship with Christ and the Father! This is what it means to worship God in Spirit and truth.  It means that we are aware that we have received a gift from God and we now know that all our lives and all the futile pursuits of it have been exposed, and yet He still draws us into this incredible relationship where we are awed by His majesty.  It also means that we find a refreshing that satisfies the soul and leads us out of a life of compromised relationships and behaviors. All this because in our minds we have been convinced that Jesus is the greatest gift we could ever be given. We are convinced of that because our hearts are awakened when we come to the well of God’s Word and we open His truth to our minds and then and there we have an ongoing encounter with the King of kings.  It is all about our attitude and what we see in Jesus. When we assess our lives and place value on all that we have been blessed with, what is the greatest gift in your life?  If it is not Christ and a knowledge of His victory over sin, death, and the grave, then we cannot worship Him in Spirit and truth.  He is looking for lives that have had that life changing experience at the well and who thirst, not for the things of this world, but for more of the Father’s glory to be revealed in each of our lives. Today, let us pray together that God will be first in all that we do, and that as He is, we will become a little more aware of the GIFT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, and that as we are we all will be a little less dependent on the things of this world and a whole lot more dependent on God!  One day at a time we learn to worship in Spirit and in truth!  “Holy Spirit, help us to recognize the Gift we have been given and draw us near as we draw near to you, in Jesus Name.  Amen”

 Quote of the day:  ”The only proper goal in life is that we learn to manifest the Son of God.”  Oswald Chambers

1 Peter 2:13 – 17   Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king as supreme, v:14 or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil doers and for praise to them that do well.  v:15  For so it is the will of God, that by doing well we may silence the ignorance of foolish men:  v:16 as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bond servants of God.  v:17  honor all men. Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.

In previous articles we have discussed the value of salt as we have examined Jesus’ meanings as to His teachings on the subject. We learned that salt is used as a preservative and that in context we are suppose to be the salt of our society by preserving the values our nation is based on, but more importantly then even that, we are to be the faithful voice of our generation as we boldly stand for  God’s truth challenging the New Age philosophies that have enveloped our society.  God knows how tough that is because when Jesus was on earth He did just that! He challenged the status quot by standing against the wickedness of His own countrymen.

A Strong Tower Ministry is all about people coming out of prison, jails, addictions that lead to divorce, bankruptcy, and a host of other problems.  Being carried away as a malefactor and closed in behind doors of iron and steel is among the worst things that can happen to anyone, but to end up there knowing that it is because of your own sinful choices is the worst? Eeeek! In the past three years I have seen miracle after miracle take place in the hearts of people that had not only lost their saltiness, people like my sister who have climbed out of a prison cell and slowly gotten back into church and are now living for God and promoting the Kingdom.  Today my sister showed me her insurance and receipts for all of her fines.  Money that would had once went to a drug addiction is now being used to support her church, to pay her bills and to be a law abiding citizen.  She has purchased a vehicle and long ago when she would have disregarded the need for a license she now feels it is her godly duty to be the salt of her community by simply obeying the law.  No one but God can do that and that is exactly what our reading for today is about. We are instructed by the aged Apostle to live in a way that silences foolish people who want to blame the ills of their society on God fearing people who do not conform to this worlds dying practices, but instead, once having turned to God those same miscreants now have hearts set ablaze and out of devotion to Jesus they labor to become responsible citizens.  Who but Christ can pull that miracle off?

Today, I want to simply offer a word of encouragement to all of you who were once part of the problem and have now, after receiving the grace of God, become responsible citizens, thereby becoming part of the solution.  You are a walking miracle and others may not know how hard you have worked to turn it all around, but we do and we celebrate with you your devotion to Jesus and His undeniable presence in your life.  Thank God for never ending mercies!  Well done!

Quote of the day:  ”James, God has His hand on my life too.”   Words from a sister to her sometimes, smothering big brother?”, I love you Sis and I am proud of Jesus in you.  Don’t let your guard down now! We have much work ahead, but good job Robyn, good job!

Philippians 2:7-8  But he emptied himself taking on the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men,  v:8  and becoming a man he humbled himself, becoming obedient, even unto death, yes even the death of the cross.

1 Corinthians 13:11  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, and I felt like a child; now that I have become a man I have put away childish things. 

The journey toward authentic manhood is the journey of a lifetime.  It does not happen by accident and it is not something that is much revered in our present society, and this has proven to be a disastrous trend for our country and our families! Speaking from my own experience I had no idea how much work it takes to be the kind of man that the Bible teaches that we are to be.  I was raised in a Christian home but my father was the youngest of twelve kids and he was raised by his older siblings.  Having someone emulate godly masculinity to us is absolutely vital because it is worth repeating, becoming a godly man is no accident, and without mentors and shepherds who have accepted the challenge and found success, we can never attain the goal on our own. My father found himself in the same place I found myself, and that was hurled into the world without a clue as to what our true identity is suppose to be? A mans true identity is to be found in Christ alone!

The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus!  Manhood is an exalted position, not because we are superior to women or children but because of the responsibility that God places at the door of our homes, neighborhoods, and nation.  Today’s verses give us a clear example of the requirements to BECOMING A MAN!  Looking at the first verse in our selection we see right away that for Jesus servitude was at the heart of the process as he was being fashioned into manhood.  Having the heart of a servant requires obedience and humility for no one can truly serve God without all of these characteristics, nor can we learn to serve others the way that we should, for in Jesus and His pursuit of being the man God called Him to be we see these three attributes working together to fulfill the Father’s purpose. He did not care what it cost Him as He emptied Himself to be obedient to His call.  That, I believe, is the price of true manhood!  He would have never been exalted sitting around bossing the disciples, barking out orders, and using His female followers as objects of pleasure.  Of course, if this were the case He would not of had many followers, but instead we see someone who poured Himself out serving others, and that is why they followed Him!

In the second passage chosen we see still more clues to obtaining our goal!  The mind and will or emotions of a man play a huge part in our journey.  Paul tells us that when he was a child he reasoned and felt as a child, but when he became a man he put out of his mind and emotions the petty and irresponsible notions that so easily influence a child’s behavior.  So what we can deduce from Paul’s instruction is that to find the way toward living the love life we must challenge and be challenged by the way that we think.  We must measure our thoughts and motivations by the example of Christ. We must ask ourselves if we are serving or being served, and we are ever in a struggle to find balance in our thoughts, emotions, motivations, and behavior.

Becoming a man is a purposeful and lifelong commitment that requires a diligent and determined effort.  The process is one of emptying one’s self and becoming a servant to our families and communities. It requires humility and a teachable spirit that will allow our thoughts to be weighed in the counsel of godly mentors as no one of us is capable of this monumental task alone! Finally, we must put out of our lives the things we know that are childish and immature, whether that is emotional or spiritual, if we are to become the men God desires us to be!  When it is all said and done if my family wrote nothing else upon my tombstone other then, “He Became a Man,” that would be enough for me!

Quote of the day:  ” For I have known him, to the end that he may lead his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice;  to the end that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”   God     Genesis 18:19

The journey of a lifetime begins with a commitment toward a desired end and that first step is the momentum that carries us throughout all the days of our lives. Will you make that commitment with me today?

As many of you know who are a part of A Strong Tower Ministry, we had an amazing blessing this week.  Our dear friends and founders of this ministry were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, whom they appropriately named ‘Hope’.  I have known my friend Craig Redd for several years and in fact, we originally met in the maximum security prison of Sterling Correctional Facility.  As I recall those days they were filled with doubt and despondency, for me anyway, but taking God at His Word I endeavored to serve God beside Craig.  What can I say that would even begin to penetrate the most ardent heart?  Here I sit some ten or twelve years later a free man having been blessed with a number of miracles in my life as well.

Hope is a word that is often misused, seldom truly lived up to, and very often responsible for a great deal of heartache because we put our hope in the wrong things or people. We are all looking for things that inspire us to be better and to achieve more, and yet, is that really what hope is suppose to do?  As I examine the Biblical premise for hope what I see is a loving God promising to give us life in the face of death and suffering.  That is true Biblical hope! It is trusting in God to do for us what we cannot do on our own!  When I consider where Craig and Wendi have come from, both from a prison cell, and I see what God has done in their lives, I am overwhelmed with a sense of possibility and my faith is renewed to believe God for just about anything, including a resurrection from the dead.  Coming from Sterling Correctional Facility is indeed, just that!  Who could ever deny that A Strong Tower Ministry is a beacon of hope to men and women, who not only have been incarcerated, but who have been beat up by the world?  This beautiful baby girl and her amazing arrival into this world is proof that God is still in the business of giving new life to those who will seek Him and who will lay their gifts, feeble as they may be at His feet, and watch what God can do when we simply make ourselves available to Him.  Thank you Craig and Wendi, and thank you Hope! Your life is a life granted from above and maybe your arrival is a simple reminder to us all that we also are suppose to live in a way that inspires others to believe in the God of infinite possibility and hope, and that no matter where we may find ourselves in this journey, it is never too late to have a little Hope of our own!

2 Timothy 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, through the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.

Acts 26:6  And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;

2 Peter 1:4   Therefore since he has granted unto us his exceeding great and precious promises; that through these you may become partakers of his divine nature.

Have you ever given much thought to where the courage of some believers comes from? Sometimes we look at some of the figures in the Bible and we feel as though we could never attain the boldness of faith that they seem to have?  But is that true?  No! It emphatically is not true.  In fact, it is just the opposite as God desires for us to live in the victory of our faith. How do we go from being frustrated and discouraged to living in victory? Today’s verses give us the keys to these questions.  The scriptures say so much about ‘God’s Promises’ and it is the hope we find in those promises that has allowed God’s people to face the most incredible circumstances only to come out on the other side reveling in the glory of God! Through the promises of God we learn to stand against the temporal influences of sin to become the children of God.  Indeed, it is through this very process that we endure  the hardships of temptation as we continue to cast our gaze upon a loving Savior who cannot lie.  God is faithful and if we would believe in His promises we would have faith to overcome every obstacle.  

Let us look at a couple of examples:  We all have heard the story of how David faced tremendous odds as he went out to do hand to hand combat with Goliath.  Where did that strength come from?  Well, if you remember it was just days before that that David was anointed King of Israel.  God PROMISED through the prophet Samuel that David would rule and that he would be a king.  See the power of holding on to the promise of God! David overcame his fears to believe in the promise and in the power of God’s promise he faced his fear within and the enemy of God without.  David reasoned that if he were to be king then he could face the giant Goliath and God would give him the victory, or else God and the prophet would be liars?  We know it is impossible for God to lie. (see Titus 1:2)  What about Abraham? God promised him a son and that from that son a nation would be born! How could he so willingly offer Isaac on the altar?  Because God PROMISED that through Isaac all the nations of the earth would be blessed.  Abraham knew that God would either intervene or raise him back from the dead but he had in his heart a promise and he clung to it in order to find the obedience necessary to be the man God called him to be.  Lastly, but more importantly, what about Jesus?  The scripture says that for the hope set before him He endured the cross.  What hope is that?  Well, the same scriptures that talked about His death, also talked about His Resurrection and eventual crowning of glory.  Jesus found the strength to overcome the cross because He had the promise of God the Father that He would not be left in the grave but would be raised again to life and in that promise He committed His soul to the One who is faithful.

Today, what is it that you face?  More importantly, as you face it do you have scriptural promises from God that will allow you to face your giants by laying the most precious things in your life on the altar knowing that God is able to raise the dead? Where is your hope, for if it rest’ in Christ you will never be put to shame!  And as you continue to believe God for all that He has promised an amazing thing happens.  We begin to look like Jesus as we lay more of our lives down, we are taking on more of His divine nature. Now that is a promise worth living……..and dying for!

Quote of the day:   “All things come to him who knows how to trust and be silent, waiting on the God of all promise!”   Author Unknown

Luke 23:12  And Herod and Pilate became friends that very day;  for before they were enemies of one another.

Acts 24:27   But when two years were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus;  and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in chains.

Someday’s reading the news paper or watching the news is enough to make any conscientious individual shake our heads in disbelief.  Looking at the political landscape and seeing what is going on as our own government makes alliances with special interest groups and foreign nations, while at the same time opposing the values that our nation was built upon, is some what discouraging.  If most of us were honest, we would admit that we do not want to see our way of life go by the wayside as we are all accustom to a reasonably decent life compared to the rest of the world.  We should fight to preserve the morals of true liberty until there is nothing to fight for,  but we should also know that eventually this world and all its systems of government will coalesce into a unified one world enterprise and that will happen one law, one hand shake, and one closed door deal at a time.

We should also know that no matter which direction the political winds may blow, we still serve a sovereign God who is now, and always shall be in control.  And just the same way Herod and Pilate were made political ally’s at the expense of Christ’ sufferings, so will many men join themselves to wicked alliances in the hope of self promotion and financial gain.  Just as Paul was left in prison to appease a political body of potential troublemakers, so will many good people suffer at the hands of the coming ‘ New World Order’. Some of us may even be arrested for writing such things as what you now read.  Now I am not claiming some divine revelation here, but more then anything I want to encourage the Body of Christ to prepare for the changes are coming on fast and none of us knows just how much time we have to freely communicate God’s truth.  How do we prepare?  By resisting the spirits of fear that will be loosed in the earth and embracing the power of God and allowing our hearts and minds to be built up in our most holy faith.  We must cultivate the thought that no matter what the church and Bride of Christ may have to endure, and indeed in parts of the world they presently do endure tremendous hardship, no matter what we will arrive on the other side in absolute triumph because we have placed our trust in the true King of kings and Lord of lords.  I also think that we should pray now for strength to stand fast in whatever we may face in the future.  God is faithful and where sin abounds, and in these end times sin will continue to abound in ever increasing measures, grace will much more abound.  To me that means that God will give me strength to endure whatever I am called to endure in the face of such blatant rebellion against God Himself.  And just the same way that Jesus’ sufferings and Paul’s imprisonment were for the greater good of God’s people and the heralding of Christ’ truth, so will whatever trials we are called on to face, it will be to glorify God and to see the saints uplifted and strengthened to stand.  Again, no matter what we know that God is always in control and that should put all our fears to rest as we truly come to terms with the many times Satan thought he was disrupting God’s plan and in the end he played right into it.  God is in control!

Quote of the day:  ”He commonly brings His help in our greatest difficulties, that His finger may plainly appear in our deliverance”.  C. H. Von Bogatsky

What should we fear when all these things take place? Our Redeemer draws near to take us home and there every tear shall be wiped from our eye’s!

1 Timothy  3:1  This saying is trustworthy:  If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a good work.

Psalm 23:1 -3  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. V:2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.  V:3 He restores my soul;  He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name sake.

When the scriptures give reference to ‘shepherds’ they speak generally of God being our Chief Shepherd, or they speak of men that have answered the call of God and who have accepted the responsibility of “shepherding” God’s people. Today I want to cast attention on the latter subject, although anyone who desires to be a shepherd or pastor should do so with a very clear understanding that that call comes from God and pastors receive a stricter judgement.  (James 3:1)

Being a Pastor is a full time job.  Most of the Pastors I know work a regular job while they juggle the responsibilities of the church and their families. We all take one or more of them for granted and even among pastors there is a need for a pastor. So what is a pastor?  He is a friend, a mentor, an example and he is patient.  He is able to teach leading his congregation into the green grass of biblical truth while doing so in a way that crosses every social age group or ethnicity. He is humorous and he is loyal, and if I say much more you will think I am describing Jesus Himself, or am I?  Is not that what we all should strive to emulate?  How much more a pastor?  Imagine the people that come and go from any given church in a year?  What must the world look like from the broken hearts of the men of God.  We need to pray for all those who are in church leadership, but especially our pastors.

” Dear Heavenly Father”,  right now we pray for the pulpits of America and we ask that you would resurrect the fire that once burned from the shores of this countries beginning. We ask that mighty men would be raised up to accomplish your will in these end times.  We pray for their strength, their families, and their testimonies as we ask you to safe guard the work that you have begun in all our lives.  We desperately need you to touch the leaders of our nation and let your judgement begin with the house of God. We are in need of your intervention as now, more then ever, we need men who will chase after you Lord until all the promises  are fulfilled in this day and in this hour. Thank you Father for the men of God you have placed in our lives and we lift them up to you asking that you continue to prepare our hearts through your Spirit within them. Protect them  and their families from the assault of the wicked one, in Jesus Name……Amen”                Pray for our leaders believing that God will start with the hearts of His own people first! We want to keep all godly leadership lifted up in prayer as well.  Where would we be without them?

Quote of the day:  ”Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness.  There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when it comes to personal dealings with others you must remember who you are- you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace”.  Oswald Chambers

Romans  5:1  Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Acts 15:9  And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

I am often amazed by the simplicity of the gospel while at the same time being completely challenged by my inabilities to fully comprehend the God who constructed it! For years I was unable to get over the hump of sinful living  because I believed what a good portion of the church now believes and teaches, and that is that Christ’ death plus my good works equals salvation. This formula brought nothing but defeat as I had been taught that I had the ability to choose God.  In my opinion there is no such thing as free will for a lost soul because a soul that is trapped in sin has no will except to sin.  Freedom alone can bring freedom of choice!  Bankrupt and on my way to prison for the third time and looking at a 50 year sentence I began to cry out to God to show me why I was still a slave when I believed in Jesus and loved Him?

Slowly the Holy Spirit began to take me on an amazing journey as I read the scriptures with an open mind casting aside everything I thought I knew about God.  What I found was and still is a loving God who, through Christ’ death, had done for me what I could not do on my own.  God is so good that knowing I could never live up to His righteous standard He sent His only Begotten Son who came to this earth and lived and died, and then rose in triumph over the grave to indicate to all who would hear that He is Lord over even death!  Of myself I can add nothing to this equation and neither can I subtract from it.  That is why Jesus said; ” It is Finished.” He alone could carry the torch of holiness before a sinless Father.

Now I am not nor would I ever advocate a careless lifestyle that presumes upon the grace of God.  In fact, I believe just the opposite is true.  When the sinful heart of man begins to receive by faith the true message of the gospel the spirit of man becomes the candle of the Lord.  It is from the foundation of faith that all that is done in the Name of Christ is upheld and all that is judged will be judged by the secret intentions of men’s hearts as God alone knows if we are working out of a love response or if we are still trapped by the notion that Jesus + my good works equals salvation?  When we begin to fully trust in Jesus to do in us and for us what we CANNOT do on our own, our works will prove the faith and hope we have within.  If you doubt that just read the book of Acts!

Quote of the day:  ”Christ shows us His own wounds, and by virtue of His bloody sufferings answers all the demands and challenges of the law, while also countering all the accusations of the Devil.”  Thomas Watson in his book;  A Body of Divinity

Dear Heavenly Father,  we come to you this morning Lord lifting up those who are imprisoned and who have been condemned to solitary confinement.  Dear Lord, there is nothing worse then to be so alienated from life that in such a punishment that any human should be deprived of contact with other people, and yet we know that at times it is such a punishment that is deserved in order to protect the greater good.  Dear Lord Jesus, you have suffered such isolation on the cross and today as we remember those who have no one but the lies of the enemy, we pray that you will make your presence known to these lost souls Lord and manifest your presence in their lives reassuring them of their value and instilling in them the hope of possibility by making your Word available to all who long for healing and restoration.  Lord, I have been in that place and I rejoice that your truth was able to guard my heart and mind from the lies of the enemy who desires to twist and contort leaving only disillusion and anger.  O God, intervene in the lives of those who suffer in this way all over the world and especially those who now suffer this cruel separation because they have endeavored to speak boldly the name of Jesus to the very one’s who now enslave them.  Bring relief and healing safeguarding their minds and protecting their hearts as you reveal your self to them in these moments we now pray, in Jesus Name.   Amen

Quote of the day:  ”And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the world.”   Jesus   Matthew 28:20

Psalm 48:1-2   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.  In the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness; v:2  Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth. Is mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

Matthew 5:13-14   You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is then good for nothing but to be cast out and trampled under men’s feet. v:14  Ye are the light of the world and a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

There is a National Park in Utah called Manti La Sal meaning ‘Mountain of Salt’. Inside the park there is a mountain that has the most brilliant white top and it is from this mountain that the reserve derives its name.  When Spanish explorers first explored this land they traded with the Native Americans and one of the items they traded for was salt as the Indians gathered it from the plains. The Spaniards believed that the salt came from the mountain tops of the Manti La Sal. The reason both the Indians and Spaniards gathered salt was to preserve their meat through the long winters when game was harder to hunt due to weather conditions.  So salt was used as a preservative as it dries out the meat prolonging the decaying process as well as giving it flavor.  I have traveled by this mountain several times in my life and as I have I have always been awe struck by its majesty and grandeur. This time,  however,  I was disappointed by the scene. Instead of the enormous white capped mountain what I saw were several wild fires burning all around the Utah/Colorado border.  The mountain had a white cap but small and retreated from its usual appearance.

I began praying as I drove under thick smoke clouds that filled the valley in every direction. The verses I listed today came to my mind as I prayed and I could not help but feel the sense of loss that my eyes were witnessing.  It looked like all the salt was gone from the mountain and all that remained was smoke and fire and burn bans everywhere that forbid the people of this Nation from celebrating our Independence Day traditions.  All through the scriptures salt is a reference to holiness and God’s presence in our midst is known by the way we live our lives. People who fear God live in a manner worthy of Him and when God’s people fail to do so He slowly moves aside as generation after generation has found out what happens when we forsake morality for carnality.  What comes in the wake of that is drought and judgement leading to famine and despair.  It is the by product of forsaking our Creator!  When God’s people reflect His holiness we are the city on a hill reflecting the Majesty of the King.  If we lose our effectiveness to preserve the values from which our nation has been built upon then what awaits us but judgement?  Jesus said salt that is useless is to be cast out and trampled under men’s feet, but who are these men? History records several accounts of God using foreigners invading Israel to bring them to repentance as their wives and children were trampled by invading armies.  Maybe our prohibitions of celebrating our Nation’s birth are minor warnings that we might heed,  returning to the preserving values that once made our nation to be that city on a hill that Jesus spoke of? Maybe our mountains would be covered again with salt as our homes and schools return to our God given heritage as Americans?  And maybe as we pray for rain, we should ask God to restore to us the values that once brought His blessing on our country, before our cities are set ablaze with the smoke of invading armies? We are not beyond the realm of chastening as no one resisting God has ever prospered.  Holy people are the happiest people and they leave the greatest mark on history!

Quote of the day:  ”God’s will is only that which is worthy of His character!”  John Mac Arthur

Before I even open my lips to speak to you Lord, I know you already know the deep need of my heart.  But just the same Lord, I need to speak all that concerns me because my ears need to hear your Word Lord.  I am lost Lord Jesus! I am lost and I cannot see where you are leading me Lord and I want to trust you because all I have to give to you is this broken heart that has misled me down so many dead end roads , but I give it anyway with all the faith that you have granted me.  Father, I know I am your child and yet I am fighting the lies and sinful feelings within and I do not want to make bad decisions based on these temporary influences.  I have lived for so long with direction and purpose and now I find myself groping in the darkness of uncertainty wondering where I am suppose to be and what I am to put my hand to?  Whats more Lord you have been good to me and even in the face of your goodness I have doubted and I do not know why?  I am scared that I will lose everything you have placed into my care and then the whole world will mock what you have started in my life. Oh Lord, please do not let me become the reason others doubt you, but revive the work you started Holy Spirit.  I am pouring out my whole life before you and I am crying out to you Lord as one utterly and desperately depending on you. I am incapable of one more step Lord as I am at the end of all my feeble human strength.  I am here Lord and you have led me up to this point and you promised you would never leave me alone. I will ask you Lord, what can you do with a man like me?  I know I am beset with shortcomings in manifold proportion, but Lord, I trust you are bigger then the greatest fault I possess. I know I am too hot or too cold, never content!  I fight with inferiority while being blinded by pride.  It seems I am completely undone in your presence and though I am aware of all of these mortal inadequacies, I also know that you are not hanging over me with sharp criticisms and that is why I have come to you Lord. I want to be free from me and so I am asking you once again, what can you do with a man like me? I am turning my all over to your care and I do so without expectation of my own plans, I truly only want what you want Lord and I am endeavoring to live a life that allows you to bring those desired results about, but again I need your help Lord as I am so frail and prone to return to the vomit you redeemed me from. I will not go back Lord if it cost me my life. I am crying out to you to show me what your plan for my life may be from this moment forward.  Where do I fit in Lord and where can I serve in humility with only one goal and that is to exalt your name.  Show me Lord and I will obey.  I will follow you Lord.  Lord Jesus, what can you do with a weak and frail person such as me and one with the jaded past I have?  I know you already have an answer so in silence I will wait until I hear your voice. My heart waits only to hear your voice once again.

My son, you  are finally where I want you to be and I will show you what I can and will do for your circumstances are not now, nor will they ever be the challenge.  It is your heart and all the weight of your concerns that impede you from moving forward. When you allow me to change your heart I will.  Once I do, you will change your world.  That is what I can do with a man like you? I can give you a new heart and when I do, those things that seemed impossible to you before will be the work of your life and the fruit of my presence in your life. I was only waiting for you to finally come to me emptied of yourself and now that you have, I will fill you up with all that I am and all those things that held you back will be the very power that compels you forward. That is what I can do with a man like you?  Are you now ready?  Yes Father, I am finally ready and not a minute too soon.  Son, you are right on time. Walk with me now. Yes Father, but you lead the way!

Hebrews  12:1  Therefore, since we are encompassed by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside the weight of sin that so easily besets us and run with endurance the race that is set before us.

2 Corinthians 5:10   For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.

My wife watches the most comical things on television, and suffice it to say, we have a very different view of what we call entertainment? However, in the spirit of trying to find common ground I started watching ‘ America’s Got Talent’.  Now in the beginning I will admit that I was a worse critic then spectator and I scrutinized every performance with the sole intent of not approving of this program. I wanted to watch westerns made in the 40′s.  Long live John Wayne! Well, I am alone in my family in this regard.  An amazing thing happened as I sat watching one night.  This guy gets up there and tells the judges he likes to sing the blues. He works at a restaurant making peanuts and looking at his general appearance, you would never guess this guy had talent one, but oh was I wrong. This guy opens his mouth and instantly, like a cobra paralyzing  one of it’s victims, everyone within earshot was mesmerized by the sound coming from this mans heart. I was stunned and immediately I changed my attitude about this program because as I sat watching these people, one right after the next coming up and displaying the most curios abilities, I began to see dream after dream fulfilled. Each person approached the judges and then when asked they gave an account for their claim to fame. Time after time they were met with approval and told they could move on. Suddenly I got a very real awareness of what the scriptures say about our desires to live before this world as those being watched by our peers in the heavens.

I live with a longing for Heaven and I often have wondered why there has to be such rejection and suffering in this world? Often our lives get twisted and misshapen into situations and circumstances that make us wonder where we went wrong? But imagine the day we are all swept up in a twinkling eye and we appear before the Judge. In that moment we will be on display for all the host of Heaven. O I pray that all that I am ever suppose to be will shine for His majesty and grace as I am received into glory. I want to see the look of approval as Jesus says to me; “Well Done!” Finally, the moment I have waited all my life for and now it is time to be all I was ever meant to be as I stand in His presence.  All of us with our quirks and varied abilities will stand before the Judge and one by one our dreams and hopes will be realized and none will be denied. All those who have a genuine love for Christ will get to move to the next round and each one of us will shine with our own brilliance  and distinct purpose. What a day that will be. And what a talent show that will be as each of us showcase His talents being lived out of each life He ransomed.  ”Come quickly Lord Jesus!” I am ready to see “Heavens Got Talent.” Are you ready to stand before Him? It may soon be your moment to shine?

1 Corinthians 1:30  But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption:

2 Corinthians 5:21  Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

I am a person who is driven and because I rarely can be still I am always trying to pursue perfection.  I am hard on myself in some ways and not as hard on myself in other ways as maybe I should be.  Still, most of the time I wrestle with not having done enough, wondering what I could have done differently, or still wondering what I could do to make things better in the future.  I do not know why I am like this though I suspect it has a great deal to do with my military like childhood, I believe it is also just part of the way I am wired.

Because of my particular personality I have a real tough time accepting some of the blessings Heaven offers. At the top of this list is the gift of eternal righteousness that God offers every believer. When I get weighed down wounded in the war against sin my first instinct is to withdrawal and to get stuck in my head as to what I could be doing different?  And I do not think that that is always a bad thing because we are encouraged in scripture to examine ourselves to see if we are acting in accordance with our faith.  But other times we are also encouraged to be still and rest in the knowledge that Christ has given us a perfection of righteousness that liberates the heart from the need to perform to get God’s approval.  I am a performance based personality and this has been beaten into my head throughout my life.  I know what the gospel says and I believe in salvation by grace through faith, but when it comes right down to it, when I feel weak and vulnerable, I revert to my old way of thinking and it is not until I come to God on the merits of Jesus that I begin to feel that touch of His Spirit in my life once more.

We are free from the accusations of the enemy and it does not matter who he uses to deliver them. We are free to draw near to God in our moments of deepest need and all because the Father turned His back on His own Son that He might turn His attentions toward us, even when we feel a million miles away from anything holy and good!

I know how ugly the fight against sin can be.  I also understand how ugly the persecutions of the enemy can be. I also know that I have to continually come back to this simple truth remembering that no matter how difficult this life may get, I am a child of God clothed in His righteousness, and I will forever be His and nothing can ever take me away from Him.  What peace there is in reminding ourselves of His great love!

Quote of the day:  Despair over our imperfections is a greater obstacle than the imperfections themselves.  Fenelon

John  18:8-9  Jesus answered,  I told you that I am he, if therefore you seek me, let these go their own way.  v:9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke,  Of those you have given me I have not lost one.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Jesus is the Great Shepherd and though we seldom understand what that means, it does not negate what Christ is and always will be to His Bride, the Church.  In today’s readings we get a glimpse of what it means to be a shepherd. In the phrase “let these go their own way,”  we see Jesus having a prior knowledge of His disciples and their betrayal by abandoning Him to suffer the agonies of the cross alone. Jesus knew then about His disciples what He knows now about you and I and that is that inevitably, left to ourselves, we all go the way of abandoning the Lord whom we love and have followed.  Like the disciples, sometimes we have walked with Christ through some difficulties and we have seen Him do amazing things in our own lives and the lives of those we serve. Yet even in all of that, left to ourselves and given the right circumstances, we are just as prone to return to our fishing boats, addictions, dysfunctional relationships, or whatever else we find comfort in.  In those moments of trial when we surrender our birth right because we fear man and the peer pressures of this life, we also abandon the One who gave Himself for us.  This is a truth that we must embrace.  Until we see that each of us left to our own way  we will always and inevitably fail to live our lives for Christ and that it is only by grace that we can stand up and face the fears, trials, and temptations that face every believer. There is a trust that comes out of this understanding that pierces through the pride of man and renders our works of self righteousness null and void, thereby creating a dependence on God to do in us what we cannot do on our own.  When these Biblical truths are cultivated in our prayer life by asking God to do the impossible for us, the victory of the cross becomes apparent and  we find the power to live a resurrected life. Left to our own way we all have abandoned our Savior at one point or another.

The good news is that though Jesus knows those times when we will wander from the fold, He is the Great Shepherd, and like the disciples hiding in secret, He comes and searches us out to restore us to Himself.  Jesus knows we cannot serve Him except by His presence in our lives and patiently He pursues us throughout the course of our lifetime to bring us securely into the presence of a loving Father who sent Jesus for that very reason.  We have no capacity to serve God except for Christ in us, and once we know this it is Christ alone who is exalted both in our hearts and our lives, and our worship reflects a bankrupted gratitude for the Lamb of God who sought us out of the secret places of our betrayal to God.  O the riches of Christ and the grace of God which do not reinforce our will to sin, but rather a revelation of such goodness provokes a right heart to love and to stand fast in the fight against sin.  I am that wandering lamb, and I know and believe that apart from Jesus, there is nothing good in me. Amazingly, and conversely, this dependence on Christ has led me to live a transformed life and to ultimately make better decisions. And in those times when I have fallen, the Shepherd of my soul has found me and encouraged me to know that He still sees me as a righteous man, no matter how bad I fail.  That is His gift to the world, that we might share a righteous relationship with the Father that does not depend on me.  Finally I found something in the Perfect Someone that I could not screw up.

Quote of the day:  Not the mightiest divines understand so much theology as the lambs of the flock of glory. Not the greatest masterminds understand the millionth part of the mighty meanings which have been discovered by souls that have been emacipated from clay.  Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Matthew 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things shall be added unto you.

Matthew  22:37 -38  And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, and with all thy soul, and all the mind. v:38 This is the first and great commandment.

It is a true statement that Jesus talked about priorities as much as he did hell, heaven, or our use of money. I struggle with lining out my priorities as much as anyone and often I am weighed down by my responsibilities and I too forget that when God looks at my life, He is searching my heart to see if I am keeping my priorities in line. The Bible has much to say about priorities. As a minister of the gospel I see a great deal of conflict in this area, not only in my own life but I also see the war torn lives that are a direct result of ignoring God’s exhortations to keep our priorities in line.

The Word of God should be among our highest priorities because it is only in the scriptures that we can come to know God. We do not seek to read the scriptures because we want to be ‘know it all’s’ among our Christian brothers and sisters, but because we want to know God and begin to emulate our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the highest and most noble of all the pursuits. To know God and to fellowship with Him is the very purpose of life and to ignore this endeavor is like failing to breathe. God is life and He is the giver of all our breaths from the first to the last and each one in between is taken by His divine permission. The scripture teaches that we do nothing without God’s intervention and that in Him alone we live and breathe and have our being.  (Acts 17:28)  When we seek God with all of our hearts making Him the highest priority of our lives, then He brings order to the other areas of our lives.

Next to our personnel pursuit of a love relationship with God, our next order of business is to love and show God to our families. I am recently re-married to the woman I was with when I got  my prison sentence twelve years ago. Because I have seen God restore my life I labor diligently to see other lives restored and set free. Sometimes, and even as a minister I can get off base. I forget that I have a spiritual responsibility to my family and when I neglect my family, and more specifically my marriage, it is like I am neglecting God Himself. I want each of you to know that it is out of love for God and His people that I write these devotions in the hope that you will be inspired by our similar struggles and the hope we also share, but from time to time I have to unplug from my duties as a minister and concentrate on my own relationship with the Almighty, and renew my commitment to my wife. If I fail to show my family Jesus then everything I do and the message of my life has been in vain. If you log on and I have not written anything for that day, please feel free to reread past devotions and while you do, please pray for me as I will for you, that each of us can keep our priorities right before God. Remember it is out of love for God that any ministry exist, but we also are just humans trying to keep our priorities in line so you are not alone in your endeavors to do the same.  May God bless you all as you labor to keep first things FIRST!  Love in Christ  Brother Jim

Quote of the day:  But our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified-to lift Him up continually, all the time!  Oswald Chambers

Isaiah 28:9-10  Whom will he teach knowledge? and to whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from milk and drawn from the breast.  v:10 for it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little.

Exodus 23:29 -30 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, unless the ground should become desolate, and the beast of the field should multiply against you.  v:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until you have increased and you are ready to inherit the land.

Have you ever looked at the impossibility of something in your life and thought; ” No way would I ever be able to do that?”  Have you ever seen yourself accomplishing something bigger than yourself but were held back by the fear of failure? Is there anything in your life that you believe God wants you to do but you just do not know how to get it started?  We all have and in fact, today’s readings are just for you!

The Bible is a book of God’s truth, and within its pages there are principles. These principles are the foundations of God’s truths and for those who choose to live according to them, God promises that our lives will reflect the fruit of our choices and beliefs. Among the many principles found in the Bible one of the most important is the principle of ‘being faithful’, because upon learning this principle the others begin to fall like standing dominoes. In fact, before the children of Israel entered into the Promise Land, God specifically told them that He would drive out their enemies a little at a time. Isaiah prophesied this same thing regarding the message of the Messiah and those who would be chosen to carry His message. In both instances God is telling us that He only gives instruction as well as insight a little at a time. The reason for this is to insure that we are learning to be faithful in the smallest of matters. In other words God wants us to live in the light we are given before more is given. God comes to us in increments as the Holy Spirit trains us to recognize the voice of Christ. The more we recognize and obey, the more revelation we receive from above.

So how does this principle transfer to the dreams and desires to build or accomplish what seems impossible? Because the same way we learn to live for God, one day and one moment at a time, is the same way we put our hands to what seems far fetched and beyond our ability.  Living for God is the hardest thing in the world and if He can teach us how to do that, is there really anything too hard for Him?  We simply pray and ask Him where to start and before it is all over with, He is leading us one step at a time to accomplish the impossible.  It is His will that victory does not come all at once as we learn to be ever depending on Him while ridding our lives of self reliance. That is a process that demands a faithful disciple, and one who is willing to trust God for things bigger than the mind of the person dreaming of them! Impossible is a word God loves to nullify one faithful step at a time!

Quote of the day:  ”It is not to be inferred from hence that I am, or shall be disposed to quit the ground I have taken, unless circumstances more imperious than have yet to come to my knowledge should compel it; for there is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and to pursue it steadily”.  George Washington speaking on the possibility of the  impossibility of The American Revolution!  Many great things are accomplished one faithful minute at a time! In the Spirit of that statement we are happy to tell you that today’s post is our One Hundredth Devotional as we only started this outreach earlier this year. We are indebted to the God we serve and all of those who faithfully uplift this ministry with your prayers. God bless you!

Hebrews 12: 1-2  Therefore let us also, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily causes us to stumble, and let us run with endurance the race that has been set before us,  v:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and he has sat down at the right hand of God.

We are the chosen generation, which might be generation X for those who reject our message in this final hour. We are the Church of the Risen Savior and what we run toward is traveling toward us one minute at a time like sand slipping through a  narrow opening and the last grains are visible. History is unfolding before our eye’s as the world marches right into the madness it is foretold of. Humanity will be deceived once more that a human government can offer the hope and security of peace and prosperity as we render ourselves over to a New World Order. Because of the impossibility of this task when it is accomplished through bloodshed and martyrdom, he who has the world under his control will assume the role of God. Look up! That is when our Redeemer will draw near and in a moment we shall be caught up into the heavens to forever remain with Him. This is our hope, whether we believe in an early exit from the trials to come, or if you see the Bride of Christ testifying through courage and love befitting the return of Christ, no matter what your view, we are soon going home.

Like ancient Rome we will march in a triumphant procession glorifying God and the Lamb of God, entering into the Heavenly Jerusalem, praising He who has redeemed us from every tribe, tongue and nation; one people united by the hope we share in the blood of Christ and His Resurrection. Think on these things and encourage one another with these words. We are racing toward the finish line and like sprinters nearing the end of a long race we must prepare ourselves for what is to come by reserving all our strength and hope for this final kick. Our Banner is Christ and by life or death we will declare boldly and without shame that He Alone is the hope of this world and there can be no freedom or peace until Jesus rules and all His enemies have bowed themselves before Him. The words; “Well done my good and faithful servant,”  echo in our ears so do not lose heart for He who promised is faithful and we shall prevail if we do not faint. We have hope! Hope worth living for and hope worth dying to one’s self in order to just see one more life reached for Jesus.  The message of God brought Rome to its knees and the message of God will outshine any government, trial of circumstance, or interrogation, because God is greater than all and His truth shines as proof throughout the ages, and like the message of the cross, man cannot kill God or His enduring truth!

Now is our hour and now has the time come.” God help us to assume the mantle of grace and lead us to yourself until we are caught up in the air to forever be with you. Fill us with this hope and in the same way you drew the creatures to Noah to be saved, draw your people to the arch of yourself as we are faithful to lift up Christ in these final hours. Holy Spirit, help us to shine with the glory due our Father and His Only Begotten Son. Let us not fail in one of the least of your purposes and in our failures redeem and heal in spite of our shortcomings. Let our all be to Christ’ glory and expose anything that is not for that purpose. Humbly we repent as we look to you and you alone for help. Forgive us for all the times we looked for hope anywhere else. We now have our eyes on you alone Lord, and we will follow you, no matter where that may lead. Fill us with faith and courage to live out our commitments for in you we trust and in your strength alone we hope to prevail, in Jesus Name! Amen and Amen

Quote of the day: “The doctrine of the Second Coming and the Resurrection of Christ is a great antidote against the fear of death and inordinate sorrow over the death of our fellow believers, because we believe Jesus died and rose again.”   Matthew Henry

Joshua 7:19  And Joshua said unto Achan, my son, give glory to the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what you have done; hide it not from me.

Joshua 7:21  When I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and I took them; and look, they are now hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 

I have often thought about Achan and have often wondered why he disobeyed such a simple commandment, only to be stripped of all honor and then to stand aside and watch all his children, his wife, and all his livestock die for his sins? I always wondered why God would condemn all of his family?  Then one day it occurred to me that Achan is a picture of Adam.  Romans 5:12 says;  Therefore, through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed on to all men, for all men have sinned. Then it began to make sense to me!

The children of Israel had just been blessed with a mighty victory and now they were standing on the edge of the Promise Land. What lie before them was unstoppable victory as God had promised them life, freedom, and blessing.  Starting to sound familiar? All they had to do was obey God and they would live in this amazing and plush land all the rest of their days.  Why Achan, why? Because Achan represents you and I.  Achan is mankind or Adam and without the will of Jesus living in us we are doomed to choose the false hopes and disillusionment’s of this world.  Because we are made of earth we do not have the capacity to receive Heaven.  But when we are in Christ we no longer have  hearts of earth, but feet only. This is why Jesus washed the disciples feet only. We are clean and capable in Christ to now receive Heaven but we still walk in this world and some times our feet take us places that cause us to need to have our feet washed.

Achan teaches us much because he shows us how to keep our lives clean. How you might ask? Well, Achan buried these false hopes in the middle of his tent, in the earth. Often times in scripture the human body is referred to as a tent. The Hebrew word for Adam also means red clay or earth. I kind of see a stern warning from God in this whole scene. What I hear God saying is; “don’t take the false gods home and they won’t end up buried in earth or worse, lives made of earth!”  In other words if we keep our homes clean of covetousness, which is wanting anything more then we want God, then our hearts will be free. But if we hide sin in our homes by allowing the things we know that we have buried there to remain, then those sins will remain buried in the earth of our souls, and like our father’s before us we will die in our sins.  A clean life is much easier attained if we clean up our homes, for the courage it takes just to do that will bring about grace to overcome other urges we  might face. Being faithful with small things leads us to know we can always do more if we yield more to Christ. He must increase and I must decrease.   Clean out Achan’s hiding place by cleaning your home of anything you know God has forbidden and you will see the Promise Land before you and the victory of the cross guiding you in to it! God sets life and death before us, we should choose life.   By the grace of God me and my HOUSE will serve the Lord!

Quote of the day:  My desire is that you might have an absolutely settled surrender to the Lord Jesus!  Fenelon

Dear Lord, we come to you with our hearts filled with gratitude. We come with our voices lifted high because we are a free people who have been blessed with the privilege of being able to seek you openly and without fear……Lord, may we use our freedom wisely knowing that “To whom much is given, much will also be required”. Especially Lord when we consider the many brave and noble lives that have been sacrificed for our freedoms, may this nation awaken to our great debt to the God who gave His only begotten Son, and the brave men and women who have followed His example that we might have the freedom to seek you. God turn our hearts toward home before the day of judgement comes upon us with travail and groaning. Jesus, you loved many soldiers when you walked among us and among them were those who saw your glory. Lord, reach out and touch those who take their place in rank and file, and see them now as you did then and call them to serve you with honor and courage. Heavenly Father, we ask that you spare lives, not just those of our countrymen, but also in the lives of your people in all nations. Bless our country to once again shine with hope and opportunity that we may be the “City on the Hill.” Bring repentance to our leaders and restore the integrity of democracy as it exist among a people who serve you Lord! For our nations design was never to ban you from our proceedings, but rather through the observance of your Law we might truly see equality. This is the vision of our Founding Father’s and this is the freedom established by a  people who chose to live in the Light of your truth! Father, this is what so many have died to preserve and may their sacrifice be remembered that you may shine your grace on our country once more. Thank you for watching over all those who serve Lord, and for the many family members who wait for a member of their family to come home, bring them home in your time and purpose and for your glory, in Jesus Name!  Amen

Authors Note:  No nation can produce a people who are free and who have the freedom of opportunity, who are not a people who love and revere God’s Law. The Law teaches us that there are moral boundaries and consequence for disobedience. Any who break the law are swiftly arrested and as many as break the law are violators subject to consequence. To do away with with the Law of God is to do away with the very glue that holds a civilized society together. In the face of our disobedience we still may see ourselves as equals for all men are in need of the grace of God, but we are certainly equal in our expectation of the consequence to come.

John 12:24 Verily, Verily I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it shall abide by itself; but if it die it will bear much fruit.

John 12:27  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?  Father save me from this hour. But for this cause I have come into the world.

I have been a Christian for a very long time, but no matter how long I have served God I am ever amazed at my ability to forget some of the most basic principles of the Bible.  I often wonder why?  The truth is that there are times when the weight of this world and all our efforts to live for God are met with such resistance that, in the heat of the battle we forget that we are wrestling with unseen forces that levy an assault on our souls.  These forces collide with the purposes of a Sovereign God to bring us to a place where we must surrender more of our lives then we ever have before or we cannot go forward in our relationship with God, or His desired purposes for our lives. Many are the testimonies of the saints that have gone before us who testify of these periods in their own lives, and often in their testimonies have they referred to The Dark Night of The Soul. Where does this phrase come from?  As we look into the life of Christ and we see His unwavering example, we can also see how He met with trials and difficulties.  Jesus lived a life of prayer and the closer He got to the Father’s purposes for Him the more intense the fire fight got until He was finally required to surrender His very life in order to achieve the Father’s purposes.  And although He lived in extraordinary victory, healing the sick and raising the dead, if Jesus had not surrendered His life in Gethsemane as He sweat drops of blood, the very purpose for which He had come would have been met with failure and defeat.

Jesus knew that His ultimate goal was death! Facing that objective was a man who was in every way human like us. He ate, He slept though seldom, and he laughed and cried. He loved life and He loved those who followed Him. How it must have burdened Him to know that He would have to leave all that He loved in order to fulfill all that the Father predestined for Him? In the critical moments  near the end of His life He entered into that trying time of emotional turmoil when His will was confronted by the will of God and He cried out for help from above to have strength to lay down His life in order to meet the will of God! May the God of all mercies hear our cries for obedience!

Many times throughout our lives are we confronted with the challenge to lay our lives down. Mercifully we are asked to do this in increments as the Holy Spirit slowly separates us from this world and all we love. And slowly we are baptized into a love relationship with our Heavenly Father that strengthens us to be able to follow our Saviors example.  Many are the moments when we will face challenges where we are required to lay more of ourselves on the altar of faith, believing that if we die like Christ, we shall also reign with Him .  There is a simple motive that allows us to do so and it is love for things above.  Jesus loved the Father more than He loved life!  He loved God the Father more then Peter, more then His mother, and more than even His ministry.  Jesus loved God and because He loved His Father He was able to say no to the world and yes to God.  There is only one way to get through these periods of darkness when we cannot see or sense what God is doing and that is by loving God and by being willing to lay our all at the feet of Jesus asking that He would do in us as He did when He was in the earth.  It is only he who knows how to deliver the sin sick soul from the weight of darkness by filling us with the hope of the resurrection. There we live in the promise of producing much fruit for the glory of Him who has gone before us. May His name alone be forever exalted and how I pray that in my dying, He may live! It was for these moments that we also were given life that the proof of our hope in Jesus and our love for the Father may prove the triumph of the cross and the weight of sin forever destroyed. There we shall see the fruit of eternal life reproduced, when we too live to die!

Quote of the day:  ”The spirit of devotion is the spirit of prayer.”  E.M. Bounds in ‘Power Through Prayer’

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of justice; and blessed are all they that trust in him.

John 11:5-6  Now Jesus loved Martha,and her sister, and her brother Lazarus.  v:6  When therefore Jesus heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was staying. 

Many years ago I went through a very difficult divorce. I fought desperately to save my marriage to no avail. After the defeat and discouragement of that experience I naively decided to get out of town. I packed a couple of bags and I left, but the problem was I had no money or ride.  I got on the freeway ramp with 2o.00 dollars and off into the sunset I rode.  At first I had no problem getting rides and along the way I was able to find a little work and everything seemed to be going well, that is until I got to Atlanta, Georgia.  I stood on the same freeway ramp stuck in the middle of a huge city and I had no food, water, or shelter from the heat. I was pretty sure the grim reaper was on his way to collect my soul and in desperation I cried out to God for help, but no help came. I prayed harder and harder as I was so dehydrated I couldn’t move a muscle. While waiting I got frustrated with God and I began to voice my disapproval of His inattentiveness to my needs.  Finally, and after two days of sheer torture, an older man pulled over and to my surprise, he was going all the way to Miami. The old guy fed me and gave me drink. When we got to Miami he took me in and he let me stay at his house for a few days to recuperate from my journey. While there I worked around his home and when I left he and his wife blessed me with a few dollars.

Today’s selection of readings remind me of this story as there have been many times in my life where God has required me to wait for the answer to my prayers. We all have request’ that have been laid at the feet of Jesus and sometimes like Mary and Martha we are completely put off by the fact that Jesus shows up a day late and a dollar short, or so we think. ” Lord, if you had been here, my brother, my mother, my father or my wife or child would not have died?”  We cry with a guttural longing and the pain runs so deep we cannot imagine life ever being worth living as our hearts have been ripped from our chest.

There simply are times when we pray and God leaves us on the freeway ramps of life. There we sit watching the world go by and in our stunned silence we feel like we are alone and helpless while we perish in a sea of voices and traffic while no one even takes notice or has pity on our plight? But God’s promise to His children is that if He ask’ us to wait, no matter what the need may be in our lives, He has done so in order that He may show us some exceptional grace that will amaze the very lives that watch as we wait. How we wait matters! The scripture says that Jesus loved Martha and her family and because He loved them HE WAITED! That day all those years ago when I had waited about as long as humanly possible, God had prepared a blessing and provision for me which I had no idea was coming. The truth is that when God ask’ us to wait IN FAITH it is because He is going to pour out a blessing of grace that will astound the world and us. Look at the story of Lazarus? Jesus loved them and He waited so that in the worlds eyes all hope was gone, but God has no limitations and He defies the worlds sorrows with exceptional love and mercies that will melt the deepest of our sorrows bringing life where there has been death and sorrow. Jesus is the Lord of Life and all who put their trust in Him will be blessed, so in your waiting rejoice for He who promised is faithful! He loves you! His promises are on their way and when they arrive we will rejoice with joy unspeakable!

Quote of the day:  The greatest of all human tragedy and all the grieving this world may hold are but shadows of the life and the joy to come.   Author Unknown 

Genesis 13:16  And I will make your seed to be as the sand of the earth: so that if a man can number the sand of the earth, so shall your seed be numbered.

Genesis 15:5 -6 And he brought him into a wide space , and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them: so shall thy seed be. v:6  And he believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

Isaiah 9:6-7  For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given, and the government will rest on his shoulders. v:7  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government there shall be no end, and he will reign on David’s throne.

The life of Abraham is a great study. God appears to a man who is in his seventies and tells him that he is going to be blessed with a son. In that promise God tells Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the sands of the sea. Abraham begins his travels throughout the land wherein God appears to him again and confirms His promise to Abraham that he would, indeed have a son and that in his son his seed would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abraham believes God and because of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise to give him a son, God considers Abraham to be a righteous man.  So in this the household of faith is born in those who believe in God and all His promises.

Fast forward approximately 4,500 years and Jesus is in the temple teaching away when this pompous group of religious leaders proclaim themselves to be the offspring of Abraham, and maybe they were? They were Jews, and they did observe the Law of God, but were they really the children of Abraham? Yes and No! You see, when God first appeared to Abraham He promised that Abraham would have children as many as the sand of the sea.  Sand is of the earth and it represents a physical or ancestral offspring .    Later on God appears again to Abraham and again promises that he would have a son and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. The scripture says that Abraham believed God and because he did so God saw Abraham as a righteous man. Therein lies the difference between the heavenly and the earthly, our faith in God’s promise and the coming of His Son.

We all struggle at times between being earthly seed and heavenly seed. And often because we believe in salvation by faith we forget that there is work involved in developing genuine faith.  Jesus put it this way;  This is the work of God that you believe in him who God has sent. ( John 6:29) The last three days we have talked about faith and growing in our understanding of who God is and exactly what He has done for us in the Cross of Christ. I believe Jesus is coming soon! I also believe that before He does this generation of believers is going to testify to a perishing world in ways that have not yet been seen or heard.  I also believe that we must prepare for our Saviors return. We cannot settle for being earthly seed. We must have our eye’s firmly fixed on the promises of God for only those promises will see us through the trials we will face. God will again give us a Son and when He comes He will establish a new government. For that to happen the old governments must pass away! Our trust in God’s promise to come again will be the righteousness of a heavenly seed testifying to earthly seed that Jesus is the Son of promise and all those who put their trust in Him will shine like the stars of heaven. Now is our time to shine and shine we must for soon the world and all its inhabitants will face trials unparalleled in human history. We are the worlds last and only hope as we proclaim a righteousness that only comes from believing in the God of all promise. He who promised will come and blessed are they that endure in their faith until the end, for they shall be saved. These are the heavenly seed!

Quote of the day:  ”The church has nothing to say-she is utterly powerless for the gospel of Christ is the power that leads to salvation. It could not even be said that the church loves God if the church does not care about the truth of His message of salvation in Christ Jesus.”  James R. White

Matthew 21:21-22  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If you have faith and do not doubt, you shall  not only do what was done to this fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain,  Be thou taken and up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. v:22  And all things you ask for in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Micah 7:19  He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

I am a sinner! I spent many years of my life living recklessly and my sins carried me across the country. I have done things that to this day I still struggle to believe that I am forgiven.  As Christians we accept the doctrines of our faith, believing that through Christ we have been forgiven. We say we believe in Jesus and yet when it comes to the most basic needs of our lives we flounder in the faith department. We find ourselves living in doubt as we try to make our bills every month. If we are looking for a job we are blinded by the media and their reports of unemployment. We are bombarded with the negativity and the circumstances of the world and all of its crisis! Yet we still claim to be believers?

As I personalize this truth in my own life all I see is a mountain of sins that kept me from my Heavenly Father.  Years of addiction, alcoholism, thefts, and lies countless. Maybe you never digressed to the place that I did, but nonetheless we all have a mountain of sin that separates us from God. In this mornings selection of verses I want to challenge you as you face all the rest of the trials and problems each of us face with this thought;  If God could figure out a way to remove that mountain of sin that separated me from him, is their really anything else I face that He is not capable of taking care of? I am asking this because I do not think that we really understand the impossibility of what we are proclaiming before God when we doubt over the smallest of matters while professing to believe that God has done the impossible? Is this what Jesus meant when He said that if we truly believed we could say to the mountains of sin be thou removed and cast into the sea? Is this what Micah meant as He looked into the future and saw the Messiah bringing healing to His people. What if we truly took the time to consider the magnitude of our transgressions against a holy God while considering the the fact that through His love and sovereignty He has indeed removed those mountains of sin so that we have access to the throne of grace?

My point is simply this:  If we really believe the gospel of Christ regarding our failures as a species, and if we really see ourselves redeemed from the most impossible situations then I ask you, what is so hard about believing God to take care of us in all the other trials that challenge us on this side of glory? Jesus said that if we had the faith to see the mountain of sin that stands before us cast into the sea of forgetfulness, then all the other things we ask for would be done for us. It is just a thought, but maybe when we struggle to believe God for work, clothing, food or shelter, maybe that is the time we need to go back and remember the impossibility of our redemption and the glories of being reunited to God through the blood stained beams of the cross. What was more impossible then that??? If God can pull that miracle off is there really anything too hard for Him? Maybe we lack faith because we have not truly come to terms with the enormous blessing of the cross? And maybe if we really found the faith necessary to live in the victory of the cross all the other things we struggle to believe God for would simply vanish in the joy of our knowledge that Jesus has done the impossible, and nothing is too hard for Him.

Quote of the day:  ”It was not into my ears you whispered, but into my heart.  It was not my lips that you kissed, but it was my soul!”  Judy Garland                      Thank you Jesus!

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I  born, and to this end have I come into the world, that I that should bear witness of the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.  

1 Peter 1:23 Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God,which lives and abides.

I lived in the Pacific Northwest for many years and the one thing that is plentiful there is the salmon. I love fresh salmon wrapped in tin foil and slow cooked on the BBQ in garlic, lemon, and butter. Wow! I just made myself hungry? The salmon is a very unique species and although there are a number of types of salmon they basically share a common existence. They are born in the fresh waters of mountain peaks and streams where they naturally follow with the current winding up in the ocean. There they live feeding on the plentiful sources of the ocean until several years later they are awakened to a need to return to the tributaries where they came from. The process for this trip home is an amazing miracle and one that baffles science, but salmon have a unique sense of taste and smell that allows them to discern molecules of water from their native rivers up to the millionth particle. They can taste the slightest hints of water that flow into the ocean from their origins of birth.  Upon tasting from those waters they instinctively begin to swim toward the headwaters from which they came.

When I examine the Christian’s journey I see myself like the salmon. We are born in the fresh waters of life, but slowly we drift into the currents of the world where we swim obliviously until one day we are moving along, worried only for the cares of this world, when suddenly we are awakened by  the need to return to the God who gave us life. Now I do not want to start some weird doctrine and the salmon is only an example from nature and not to be taken literally, however the resemblance to our journey is uncanny! Through great obstacles to our faith and with force of energy we move toward the headwaters of heaven. Our whole journey on this earth is to testify of the grace of God shown to us in that moment when we were called from the oceans of the world in order that we can be vessels that reproduce the life of Christ.  For this reason we are given life, that we might be witnesses of the source of life.  We face many dangers along the way and we may even witness many who start the journey as they are ensnared in the trials of this life. Nonetheless, we are all on our way home. We must swim as though the future of our species depends on us to give birth to something worth dying for!

Like I said, I do not intend to make more of this allegorical persuasion then God has intended for us to see. But I believe that we are more like the salmon then we may realize in that we are ever swimming against the currents of this world. We are born of heavenly seed and the process that leads us against the currents of this world and its oceans of unbelief cause us to swim against the tides of human philosophy and secular reasoning.  With great tenacity we must swim and sometimes we may have only the faintest recollection in our senses of heaven or God’s presence, but swim we must until we find ourselves at home having completed our purpose on this earth. I pray often asking God for the faith of a simple salmon. If we had an inkling of the salmons determination and effort, we might soon see this generation of lost souls come to Christ.  Maybe the survival of our species depends on the faith of the salmon?

Quote of the day:  When all things fail, friends may take their leave of us, yet does grace ever remain!  Thomas Watson…On the perseverance of the saints!

Genesis 3:17-18  And unto Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree which I commanded you saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;   v: 18  Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth for thee; and thou shall eat the herbs of the field.

Matthew 27:29  And they formed a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they gave him a reed and then they kneeled down before  him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Recently I was helping my Father remodel his kitchen. This was a project we had been talking about for a very long time and it was a joy to finally be able to do it for him. While we were working away I was sanding a board by hand when I ran a huge splinter right through the meat of my thumb.  It looked like an old western with the arrow sticking out both sides of some cowboys shoulder as the splinter was bigger then anything I have ever encountered before and I have been working with wood most of my life. Up til three years ago I would have been swearing like a sailor hitting port, but three years ago I saw something in the scriptures that changed my life.

When Adam sinned he was banished from Eden to go out into the world and earn his own bread by cultivating the ground. Part of his punishment was that the ground would yield thorns and thistles.  Imagine Adam out in the field working away and leaning over to pick some fruit of his labor and in doing so he is stuck with the thorn of some foreign plant that has sprung up in his garden.  I wonder if Adam began cursing? That thought led me to ponder the moment when Jesus had the crown of thorns pushed down upon His brow and I just could not see Jesus swearing through the ordeal.  I can see the thorns piercing His forehead as the blood freely poured forth from his head.  Jesus bore the curse of thorns and thistles and although we still live under the curse as we go out into the world and earn our bread, we live with the hope that one day He will return and redeem us from the curse placed on the ground we are taken from. When I am wounded in my endeavors to earn an honest living I offer this simple prayer; ” Dear Lord, this blood only reminds me that you shed your blood for me. I believe that you wore the crown of thorns to relieve me of this curse and I believe that someday you will come back to take me home where there will be no more blood shed. Lord, I now offer my prayer of hope and ask that you bless the work of my hands so that I may have something to give to those who are in need.”

The thistles come in a variety of ways and they are not always splinters in our hands. Sometimes they are difficult circumstances in our work place. Other times it might be that we endure persecution in our faith.  Still, it might be not having a job at all! Whatever difficulties that surround our work, whether at home or on the job, they are there to remind us that we are now vulnerable to death because of our disobedience, but one day Jesus, who has worn the crown of thorns to free us from that curse, will return again to take us home and there are no thorns and thistles in Heaven.

I had to cut that splinter out of my thumb with a razor blade, but not one expletive came out of my mouth.  Instead I took the moment as an opportunity to bless my Savior for wearing the crown of thorns, filling my life with hope for eternity.  And as the blood freely ran from my hand I remembered how freely He gave Himself for me! To Jesus be the Glory!!!

Psalm 24:7  Lift up your Heads, O ye gates; And be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors: And the king of glory will come in.  KJV

 Micah 2:13  ”One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”  NIV

Matthew 7:13  Enter ye in by the narrow gate:  for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many are there that enter therein. Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life and there are few that find it.  NAS

I love the passage in Psalms and have given these verses a great deal of meditation.  I have always seen them in light of the Resurrection and the verse in  Matthew (27:52) where the graves of the prophets burst open. I have imagined what it must have been like as they entered the gates of heaven triumphantly declaring the victory of the long awaited Messiah.  Can you hear them shouting,    ”Open the gates and let the King of glory come in.”  All of heaven a buzz as the Risen Savior has returned to His rightful place at the right hand of the Father!

Recently I was pondering these verses again when I saw something I had not before seen.  The passage in Micah speaks of, ” Our king going before us.”  I realized, as I read this passage, that the gate we must pass through is Christ and the way in which He goes before us is the process of being crucified to self will.  I believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father and in that way He alone is the gate to eternity. But I think there is more that might be being overlooked. While I profess Christ as my Lord and Savior do  I revere Him enough to pass through the gate in which He has passed through? That gate is a clear and unequivocal death to self. It is a rendering of self will into the care of God’s perfect will and if I am not willing to pass through that gate then Jesus cannot be the gate of eternal life. He goes before His sheep!

We are exhorted to lift Jesus up in everything we do, but what is more glorifying to God then the world seeing us die to ourselves? When we are seen to be dying to self we are ” lifting up the gates of heaven because in the death of self we portray a living reenactment of the cross and the devotion of a Savior who went before us dying a brutal death on our behalf.  Without the death of self there can be no entrance through the gates, because there is no genuine faith where there is not an authentic death? If there is not an authentic death there can never be a Resurrection!  Is it any wonder why we struggle to live in the presence of God when we refuse to pass through the gate our King has passed through?

When I think about the ‘Gates of Heaven’ what I see is  Jesus freely laying His wounded arms upon the beams of the cross to be nailed down.  In that moment that Jesus flung His arms wide open to the cross,  God the Father flung open the gates of Heaven as Jesus cried out;  “Father forgive them.” It is only in the death of Jesus that we are granted access, and it is only when we choose to freely die to ourselves that we pass through the gate. This is and always will be an act of faith that comes from a sincere belief that Jesus has gone before us in this process.  Maybe that is why Jesus said there are few that pass through the true gate to eternity? We want the crown without offering the sacrifice? The gate of heaven is as wide as the the nail pierced hands of the Savior and through that gate we each must pass!

Quote:  Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.  C.H Spurgeon

Psalm 71:17-18   O God, you have taught me from my youth; And up to now I have declared your wonderful works, Yes, even when I am old and gray headed, O God do not forsake me, Until I have declared thy strength to the next generation.

Psalm 90:12  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Through the years of my life I have encountered a number of elderly people who are filled with anger and bitterness. I worked in a retirement home when I was a kid and I delivered news papers to a convalescent home. I saw first hand the bitterness that comes from being absent or void of purpose. My grandmother lived with us for 15 years when she got too old to take care of the farm on her own. She had a profound impact on my life but I still saw her suffer with the idleness of not knowing what God’s purpose was for her having survived her husband and several of the twelve children she gave birth to. I am only 50 years old, but I can assure you if it was not for the grace of God, I would be angry and bitter as well.

Life can be a tough adventure and the older we get the more death, dishonesty, and feelings of futility we are exposed to. Without a divine perspective on the trials and disappointments we face anyone of us are potential boiling pots. Even Christian people can wander from God at the end of our days because we have been tricked into believing we have out lived our purpose? But is that true? I have often meditated on the verses chosen today as I have asked God not to ever let me wander and to keep me until my dying breath. I have also prayed that He would allow me to be used in my latter days, should I see old age, to fight for the next generation.

One of the greatest challenges of our lives is to out live those we love. Jesus said that where our treasure is there our heart will be found. I have now seen death up close and as I have watched my mother, grand parents, uncles and aunts go home to be with Jesus, I have felt the loss of life, and though I believe I will see them again, it does not erase the challenge of living without the people who mean the most. But I also see what Jesus meant as we ‘Lay Up Our Treasures.’ We may lay our loved ones to rest but we have laid them up in God’s faithful care, that where the love of our lives may be there we will find our heart. My heart is in heaven with Jesus and my mother and all the rest of my family that has passed in Christ.

The point is that if we survive our family members we have an incredible opportunity to declare our trust in God by proclaiming our hope to the next generation. The children and young people of today need to see that in our pain and disappointment we do not grow bitter in our maturity, but we grow more confident in the hope we carry within. That is a testimony to the youth of our homes and communities when they see the saints of God fighting for our nation by confirming our trust in Christ, even in the face of death and sorrow.

Prayer is like depositing money in the bank. Begin praying now that even in your latter years, should Jesus delay His return, that God would show you His purpose for the end of your life. As long as we live He has a purpose for our breaths and no matter how difficult out living our family might be, suffering in the grace of God and confirming our faith to our children’s children is always the right goal for all our lives, no matter where we are at in our journey.

Quote of the day:  ” Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see!”  Mark Twain

Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place which is called, The Skull, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one on his right hand and the other on his left.

2 Corinthians 5:21  Him, who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Have you ever looked at the word ‘Restitution’? Right smack in the middle of the word there are three crosses or t’s. Isn’t that just what our verse tells us today?  That Jesus paid our debt in full dying between two other condemned men.  The word restitution is actually a French word and it is a legal term meaning; to restore or to return to an original state of being.  How fitting it is that the word restitution places the cross of Christ right in the middle of two other crosses, representing all the rest of humanity. Some will believe and some will not, but nonetheless Jesus died for both. Jesus has through His death, burial, and resurrection restored fallen man to our original state. Now, through the blood of His cross we walk with God never having to worry about being separated from Him again. Does this give us permission to go out and sin? The Apostle Paul said it best; ” God Forbid!” But it does mean that our debt has been wiped out and we no longer owe a debt which we could never pay on our own.

Luke tells us that Jesus was led away to the ‘Place of The Skull’. In Latin the word is Calvaria or Calvary and it is the only Latin word used in the New Testament. The other Gospel writers all use the term Golgotha which is two words combined. Tradition held that Golgotha was the place where King David cut Goliath’s head off and buried the skull.  Hence Goliath from Gath or Golgotha!  Imagine the patience of God as He saw  the victory thousands of years later in His  Son’s dying breath. David took the skull of Goliath up that hill and buried it signifying to all God’s enemies that they’re giant had been beheaded.  Jesus lifted His own head up crying out for forgiveness for all, and because of His righteous sacrifice we now stand before a holy Father completely debt free, restored in right relationship to the Author of Life!  Jesus has paid our r-e-s-t-i-t-u-t-i-o-n.  We are free to serve Him, not out of debt, although we owe a life for a life, but because of love that transforms life.  Many of you know exactly what I am talking about and for those who may not, freedom is only a cry from the heart away.

Quote of the day:  ”Faith is not intuition, a feeling, or some sense. It is simply having the courage to take God at His Word.”   Evans

Luke  20: 10-12  And at the right time he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him and sent him away empty. v:11 And he sent yet another servant: and him also they beat and mistreated shamefully, and they sent him away empty handed. v:12 And he sent yet a third and him also they wounded and cast out.

Luke 20:17  But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written,  The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner.

Have you ever felt like you just did not belong? Sometimes, and even in christian circles, we can feel like we just do not fit in. That can be really devastating and especially after experiencing God, and being filled with the Holy Spirit, it can be a really disheartening to come into a gathering of God’s people and feel like your still viewed like fly paper. Useful or necessary but not really appreciated? Believe me when I tell you I have been there.  Where most of us stumble is that when we fail to find a church that supports our dreams by giving us opportunities to get involved, we get frustrated and quit on God and church all together. That is the wrong answer!  Finding the right church is like shopping for a wife or a husband. If you are sane you do not just marry the first person you date? No, you spend some time visiting and prayerfully you ask God to lead you to the right person. Someone who will serve God with you all the days of your life. Finding a good church that opens their arms to the lost and hurting is tough these days.  There is a bunch of them out there that say that that is what they want, yet their actions portray something else. We cannot get discouraged because we do not immediately find the acceptance or friendship we hoped to find. We simply need to keep looking and remember, that just because Jesus did not come in the package His people thought He would come in, He also was rejected.  In fact, the Old Testament is filled with men and women who lived for God and did mighty things to advance His Kingdom on earth.  Some of them lived in caves, ate weird stuff the birds brought them, and talked like they had a direct line to God, and they did!  Yet in all of this they were rejected by their peers for the very reasons Jesus was.  Because sometimes God works in lives and ways which do not understand. So instead of trusting God we label, alienate, and isolate through exclusion.  It is just what we humans do, and you and I are guilty of it too.  So next time you feel like your the Lone Ranger and no one really cares for you or your trying to fight the battle on your own, remember you have a Savior that loves you and He can identify with those feelings better then anyone else you may know.  Talk to Him about it!  You are not alone and just like the verses for today, there were many that came here with God’s message that were killed and beaten before Jesus. We are in good company and there is a good chance that God just wants to teach us how to live independently of being approval seekers.  I encourage you to pray about it, and if you have a good church, stay planted in it. We are never suppose to be floating kidneys in the body of Christ!

Quote of the day:  ” Great acts are made up of small deeds.”  Aristotle

Exodus 33:20-21  And he said, you cannot see my face;  for man shall not see me and live. v:21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.

2 Corinthians 4:6  Seeing that it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:17  And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.

I love the story in Exodus 33 because Moses is up on the mountain hashing it out with God. God speaks to Moses and tells him that the children of Israel are free to go into the Promise Land but that God would not be going with them. Moses gets fired up and says to God, “what do you mean your not going? What will separate us from those already there if you do not go with us?”  Then Moses makes it personnel by saying, ” In fact you have been telling me you know me by name, if that is so, let me see your glory!”  Now all this is a paraphrase of course, but what a story. We need men who can mourn over the loss of God’s presence in our midst and this story puts a holy fire in my belly.  Not only does Moses find reassurance that God will go with them, but he is blessed with an encounter that changed his life. God placed Moses on the rock and passes by him showing him His glory but only His back.  I think the back represents the glory of God in the past in Creation, the calling of the Patriarchs and Israel as a people, and setting Joseph as Prince over Egypt.  All of God’s dealings with man up to that point were revealed to Moses’ mind like a heavenly download, and Moses picked up pen and parchment and began recording what God had done up to that moment in history, and in that we have the birth of the first written scriptures, in the book of Genesis and the giving of the Law.

So, why did God not allow Moses to see His face?  As we said, the back represents things that have passed by, while the face represents things to come. In Moses God was laying a foundation for things to come by revealing that which had already passed. In the passage in Luke we read of John the Baptist who will prepare the hearts of the people to receive the face of the Lord.  Paul tells us that before God ever said let there be light, that His intention was to reveal the true Light of eternity in the face of Jesus Christ. There are several passages that indicate this same truth. Jesus is the face of God and no, He is not the depiction we see in art.  When the scriptures talk about His face what we are to see is His personality, His will for mankind, his love and His glory.  These things portray the will of the father and Jesus acting on behalf of the Father shows us the Face of God.  The great thing is that even though Moses never got his wish to see God’s face on earth, when Jesus was transfigured on the holy mountain, Moses and Elijah stared into the Face Of God.  God is faithful and someday soon, we too will see with our own eye’s the loving face of the one who died for us, glory to God.  May God raise up some Elijah’s to prepare our hearts for His coming! Amen Are you ready to stare into the face of God?

Quote of the day:  ” I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not trade for the kings of the world.  Thomas A. Edison

Luke 18:1  And he spoke a parable unto them to the end that they should always pray and not to give up.

Luke 18:37-39  And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, v: 38 And he cried saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. v: 39  And they that went before him rebuked him, that he should keep quiet; But he cried out even louder, Thou Son of David have mercy on me.

Much has been written through the centuries about prayer and by men and women more worthy to speak on the subject then me.  But I feel compelled this morning to encourage you through the scriptures as I know each of us still have hopes and dreams of seeing God move in ways we have only imagined He would.  Sometimes that is for the salvation of a loved one? Other times we want to see a spouse come to love and serve God? Maybe the Holy Spirit birthed in our hearts a ministry and we want to see those visions come to pass?  It may be a host of other desires because for each of us the Holy Spirit is desiring to work in our lives in different ways to accomplish different ends. Inevitably, what ever the cry of our heart may be, God knows and He is using that desire to draw us into His presence.  I have found that just acknowledging this fact helps me to see that whatever it is that I am facing that as I bring the issue to God the ultimate goal is that through the petition God’s desire is for me to grow in a deeper, more trusting relationship with Him.

Passing the test of time is the most difficult aspect of prayer because we live in a world judged by results. We measure success in others and ourselves in much the same way.  But this is where prevailing prayer can get us in trouble because a heart that is filled with faith to believe God for a miracle may not see the answer for many years. We cannot be fooled into believing that since we do not find immediate results our desires are not from God, or that He will not answer our prayers. The scriptures are filled with examples of men and women who waited a lifetime, and some like my mother who prayed for me, died before the answer to their prayers came. But if God plants the desire in the soil of faith, He will bring it to pass in His own time and for His own glory. It is difficult not to lose focus when our desires press down upon us.  Desire can be a powerful ally but even godly desires can lead us to confusion, frustration, and doubt if we do not continually surrender the outcome into Christ’ sovereign control.

A couple of keys we can take from today’s readings are persistence and purity. When God births something in our hearts waiting does not lesson the desire it intensifies it while it purifies our motives. The other thing is that there maybe be people telling you to be quiet and that your dreams are silly, but when God is passing by and we sense in our hearts that Jesus is in our midst, that is the time to cry out louder and more determined. Do not let the sway of public opinion formulate what you are willing to believe God for.  It may be that He has raised you up for just such a time as this?  Whatever your desire, I can close with this truth as I have learned it from my own life. And that is that GOD IS FAITHFUL! Don’t give up!

Quote of the day:  ”Patience is the companion of wisdom.”  Saint Augustine

Genesis 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 17:31-32  In that day, he that shall be on the house top, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away:  and let him that is in the field not go back.  v:32  Remember Lot’s wife.

I remember when the Chrysler Corporation was in trouble and Lee Iaccoca took over the company as head CEO.  He made the statement which became a household phrase, at least in our home, and it was; ” Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way!”  For some reason that just stuck with me and through the years I have found that it is appropriate to know when to do all of the above. There are times when we must lead and there are times when we must follow, and even times when we must move aside to let providence and individual will have free course.

In today’s readings I want to emphasize the need for godly men to know when to do each in our own homes.  There are times when I let my beautiful wife take the lead. She is so much better with the finances then I am and I appreciate that about her.  So I let her take the lead in that area because I don’t always need to be in control. We have a great partnership. What I am talking about is the need for men to act as a go between regarding the world and our homes.

Reading Genesis 18 and 19 this morning I was touched by the thought that Lot could have saved his wife.  She heard the same admonition from the angel to not look back as did the rest of the family.  (see Genesis 19:17) So why did she look back? Jesus’ mention of her gives us a clue because He is warning us that when the end comes we should not worry about what is in the house? Some theologians believe this to be a warning to the Jews living in Jerusalem before Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD.  Whatever the case it is a warning against materialism and an admonition designed to save our lives. There may come a time when we will not have time to escape the wrath of this world unless we forsake the possessions of this world.

Can you imagine Lot and his family running out of the city? What I see is Lot taking the lead, which on the surface appears to be a good thing.  Yet, maybe this was one time that as a man of God he should have been acting as a buffer between his wife and daughters. What would have happened if as his wife started to look back,  she was strongly exhorted to keep her eye’s on the path ahead? Did it ever occur to Lot that there was regret having to leave their home? Or what of just plain old curiosity? The truth is he did not think about it. I hate to say it but I think he was running away as fast as he could to save his own skin? Only God knows for sure.  It is good for us as the heads of our homes to see the weaknesses of our family members and to pray acting as a buffer between our families and destruction. Sometimes we are called to take the lead by bringing up the rear.  I do not want my wife and kids to be destroyed in the coming judgement so I pray, like Moses; ” Lord, take my life but do not destroy your name sake and your inheritance.”  There are times when we must be wise and know when to lead, when to follow, and when to move aside. But whatever our position in the natural we should be praying for discernment in order to be the mediators we are called to be.  Remember Lot’s wife and position yourself between harm and deliverance.  Is that not what Jesus has done for us, His bride?

Quote of the day: “May God give us faith to to fully trust His Word, though everything else may witness the other way.”  C.H.P.

John  6:63  It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh does not profit anything:  the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Luke  9:26  For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in his own glory, and the glory of the Father and of the angels.

Sometimes I fast forward in my mind to the end of time.  I try to imagine what it will be like when the earth as we know it has ceased to exist and there has been a new age ushered in? There will be no more famine, or pestilence, death, addiction, or disease.  Our planet will be governed by a Sovereign Potentate who is fair and just. Each of us will stand before Him and in His presence we will  have the thoughts and intents of our hearts revealed, even to our own minds.  This scene, as I imagine it in the heavens, puts a certain fire of concern in my heart, not only for myself but the people God has given me to shepherd.

I wonder how it will be for those who reject the Gospel?  I ponder the end for those who live with a religious superiority that causes them to think that they are more then the least of all  the disciples in the kingdom. Quickly they pick up stones to throw at the very people Jesus came to save. What will the look on their faces portray when Jesus says to them; “Get away from me for I never knew you.”  These are men and women who have served God for so long, in their own minds anyway, that they think they have got it all figured out. Their emphasis is on an external appearance with no regard for the heart. Just like the Pharisee’s of old they cannot see the brokenness of the women caught in adultery, the leper outcast, or the Samaritan women who is simply trying to find someone to fill a void only Jesus can fill.  No, what they see is a failure to adhere to the last jot and tittle of the law. They strain to find the gnat while they swallow a camel, a two humped one at that! They are the ‘sanctified’ gathered together in their arrogance because they believe that their success in Christ is their choice and they live blindly to the fact that it has been God who has carried them all the days of their lives.  They see themselves as sheep without a blemish so how can they possibly shepherd those of us who have crawled out of the pit of despair and addiction, divorce or sorrows unimaginable?   Those who have no sin can never teach others to war against an enemy they have never known. All they know is to shout from the sidelines bitter condemnations because their theology is completely void of true understanding and since it is anthropocentric (man centered) they look to man for the solution to sin, for it the sinners choice, so they say?  But Jesus said,You did not choose me but I chose you and I ordained you that you should bear life.  There is such liberation in this knowledge because when God chooses to make his mark on the soul lost in sin, no man can ever erase what God has ordained. And in time that vine will ripen with the fruit of right living.

When I get to heaven I will fall at the feet of of my Savior in triumphant gratitude. I know now that my place there is not because of a choice I made, but like the Apostle Paul, I was intercepted on the road to perdition being knocked off my high horse and being blinded by the radiance of the One who has called me and chosen me, I now choose to live my life for Him.  O how I long to worship with others who know that Jesus chose them out of sin. Wow, what a day that will be!  I wonder if there is a special room for everyone else who is patting each other on the back because they all made the right choices.  I wonder how many Pharisee’s will be in that room with them? I wonder what the look on their faces will portray when Jesus opens the door and they see the ignorance of their misunderstanding?

Quote of the Day:  ” The measure of the sense of sin felt in the soul, is the measure of the soul’s awareness of God.”  Father Danielou 

Proverbs 18:22  Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs   19:14   Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from the Lord.

There are times when I get overwhelmed by the life I am endeavoring to live.  I am a very passionate person and I am prone to make hasty decisions without always thinking the outcome through.  I know that comes as a shock coming from a guy who spent most of his life hidden from the rest of society, but it is true and you will just have to accept my testimony by faith.  Anyway, I love Jesus with all my heart but my elevator doesn’t always run to the top floor.  Sometimes I lack insight and other times I gruff and bark more than I should.  I don’t bite but a stranger might think I do and I have more chinks in my armor than an old Volkswagen. I am still a mess and it is hard to imagine how I survived my youth?  I am humbled to be even writing this as I have made so many mistakes I do not know why God did not wash his hands of me a long time ago, except those to whom God sets His mark on He never gives up on, for to do so would be to give up on His covenant with Christ.

My point in all of this is that somehow, and in spite of myself, I have been blessed beyond anything I deserve.  I have not done much that is right in my life and even to this day I often feel like I am floundering to do the next right thing. I feel like a blind squirrel looking for an acorn, and suddenly I have stumbled into the peanut factory.  That is the blessing I have in my wife.  Tracie is such a hard worker and she can meticulously account for every penny we earn.  Ashley and Tyler adore their mother, and rightly so.  She has sacrificed so much to raise two beautiful kids and when I struggle to do what is right, Tracie automatically does out of a pure heart with integrity and sincerity.  She is loved by the people she works with as they have seen her faithfulness and dependability.  She always has a smile on her face and she could melt the heart of Ebeneezer Scrooge with a simple “hello.” Tracie brings balance and wisdom to my life and she makes me want to do the right thing.  She is my very best friend next to Jesus and I enjoy spending time with her.  We are always laughing and somehow, and again through God’s grace, she thinks I am funny!

Many of you know that I fought nine years to get home and to make her my wife.  I ruined our relationship with addiction and selfish choices, but God’s grace gave me promise and hope that we could be restored.  As I look back on the whole past decade I take very little credit for the miracle that is our marriage.  I give the credit to God for allowing me to finally see someone and something worth living for other than myself.  God used Tracie to draw me into His presence and to teach me what it means to know God.  I think of all the things Tracie adds to my life, I cannot imagine my life without Jesus and He used Tracie and my desire for her, to reveal Himself to me.  I cannot but help be lost in such amazing favor and what could I possibly do for Him in return?  My heart tells me I should love this women as He would.  Please pray for me as I feel very unworthy of the blessings that have overtaken my life in Tracie and the kids! Today, I am going to be grateful for my family and I am going to pray for wisdom to remember the blessings I have in my life.  Will you join me?

Quote of the day:  Those who are most ready to trust God without anything other than His Word, always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love.   C.G. Trumbull

2 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, are these all of your children?  And he said, there remains yet the youngest, and, behold he is out tending to the sheep.

John  4:23-24  But the hour comes, and even now is, when the true worshipers shall worship in Spirit and truth. For such does the Father seek to be his worshipers. v:24 God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

Imagine if you will a young man sitting out in the field with a bunch of smelly sheep.  Alienated from his family by merit of his responsibilities to protect a group of dumb animals that are prone to wander off. There he sits with harp in hand while his older brothers enlist in the army of God to fight to protect their nation.  There is nothing worse for a man of war then to be sidelined while others go to war to serve God, country, and family. Completely underestimated and clearly undervalued David remained in the field with his flock.  One by one he watched as his brothers were enlisted into the army. It is never easy to be passed over for promotion and especially when there is a dream and purpose boiling over in our hearts.  Can you feel the sting that David may have felt?  I have many times in my life and I can tell you that there is only one way to avoid being bitter, and that is to begin to worship God out in the field while remaining faithful to all the little responsibilities that to us may appear to be mundane, but are preparing us for the future.

I imagine David facing the bear and dreaming it was a Philistine soldier.  Maybe when he heard the roar of the lion as it salivated over lamb chops David saw the renown Goliath and he killed the lion the same way he dreamed of killing Goliath. Whatever was going through his heart David learned to be content.  His desire to do more with his life did not mean more to him than the obedience of being responsible and faithful with the little things God had given him to do.  He was willing to put his dreams on the shelf so that he could worship God and be found to be faithful in the smallest of duties.

The passages selected for today’s reading talk about what the Father seeks for in worship. God looks for people like David who have hurts and disappointments, pain, and are often misunderstood or passed by with no recognition, yet these very same souls are the ones who when bowing down and reverently seeking God are the ones to whom God moves in extraordinary ways. We all have had these kinds of trials on our jobs and in our careers. They are there for our training to try our motives. When we choose to worship as David did, putting all our desires before God and waiting and trusting in God to gives us the desires of our hearts, we are choosing God above what we want to happen in our lives. David played his harp right into the king’s palace and now, thousands of years later his songs are still being sung and re-written to promote worship in the church. There is an incredible opportunity awaiting those who learn to worship out in the fields of contentment, being responsible with the small things.  My only regret is that I did not learn to play the harp.

Quote of the day:  ”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  Edmund Burke

Dear Lord, today we humbly enter your presence with a simple cry from our hearts. Lord, as we drive around we cannot help but notice the growing number of people who fill the streets and who need help. They are on every corner and it is tough to know who to help as many of them are lost in addiction, obsession, and mental illness. Lord, we do not want to be calloused to their needs so give us wisdom and a heart of compassion to help those you would help.  Help us to recognize those whose hearts are ready to hear the gospel as we want to effectively help those who will hear your voice.  Lord, we pray for those with no homes or jobs and for those on the verge of losing their homes. Please intervene in a special way so that the homeless will have a warm place to lay their heads.  Lord Jesus, please give your people eye’s and ears to hear their cries for help. Please help us to pray for them as we see them and increase our awareness and sensitivity to your Spirit. We offer this prayer with gratitude for our own homes, jobs, and families and all that you freely provide for us. Lord Jesus, help us to use it for your kingdom and for winning the lost. Bless those with no homes with shelter, friendship, and a knowledge of the truth that will set them free. We ask these things in your holy Name. Amen.

I cannot help but wonder what Jesus would do if He were to pass by some of the souls I pass by in a day? I just do not want to be calloused to everyone flying a cardboard sign. That would not be like Jesus at all.  Will you pray with me today for those  we all pass by. Maybe we are suppose to do more than pass some change out the window?       Love in Christ          Jim

Genesis 12: 2-3  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and you be a blessing.  v:3  And I will bless those that bless you and I will curse those who curse you, and in you shall all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Luke 6:28  Bless them that curse you and pray for those that spitefully use you.

I have a friend who I have known for almost ten years.  I met him while I was in prison.  After months of planting seeds he finally gave his life to the Lord. Since then I have continued to mentor him giving the very best of my heart, my time and energy to him, offering guidance and friendship without conditions. That is what discipleship is and I have always believed that we have to get our hands dirty if we want to disciple the lost. We are commanded to win souls. That means we do more than just covert their spirits. The mind has to be converted as well.  To no avail I have labored with this man and it seems the harder I try the meaner and more hateful this man gets. He is now attending church regularly and I do believe he knows Jesus but he is more often a thorn in my side than a brother in Christ.  I have wept for the hateful things he says as he lashes out without provocation.  I continually go back to the verses I share with you today as I have had to learn to stand on them.

In the book of 2 Samuel there is a story about King David.  He is having to flee Jerusalem because Absalom, his oldest son has usurped his throne. On the way out of town a man from the house of Saul meets David and begins to curse him, even throwing rocks at him.  Surrounding David were all of his mighty men of valor and anyone of them would have gladly died for their king.  One of them ask’ David if he wants him to kill the cursing individual and David restrains the man stating that maybe this mans insults were from the Lord.  Later on after Absalom had been defeated and  the insurrection quashed, David triumphantly returns to Jerusalem and on his way back into town the same individual who was before cursing David, now falls at his feet begging for forgiveness. David graciously spares the man’s life and in doing so proves why he was God’s chosen king.

I often think about this story as I encounter a troubled world and when I have dealings with my friend. God promises that He will bless those who bless us and curse those who curse us. Our part is the same as Abraham’s as we are commanded to be a blessing and therein lies our blessing. Choosing forgiveness while praying for those who hurt or abuse us is never easy. Like the rest of the Christian life it is a choice we make based on our faith in God’s mercy toward us, as well as our desire to return love to the One who has forgiven much. We make this choice, not because it is easy, but because when we choose to forgive we are demonstrating the divine nature that has taken over our lives in response to our commitment to Christ. At no time in our journey do we more emulate God then in those moments that we choose to forgive. I know how tough that is, but it may be that God has given us these little moments, as He did David, to prove the heart of a genuine King.

Quote of the day: “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus of Nazareth,  King of Kings!

Matthew27:52-53  And the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised:  v53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.

1 Corinthians 15:20  But now has Christ been raised as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the rich man died and was buried.

One of the very first passages I read and understood as a new believer was the verse selected in Matthew for our Devotional today.  My faith was brand new and I could not quote three verses in the Bible if my life depended on it, and I am so glad it does not.  It was like some innate spiritual knowledge took over in my spirit and I knew that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that I also would some day live with Him forever and ever. I know that Jesus is alive and well. He has made His presence a reality to me over the course of my lifetime and the longer I live, the more confident I grow in the knowledge that we all shall someday live with Him in eternity.

I have often pondered this verse and all the verses selected today. Can you imagine being in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover when Jesus was crucified?  The city was already a bustle as the multitudes of peoples came from all over Israel to participate in the yearly sacrifice that would be offered for their sins.  Right in the middle of their preparations for Passover there is a trial.  Now Jesus had spent three years travelling the countrysides teaching and preaching the Word of God.  Most people there had heard of Jesus and in fact had celebrated Him as the Messiah just days before that. Now and in front of Pilate, He stood whipped and beaten. All hope of being rid of Roman occupation was gone as the people observed Jesus shackled, defeated, and bowing low before the authorities.  In their disappointment they began to cry out; “Crucify him, Crucify him.” Barabbas, a man responsible for many rebellions and bloody murders was set free and Jesus was led to Golgotha where He was indeed, nailed to a cross.  There His lifeless body laid for three days.  The Passover went on as it had for hundreds of years, only unknown to  the people God had provided His own Lamb. The precious blood of Heaven and eternities Prince of Peace laid alone in a cold and dark tomb.

Suddenly on the dawn of the first morning of the week (Sunday), the stone was rolled away and the graves of all those who had died in faith and were waiting in the bosom of Abraham, were awakened and the gates of Heaven were opened! Jesus led captivity captive while the saints sang out, ” Open up the gates and let the King of Glory come in.” All over Jerusalem the graves of the prophets were opened as Jerusalem witnessed the re-birth of their mothers and fathers. Jesus was the first fruits of the first resurrection and He has ascended  into heaven with all those who died in faith waiting for His coming.

Glory to God, we have a living hope in Christ. We are not like the rich man who died and was buried.  We are ushered by the angels into the presence of a Loving Savior where we will wait for His coming when we will be reunited with this body of death we are now housed in. Mortality will put on immortality because our sins are forgiven and our Savior lives and He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!  He lives and because He does, so shall we!  Happy Resurrection Sunday to all of you who carry this living hope. We will meet on the other side. Meanwhile, tell someone Jesus is alive!

Quote of the day: “The heart has its reasons for which reason knows nothing.”  Blaise Pascal 

Acts 2:22-24  You men of Israel, hear these words:  Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God to you by mighty works and signs and wonders which God did in your presence, even as you already know;  v:23  him being delivered up by by the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay;  v:24  whom God raised up, having loosened the pains of death: because it was impossible for death to hold him.

When I was a small child I remember a soap opera that came on in the afternoon and the name of it was Dark Shadows.  This was not your every day soap opera like All My Problems or General Horsepitall?  Sorry, can’t help myself?!@# No, this soap opera was about vampires and witches and all kinds of other gobble e gook.  It was a twisted form of underworld drama that appeared right in prime time afternoon television.  Maybe some of you remember? Anyway, I was helping my mother when I saw a few minutes of an episode.  The main character was a vampire  named Barnabas Collins who bit another main character on the neck. The draw back was that instead of him getting fed on her blood, she withered up and died. He was left without appetite and shocked to find out that she had  eluded him with her secret.  That night I went to bed and woke up screaming in my sleep.  I was dreaming about Barnabas biting me on the neck.  My father came running into my room and there I was in a fitful panic, terrified that I would encounter the bite of death and shrivel up just like the witch.  My father took his cross off from around his neck and he placed it on mine and then he began to pray.  I went back to sleep and to this day I have never dreamed about any kind of monster.  In fact, God often speaks to me in my sleep.  My Dad gave me my first glimpse at the power of the cross. I have faced some monsters in my life as I spent 16 years in prison due to a drug addiction.  I have seen things that were intended for the Devil alone, but in all of it I have always known that the cross of Jesus Christ holds a power that triumphs over evil in every way.  Thank you Dad!

This story is indicative of our remembrance today.  Jesus was bitten by the sting of death so that we could live. Satan had no knowledge of who He truly was for the scriptures tell us that if he did he would not have crucified the Lord of Glory!  Jesus came to receive of the adders bite so that we can look to the serpent staff and live.  Jesus was lifted up bearing our shame and guilt so that we would not have to live at de-feet of the enemy. God has done for us what we could not do ourselves. He has placed around our necks the symbol of victory and now we get to live in the light of victory that comes cloaked in defeat. He has destroyed the enemies of our soul by embarassing them before all eternity. (see Colossians 2:15-16)  Oh Glory To God in The Highest. We are free!!!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us live today in the light of the face of death for it no longer has dominion over us. Jesus has prevailed and He is found worthy to open the Book of Life.  He, through His sacrifice, has loosened the seals and we are bound for glory to live forever and ever.  Oh somebody say Amen!  That is shouting material.  I  will see you on the other side!  Thank you Father! 

Quote of the day:  ” Oh, the heavenly consolation that has poured forth from places of solitude!”  S.C.  Rees

Matthew  22:19-22  Show me the tribute money. And they brought him a denarius. v:20  And he said unto them; Whose image and superscription is this?  v:21 They said to him, Caesar’s.  Then he said to them,  Render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and unto God the things that are God’s.

1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly.

This story in Matthew has always amazed me as well as challenged me.  The hardened Pharisees come to Jesus to trick Him. Their  intentions were to get Jesus to incriminate Himself by encouraging His followers to not pay Roman taxes, or so they hoped.  In this way Jesus would make Himself an enemy of the State and the Sanhedrin would not have to deal with Jesus’ growing popularity.  Jesus threatened their authority  by challenging their lack of sincerity.  So they come to Jesus with every evil desire asking Him if  it is lawful to pay taxes. You can see their greed and malice.  Jesus ask’ them for a coin and then ask’ the question as to whose inscription or image was impressed into the money?  Jesus wanting to elevate their thinking not only avoids disrespecting Roman authority, but challenges all those who heard Him to not only pay their taxes, but to labor to give to God what belongs to God.  Now I have heard some good tithing messages from that statement, but I do not believe that to be at the heart of what Jesus was saying to them.  These were educated men in the scriptures and they perceived Jesus’ message. I believe that he was saying to them that in the same way the coin bears the image of Caesar we bear the image of God.  We should give to Caesar those things that he has imprinted and in the same  way we should give our lives to God whose imprint we also bear.  (see Genesis 1:26) The real value is not in the surrendered coin but in the surrendered life.  Clearly they did not want to do as Jesus was instructing.

In the epistle or letter to the Corinthians Paul tells us that as we have borne the image of the first Adam, we will one day bear the image of the Second Adam, which is Christ.  In context Paul speaks of the resurrection and how we shall be raised up in Jesus’ image in the resurrection.  But we should consider how that will happen if we fail to sur-render to God those things that belong to Him now?  How can the imprint of Almighty God be impressed on subjects that refuse to be surrendered to God and His higher purposes?  In effect, if we do not live a surrendered life to Jesus Christ in this world we will scarcely have His imprint of glory  in the world to come.  We were chosen  to bear the image of the Second Adam just as we reflect the earthly Adam.  Caesar imprisoned those who refused to give him back that which belonged to him.  Should we expect less from a holy God who has given so much?  We owe a life for life.

As we consider this holy week and what we hope and believe about the resurrection, maybe we should consider our own lives and what we have yet to render to God?  The more we are able to give to God throughout the course of our lives, the more we will bear His imprint in the life to come. Our greatest aspiration should be that the world would see the DNA of divinity once again abiding in flesh.  If we bear His image on this side of glory, imagine what is to come, if you can!  The eye has not seen nor has the ear heard, but it is still fun to try!

Quote of the day:  ”Forgiveness liberates the soul and eliminates fear, that is why it is such a powerful weapon.”  Nelson Mandella

1  Peter 2:4-5  Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected by men but with God precious and chosen.  v:5 you also, as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Luke 19:40  And he answered and said,  I tell you the truth that, if these shall hold their peace, the very stones will cry out.

It is said that the the old testament temple was one of the finest architectural structures ever built by man.  It is hard for us to imagine such an undertaking because we live in the West and we are far removed, even ancestrally, from their culture.  The Israelite instructions for worship were designed to funnel through the temple because that is where God would dwell among men.  The actual temple bricks were hand carved and had precious gems mortared in between the temple blocks. Can you imagine being inside?  I can see the Sun shining through the precious stones casting iridescent flashes of light all reflecting the glory of the Sun, illuminating the holy of hollies.    The High Priest also had garments that had precious stones built into his Ephod so light was being reflected everywhere as he offered sacrifices for his own sins and those of his people.  All these amazing colors and brilliant flashes shining in this sacred and mysterious inner chamber where the glory of God did reside.  Smoke from the lamp stand and incense went up filling the air with a sweet smelling aroma that, the Bible says,  is a copy of the Heavenly. There in that dimly lit chamber God chose to make His presence known to His people.  Wow!

When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem the people cried out,  ”Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to God in the highest.” Hosanna means “God save us now!” The Pharisees and Sadducees were indignant because people were worshiping Jesus as God.  They told Jesus to tell them to stop when Jesus told them that if they should stop God would raise up the common stones to worship Him.  And that is just what He did!  You see, in all the temple beauty and glory God was foreshadowing how He would build a temple.  Not with human hands but through the power of His Spirit by faith in Christ.  When Jesus prophesied that the temple would be destroyed He knew that Titus and his army would level the walls down to the very foundation to extract the wealth hidden in the temple walls. No matter, God was about to change locations!  He knew that through our faith in His Son,  His light and Glory would shine through the common stones that people walked over and had no reason to esteem or admire, but through faith in Christ’ sufferings the light of omnipotence would shine through the common.  Oh the glory of God!  Next time you go to church look around at the common stones that cry out to testify that the glory of God has come and the peoples cries for God to save have been heard. We are living stones and as we endure the trials and pressures of this life God is transforming the common stones into precious stones.  Shine in the brilliance and light of the Savior and know that God’s dwelling is among men.  Your life is meant to reflect the knowledge and presence of God. We were designed to be light reflectors in the walls of a new temple so shine for Jesus in all you do and let the world  see and hear how glorious our God truly is!  You have the Light of eternal life shining out of you so shine bright no matter how dimly lit your circumstances may be. You can still shine if you choose to let Him live in you.

Quote of the day:  In such a universe thine every thought would be, ” God and I! God and I.”  And yet He is as near to thee as that- as near as if in the boundless spaces there throbbed no heart but His and thine.  Practice that solitude O my soul!”  George Matheson

Isaiah 56:7-8   Even them I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar:  v: 8  The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, yet I will gather others to him, besides his own that are gathered.

Matthew 21:13-14  And he said unto them,  It is written that my house shall be called a house of prayer:  but you have made it a den of thieves.  v: 14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 

About two months ago I was encouraged to get in touch with a group of people who wanted to start a church.  My wife and I began attending their Saturday night small group and we have found such warmth and blessing in the midst of these precious souls. Each one of them has a unique and God given quality that will see their vision through.  I hope it is in God’s will for us to continue being a part of it, but no matter whether we are moved somewhere else or whether we stay, Tracie and I have been a part of a couple of different churches now that exude the love of Christ.

As I consider our readings for today I wonder what Jesus would say if He were to walk into some of the churches we now have?  I have visited many in my life as I have been a believer for thirty two years. What I see far too much of is the worldly gimmicks that are used to draw and entice people into even coming to church.  We have lights and coffee shops.  We have book stores and rummage sales. We have big names with mega salaries and yet we are worse off now then we have ever been as a nation and the spiritual condition of the church here in America.  We are one hour and fifteen minutes into our services before people are leaving whether the pastor is done preaching or not.  Our song services are are produced via ‘You Tube’ and it is all piped in with so little prayer that many believers have no idea what it means to worship God in Spirit and Truth.

Now, I want to say right here that I am not bashing anyone.  However, we face the same dilemma God’s people faced when Jesus walked on the earth.  Much of the entertainment used to draw people has edged out the real anointing that comes from simply crying out to God to use the church to save lives and exalt Jesus.  That was God’s design even in the old covenant as His promise was that He would would draw the foreigner and those outside the covenant to come to His house and pray.  When Jesus came into the temple it is recorded that twice in His life He cleaned house and when He returned the proper order and priorities back to the temple,  people found a loving Savior there who was there to heal and restore.  I long to be a part of a church that lives that kind of New Testament Christianity.  God’s promise to us is that if we will lift up Christ He will draw people to Himself.  Before we can lift Him up publicly, we must learn to lift Him up privately.  Then when we come together to pray, God will come down and make His presence known.  This is our goal as we go to church;  first to see our Savior glorified and second to see the lost and hurting drawn into the community of believers where they can find the healing touch of The Great Shepherd.  To all those who are working hard to achieve these goals, may God continue to bless you. We all need to have our motives questioned from time to time, and especially our churches. What would Jesus say to you and your church if He was to walk in on any given Sunday?  Is it a house of prayer?  You have the power to make it one if it is not? That is your privilege as a believer!

Quote of the day:  ”Thy first transaction be with God Himself above; And all the day shall be filled with love.”  Horatius Bonar

Luke 1:6-7  And they were both righteous before God,  walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.  v:7 And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well stricken in years. 

Luke 1:13-14  But the angel said unto him,  Fear not Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and you shall call his name John.  And you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

God has a way of engineering the circumstances of our lives to bring us right up to the brink of feeling like the day of possibility has passed.  For years Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying and seeking God.  In the culture of their day if a woman did not conceive she was considered cursed or to have hidden faults.  Women as they saw it, had one major purpose, and that was to bring life to the family and community.  That is why throughout Israel’s history there were women like Hanna who cried out to God for a child.  A women’s worth was found in her ability to bring an heir to her husband.  Leah, Jacobs wife was probably the best example of this truth.  (see Genesis 29: 31-32)

So  our Devotional today is about the cry of the heart.  Zacharias and Elizabeth had been serving God for years. The scripture even says that they were both righteous destroying the common theology of the day.  Faithfully they had served God and still their hope for seeing their dream of being parents had slowly ebbed away as the years had diminished their chance of being parents.  What hidden emotion and feelings of futility, guilt, or shame did they deal with as they faced their peers and family?  The deeper the sorrow we carry in our lives the greater the blessing of redemption becomes!  For Zacharias and Elizabeth the hurt was deep and wide, but God knew that and He had a plan for their future that would not bring them the satisfaction and joy that He intended for them to experience until they had stewed in their juices until just the right time.  God knows and He always has the perfect plan and no matter how long we wait, no matter what we must endure, God sees those hidden feelings and He hears the whispers of those who discount our usefulness because we are not wrapped up in the package the world expects us to come in.  God knows and in spite of it, and just like Zacharias and Elizabeth, He has a plan that will allow us to experience Him in all His goodness toward those who seek Him.  And like Elizabeth, no one who seeks God will remain barren.  Eventually our lives will produce the holy thing that we have longed to give birth to if we continue to remain steadfast.  God has a way of orchestrating our challenges to bring us into new and deeper illuminations of His infinite character.  We will see God in our challenges as He wants us to experience His ongoing faithfulness in our lives.  I take much from Zacharias’ example.  No matter the absence of God’s answer to his prayers,  he was found in the temple praying and serving God.  How many of our prayers await an answer from God until our commitment to God to goes deeper then our wants? God knows the perfect time and He will not let us settle for experiencing Him in a way that does not bring the soul to a perfect satisfaction.  How else would we come to a perfect worship of the Lord Jesus Christ?  He is faithful and if we cry out for more then the answer to our prayers, but to truly experience God, we will for that is His desire also.

  Quote of the Day: “My soul would have fainted for longing if I had not experienced God.”  Jim Zimbala   

1 Timothy 3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness;  He who was manifested in the flesh,  Justified in the spirit,  Seen of angels,  Preached among the nations,  Believed on in the world,  Received up into glory.

1 Timothy 4:1  But the Spirit say’s expressly, that in the end times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.

Christianity is unique and contrary to all other religions on planet earth.  We are unique in that what we believe about Jesus Christ is in direct contrast to what other faiths believe about their founders.  We believe Christ to be God in flesh.  Jesus himself said, ” that unless you believe I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins.”  (see John 8:24)  For the Christian this is foundational to all  that we hold to be true. Without the doctrine of God incarnate the man Christ Jesus falls into rank and file with Muhammad, Buddha, or Joseph Smith.  Instead of Jesus being the express image of God, he becomes just another controversial figure to show up on the world scene, creating doubt and confusion as to how we are to find salvation.  The doctrine of the incarnation is the hinge pin upon which all of Christendom hangs.  Without it the doctrine of the virgin birth has absolutely no meaning, and indeed reduces Christ to a stature equal with every other fallen human. After that his death and burial have no purpose for if Christ is not fully God and fully man, there can be no atonement. Without the sinless man who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, making him divine in nature, there is no justification for there cannot be a substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of the first Adam because God in His holiness cannot accept a tainted sacrifice.  Otherwise Adam would had been allowed to atone for his own transgression.  If there is no atonement we are still lost in our sins and everything we believe has become the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on human kind! Is it any wonder why Satan has fought so hard to destroy the faith of so many by perverting the minds of those Christ has been sent to save?  If Christ is not God, then we are left to a myriad of choices regarding man’s eternal destiny. Many doubters try to draw the naive’ into debate as they question the formulation of our Creeds.  They would have us believe that the doctrine of the divinity of Christ was the formulation of the Catholic church, but was it?  One hundred years before the Nicene Council Tertullian wrote not only in defense of the divinity of Christ, but also formulated some of orthodoxy’s earliest expressions of the trinity.  Our faith does not rest only on one ecumenical gathering, but on holy men throughout history who have collectively heard from God and have spoken to his people a message which we have been given the responsibility to know and defend, with our very lives if necessary.

In closing I feel an unction to challenge the body of Christ.  We are living in the last days and if we believe that, we are going to see an increase of those claiming to be Christ.  This will precede the arrival of the Anti-Christ who will claim to be the divine one sent from God.  Now more than ever we need to understand why we believe what we believe in order that we may give an explanation for the hope that is within.  Jesus is the perfect God/man who suffered on our behalf that we might have eternal life.  There is no other way to God!  If we believe this let us discipline ourselves to the study necessary to educate our families, as well as the meekest of saints so that He who died on our behalf may be exalted in the minds and hearts of those He died to save!  No matter what men may believe about Christ, He is no less than all He claimed to be and that is why we celebrate an empty tomb!

Quote of the day:  ”I do not need to live but I do need to preach the gospel.”   B.H.  Clendenon  Founder of the School of Christ International and Assembly of God minister.

You may now leave a comment or ask questions? Just go to the bottom of the page and hit the link.  We want to serve and educate the body of Christ so if you have some insight or suggestions please feel free to comment and we will respond accordingly.  God Bless You!

Job 31:1  I made a covenant with my eye’s;  How then should I look upon a virgin?

Matthew  5:28  But I say unto you, that everyone that looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This morning I sat reading the story of King David and his encounter with Bathsheba.  David is home alone instead of being out in the field with his troops.  In the evening he gets up out of his bed to take a stroll on the roof and there he spy’s the bathing Bathsheba. He inquires of her and then has her brought to the palace where she enters into forbidden relations with David.  What comes of this sordid affair is  deception, murder, and life long consequences that took a toll on the whole life of David and his family.  Sin always has a greater price then desire can pay.

In my own life I have seen the effects of sin.  In my youth I went through a very difficult divorce that led me into a hedonistic philosophy for living that just ripped my life apart.  I spent many years in prison and to this very day I carry the scars of choices I made in my youth.  I am here to admonish you from both the scriptures and my own life experience that sexual sins will destroy your life.  We cannot take hot coals to our chest and expect not to be burned!

So, how do we avoid this pitfall?  We all like beauty, whether seen in a mans appreciation of a woman or a woman’s admiration for a man?  We were created with an innate yearning that causes us to be drawn to the opposite sex.  Where we differ from the animal kingdom is that we are given a Biblical commandment to live according to precepts of truth because we are not animals. The first step is to recognize that part of what we wrestle with is natural and God given.  However, Jesus wants to be the Master of our sexual drive as much as any other part of our lives. We must surrender our will to God in this area.  The most effective way I have found to do that is through prayer.  When I see a woman that I think is attractive I immediately start praying for her. I pray for her to serve God!  I pray for her marriage, her children, her parents, and I pray that she would be seen by myself and others as more than an object of desire.  By doing this I bring my mind under control of the Holy Spirit who then allows me to see that this same person is a human being with needs.  I then remember that I have two daughters. I pray that when other men see them they will be seen as I endeavor to see other men’s daughters.  I wish I could tell you that I never have trouble in this area. There are times when I forget I am in a spiritual battle.  But the more I strive to be faithful to the God I love and serve as well as the woman I am married to, to the less intense my battles are.  I am learning to quickly come back to the tool of prayer as I confess what God’s Word say’s on this subject.  I am committed to find fulfillment in my wife alone as I am learning to remember my vows to God.  I have made a covenant not to look on another woman with lust in my heart and this is a promise I made to God nine years before I was married.  I believe it is one of the reasons God restored my relationship with Tracie.  He knows if we are fighting the good fight or not?  What is amazing is how my wife has blossomed as a woman in the knowledge that I love her enough to be faithful, even in my thoughts.  He truly has brought life and complete satisfaction into our lives.  God’s way is best and I am sure that King David would now readily admit that.  Oh the tears that can be avoided when we choose to live God’s way!

Quote:  ” Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”   C.H. Spurgeon

Acts 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer;  as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so also will you testify of me in Rome.

Psalm 119: 167  My soul has observed thy testimonies; And I love them exceedingly.

One of my favorite things to do is to listen in church. Yes, it is true!  I love to listen to how God continues to bless His children.  We are all engaged in a battle and it thrills me to hear how God continues to work in our lives as we confront the evils of this world.  That is the way it is suppose to be. We overcome our own trials by listening to others who have struggled and found victory in their lives through serving our Lord.  How dull would our faith be if we did not have the element of ongoing victory in our lives?

The children of Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan river.  Behind them were victories of incredible magnificence as they had seen God do some amazing things. For forty years they had seen manna rain down from heaven.  By night a pillar of fire had led them and a cloud by day. Joshua and Caleb had seen God lead the whole nation out of bondage.  They witnessed the power of God as it rested on their leader and friend Moses.  All these amazing things had transpired in their lives and yet they now stood on the banks of the river Jordan.  How frightening it would had been for them if God was just a God of the of the past.  It would had been like eating day old manna.

The point I am making is that one of the ways we know God is at work in our midst is that as a people we have an ongoing testimony that is ever growing and leading us into a greater knowledge of God’s faithfulness.  As we observe the movements of the Holy Spirit we can see the grace of God healing, delivering, anointing, and restoring the broken and afflicted of this world.  My soul pants with a desperate thirst to see a move of God.  I long to hear how God is using the truth of the Resurrection of Christ to inspire and change a fallen world.  I believe we are living in the last days and I want to take the land.  We are like the children of Israel standing on the banks of the Jordan and we are either going to try to live on yesterdays manna, or we can believe God to take the promised land.  Victory is ours one walled city at a time.  God wants us to have an ongoing testimony of grace and victory.  He never has been the God of yesterday and He never will be.  We are not meant to be a people living on yesterdays manna either.  ” Oh Dear God, give us an ongoing testimony of your victories in our lives.  Let us see your mighty hand of redemption and help us to move when you move Lord.  Help us to see the pillar of fire that leads us in this dark and fallen world, in Jesus name.   Amen

Quote of the day:  I have heard all about you, Lord.  I am filled with awe by your amazing works.  In this time of our deep need help us again as you did in years gone by.  And in your anger, remember your mercy.  The Prophet Habakkuk  NLT

As many of you know we are privileged to be a part of something so amazing.  To see the lives that Jesus is able to reach and the way He can turn the hardest of hearts is nothing short of miraculous. I would like to share a testimony of God’s continued grace in our family.

Our oldest daughter Ashley has had a real longing to be a part of her biological father’s life and to no avail John had showed little to no interest in either Ashley or Tyler.  A few months ago I began praying for him to come to find the Lord and that in doing so he would reach out to his children.  What put this in my heart was seeing the pain that Ashley especially carries.  It has been a real revelation as I consider my own children and the years I spent locked up and unable to reach out to them.  As I have endeavored to put my own relationship with my children back in order, I have also had to labor trying to bring healing and love to Ashley and Tyler.  Tracie and I have had our work cut out for us but we have continued to pray and believe God to do what only he can. God is Faithful.  This morning, as I was preparing for my trip to Denver, John knocked on the door.  I wish I could tell you the joy that flooded my soul.  As we talked he shared how his step daughter had given her life to Jesus just a short time ago and how the rest of the family was now attending church and praising Jesus.

I do not know why I ever doubt my Father in Heaven as the older I get the more amazed I am at His enduring faithfulness.  With tears in my eye’s I can hardly write this this morning.  He knows just what we need and when we need it.

Whatever you might be praying and believing God for I pray that you will be encouraged to continue believing and trusting.  God is faithful!  If I am this overjoyed for Ashley and Tyler being restored to their father, I wonder what joy the Savior feels when one of us comes home to our Father?  I know that is a joy and purpose I want to live for all the days of my life.  That is why Tracie and I have taken the leap of faith to be servants in the kingdom for the rest of our lives.  We know we owe God nothing less.  A life for life!

Quote of day:  The great thing is to suffer without being discouraged.    Fenelon

1 Corinthians 1:27-29  But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise: and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;  v:28 and the base things of the world, and them that are despised, did God choose, yes and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are,  v:29 that no human should boast before God.

1 Peter 1:4 Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but elect and precious to God.

I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting last night at the request of a friend.  I have attended many meetings in my life as I struggled with a drug addiction for many years.  It was a blessing as I sat and listened to the stories of those who were coming into the light of sobriety.  Each story had elements of unique and personal experience while each individual shared a common need.  I was blessed with the humility of the group because everyone was welcome.  Their creed is just that;  ”the only thing required to attend is the desire to quit drinking.”  I may not necessarily agree with all the opinions of A.A. but who could ever argue with the success of the program and the lives that have been forever changed?   One thing that stood out to me was the level of acceptance.  No matter how beat up, no matter how many times someone had been in trouble with the law, no matter what mistakes they had made, they were all welcome.

I have been a Christian for many years and I have not always seen such acceptance in our meetings.  Often God’s people are among the most critical and unforgiving.  How unlike Jesus we are when we do not show the love and acceptance of the Savior.  We classify sin in our own minds rating and categorizing the mistakes of others and seldom do we remember that if we appeared before a Heavenly court without Jesus, we would all be condemned in shame.  What is most ironic is that the scriptures teach us that if we have faith we are among the despised and rejected.  That in some way we just did not fit the worlds mold or pattern and in an act of divine mercy God chose us to render foolish the opinions and prestige of the existing authorities.  If we do not know this about ourselves, what is it that will open the door of our heart and mind to embrace the hurting and down trodden?  I wonder how many people who have come into our lives that never felt the love of Christ or got a sense of being ‘chosen’ by the living God because we do not portray that kind of gratitude about our own acceptance and forgiveness?

We are blessed with a Loving Savior who has chosen us in spite of our defects, faults, or past experiences.  When the world stamps someone as a reject God puts His stamp of power and possibility on that very same individual.  He chose the base and despised things of the world to prove that no one trapped in any fault of sin is beyond His reach.  To someone who truly knows what it means to be trapped in sin that is great news.  Would not it be nice if God’s people remembered that?  I wonder how that would change our meetings and how many broken lives would feel more welcomed?

Quote:  ”There are two ways to kill the truth.  One is to let falsehood slowly chip away at it’s integrity: the other is to have  dead orthodoxy.  Francis Schaeffer  

Galatians  1:15-17  But when God, who separated me from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased v:  16  to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,  I did not consult any man,  v: 17  nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were Apostle’s before me, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

We have talked a little about the amazing transformation that the Apostle Paul underwent and how his conversion left him alone with only Barnabas to vouch for him.  And maybe we began to put the pieces of the puzzle together by seeing that God is greater than our past.  It is never to late to do the next right thing.  Eventually we will be remembered for the good things and not for our past!

Today however, I want to talk about the process of separation and its purpose.  In context our passage is Paul’s personnel testimony and how he saw God’s purpose in the separation.  He first of all  saw that from his very birth he was separated and that separation was not just from his sin.  It was a separation from the rest of the established community.  How seldom do we see ourselves in such light? The church in Jerusalem was under heavy persecution, some of that Paul’s doing.  But the Elders hesitancy to embrace Paul forced him into an Arabian desert and their he received the gospel of grace as we understand it today.  His hunger exceeded  his grasp and in that state God met him. This is what happens when we are forced by circumstance to develop a personal relationship.  God is an expert in allowing our lives to intersect with His purpose.  He is the Creator of the Universe.  Just like God had orchestrated Paul’s conversion before the foundation of the world, saving him in a miraculous way, He has a special and amazing plan and the degree of separation will determine the level of your calling.  The greatest men and women of God have always endured great consecration, oh but what a legacy they leave behind.  They teach us that we do not need man’s approval and that it does not matter for we live for the approval of only One.  Of course the balance of that is that we live in our communities in such a way as they forget who we were because all they see is who we have become.  It takes some time alone with God to get a right perspective. It is a time to draw near to God as He teaches us further His enduring faithfulness preparing us for the future when we will all be separated just for naming the name of Christ.  God will need seasoned men and women who know how to encourage others who face this worlds loss to gain the One to come.  Rejoice in your ‘aloneness’; Jesus is with us always and all He has done is to separate that He might reveal Himself to us.  It is so worth being alone to know that the Savior is with you and we are never as alone as we may feel.  That is the well spring of peace and once obtained the enemy no longer has power to torment.  ”Give me Jesus and I have all I need,” as the song goes!  That is a mighty weapon in the hands of God.  Remember the separation He endured for you and me.

Quote of the day:  ”Where there is not an intense longing to be kept from sinning, and to be brought into the closest union with the Savior, the thought of being crucified with Him can find no entrance.”    Brother Andrew Murray

Revelation 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Philippians 3:13-14  Brothers, I do not count myself as to have laid hold: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things that are before,  v:14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When you think of the Apostle Paul, do you think about a man who was responsible for killing, enslaving and torturing Christians?  Doubtful many of us do.  More than likely when we think about Paul what we remember is the man who wrote thirteen books in the New Testament.  We think about his testimony of being ship wrecked, beaten, and imprisoned for his faith and seldom do we even remember Paul as the accuser of the brotherhood. Why is that?  Well, in Paul’s own words;  ”He labored more diligently then any of his contemporaries because of the debt of sin forgiven by the same Lord and Savior we serve today.  (see 1 Cor 15:10) There was one point when Paul was first converted that the other Apostle’s were not willing to take a chance on him because they were not even sure he had truly changed.  It took  Barnabas to persuade them that there was a genuine change in the man they had known as  ’the’persecutor of the faith’.  What an amazing testimony of hard work and endurance.

We all have a past.  Some of us are  like the woman taken in adultery as our sins have been thrown out before the world for all to see. Others bear the knowledge of their sin in less conspicuous ways, but we all have something in our past that we regret and would like to forget.  And that is exactly what God wants us to do.  As an ex-felon I have had many opportunities to throw my hands in the air and want to give up.  Like Paul I have encountered many who do not believe that Christ can change the human heart and teach someone how to live for Him.  It does not matter.  As believers we are exhorted by the Word of God to forget what is behind and press or strain forward.  That means we are going to encounter resistance from the world, and even sometimes like Paul, other believers who are having a hard time believing.  There lack of faith is not in you and I, it is in Christ.  No never mind! We are to just get busy doing the things that will earn their trust as they see us laboring more diligently.  In the end Paul’s life and testimony were so sealed in grace that except for the historical facts few of us even remember Paul in light of his former life.  How I pray for such grace in my life.  This is how we overcome!  We remember we have been purchased by the blood of Christ, we use our testimony to reach as many lives as possible while laying down our lives in service to the very world that doubts God in us.  This is the grace of Christ in action.  Being bitter or angry while holding resentments does nothing to enhance the kingdom of God.  Working through the pain and being diligent to prove our calling, well that makes all the difference in the world.  Such ethic as that will bring a few like Barnabas into our midst and eventually everyone else will see we are for real. They will see that Jesus is alive and well on planet earth as He is lived out in our every day lives.  We cannot expect the world to put our past behind us until we do.

Quote of the day:  ”One act of thanksgiving when things go wrong is worth one thousand when things go well.”    St. John of the cross

Dear Heavenly Father, this morning we come blessed to gather as a congregation of people that have a united faith in Christ and who have love in our hearts for the gift You offered on Calvary’s hill. As we assemble this morning may the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you and may we lay aside everything concentrating solely upon our worship of you.  We thank you for the freedom we have to assemble and to give you praise. We also thank you for your truth as we open our Bibles to pray and seek your face.  We love you lord and we are your people.

Father, we lift up every godly pastor who is preaching this morning as we pray for your leading as a people and a nation.  God, please visit us this morning.  As the prophets of old have cried out; ” We have heard about your great works and the miracles you have done in times past. What about now? What about this day and hour as we serve you, the King of kings, we are waiting for you to move in our midst in such a way as the heavens will be shaken and many will come to know of your love and power.  Oh God, hear us this day and grant us this petition for in you is our delight and to see Christ exalted is all we want. Please receive our prayer and make haste to answer as we are intent upon waiting for you and we will not be moved until you visit this great land once again, in Jesus Name.  Amen

Hosea  4:6  My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge:  because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, and you shall be no priest to me:  seeing that you have forgotten the law of your God.

Proverbs 2:3-6  Yes, if you cry out for wisdom, and lift up your voice for understanding;  v:4  If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure: v:5 then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and find knowledge and understanding:  v:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding:

Proverbs  3: 13  Happy is the man that finds wisdom, And the man that gets understanding.

Yesterday my younger brother and I sat on our porch soaking in the last light of a beautiful Spring evening.  We were discussing the glories of heaven and how unworthy we are of God’s grace when my brother made the comment;  ” I cannot imagine going to Hell simply because I rejected the knowledge of God”.  The statement hit me hard because I instantly remembered so much of my own struggle and how much of it was a direct correlation to the stubbornness of my own heart and my inability to live by God’s truth. I am not alone in my experience as the scriptures have a great deal to say about God’s people and our pursuit of truth.  Israel’s history is filled with story after story of those who rejected the prophets who brought messages of truth.  In the end their refusal to seek God and accept His ways, became destruction, blood shed, and captivity.  Looking at my own life as well as the history of God’s people,  makes one wonder why?

The book of Proverbs gives us a hint for the reasons why?  “Happy is the person who finds wisdom”.  How seldom we actually connect the dots that God has laid out for us.  Our pursuit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding is for our own good.  How many problems and trials we would avoid in our lives if we just lived by God’s law?  Several times in the Pentateuch (five books of the law) do we read that our pursuit of God and our keeping His way is for our own good. When we see that our own happiness, peace and fulfillment is directly tied to our pursuit of God and living for the purposes of Christ, we suddenly have a greater incentive to seek the wisdom and knowledge of God.  How often the message of the world and the lies of the enemy tie our obedience to God as some form of slavery to a divine taskmaster?  In reality we have a loving Father who has simply laid life and death before us, urging us to choose life and to pursue wisdom as a means to our own happiness! In God’s infinite wisdom He knows that for us to be supremely happy we must find our life in Him and we must seek for it as for hidden treasure, because it is!  We were created for His good pleasure and when we live for any other purpose we automatically start the gradual decline toward unrest and discontentment.  Often we need to be reminded in our daily pursuits that we are to pursue God first as a means to our own peace and happiness. We need each other to keep our focus on truth.  We need each other to keep our eye’s on Jesus!  Today, we will join our hearts as we lift up our voices and cry out for God and His wisdom in our lives.  In doing so we shall be blessed with a better way to live and joy along the way.

Quote of the Day:  It is better that your prayers be without words and much heart, then to have prayers with many words and no heart.  John Bunyan

Exodus 4:11-12  And the Lord said unto him,  Who has made man’s mouth?  or who makes the deaf or the mute, or the the seeing or the blind?  Is it not I the Lord?  v:12  Now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and I shall teach thee what you shall speak.

Isaiah 6: 7-8  And he touched my mouth with it and said, now this has touched thy lips and your iniquities have been taken away and your sins are forgiven.  v:8  And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,  Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  Then I said,  here am I:  send me.

Sometimes I day dream about these two scenes as they are recorded in the scripture.  In the one scene Moses stands before the burning bush and he is being summoned by God to go back to the children of Israel and declare deliverance to the captives.  In the book of  Isaiah we see a young man being commissioned by God to declare the glories of the coming Messiah.  There Isaiah stood as he looked into Heaven and saw the  pre-incarnate Christ in all His heavenly glories.  Later he writes of the suffering servant ( Isaiah 52-54) as that same God he witnessed shining in glory. This same God has now, through his death, become the Savior of the world.

Sometimes we look at these stories and think that these men had some divine favor as God chose them to deliver the message of God’s purpose to their generations, and maybe they did?  But was there any more favor shown to them then what has been shown to you and me? Both of these men lived in a time when the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ had not yet been revealed.  Moses implemented the Law and Isaiah kept the Law in which animal sacrifices were the common form of atonement.  Neither of these men knew of the grace that was to be revealed in the coming of Christ and yet they both had a message from God for their families and peers.  I believe that sometimes we look at the characters in the Bible and we admire them to the point that we think God could not or would not ever use us as He used them.  I also believe that that is where we may sometimes fail in our attempts to win the lost while declaring to our own generation the message of God for this day and hour.  We cannot put people on a pedestal no matter whether they live today or five thousand years ago.  We are blessed with so much and we may be the generation to witness the Coming of Christ.  Imagine that!  Do not downplay the message that God has given you because to the people who are still lost, what you carry in your heart is exactly what they need to hear to escape the fires of Hell.  You have within you the message of the gospel of Christ and He has already commissioned you to go into all the world and preach the good news.  He has sent us, like He sent Moses to preach deliverance to the captives.  And like Isaiah we have the message of the suffering servant now glorified.  All that is missing is for us to ask God to anoint our lips and to send us to those who need to hear.  Will you pray that with me today?  Will you say with Isaiah; ” Here am  I, send me!” If we will be obedient to our call God will anoint our lips in this final hour.  Who knows what will be written of you in the years to come?

Quote: ” Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God, whose ways you may not understand at the time.”   Oswald Chambers

John  10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jeremiah 23:4  And I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, neither will they be confused, neither will they be lacking,  says the Lord.

One of the greatest grievances God had with the children of Israel before they were carried away into captivity was the lack of concerned shepherds that ruled over Israel.  Israel had been in decline for years and from God’s point of view, one of the greatest reasons for their impending doom was the lack of godly leadership.  In the twenty third chapter of Jeremiah the Lord promises to bring Jesus into the world as the promised one from David’s lineage. He further states that when the Messiah would come that He would bring righteousness and justice into the world while reigning with wisdom.  Following His arrival the Lord promised He would set up a new order of shepherds that would feed the the flock with a genuine love and concern.

It is not an easy job to reflect Christ as a believer, but it is even more challenging to have the responsibility of shepherding the people of God. Today’s devotional is about pastor appreciation.  The world is very good at pointing out the men who stumble plastering their names all over the media.  But how seldom do we hear of the men of God who serve the body of Christ faithfully everyday?  In the midnight hours they are called with tragedies of every sort, leaving their wives and families to arrive at the hospital to comfort and pray for those who need it.  Often they live on a pittance of the wages everyone else takes home and yet we feed from the green grass of their fellowship with God.  More often then not they are gossiped about more than they are prayed for? They are held to a higher accountability then the rest of us and the good one’s bear their duties with joy.  Godly pastors have the constant struggle of balancing their family life with the life of their church family and often their families make as many sacrifices as they do.  How that must wear on a man of God as it is one thing to lay your own life down. It is quite another to ask your wife and children to do so and too often these men and their families are taken completely for granted.

Jesus left us the example of what a good shepherd is suppose to emulate. It is apparent when a man has been with the Chief Shepherd for his heart hurts over those things that grieve the Master.  Our nation is full of men who revere the Lord and desire to feed His congregation with the pure word of truth and whatever good is left in our country it is because of these men and their devotion to God.  We owe them a great debt and the Bible exhorts us to honor those who labor among us.  Would you do that today by getting alone with God and thanking Him for the pastor who is working hard to see that their is no lack in your life?  Pray for your pastor and then send him a little note with a gift card in it so he can take his wife out to dinner.  Remember, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and whatever we do unto the least of these, we have done unto the Lord. We all need to be encouraged from time to time.  How much more the men of God who serve faithfully in our midst?

Quote of the day:  ”No man preaches his sermon well to others if he does not first preach it to his own heart.”   John Owens

Yesterday,  I spent the day counseling two different friends who were having thoughts of harming themselves, while I have another brother in the hospital for the same reasons.  Suicide is a very real and tragic ordeal that strikes in the most unsuspecting homes.  Most  people never talk about suicide until it is too late!  The warning signs are hard to discern and it is a spiritual problem as much as it is a mental and emotional issue.

I am asking all of our readers today to pray for those Satan attacks in their minds by tricking them into believing they no longer have a purpose to live.  We all have seen hard times and we can attest that it is a tough road sometimes. But most of us have endured enough sorrow that we can look back on our hardships and see why we may have went through our difficulties.  We would unanimously declare that whatever pains, loss, or shameful experience we endured, we are glad to have survived!  God can and will return laughter and great joy with purpose.  He is a BIG GOD!

If you are struggling with thoughts of harming yourself or someone else.  Please call me.  I attempted to take my own life many years ago when my former wife left me, taking my kids.  I understand and I would love to just chat with you.  Call  Jim at   (970)  201-9564   God loves you and even though your world may seem like it is spinning out of control,  I have seen God do some amazing things. There are amazing opportunities awaiting you with so many other outcomes then the one you are considering writing for your self.  We at a Strong Tower ministry want to help you and we love you.  Before you do something you will regret, please give us a call.

To the rest of our readers I ask that you pray today for the broken and downtrodden.  Sometimes we can forget what that kind of pain feels like as we live in God’s blessing?  That is not all bad as God wants to wipe our tears away.  Still, we need to remember those around us who have not yet seen the glories of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us pray that they will want to live long enough so that they may be united with us in our love for the Savior.   To all of you today,  I just want you to know how much God Loves You!

    Up Coming Events……………………

There are some things coming in the future that we are hoping to implement.  One is a blog where we can talk and discuss the things that are relevant to our everyday lives. Others include topics you would like to have discussed or need information about?  Bible questions that stump you and you just can’t seem to get an answer that sits right.  I do not necessarily have all the answers, but I know who does so send us an e-mail at our web site and address them to Jim.  Also, at Strong Tower ministry we believe in the power of prayer and we know it is only God who can change the human heart.  If you need prayer please contact us at either the phone number in the above devotional or send us an e-mail.  Give God a chance to help you.  It may be that all your life has led you to this very moment so that God can reveal Himself to you?  If you ask for help………He Will and so will we!  Finally, I have a heart for church history so I am going to be including quotes that I treasure to acquaint you with the deep and relished traditions of our Christian faith.  Scroll to the end of the page so you don’t miss them as you read the devotional.                              jim@astrongtower.org                                         God bless you

Exodus  20:5   thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. 

Exodus  34:14  For you shall worship no other god;  for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

1  Corinthians 6:19-20  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God?  and you are not your own;  you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 

One of my favorite movies is,  ’The Ten Commandments’.  The scene when they are walking out of Egypt with their goats, cattle, and sheep, young and old,  after having endured the horrors of slavery just touches me to the core of who I am.  Maybe that is because I understand having been spared from a 48 year sentence which would have equaled a life sentence for me.  I often think about that as I went through the courts 10 years ago.  I would have 38 years left and I  would just be getting started?  I cringe at the thought!  How grateful to God I am and I know in my heart that the life I live today does not belong to me as I sold my life to the slave traders of addiction, lust, and self deceit.

Today’s passages very much reflect this truth in our lives as believers.  The Hebrew word for ‘Jealous’ is the word ‘qanah’.   It means to provoke to jealousy, to make one zealous, to envy, and it also means to purchase or buy back.  When God introduced Himself as the Jealous God to Moses, what He was in effect saying to the children of Israel is;  ” since I am the One who bought you out of a life of servitude from those who treated you cruelly,  serve Me now and be blessed.  If you do not you will provoke Me to Jealousy as I Am the One who ransomed you.”  This is actually what the Hebrew word conveys!

In the New Testament Paul reiterates this same truth by telling us that our lives are not our own but they have been bought with a price.  We know that the price of our redemption was the precious blood of our Savior who took our place on the cross.  It was me who deserved to be put to death for my transgressions against a Holy God and Jesus took my place, forever freeing me from the consequence of sin.  What a vivid picture for us to meditate on today.  We deserved a life of slavery!  A life filled with hard and cruel bondage to the evil taskmaster of sin and Satan.  We were sold into slavery with no way to ever be ransomed back , but Jesus traded His life for ours.  Is there any doubt that we owe Him our all?

Sometimes I think about wearing state issue green clothes the rest of my natural life.  Never having visits or seeing the people I love ever again?  Living in a tiny box forever, sold into bondage because of my sins.  Today, I am free and restored to my wife and family after being a slave for 16 years.  My life is not my own and neither is yours!  We owe our Savior our very best!  Whether we have been incarcerated or not, we all were sold into the slavery of sin and bound for an eternal pit, forever to be kept under lock and key held their by the deceptions of  Satan.  By faith in Jesus we are free!  Let us be mindful that our lives are not our own lest we provoke God to jealousy.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

John 16:33  In the world you will you will have tribulation:  but be of good cheer;  I have overcome the world.

Revelation 17:14  These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them,  for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings;  and they that are with him shall also overcome who are called and chosen and faithful.

Revelation 2:11 He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t tell God how big your giants are, but tell your giants how big your God is.”  Whenever I hear that cliche’ I imagine David standing before Goliath.  Just a young man with no battle experience and yet he stood before a veteran who was seasoned in hand to hand combat.  Goliath was huge towering over David.  In the natural those who watched David saw just a boy with no battle experience.  Most of us would look at Goliath and head for the trenches, along with the rest of the army, afraid to even approach such a monumental task as killing the giant Goliath.  There stood David with a sling and a couple of stones and just as God had delivered him from the lion and the bear, he believed and trusted that God would deliver him from Goliath also.  In David’s mind there was no difference between his past victories and the one he then faced.  If God is for us, then to whom do we need fear?

Every day we all face giants of some sort.  Problems that seem to overwhelm us because the solution to our problem is just beyond our reach and we know instinctively that we cannot take the giants on on our own.  How seldom we pause to remember that the victory has already been won.  Jesus faced the greatest enemy to the human soul and that is death.  Why do we fear death?  Is  it the unknown?  Or is it because we know in our hearts that we are undeserving of eternal life?  Imagine Jesus as He faced the horrors of crucifixion? Imagine the lies the enemy tried to whisper in His ears just hours before He would be exposed and shamed before all the earth, taking His place among petty thieves in order to take upon Himself our shame and sorrow?  Yet, through it all He faced the greatest giant of all;  DEATH!

Today’s passages reflect the heart of our Savior for His church.  We are His bride and His heart for us as we face these end times, is to know with certainty that He has overcome death, hell, and the grave.  So no matter what giants we face in our day to day life here on planet earth, we can know and trust that we are assured of victory because we have put our trust in the Holy One who has done for us what we could not do on our own.  It is all about trusting in Him!  Believing that as we cultivate a heart of faith we can, like David stand before the trials of this life knowing that Jesus has obtained the victory.  He has overcome every sin and every bondage; every gut wrenching trial that would try to take our peace.  Jesus has overcome!  Our trust is in Him and we cannot make the mistake of believing that in ourselves we have the strength because we do not.  God uses our trials, just as he used the lion and the bear with David, to teach us that in His strength we can stand before our enemies knowing that if we abide in Christ and trust in His plans for our lives, we too will overcome.  Our trust must be in Him and Him alone.  All we must do is engage in the battle with a heart of faith and God will glorify Himself in the lives of those who trust in Him.  He has overcome!   And because He has;  So shall we!   Glory to God!  God in me doing what I could not do on my own!  Jesus has won the victory!

Exodus  1:8-10, 12  Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph,  v:9  And he said unto his people,  Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:  v:10 come let us deal wisely with them, unless they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there is a war they will assemble themselves with our enemies, and they will fight against us, and get up and leave our land.   v:12  But the more they afflicted them,  the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad.

Exodus  3:7-8a  And the Lord said,  I have surely seen the affliction of my my people that are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters;  for I know their sorrows:  v:8a and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of the land unto a good land and a large, and unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

One of the first and foremost distinguishing characteristics of our Christian faith is our belief that Christ will return to take us home.  That in the twinkling of an eye we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The scripture says that we are to comfort one another with these words.   But why would we need to be comforted if life is so good here?  Comforted from what?

In today’s passages we read about God’s heart for those who are persecuted for their faith.  Throughout history those who were willing to suffer have inspired others to pick up their cross and follow Jesus no matter the cost.  Here in America we have enjoyed the liberty purchased by others who were willing to die for their God, country, and our precious freedoms;  freedoms that preserve the safety and well being of our families!  As they laid down their lives God has recorded every precious drop of blood that has been shed for truth and liberty. Today, I want to use this devotional to cast attention on two groups of people who desperately need our prayers.  The first is our precious brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer every single day being imprisoned, tortured, having their homes and families ripped from them while they refuse to recant their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as the only way to God.  My heart aches over their bravery and sacrifice.  They need our prayers and our faith to stand with them that one day they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.  For God, just as He did with the children of Israel, will not be silent forever but will come down to take them and us home forever to the true Promise Land.  Those who suffer for the name of Jesus have great assurance in Christ.

The second group is America’s armed forces.  These men and women serve our nation every day putting their lives on the line.  Today, American democracy faces enemies on every side.  The most notable is our lack of God fearing leadership.  In spite of these trials they suit up and go to the farthest reaching places on the planet so we can go home to our wives and children. Many of them are brothers and sisters in Christ!  I am asking everyone who reads this today to pray earnestly for those who face martyrdom or suffer loss for the name of Christ.  Also, I pray you will join me in praying for the military.  We owe a great debt to both groups.  Please pray today like someone’s life depends on it!  And as you do, it is a good time to thank God for all our many blessings.  Even with all the problems we face as a nation, we are still so very blessed!

Jeremiah  8:7  Yea, the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times;  and the turtle dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming, but my people do not know the law of the Lord. 

Luke  19:  43-44  For the days shall come upon you,  when your enemies shall build a wall around you, and surround you on every side,  and they will hem you in on every side, v: 44  and they will dash you to the ground, and your children that are inside with you;  and they will not leave one stone upon another;  Because you knew not the time of your visitation.

Jeremiah is often referred to as,  ’The Weeping Prophet’ because he wept for the trials that were to come upon his people.  He prophesied for twenty years that armies were coming from the north and that they would invade Israel,  and that God would not be there to deliver them because they would not repent.  Twice Jeremiah was thrown into prison for speaking the truth and though he struggled with the obstinance of his own countrymen he never gave up hope that they would repent, returning to the Lord.  Jeremiah was a patriot to the end of his life preaching of impending doom as God had forewarned through the prophet.  Jeremiah was not a popular individual.  He continually struggled throughout his life with the mission God had given him while trying to justify the personnel cost of telling his contemporaries the truth.  Jeremiah’s life is a living testament to one man’s determination to go against the grain under the unction of God’s leading.  So what do we learn from Jeremiah’s life as we read the selection of verses today?

One of the main struggles Jeremiah dealt with was getting his nation to believe that God was angry at their sins.  Israel had a long and rich history of God intervening in their battles with foreign nations, so for them the concept of being carried away into captivity, as Jeremiah had prophesied, seemed like an impossibility.  The rulers and people believed that because they had the temple and had enjoyed God’s presence in the temple, that God would never let anything happen to the sacred dwelling place of Jehovah. They were lulled into a false sense of security.  Because of this and the fact that they had many false teachers declaring peace and safety, they went on with their lives disregarding Jeremiah’s warnings until they were carried away in their sins.

Today, as we consider the life of Jeremiah,  I wonder how many of us would be willing to admit that maybe as Americans we have let ourselves lapse into the same state of false security?  We know that the things going on in our country are displeasing to God and yet we somehow think that because we have a church on every corner or because we have a mighty army, that what happened to Israel cannot happen to us? We would be foolish to make that mistake.  Both Jeremiah and Jesus stood against the ebb and flow of their peers as they declared that what was coming was destruction, not peace and prosperity.  It is not easy to step out of the boat and tell our family and friends or anyone else God puts within earshot, that what is coming is not good.  It is not easy to warn people of their need to repent, but if we do not accept this challenge there will be no turning back.  We will stand on the brink of destruction wondering what hit us completely off guard as we were never warned.  Our task, as the church in America, is to rise up and answer the call of Christ and to put on the prophets mantle and boldly declare that our sins as a nation are going to bring on us certain destruction if we, as one nation under God, do not repent.  We will be like Israel in that our sacred dwellings will be left in ruins and we will be carried away into captivity with no one to blame but ourselves.   Now is the hour of our visitation!  Let us fervently begin praying that God will visit us with a Spirit of revival before He visits our nation with many sorrows because we did not discern His law and we ignored His prophets,  as their testimony still stands as a witness that God will only let His people go so far before He brings judgement.  Let us pray now like our lives depend on it for they very well may!

1 Peter  1: 20-21  (Jesus)  who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake,  v:21  who through him are you believers in God,  that raised him from the dead,  and gave him glory:  so that your faith and hope might be in God.

Luke  15:9b-10  Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece (lost coin) which I had lost.  v:10  Even so,  I say unto you,  there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.  

Have you ever known someone who just seems to have their finger on the pulse of God’s heartbeat?  The Bible says that no one can walk together unless they agree.  We naturally gravitate toward people who have the same desires that we have.  ”Birds of a feather flock together,” as the old saying goes.

Today’s verses give us clues as to why some people have that inside edge with God.  The scriptures teach us that at the heart of what God is doing in planet earth, it is God’s desire that Jesus be glorified!  When Christ rose from the grave there was a triumphant march into Heaven as the saints of old shouted; “Let the King of Glory come in!”  Heaven resounded with the cry, “Who is this King of Glory?”  The saints retorted with;  ”He is the Lord of Host’,  strong and mighty in battle.”  (see Psalm 24)  Jesus is the Victor of all there is to be victorious over.   Christ defeated Satan by booting him out of Heaven (Luke 10:38) and Jesus has defeated him in the earth by triumphing over the grave.  There is no place left for victory;  or is there?

The Bible says that the angels of God assemble to give God glory when one sinner repents.  Why is that?   Because the only battlefield left to conquer is the mind and heart of mankind.  So back to our original question as to why some people seem to have that inside edge with the Spirit of God?  It is because they live for the same two purposes that  the Holy Spirit was sent to us.  First and foremost, to see Jesus exalted in their lives!  Secondly, to win souls defeating Lucifer on the last battleground left to win.

As Christians we are in a fight for God’s glory over  the heart of humanity.  When we can make these two prevailing motivations or own,  God draws near because we are on the same page as He is and we can now walk together in agreement.  It is a powerful weapon to have a sold out heart and there is no telling what God can and will do in the life of a believer who is willing to lay their all at the feet of Christ, asking that He be glorified by using them to win souls.  It is an everyday battle to keep coming back to these two important inspirations as the cares of this world creep in on all of us from time to time.  We must be reminded that the distractions that come are sometimes strategic convoys of the enemy, but if we keep these two goals ever before us, we can endure hardship as a good soldier knowing that no matter how intense our struggles might be, God will be glorified in the end.  And like the saints of old, we will some day march in triumphant praise with them having yielded our lives over to the glory of God as we fight for the lost.  Today, make it your mission to tell someone about Jesus and see God glorified.  If you listen closely you might hear the angels singing with you.

1 Corinthians  12:31  But desire earnestly the greater gifts.  And moreover a more perfect way I show to you.

Ephesians  6:4  And, you fathers,  provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  

Yesterday was a tough day for me.  To be honest, I am going through some growing pains of my own as I wrestle with becoming a better father and husband.  This morning I spent some time with God just crying out to Him to show me how to achieve this goal?

I love teaching and sharing the word of God and it is my life passion to educate the lost and hurting.  Yet in my own home I cringe as I fall so short of being all I want to be to my own family?  Sometimes I may be a little hard on myself as I fear preaching to others and falling short of the mark myself,  so I guard my testimony as much as I can .  However, there are times I fail to choose the right things to discipline the kids over and sometimes I am ungrateful for the wife and family God has restored me to.   It is a lot of work to raise a godly family and the endeavor is the process of a lifetime.  How can I  be impatient or frustrated  when I know in my heart what God has done for us?  The simple truth of the matter is that human love and patience will only take us so far?

The passage in Corinthians talks about spiritual gifts and in context, Paul is talking about the role of the Holy Spirit in the church and how each member has a different function. Each of the sign gifts is a gift from the Holy Spirit and right in the middle of Paul’s exegesis on gifts he pens the famous, ‘Love Chapter’,  introducing it as “the more perfect way.”  What I realized as I read this is that love is a gift from God and that of all the outward signs that prove God is alive in our midst, none is greater than our love for one another.  A church can only be as strong as the families that attend it and the life of my family is going to depend on me believing God to equip me with a supernatural love, born of His Spirit, and living out Christ in my own home.  I cannot badger or nit pick,  I must pray and trust God for the life of those He has placed into my stewardship as one who will give account someday, being patient with their souls.

Today, I am making a new commitment to the Lord.  I am committing my heart to Him and I am asking Him to help me be the man in private that I want to be in public.  I am trusting Him to help me raise a godly family no matter how long it might take and what challenges our children may face?  I know God to be faithful and if this is the desire of our hearts, He promises to give those to us.  In the meantime, I will learn to be patient so I do not provoke my children away from God,  but rather to Him.  How we need a baptism in fire just for this task alone.  To all of our readers who have raised godly families and lived to see the fruit of your sacrifices;  Thank you for giving us all a godly example to emulate. The kingdom of God is better for your extraordinary achievement, and so is our nation.  God bless you!

Isaiah  59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God,  and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Luke  16: 26  And besides all of this,  between us and you there is a great gulf fixed,  that they that would cross from here to there cannot,  and that none that would cross from there to us cannot.

I was looking across a great canyon recently and it struck me that the other side was impossible to bridge.  No man made bridge would ever stretch between the ground I stood on and the chasm that spanned the distance between me and what I could see.  My heart sank within me as I considered the verses above.  What a visual of the dilemma we face as humans.  We are separated by a great chasm or gulf and on one side we stand helpless to reach the other shore.  On the other side is a holy God separated from His creation by our choices.  We find ourselves there because of a sinful nature that we inherited from Adam and acted on as we lived our lives. The difference between what I could see and the reality we face is that, unlike the canyon we cannot even begin to imagine the opposite side. The distance or depth is greater than anything I could understand with my finite mind.  Like looking into the heavens and imagining the distance between me and the faintest star I could see and the miles between earth and that point of light.   As I sat there considering these things the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said;  ”Jesus has bridged the gap!”

Ephesians 4:10  He that descended is the same that ascended far above all the heavens,  that he might fill all things.   Glory to God!  Jesus did not come just to bridge a little narrow walk way spanning from one edge to the other.  He came to fill up the chasm. It no longer exist’ because through the power of the Holy Spirit all of creation is full of the knowledge of the glory of God as He raised Jesus from the dead.  My heart raced with joy as I was ready to leap over the edge into my Saviors arms when wisdom constrained me.  With tears in my eye’s I heard the Lord say to me.  This is how much I love you!  He alone can fill the void in our lives!

Ephesians  3:18-19  (That you) may be strong to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Imagine?  The same Holy God who fills all the heavens now lives in you and me?  Instead of an unreachable chasm separating us from God He has filled up the depths that once separated us from Himself.  I am not sure I can contain the joy!!!  Let us rejoice today as our hearts embrace the riches of our inheritance in Christ.  May we be consumed by a love unfathomable and eternal. And let us not forget that for many that chasm still exist’ in their own minds and if we do not shout the good news, it will for all of eternity?

Jeremiah  6:10  To whom shall I speak and testify,  that they may hear?  Behold, their ear is  uncircumcised,  and they cannot hearken:  Behold, the word of the Lord has become to them a reproach;  they have no delight in it.

Psalm 78: 1  Give ear,  Oh my people,  to my law:  Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 

In the third chapter of the gospel of John,  Jesus describes the life of the Spirit by comparing the Holy Spirit to the wind.  He say’s that we would hear the the sound of His movements but not understand where He came from or where He is going.  When was the last time you put your ear to the wind?  I have several spots that overlook the valley I live in and I visit them daily to pray and meditate on God’s word.  It is funny how being elevated above the noise and confusion allows me to take in more of the life that is taking place in the valley. There I can hear the sirens and traffic, as well as the airplanes coming and going.

In Jeremiah’s day God warned Jeremiah that there was no one listening to Him.  How can that be in a nation with such great promise and history? Were they distracted or bored with the message of truth?  We should examine our own hearts!  God longs to speak to His people and he has ordained several ways to do so. Most importantly is through the scriptures, but He does speak to us through other people and through the indwelling of His Spirit.  What keeps us from hearing His voice is not having a circumcised heart.  What is that?  It is a heart that honors God’s Word above all else.  It is someone who has ears in the wind, waiting and listening to the life and voice of God, searching for Him as one listens to the sounds in the valley below as they are carried in the wind.  Having a circumcised heart and  ears means we tune into God and disconnect from the world.  We will not find God continually plugged into the world and all its modern technologies.  It means we have a hunger and thirst that causes us to set aside these things for a period of time to search for God in prayer and reading our Bibles.

God has spoken in that which He has already revealed; namely the scriptures and the life of Christ.  However, Jesus is alive and well today and He wants to make His presence and truth known in our midst now.  The only way that can happen is for God’s people to seek Him with a fresh hunger to hear from Heaven in this day and in our generation.  God warned Jeremiah’s countrymen to heed His voice and they refused to listen as God’s truth was no longer important in their midst.  What is at stake in our day and in this nation?  We will never know if we do not give ear to the wind and wait on God to speak to our hearts those things we may need to know to survive these end times.  How I pray we will shut off our gadgets and open our hearts once again to hear the voice of the Living God before it is too late for far too many!

”  My sheep hear my Voice and a stranger they will not follow.”  John Chapter 10: 1-10

Philippians 1:10  So that you may approve the things that are excellent:  that you may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ;

Luke  8:15  And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Colossians  3:15  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts ,  to which also you were called in one body;  and you be thankful.

2 Peter 1:5-7   Outlines the process of sanctification by exhorting us to add to our faith diligence, knowledge, virtue, self-control patience, godliness and brotherly kindness.   Peter goes on to say that if we add these things to our walk with Christ we will never stumble.  Paul says the same thing in the verse we read in Philippians, promising that if we live sincerely we will be void of offense.

As you know I was released from prison three years ago.  What God has done in my life has been amazing as He has restored my family and given me a vision for my life that I never had living the life that Jesus rescued me from.  I cannot take credit for any of this!  It is all the work of the Holy Spirit leading me in the process of sanctification.  What God has done in me has caused me to see that there are basic principles we choose to build our lives on.  For me learning to be honest was huge as I spent my whole adult life being a petty thief.  It has been amazing to watch God work because as I made the simple choice to stop stealing for a living, other virtues came into my life that I was not even trying to possess.  

The verses we have chosen to look at today bear this truth out.  Somehow our choice to be sincere brings about stability that leads to holiness.  In Matthew Jesus says that if we are honest and have a good heart we will be fruitful people that are filled with patience.  What about the verse in Colossians that says that if we are grateful it opens the door for us to live in the peace of our Savior.  See how the qualities of our Savior are connected to other attributes we may not necessarily be working on. That is how it works.  Sometimes we look at the people in our lives that we admire and achieving a godly life seems impossible to us.  But if we examine the scriptures what we see is that these qualities come into our lives one choice at a time. We do not need to be overwhelmed by the big picture?  We have a Savior who is patient and kind, full of tender mercies, and who knows our weaknesses.  He is the Good Shepherd and he leads us not in a foot race but slowly, intending to deliver us to the Father as sheep fed in the green pastures of grace, sanctified by His Spirit!

I thank God for his patience with me as I do not deserve the love He has lavishly poured out on me.  What I share with you is my simple testimony.  What ever it is you struggle with lay it before God and as you do, making a choice to live God’s way, before long your life will take on qualities you may think you will never possess.  It is the journey of a lifetime that begins with one simple choice for God;  and ends with a testimony of sincerity, integrity, and gratitude for the life of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

2  Corinthians 1: 9-10    Yea, we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves,  that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.  v:10 who delivered us out of so great a death , and will deliver :  on whom we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.

Psalm 119: 170  Let my supplication come before thee:  Deliver me according to thy word. 

Throughout the Bible we read of many great deliverance’s where God intervened in the life of His people.  Hollywood and television turn these stories into epic classics that we watch and enjoy many times in our lives.  Who does not like a great story where the underdog is surrounded and suddenly, through divine intervention,  the person or persons slated for defeat are miraculously rescued and triumph is exchanged for sorrow?  As humans we naturally gravitate toward these images because they are more palatable or easier to swallow.  Is that the whole message of the Bible though?

The Apostle Paul suffered as much as any other figure in the Bible.  In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 he discusses many of the afflictions he endured  for the sake of the gospel and the welfare of the New Testament church.  Such things as being stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, beaten numerous times, being hungry and without shelter, not to mention being thrown into prison. Eventually the Apostle was martyred by having his head cut off.   So how does he write that God had delivered him when he clearly went through the fires of affliction?  Well maybe Paul saw God’s deliverance as being more than relief from his circumstances?

There is a very clear picture from the verses we ponder in today’s meditation.  Sometimes God delivers us from some trials; sometimes He delivers us through our trials, and ultimately we will be delivered from all of our trials!  Paul saw his life and the difficulties that he suffered as proof that the Lord Jesus had been with him in the past, in the present, and He will continue to be in the future.  He committed his soul to the faithful keeper of souls who knows our sufferings and died triumphing over them forever. None of us suffer the same way.  Some of us have lost a child or dealt with a life threatening disease.  For those who have no knowledge of these trials we have been delivered from them.  Others have had these difficulties and yet God has brought about the sweetest testimony of His ability to strengthen and restore in the face of catastrophe! They have been delivered through their trials.  We all face hardship of some sort but if we can adopt the right attitude and realize that God is always with us and He is ever delivering us!  How he chooses to do so is up to Him and is determined by His sovereign purpose.  Our job or privilege is to keep loving Him no matter what we endure knowing that if He ask’ us to go through it,  He will walk with us and it will be worth it!  IT WILL BE WORTH IT!  He knows how tough it is.  Jesus suffered also just to identify with your sufferings and to bring us to a world where we will be forever free from all suffering,  Oh glory to God!

Pray for deliverance.  We are suppose to believe God for deliverance and He is still in the business of doing miracles.  We serve a big God! Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes they happen in the face of death and destruction?  That is why we celebrate an empty tomb because no matter what,  God is always in control.  The door to victory opens with the prayer;   “Not my will, but thy will be done.”  Amen and Amen!

Isaiah  53: 3 He was despised,  and rejected of men;  a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:  as one from whom men hide their face he was despised;  and we esteemed him not.  

Hebrews 13: 12-13  Therefore  Jesus also,  that he might sanctify the people through his own blood,  suffered outside the gate.  Let us therefore go to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.

This past week I had a situation arise that at first baffled me?  I returned to an old job to visit people I thought were my friends.  My old boss who called me, was even distant.  For a couple of days I was hurt over the situation until the Holy Spirit spoke to me  and reminded me it was not me they were rejecting, it was Jesus.  One year ago I left that job to enter full time ministry.  When I left I was assured that I would be welcome back as I always worked hard and left on a good note.  What changed?  We all have.  In the past year I have moved on with my life living in the presence of God and building new relationships.  They too have changed as they have lived one more year without Jesus.  I could perceive the gap being created by our choices and it made me wonder if that is what hell is? A chasm between those who know God and those who do not?

When Jesus was crucified he was led outside the gates of Jerusalem.  Think about the word ‘outside’?  Have you ever felt like an outsider?  I am pretty sure we all have at some point.  Christianity is not a glee club.  We are a fellowship of people with a common bond and that bond is Jesus Christ.  We are exhorted in today’s verses to align ourselves with Jesus by making the choice to live outside the gates of acceptance or worldly  approval that we will not be banished from the city gates when the New Jerusalem appears.  We are citizens from every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation. We come from every social and economic background.  We are a people who through divine providence have been led outside the city gates to see, not a suffering criminal nailed to a cross!  But the out stretched arms of a loving Savior who is crying out;  ”Come to me, Come!”  Jesus is the gateway to eternity and his offer to us is to join Him OUTSIDE the gates of this worlds views  philosophies, and sinful pleasures.  The scripture tells us that He was despised and rejected, that we esteemed Him not. That is a statement that applies to God’s people.  I saw in my own want for acceptance from the world that I was guilty of not loving or esteeming my Savior above their approval.  I had to repent!  No wonder the Bible teaches that Hell is a bottomless pit.  Because once banished the margin that exist’ between Christ and the world will just get deeper and broader throughout eternity.  I will gladly run to Jesus now bearing His reproach outside the city gates to avoid eternity falling further away from Him.

Lastly, next time a stranger comes into your fellowship, wherever you may be, remember that we are a citizenry not of this world.  Maybe the person who has wandered in is looking to see the open arms of Jesus, being themselves an outsider?  Maybe the arms of love and concern you extend will be the open arms of Jesus welcoming them into this fellowship of miscreants who have gathered outside the gates.  Remember what it felt like when you were left out and be part of a welcoming committee for eternity.  Be blessed today by blessing someone else!

Revelation 6:9  And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held:  and they cried with a loud voice,  saying,  How long,  O Master, the holy and true, before you judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.

Romans 12: 19   Avenge not yourselves, beloved,  but give place unto the wrath of God:  for it is written,  Vengeance belongs to me:  I will repay, says the Lord.

Anger is a tough emotion to come to terms with.  The Bible does not tell us it is wrong to be angry.  It says that we should not be angry and sin.  Where do we have the prerogative to be angry verses those dark times when we fall into sin?  I have found that a good general rule is simply this;  Am I angry because of what someone did to me?  Or is it about an injustice I have observed in someone else’s life?  More often then not it is the former as we are constantly being challenged by the affairs and relationships of this world not to vindicate ourselves when wronged.  Anger is just and righteous when we perceive injustice in the lives of those who cannot protect or defend themselves.  Or when someone is purposely threatening the flock of Christ with behavior that is damaging we have a God given duty to be angered and still we are not to sin.  The difference lies in the motive.  If self vindication is our aim then we are in sin.  Why?  Because God claims all sovereign authority to judge those who harm us, persecute us, or take from us.  To take matters into our own hands is a lack of submission to God who claims the right to judge those who need judgement.  When we violate this command we place ourselves on the throne of judgement, usurping God’s authority.  This is why Jesus prayed as he did on the cross because even in those desperate, gut wrenching moments when he could have acted judiciously he remained submitted to the Father reserving judgement to whom judgement belongs.  The choice to forgive when we have been wronged is the ultimate act of trust and exemplifies our faith in the Savior more then ten thousand well preached sermons!

When the Apostle John looked into Heaven and saw the souls of the martyred under the altar, he saw our cries.  Every time we make a choice to forgive we are placing the will of self, which is to avenge self, on  the altar to be sacrificed before a Holy God who is storing up judgement for the day of wrath when HE WILL EXACT REVENGE!  Until then we are suppose to keep forgiving, as this is a witness that is burdensome to the conscience and adds to the coals of conviction for our enemies to repent and receive of the grace of our Lord.  A grace that has allowed us to make such choices.  In the event that they do not, what was to them a message of their own potential for pardon will now become literal coals of judgement.  Our objective should never be the latter and that is why Jesus said to do good to those who hurt us.  It is our hope that all men will see their need for forgiveness simply by observing God’s choice to forgive and bless in our surrender to His will.  Good triumphing over evil and acting benevolently toward the offender.  That is how we mirror grace.  ”Lord, teach us to forgive!”

e

Good morning and God bless you.  As many of you know I am home back in Grand Junction and waiting and praying for God to show Tracie and I what our next move is to be.  We covet your prayers as we know we cannot even begin to do the things we have in our hearts to do without the help of the body of Christ.  We have all the same struggles as many of you.  We are endeavoring to raise teenagers while trying to make ends meet and we continue to be amazed at God’s faithfulness.  The point is that I feel in my heart the need to just be transparent with you.  I love writing the Daily Devotional as it gives me the opportunity in my absence  from the office at Encompass to continue sowing into the ministry and the lives of the precious souls that support and depend on A Strong Tower Ministry.  I have a shepherds heart and what I pray you find when you open up the devotionals is a Savior who waits for each of us to draw near to Him.  I hope you are reminded,  in your daily struggles to put hands and feet to your faith,  that you are not and you never will be alone.  You have Jesus on the inside and angels all around, and you have friends in your faith who love you.

I am not perfect and although God speaks to me and through me,  I am far from perfect.  My good friend, brother and superior Craig reminds me often that God uses flawed vessels for His greatest works.  We love each of you and our desire is to see you reach and live out the abundant life Christ died to purchase for us.

Finally,  I endeavor to write everyday as we just started this dimension of our ministry around Christmas.  I am careful to write only what God gives me.  This is all about Jesus and we are not trying to make a name for ourselves nor are we trying to speak without purpose or unction from the Holy Spirit.  If you log on and you do not find a fresh ‘Post” for that day, please take the opportunity to visit some of the others you may have missed, or re-read an old message.  I believe with all my heart God is at work in our midst and sometimes He does not give further instructions until we have been faithful with what we have already received.  This is my prayer and I hope you will join the rest of the ministry as we long to see Jesus exalted in  our midst.

” Father, today let your will be done in earth as it is in Heaven.  We are made of earth so as we surrender to your will,  we will believe that what you ordained from the foundations of the earth for us, that those things shall come to pass as we yield to your plans and purposes.   We love you Lord and we are grateful. Thank you for continuing your work in our lives for apart from you we can do nothing and in this truth we are convinced that you alone are worthy of our trust.  In Jesus Name.  Amen”

Pray for us as we pray for you!       Jim, Tracie, and Kids.

Psalm  16: 11   You will show me the path of life:  In thy presence is fullness of joy.;  In thy right hand there are blessings forevermore.

2 Corinthians  5:17   Now the Lord is the Spirit:  and where the Spirit of the Lord is,  there is liberty.

Psalm 34:8  Oh taste and see that the Lord is good:  Blessed is the man who takes his refuge in him.

Jesus promised us that in this world we would have tribulation, but not to fear because He has overcome the world.  Both of my brothers reminded me of this truth this morning as my day had started out on a bit of a sour note.  There are days, people, and circumstances that will try our souls.  Everyone who names the Name of Christ will suffer persecution.  How this persecution comes to us varies and it is not always outright resistance to our preaching or sharing the gospel.  Sometimes it is just to challenge the way we live and the convictions and principles we endeavor to establish our homes on?  Sometimes it is just the normal stuff of life that becomes burdensome to our soul.  Life can be tough!

Either way, we have the privilege of coming to the throne of grace and laying our burdens at the foot of the cross.  Sometimes I put on some worship music and start worshiping God.  Other times I open my Bible and read it asking God to  restore my peace and joy.  Then there are the tough situations where I call on my mentors and counselors to pray with me.  We all should have two or three saints of God who have a spirit of counsel for just such occasions.  The point is simply this;  Jesus died to give us peace and joy!  Once we learn to walk in this enjoying fellowship with our God there is no going back.  Once we have tasted of God’s goodness and walked in the joy of the Lord;  once we learn to take our refuge in Him we are forever spoiled to this world.  There may be difficulties and there surely will be,  let them come.  Jesus is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path.  We are so blessed with a God who longs to make His presence known to us in the tough stuff we face.  Even in those times He holds in His right hand blessings which Jesus died to secure for us.  At the top of the list for me is peace and joy as I endeavor to live in unbroken fellowship with my Savior.

Today, whether you are new to this way of thinking or if you have known this and are in the middle of a crisis and have temporarily forgotten while your under attack, no matter where you are at in your journey and circumstance, remember that in His presence there is joy and freedom to overcome.  He loves us and He only awaits us to come to Him that we may find help and mercy in our time of need.  What an amazing God we serve!

Romans 2:4 -5    Or despise thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;  not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repent?   v:5  but after thy hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of  wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God.

Isaiah 63:7  I will make mention of the loving kindness of the Lord,  and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. 

How often have we heard someone say, ” God is good?”  And we happily reply;  ”All the time!”  There is no other appropriate response because God is good, all the time. This morning I would like to talk about some of the ways God shows us His goodness.

God is good,  first of all in the way He has revealed Himself in creation.  All of creation was designed to delight man and to show us the unfathomable depths of love and the power of our God.  Watch a documentary on Discovery channel sometime and look at the imagination of God.  Some of the life forms they are discovering now have never before been seen until this day and age with our technology.  It is like God saved something special for this generation,  just so we could see the ongoing depths of His thoughts toward us. From the sun shining on our backs to the snow capped peaks we see the grandeur of God.  All of it brought forth out of His wisdom and might through the spoken word.  God is Good!

We further see the goodness of God in the way He continually provides for us through His creation.  Food, minerals, plants and animals all come from the earth and continue to show us God’s benevolence toward humanity.  We derive our livelihood from the earth and the things that come from it.  All the services and products we depend on all have their origins in God blessing us with a continuing revelation of Himself.  God is good!

We cannot fully express the wonders of the cross where God has more then answered the question of His goodness.  Forever the cross has sealed the question;  Is God good?  Sending His Son in the likeness of sinful man to take upon himself the shame and guilt of sin that separated man from his Creator has, forever silenced those who through ignorance or rebellion, would dare ask the question.  God is Good!

God is good and we need no one to remind us as we are completely enveloped in His goodness.  Observe the blessings innumerable in music, relationships, art, literature, the Bible, and all the things we have already discussed.  Time would fail us if we tried to mention all we know and do not yet know of God’s goodness as we stare into the cosmos and imagine creation unexplored!  For these reasons next time someone says to you;  ”God is Good!”  Pause for a minute and remember all the ways He has been good to you.  God forbid we should ever take goodness, grace, or mercy for granted,  for in the moment we do we have forgotten God is also just and holy.  God’s goodness does not cancel out His other attributes, it magnifies them.  Let no one of us presume upon the grace of God for He is good!  So, next time you hear the words,  ”God is good.”  Give some thought to your response!  To appreciate is to worship in spirit and truth.  GOD IS GOOD….. ALL THE TIME!!!

Ephesians 2: 8-9   For by grace you have been saved through faith:  and that not of yourselves,  it is the gift of God.  v: 9   not of works unless any man should boast. 

Isaiah 6: 5  Then said I,  Woe is me!  I am undone;  because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:  for my eyes have seen the King,  the Lord of Hosts.

Isaiah is one of the more notable prophets of the Bible for several reasons.  Commissioned by God at an early age his life and prophetic ministry span the lifetimes of four different kings, including Hezekiah who led a national revival.  Isaiah leads the charge in Messianic prophecy prophesying roughly 600 years before Christ’ coming.  The pin point accuracy of his visions is irrefutable as he describes in detail the sufferings of Jesus.

In spite of all of this, when Isaiah beheld God’s glory he fell on his face seeing himself as a desperate sinner in need of mercy. Not only does he see his own need, he goes on to intercede as he recognizes that he is only a product of his contemporary society and people.   A young man at this point who had probably done his best to live according to the commandments and teachings of his nation, yet as lost as anyone for he did not know God.  Suddenly the heavens open and behold the King of Glory, high and exalted, angels crying out HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord of Hosts. God is now revealed to him in a way he had never known and his life forever changed.

Unlike Isaiah many of us live for years trapped in our sins never seeing or experiencing God.  We travel to the depths only to sink further and further until one day, like Isaiah, we see the heavens opened and Jesus shining in His glory.

That is the message of Ephesians as we consider our understanding of grace.  It does not matter if,  like Isaiah,  you live a fairly moral life. Neither does it matter if you are guilty of the very worst of crimes.  If it did,  it would no longer be grace and we could take credit for the moral life we have lived. It is not of works so none of us can boast. We stand by faith through grace.   Some would stand in our midst and judge others because they have not done the  ’horrible things’ others have done.  Isaiah made his statement about unclean lips because what comes out of our mouths is a declaration of what is in our hearts.  If we have unclean lips it is because our hearts have not seen our own need for mercy as we pretend to know God having forgotten our own need for grace and mercy.  On a personnel note:  I went to the very gates of hell in my sin.  As I write this I am a man convinced that if I  could have lost my salvation I would have.  I was tormented with a drug addiction and often Satan appears in my sleep to remind me of my past and where I have been and what I have done.  My heart swells with love for I know that as I speak to you it is only because of Jesus that I am who I am today.  Grace exalts the completed work of Christ while other doctrines accentuate the work and will of man.  I am convinced that in me there is nothing good except Jesus.  To Him alone be glory!!!

If we are to see a move of God I believe that as a nation and people we are all going to need to rekindle, in the presence of a Holy God, our renewed need for grace and mercy.  Let us pray with a fresh passion as Isaiah,  and hope the heavens will once again open to us.

1 Samuel 3:1  The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.  In those days the word of the Lord was rare;  there were not many visions.  

Proverbs 29:18  Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint;  but blessed is he that keeps the law.

This mornings verses have always disturbed me and especially as I consider the state of Israel many times in their history. The Hebrew word for ‘vision’ is the word ‘hazon’  and it means to have a supernatural revelation of God’s will,  and it is given to God’s prophets to bring future hope while comforting in the present.  This was especially true at the time of the Revelation of Jesus as the church was under tremendous persecution.

Throughout history God has raised up men and women to lead His people.  These individuals seem to have a special ear to hear what God is saying as He endeavors to lead His people through the difficulties they face.  When that is absent in our lives as individuals, or collectively, people perish for lack of leadership.  Jesus is a shepherd,  He is the Great Shepherd of our souls,  and true leadership bears the very distinct ear mark of knowing where God is leading His people.

It is a grief to the soul to observe the demise of humanity, the congregation of the saints, or the lowliest of sheep because we have lapsed into a generation where the vision of God is rare in our midst.  Individually we wander aimlessly not knowing our true purpose and where we are suppose to lay our lives down by investing our time and resources in a God given purpose.  Collectively, some of us are so hungry to see a move of God that we are clinging to anything that even smells of the Spirit of God because we want to see a revival in our midst.  There is no counterfeit in the world that can even come close to a genuine move of God.

Today, I feel God is calling on me to intercede for a fresh vision from God.  We can no longer sit back and talk about yesterdays glories when we are trying to win the hearts of a generation that knows nothing of God.  Until they see leadership that is anointed by the living God they won’t want anything to do with our programs.  We need a vision from God to prepare us for the things we will face in the future and I am asking everyone who reads these words to fall on your knees today and ask God to raise up some men and women who have their finger on the pulse of God’s Spirit. He is the breath of life and without Him all our endeavors are human inspired and will fail to produce life.  Only God can bring to life those things He intends to live and everything outside of that is nothing more than a Frankenstein experiment.

The state of urgency is upon us;  today and every day we need to ask God for His vision for our lives, the lives of our children, and the future of His kingdom on earth.  Until we have had a fresh baptism in His sovereign purpose for our lives and ministries,  our whole nation will continue to flounder.  ” Dear God, visit your prophets once again and bring fresh vision to your people Lord.  Our lives and our nation depend upon you to speak to us Lord. In you alone we put our trust and we will not lean on the arm of flesh.”   

Zechariah  4:6   Then he answered and spake unto me, saying,  This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,  Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts.

Hebrews  11: 3    By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God,  so that what is seen has not been made by the things which appear.

I absolutely treasure this verse!   Not only does it adequately defend  against the lies of evolution, but more importantly it shows us the gateway of understanding, including the creation of our world.  That gateway is FAITH!  So many times in my life have I struggled to understand the deeper things of my commitment to Christ.  Let’s be serious here.  Who has not struggled with the teachings of the Bible?  There are many things that are hard to understand and even the Apostle Peter said that of Paul’s writings ” they are hard to understand.”  (2 Peter 3:16)  So,  how do we come to understand these deep truths that Christians for centuries have fought to preserve as orthodox or acceptable truth?

The passage in Hebrews tells us plainly,  “By faith we understand!”     Saint Augustine said it best;  ”  I do not seek to understand in order that I might have faith.  I seek to have faith in order that I may understand.”  So many times we are challenged by the great mysteries of the Bible and if that is not enough we are challenged by the circumstances that we face throughout our lives.  In either case the door of understanding will never open to us if we cannot simply come to the place in our hearts where we accept God’s Word to be truth,  every single jot and tittle.  What we believe about our universe and how it came into being,  our place in it,  the sin dilemma,  and God’s solution to sin.  All these things are covered in scripture so that we have a foundation to build our lives on.  There is more:  What about doctrines  like the trinity  or the fullness of both Christ’ humanity and deity?  Some things in scripture are meant to be beyond our reach intellectually and if we could comprehend all there is to know about God then He wouldn’t be God, our intellect would be. He is infinite and all powerful, able to be everywhere at once and beyond the bounds of time, unable to die.  We are His creation and until we can simply accept, by faith, that what He has said about our world, our circumstances, and who He says He is we will remain lost in the fog of unbelief.  God cannot lie!  I accept that or else what premise would there be for judgement?  If I am to know God I must believe that in the Bible He has given me all I need to live the life He promises.  As I continue reading the Bible the Holy Spirit is faithful to illumine my understanding so that I do see more now then when I first began.  Our understanding is a progressive work built on the moments of our lives when we read a biblical truth and accept it as fact, whether we fully comprehend it or not.  God is faithful and when we ask Him to enlighten our understanding, He does!   Faith comes from reading God’s word and trusting Him as we do.  When faith comes so will understanding, a little here and a little there.  Remember Augustine’s motto, it is the best one to live by.

I pray;   “that the  God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all glory, may give unto you a spirit of of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  Having the eyes of your heart enlightened.”   Apostle Paul   Ephesians 1: 17-18

BY FAITH WE UNDERSTAND!  There is no other way but to simply believe what God says.

Dear Lord Jesus,  I come to you this morning with a special unction from your Spirit.  You are an infinite and wise God and you alone know the end from the beginning.  Lord, we recognize that in all the world there is no one like you.  We exalt you this morning for all the eternal attributes that you alone possess because there is none like unto thee.  You are the beat of our hearts, the desire of our lives,  and the goal of all we hope to attain.  It is all you Jesus and apart from you we know we can do nothing.

Lord, this morning we want to lift up A Strong Tower Ministry.  Heavenly Father, you know the lives that have been changed through this amazing ministry.  Lives that had been written off are now flourishing in the same communities they were arrested and taken from.  Lord, none of us can take credit for what you alone have done,  but we pray that you would bless and provide for those who have surrendered themselves to this work, becoming your hands and feet.  Dear God, we humbly implore you to take charge of this ministry by continuing to give clear and concise direction to those who lead under your authority.  Let not one move be made that is not in your perfect will.  Lord, we recognize that lives are at stake, not just in those we endeavor to rescue, but in future crimes that would be committed should we fall short of your purpose.  Dear Lord, we ask you to help us accomplish what it is you want done through this outreach.  Bring healing and restoration!  Bring faith and faith filled men who will mentor with compassion and understanding equipping these men to serve you in the capacity that you designed them to fulfill.  Help us lay a firm foundation in their lives of Biblical truth. Your promise is that we would know truth and truth would set us free.  Bring freedom and restoration.  Bring to us a greater commitment from the staff to see more clearly the future of this ministry and to discern your leading.  Lord,  we need your provision to do this work and we trust you to make the way plain.   The cattle on a thousand hills belongs to you.  Is anything too hard for you?  We do not believe it is and therefore we are laying all these request at your benevolent feet asking with sincere hearts trusting in your immutable plan.  You are God!  You are the Sovereign Potentate and none can thwart your plans or purposes.  In this we trust and we will continue to trust you as you show each of us how we can better bless you by being a blessing to this ministry.  Let not one heart reading this prayer and saying “Amen”  fail to bring something to the altar in the hope that you would be glorified and at least one more life would be pulled from the fire,  in Jesus Name.  Amen and Amen   Today,  help us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

Please Help!   Someones life you may not know is hanging in the balance,  search your heart and ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do.   Thanks to all of you who are already hearing from God and are involved pulling men and women from the fire.  It is never too late to change!

Proverbs 15; 1  A soft answer turns away wrath;  But a grievous word stirs up anger.  

Proverbs 15:4  A gentle tongue is a tree of life:  But perverseness is a breaking of the spirit.

James 3:2   For in many things we all stumble,  If any stumbles not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.

There is so much in the scriptures that communicates to us about our communication with one another.  Our days are filled with opportunities to bless and curse with the same member of our body.  We can one minute be telling God how much we love Him and the very next be cursing someone who foibles in traffic.  How can this be?  I will be the first to confess that my tongue often indicates to me just how far I must yet go in my walk with God.  There are times when we just seem to come unraveled at the seems.

In the fifth chapter of Galatians we learn what the fruit of the Spirit is;    v: 22   love,  joy, peace,  longsuffering,  kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control,  against which there is no law.

No one among us has arrived at perfection, least of all me, and yet there is in me something that yearns for a more perfect walk with God.  The Greek word for perfect does not indicate perfection, but rather maturity or a balanced wholeness that is founded on a genuine faith in Christ.  No where in our walk is this more evident then in what is communicated out of our mouths.  A word of caution;  no one arrives at a state of maturity over night so remember that patience is also a fruit of the Spirit.  What we can do is begin first of all by realizing the goal.  No archer aims superfluously at his target.  No, he draws his bow back with a specific target in mind and with careful and steady hands his whole body is drawn into the moment when the arrow is released and the object of his aim is pierced with deadly accuracy.  So should we draw on the Holy Spirit to kindle in us a godly desire to speak words that penetrate human hearts, not just in what we say, but also in how we live.  We must cultivate the goal in our thinking as we pray and ask God to give us this self control while using our tongues to bless and pray.

We have a choice in how we respond to the moments that challenge all of us.  Our God is gracious and when we ask for help in any area of our lives,  God will come and do what only He can.  Talk to Him and remember it is an inside job.  The more of God’s word we put in the more of God will come out and eventually we learn to walk in the maturity God intends for us to reach.  There is someone, maybe right next to you?  Use your tongue to encourage, bless, or extend a note of gratitude.  As you yield yourself over to the power of being surrendered to God as someone who choose to bless others with your tongue, an amazing thing happens.  We learn to stop using that same tongue to curse.  A choice for God eradicates the enemies strongholds in our lives.  Be Blessed Today,  in Jesus Name.  Amen

Judges  3:1-2   Now these are the nations which the Lord left,  to prove Israel by them,  even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan.   v:2  only that the generations of the children of Israel might know,  to teach them war,  for those who before had known nothing of war. 

Many times throughout my christian walk have I had someone say to me,  ” If God is so loving, why doesn’t he just take away all the suffering in the world?”   Many other variations of this question have been presented to me as I have counseled and consoled those who are hurting.  To be honest, in my own life I have had many opportunities to question God’s wisdom in leaving the thorns and thistles that make life extremely challenging at times.

As we consider the verse above there are several things to consider and the most important is that many of the enemies that buffeted Israel were there because God’s people refused to thoroughly drive out their enemies.  Instead they were content to keep the pagan cultures as slaves which eventually caused them to stumble,  simply because that in time the false religions of these nations crept in infiltrating the hearts and minds of Israel until they became enslaved again themselves.  We must be diligent to put to death the things in our lives that cause us to stumble and we cannot live under the facade that we are in control because it will be only a matter of time before we are serving the things that we believe we are in control of.

Beyond that however,  we all have things we face that cause us to war in our minds and for our own life, as well as the lives of those we fight for.  War, whether real or spiritual is a necessary evil that we face in this life in order to prepare us to stand against the enemies of God.  We fight for righteousness, truth, and liberty and if ever a generation came that did not know how to fight, that would be the generation that is swept away by the enemy.  God in His infinite wisdom has seen fit to leave  things that challenge us in our lives to teach us how to overcome.  Through prayer and reading the scriptures we learn to lift up the banner of Christ’ Name in surrendered worship.  No weapon formed against us can stand. God has done this to teach us how awesome the Lord is as He and He alone puts our enemies under His own feet.  We are but vessels prepared for war by the things which God has seen fit to allow to remain in our lives.  It is something different for each of us as we prepare our hearts to fight against whatever battles we must endure to overcome.   Ultimately we know that we are already seated with Him in Heavenly places and that Jesus has already defeated our enemies, Glory to God!

Finally, the great deception that will come on the world is the belief that true and abiding peace can come from anyone else other than Jesus Christ.  There will be a ‘deceiver’  who will convince the world that he has the keys to peace, prosperity, and unity.  We must be careful that in our hope for peace we are not lost in the deception of peace.  The scriptures are clear on this point and there can be no peace until Jesus establishes His rule over our planet.  Until then, and like the children of Israel, we must face the conflicts that our generation faces knowing that if God has seen fit to allow us to have difficulties, then He has eventually designed a victory over them, either in this life or the one to come. That is up to His sovereign purpose and we must be willing to fight while at the same time remaining surrendered and always cultivating hope for the day when Jesus will, indeed rule our world.  Come quickly Lord Jesus  Until then, remember that what ever your difficulty is,  that it is designed to teach you how to fight for what you believe, so fight the good fight of faith in our God and know Jesus has already won the war.

Genesis  26:18   And Isaac again digged the wells of water, which they have digged in the days of Abraham his father;  for the Philistines  had stopped them after the death of Abraham:  and he called their names by which his father had called them.   

Genesis  13: 3-4  And he (Abraham)  went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el,  unto the place where his tent had been from the beginning,  between Beth-el and Ai.  v:4  unto the place of the altar,  which he had made at the first:  and there Abraham called on the name of the Lord.  

Do you remember the first time you encountered God?  Was it in church and was it a particular passage of scripture that the Holy Spirit used to arrest your attention.  Maybe it was a song, a poem, or a conversation with another believer?  What was it that brought your mind and heart into a particular awareness of God’s love and presence in your life?  Do you remember the promises you made and the things you were willing to forsake?  Whatever it was you know it was a special moment when Heaven met you giving you a Divine revelation of God’s eternal being.

In the verses chosen today we are looking at the way God used Abraham and Isaac’s past experiences with Him to rekindle faith and bring refreshing.  Old altars are spoken of in scripture often.  Sometimes in a good way and other times in context of God’s people returning to the false gods of heathen worship.  We do not want to confuse the two.  What we are looking at is the way God used the past to remind Abraham, as well as us,  of those times when we felt his presence and we made our hearts a living altar offering all we had in service to the King.  I remember things God has spoken to me and notes and prayers in my Bible.  All of which have brought me times of refreshing as I go back and renew my mind to the promises I made to God and promises He has made to me.

In the book of Revelation Jesus warns His church not to forget their First Love, to remember where they came from and to return to their first works.  One way we can keep ‘First Love Fires’ burning is to pray and talk to the Lord about those moments when our commitment to Him was filled with zeal and we were candles burning bright.  As we dig into these old wells, not leaning too much on them to sustain us, but rather that our hope is a renewal of faith while cultivating a hope for fresh visitations from God.  When we do this we remind ourselves how much God meant to us in those moments when love was a hot flame.  God’s heart is to keep revealing more of Himself  to us and if we re-visit those times He has with a grateful and hungry heart, more will be revealed.

In closing a word of distinction.  There is a difference between the altar and a well.  One is a place of sacrifice where an offering has been made. The other is a fountain of refreshing.  The altar always precedes the well.   If you go back to those moments when God first touched your life, do not go empty handed.  Return with something in your heart that you are willing to offer God.  As we do this He will show us where to camp as He leads and guide us to springs of refreshing.  There may be some work but the well of eternal life will flow freely nurturing the flock of God.  It is our privilege to live between the altar and the well where our children will live in the valley of refreshing!

 Jeremiah 6:16   Thus saith the Lord,  stand you in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way;  and walk therein , and you shall find rest for your souls:  but they said,  We will not walk that way.

Job 8:8  For inquire, I ask  thee,  of the former age,  And apply yourself to that which their fathers have searched out.

There are many times in scripture when God raised up men who would cry from the hill tops warning God’s people to consider their ways.  God never brings judgement or correction without first warning those in danger of being chastised.  God is gracious this way as the scriptures teach us that God wishes no one to perish, but rather that all would come to repentance.

What God is speaking to us in today’s verses is that we are to stop as travelers and consider those who have gone before us.  Take a look into former generations and ancestors and learn from their example.  We all have heard it said;  ” experience is the best teacher”.   But through the power of the Holy Spirit we can be wise and learn from other’s mistakes and we do not have to go down the path of certain destruction, disobeying the voices of warning, ending up ruined!

What does the past teach us?  Several things and the most important thing is that when nations, no matter how great they are, turn their back on God forsaking His law and negating justice,  then judgement is coming. Take a look into humanities past and see Babylon,  Persia, Greece, Rome, Egypt, all having gone the way of destruction.  We learn that to lose compassion on the poor, the widow, the single mothers, or those who are lame, those who have no voice that God becomes their voice in the administering of correction in our departure from righteousness. Furthermore, it is not enough that we do not do the things that we know anger God.  We must be engaged in the fight to warn our peers and those in our sphere of influence that they are walking a slippery slope.

On a more personal note;  each of us has someone in our lives who has represented both a good example and a destructive one.  Again, we are challenged by scripture to look at the lives of the elders in our community and see where they succeeded and where they failed.  This, I believe, is a two fold admonition.  First we are to consider those gone before us and we are to be mindful of those who will follow.  We cannot expect our children to follow our example if we have secret sins tucked away in our computers, under our mattresses, or in our thought life.  We will never be a nation that turns to God unless each of us considers our ways comparing them with those gone before us, not forgetting those who follow.

Finally,  we are a people at the cross roads and we will either accept the warnings of those gone before us, or sadly like Jeremiahs generation and nation, we will reject the voice of God and fall miserably by the wayside.  The choice is ours and may it be said in years to come that we were wise.

2  Peter 1:4    whereby he has granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises:  that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

2 Corinthians  7:1 Having therefore these promises, beloved , let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of  flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord

One of my favorite character studies in the Bible is the life of Abraham.  Talk about a man who had a reason to live.  He is rousted out of his native land by his father to go into the land of Canaan.  On the way there his father dies and God appears to Abram and promises that he would be blessed, that he would be a great nation, and that he would have a son and in Him all the families of the earth would be blessed.  Now Abram, later renamed by God Abraham was not a young man.  In fact, he was 75 years old and his wife, well she was just a few years behind him.  The point of this story is that from the time God gave Abraham the promise until it finally came to pass,  Abraham was on a journey with God.  Twice he lied about his wife Sarah to protect his own skin. Then the two of them consorted together entering into a plan to have a child that just brought hardship into their lives and the community they lived in.  To this very day the illicit fruit of that attempt to produce God’s promise on their own remains. Abraham had some defects of character that needed dealing with and God knew that before He ever called Abraham, but God used the desires of Abraham and Sarah’s  heart, which was to have a son, to gently lead them for 25 years before they saw the promise of God.

Today’s verses are about that very thing.  God has placed before us these exceedingly great promises and as we follow Him, He is slowly dealing with our faults just as He did with Abraham and Sarah.  As we live for Him we learn to say no to our own desires or attempts to make things happen.  We learn in our times of waiting that nothing, not even our godly desires, mean more to us then God Himself!  We become through the new nature a people who are led by God’s promises into a relationship that is no longer motivated by what we hope to obtain, but rather by a communion with Jesus that means more than even the promises He died to purchase for us.

This is the end of Abraham’s life.  That son he waited all those years for, he was now willing to lay on the altar and gladly sacrifice  because pleasing God meant more to him than even a godly desire;  he knew Isaac was not God.  Many other examples of this same leading in scripture.   David was promised a Kingship, the children of Israel wandered 40 years waiting on a promise land.  In the same way God has set before us these great promises of redemption, hope,  and healing.  In the end of our journey we will not be measured by the promises we obtained, the lives we have touched or the legacy we leave. In the end what matters to God is that we know Him and the power of His resurrection and that He alone and not His promises mean more to us then life or death.  Promises are good and from God and we all should be living with the hope of seeing God work in our lives, but the real promise is Christ and everything else is designed to teach us to be willing to lay it on the altar in order to possess Him.  That is when we are  on our way to being partakers of the divine nature.

2 Corinthians  4:4   in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine upon them.

Are you ever put off by the behavior of a fellow human?  Does an attitude arise from time to time in the office or work place that causes you to just shake your head and wonder how people can be so blind?  I do,  and if we are honest with ourselves, most of us do.  One of the greatest enemies we face as believers is the tendency to subtly convince ourselves that we have arrived.  We look around at the world we live in and wonder,  ’how can people be so lost?’  While at the same time we pat ourselves on the back with an unseen religious pride that believes we have got it all figured out?  Maybe this is a confession of my own soul because I often do forget.  Some how I get to rolling through the wonderful days of a life I have been blessed to now live and I forget the drug addiction, the sexual addictions, and the pride that would not allow me to live an honest life.  I wonder how I could forget?  I also consider how easy it would be for some of the rest of us to slip into such criticism of others, especially when we have not lived a real jaded life.

Today’s meditation is about that very thing.  We all live in a fallen world so we see and hear, while experiencing things that are contrary to what we know as Christians to be the false attitudes and behaviors of this age.   This is good and we need to continue to maintain these boundaries in our thinking.  Where we fall short is by forgetting how we arrived at our convictions.  None of us just woke up and on our own decided to follow Jesus.  Each of us have had someone bombarding the very gates of hell on our behalf with prayer while the precious Holy Spirit gently wooed us into a love relationship with our Savior.  God did this with gentleness and compassion for He knows we are but dust.

In context this passage is a reminder to the Corinthian Church, and us, that we are living epistles or letters that people read and proof of the true ministry of Christ in their midst. Paul is speaking of those who are still trapped in legalism and religion and how Satan uses these things to keep them from seeing Jesus.  The Savior we serve reached beyond people’s outward behavior to capture the inner person of the heart.  Jesus did so with compassion, love and understanding!  Nothing has changed.  We can brow beat, criticize, gossip, and condemn;  or we can humbly remember what incredible patience and mercy has been shown to each of us, no matter what our past, and we can offer a prayer in silence on behalf of someone who is still blinded by the god of this world.  We are an epistle and how we respond will determine what the lost read and conclude about who our God is.  If we respond in a critical manner, then that only reinforces what most have been taught in their religious backgrounds.  For most, a response of grace and forgiveness, mixed with humble compassion, will leave an impact far greater then we can imagine.  Today, lets be reminded that we once were lost and that it is God’s compassion that healed our blindness!  Freely we have received and freely we should give.  That is a letter everyone would like to read!

2 Corinthians  5:7   For we walk by faith and not by sight.

Years ago I heard a poem that changed my life.  It is not among the collected works of Emerson, but it does have some simple truth that frees the understanding. It goes like this;

Three men were walking on a wall, Feeling, Faith, and Fact.  Feeling took an awful fall and Faith was taken back.  But Fact remained both strong and true, and that brought back Faith and Feeling too.

I have never found anything that so clarifies today’s verse.  In context the Apostle is discussing his hope for eternal life and the fact that one day we will be clothed with a heavenly body and until then we live by faith believing this as our ultimate destiny.  The statement that we live by faith and not by sight has much to offer us.  First of all, if we cannot come to terms with its application in the smaller details of life, how do we ever expect to believe God for something as big as a new body? We must put first things first.  Most of us, if we are honest struggle with the tiniest matters.  We are more concerned with real life stuff like jobs, a home, food, and relationships.  But what do we anchor our faith to?  This is why the facts are so important!  Without something solid in which to fasten or fix our trust to, we will ever be slaves to our emotions which are slaves to the things we see. (ie. circumstances) We will spend our whole lives falling off the wall.

Learning to trust God is the endeavor of a lifetime. It takes a determined effort and it is hinged on our ability to rely upon what God says about our lives and His intentions for us.  Example:  If I am struggling financially I can either be a slave to what the news says about the economy allowing myself to be discouraged, frustrated, and always defeated by my feelings or emotions.  Or I can go to the Word of God and find the Facts.  God’s Word says;  God is my Provider, God will Bless, and God wants me to work and will give me opportunities to be a blessing to others.  These are the Facts and they are what we nail our Faith to, and as we do, God teaches us to live in victory.  It does not matter what issues we face, we go to the scriptures and find out what God says and we live with the conviction that it does not matter what anyone else says, does, or believes, God and God alone has spoken regarding my challenges and in Gods truth (Facts) I will trust.  The amazing thing about that is that without fail Faith and Feeling humbly follow Fact into a life of VICTORY.

” Dear Lord Jesus, teach us to live according to your facts.  Help us to realize that our life is not controlled by anything other than your predetermined plan and the moments we wait for  your promises to manifest, are only moments we have in which to honor you with our faith.  It is faith alone that pleases you and faith is the gift of understanding what your Word says regarding any and all of our struggles.  Lord, teach us how to live in victory, and as you do, we will be careful to give you all the glory!  In Jesus Name,  Amen”

Go to the scriptures and find out what God says.  Remember that God cannot lie and what He promised He will do, in His time. Wait in confidence trusting in the FACTS of what God Has said and live in victory today! Continue reading →

Psalm 133:1  Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

Ephesians 4:16  From whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in due measure of each and several parts, making the increase of the  body unto the building up of itself in love.

Have you ever been a part of something really special?  If you are a christian then you have to say “yes”.  Why? Because next to fellowship with God there is nothing in this world as satisfying to the nature of a child of God as fellowship with other believers.  

It was a dark day as I rolled into Sterling Correctional Facility.  I thought I had been doomed to Castle Gray Skull.  I was alone staring at a Habitual Offender sentence and I knew no one.  Locked down for one week for processing I prayed and asked God that if He loved me to give me some sign.  Just days later I met one of my best friends in life and we began to encourage and exhort one another to live for God while working to evangelize the prison population.  I cannot express the love or admiration I have for this man.  A brother born for and in adversity.  I know many! There I witnessed God’s love for me.

What God has shown me since then is the value of godly fellowship.  I had known the Lord for many years but I never truly saw how desperately I needed other believers until we were in the fox hole,  hunkered down and trapped behind enemy lines, I began to depend on their individual fellowship with God to inspire our collective or corporate worship of God.  Christian fellowship took on a whole new meaning as God brought other believers into the prison who brought us seeds of hope and possibility, and I am grateful that ten years later, these dear saints of God are still part of my life and are still sowing the same seeds of love and hope into my life.

Believers need other believers that is simply the way Jesus designed His body to work.  We are vulnerable and more apt to fall prey to the enemy when we do not truly see that what God chooses to do in our midst can only succeed when we value each other while making room for one another.  Just the same way my survival in Sterling depended on other believers, so our survival in this world depends on those the Holy Spirit places in the body around us.  More than that, the scriptures teach that when we understand this and dwell together with this unified dependence on God in one another, God anoints our fellowship with the oil of His Spirit. Today’s verses also teach that every part supplies some needful function to the overall well being of the body and to discount any members role is to prevent increase of growth and love, as the church cannot be built up in this way!  We need each other!  We cannot fight or hold jealous animosity while gossiping about one another and expect God to do the extraordinary in our midst.  We cannot judge and criticize and see the holy anointing of Christ in our midst.  The Holy Spirit will never anoint untruth for if He did we would be deceived into believing we are living right. There is only one way to capture God’s attention and that is by having a proper understanding and then living it out in our daily lives.  We need each other and every member of the body of Christ is as valuable as the next.  When we understand this and cultivate it in our churches, we will see the anointing of God.  I often remind myself just how blessed I am to be a part of something so special and today I know I have friends that would lay down their lives for me.  How can I not respond in a similar manner?  That is every joint supplying as we lay down our lives for one another!

2  Peter 1: 17-18   For he (Jesus)  received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory saying; ” this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” : and this voice we ourselves heard borne out of Heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount.

I often wonder what it must of been like to be on the Mount of Transfiguration?  The disciples  already knew that Jesus was not like anyone else they had ever seen.  Walking with him for three years and seeing the dead raised, lepers healed, the eyes of the blind opened, as well as feeding five thousand people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread.  These are things that stagger the mind and boggle our ability to truly understand what it was like to walk with Jesus.  Yet,  in what scholars feel were the closing days of Peter’s life, Peter does not mention any of these things.  What Peter tries to remind his readers of is that Jesus was a man approved by God, the Father!

I have too often been concerned with what people think, when I will get to follow my dreams , and a host of other inspirations that fall short of the nature and desire of Christ.  Thanks to the Holy Spirit I can see the things in myself that do not measure up, but Jesus never had such inferior ambitions.  His whole life was a torch of love and holy desire to see that the Father was exalted and that people were reconciled to him wherever and whenever possible. This is the difference between Jesus and me.  Yet, as we grow in our faith what is not mine by nature becomes mine by merit of the fact that I have been given a new nature and I am now blessed with the mind and heart of Christ!

What does this mean?  That as I look into the Word of God and I see a Holy Savior who lived for the approval of One as he had an audience of One, I am convicted in that where I fall short of the mark, Jesus bridges the gap.  Moreover, I am also challenged to pray and ask our Father to uproot out of my life everything that does not line up with the nature of Jesus.  Take my ugly inspirations and motivations and replace them with the desire to live for the audience of One, Father,  Son, and Holy Spirit.  This is my cry to the Father today as He shines the light of His truth on this passage.  Will you join me?  “Lord, if there is anything in our lives that does not measure up to Jesus,  please expose it and heal it!  We look to you to show us what you see and as always Lord, you are gracious to do this a little at a time.  Give us the courage to accept the challenges you put before us and by your mercy and grace help us to be what you have called us to be, In Jesus Name.”

It is no small thing that of all the things that Peter witnessed in the life of Christ that this holy  approval stood out to him the most.  Maybe Peter was infected with the same motivations we sometimes have?  Maybe Peter saw the value of living for Heavens approval and nothing else?  Maybe I should spend more time considering where and what I am living for and Who is watching me as well.  In the end there is only One that matters.  “This is my beloved Son, in him I am well pleased!”  Now that is the right inspiration!!!!

1 Peter 3:1-2  In like manner, you wives be in subjection to your own husbands ;  that even if they obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by beholding the behavior of their wives:  beholding your chaste behavior coupled with fear.

I will never forget the moment I met Tracie, my wife.  I looked at her and instantly saw something in her smile that just made me feel like I had come home.  Unfortunately I had a drug addiction.  Tracie and I have been through some things, including a ten year prison sentence.  I can tell you that God alone knows where I would be if not for the love I found in Tracie.

It has not always been easy between the two of us.  There was a time when I walked away from God to serve the demonic desires of my flesh.  During those days Tracie left me and took the kids and went and made her own way in the world. She did not settle for being treated with anything less than the love she believed she was, no doubt worth!  After I got my prison sentence she wanted nothing to do with me, but she did leave the door for a relationship open, but just barely.  The whole time I was gone I could only remember her incredible example of responsibility and honesty, along with her hard work ethic!  

As I read the passage in Peter today I could not help but remember how Tracie’s life spoke to me.  She did not preach at me, she just lived a good clean life and that was enough for me to realize that the life I was living was not good enough for her or me.

I wonder how many men there are who will read this and be honest about your life. Where would you be without a godly woman who challenges you to be more than you would be on your own?  When was the last time you told your wife what she means to you?  When was the last time you got before God and thanked him for the blessing and favor He has shown you by giving you the helper you have? It is easy to take God’s blessings for granted.  I know first hand what can happen when we forget just how blessed we are.  Do not ever think that what happened to me cannot happen to you. That is exactly what I thought and I was so wrong.

A word of encouragement to those women out there who are struggling with a relationship that does not reflect the love of Christ.  Be of good courage today and know that as you live a quiet and gentle example, trusting in Jesus and serving Him with joy, that God is slowly working in the heart of your husband.  It may take ten years and a prison sentence, but the promise of God is that your husband, along with your children, will eventually rise up and praise you. ( Proverbs 31:28-29)  God is faithful and if we live with a heart to trust in Him and obtain His promises, He promises we shall have the desires of our heart.

“Thank you Lord for Tracie.  I do not deserve her, but I am grateful.  May our story encourage someone else to know that you have a similar plan for them.  Restore and heal families all over this land, in Jesus Name. Amen”

It all starts with a good example.

Psalm 19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God;  And the firmament shows his handiwork.

Romans 1: 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived by the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.

I have a good friend that I go camping and hiking with.  He is a real avid astronomy student who can point out the constellations in their seasons.  We have a great time looking up at the stars through his telescopes and yet we come to two totally different outcomes as we do.  My friend does not believe in Jesus.  I wonder how this can be?

The scriptures teach that the very heavens declare the glory of God.  Consider the constellation Virgo?  It means virgin with child.  Libra? The scales of God’s justice. What about Leo?  The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Apostle Paul goes on to say that the things that are visible are evidence of God’s power and glory.  Imagine!  Before God ever created one single thing the gospel was to be  written in the stars and indeed the scriptures say that before the foundation of the world Jesus was slain.  So when we look up at the heavens and we see the light of God’s creative power piercing through the night and moving at speeds we cannot comprehend, think of the undeniable message God has left all creation.  The constellations are constant in their season and like the North Star they always point us home.  So why does my friend not believe?  Throughout the thousands of years this message has been perverted by ancient cultures who would, as the Apostle tells us, rather worship the things created.  This is why God forbids star worship or more commonly known as astrology.  We are to recognize the design and purpose of our Creator in the things created and all things whether seen or unseen were and are created to bring Christ the glory due his Name.  What is at stake is the message of the gospel!  I am not an astronomy scholar but we do not need to be. We just need to be aware enough to know that it is God who is responsible for the heavens and like every thing else, he has a purpose in their design.

Finally, like the constellations who shine declaring the glory of God, we are exhorted to shine like stars. (see Philippians 2:15)  A star or planet just reflect the light that shines on them. We are not suppose to be the light, we are just suppose to reflect the creative light that is in each of us, and that light is Christ.  Constant and in our proper season and like the North Star, we are to ever be pointing people to the true source of light.  Jesus is the Light of the world and I pray you will join me in my prayer today.  ”Jesus, just let me reflect your light and glory today and it will be enough for me.”  I hope that as I pray this people will see the love of the gospel piercing through the dark as God speeds to reach them with the light and life of his truth.  I hope this for my friend as well.

Ezekiel 37: 5-6    Thus says the Lord God unto these bones:  Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring flesh to cover you and I will cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live;  and you will know that I am the Lord.

John 11: 25-26  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life:  he that believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live;  and whosoever lives and believes on me shall never die.  Do you believe this? 

I am often challenged as a person of faith by those who do not hold the same persuasions as I do.  I am asked why I believe what I believe?  I would like to declare before all the world why I believe in this holy faith.  First of all I believe that Jesus is the Son of God as He was proven to have been raised from the dead by many convincing proofs.  I believe that by faith in His sacrifice God has washed me clean of all the shame and guilt that sins past, present, and future would lay at my door step, I am forgiven!  I believe that Jesus suffered on my behalf in order that I could have a new life.  I also believe that as the Holy Spirit teaches me in this process called sanctification, that God sees not my righteousness, but that of my Saviors.  I also believe that one day I will  stand before Him and when I do I will see Him and rejoice at His nail pierced feet with tears of joy for I will finally be home.  I  believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and apart from Him there is no life.

I believe in the power of His resurrection and that one day He will stand with the four winds in His fist and gather from the graves of the earth those who died with this similar belief.  He will clothe with a heavenly body His own and in death He has triumphed over death, Oh yes I believe!  I believe that no matter where I am in my journey with Him that I have overcome sin, sickness, divorce, decay, and death as I am in Him and He is in me, and He has overcome all. Oh I believe! And when my back is against the wall and it feels I am all alone, He has promised to never, ever, never leave me and He has Not in thirty one years of serving Him , Oh I believe.  I believe that one drop of His innocent blood is sufficient to wipe away the sins of a nation if we would only turn to Him and believe.  And finally, I believe that faith in God’s Word and all He has promised, will one day be mine and my families because I choose to believe.  I believe in spite of other peoples doubts or my own. I believe in spite of sins I commit or sins committed against me, I will believe!  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith!  This is why I choose to believe because I know that Jesus lives and because He lives, so shall I.  This is what I believe.  What do you believe?  Because anything short of resurrection faith can never reproduce resurrection life.  What do you believe?

John 4:10  If you knew the gift of God , and who it is that says to you,  Give me a drink;  you would ask of him and he would have given you living water.

I wonder how many times in my life I have sought for something to quench the dry spirit of my bane existence only to go without the refreshing I looked for? As I recall I have cried more tears for seeking life outside of my Saviors care then I care to remember.  I would like to triumphantly declare that I still never fall prey to such trivial pursuits but I cannot.  I am a man who seems to need an occasional reminder that the only place living water is to be found is in the presence of a loving God as I open His word and reflect upon His glory.  There I give my mind to the gift that is Jesus Christ and there I fall on my knees to ask for a refreshing that can only come from the Master’s hand.

I wonder if I am alone?  There are far more of us, I suspect, that have a thirst that goes unmet.  We have seen the happiness of others and wondered why this joy always seems to be just beyond our reach?  I can tell you, as someone who lived with this thirst for years, that I never would have found the source of life if I had not been thoroughly convinced that there is no life outside of Christ and He alone has the ability to satisfy the longing of my soul.  Even in that I have had a propensity to still believe that the vanity of some of my past pursuits had some appeal,  but once you have tasted Jesus He puts to rest forever the lie that joy is to be found in anything other than serving God.

Jesus is the living water of heaven and just as He told the Samaritan woman, so he says to us;  ” If you had known the gift of God.”   We do not fully comprehend the gift God has given us in Christ.  Whether we are completely lost or struggling with discontentment because our world is not as we think it should be, and everything in between is a lack of seeking the life giving presence of Christ who alone is the source of life.  He is the fountainhead of eternal life and without a recognition that there is no life in anything else, we can never fully partake in His life giving flow.  There is nothing else that satisfies!  We can look for it in the many things that this world offers, some good and some destructive, no matter what our appetites may lead us to, without a desire for Jesus we will wander forever thirsting and never being satisfied.  I am quite sure that I have had glimpses of hell and I am convinced that that is it.  To want to drink and find quenching for my soul and it to be forever just beyond my reach and always the view of Jesus indelibly etched in my mind.

God, teach us to drink of Jesus and to look no where else for the thirsts of our souls.  Jesus, come and refresh your people today as we look to you and no one or nothing else. You are the gift of God and we rejoice in you and we will drink now while we freely may!

Dear Father,  it is with a deep and abiding need for you that we come into your presence.  Lord, we know that you love us and that you are always for us, and yet there are moments when it feels like you are far away. Help us to stand in faith knowing that you honor those who live by faith in your holy promises.  When we have facing us challenges that threaten our lives and community, give us wisdom to stand against those things, not in our own strength but in that of our Savior’s.  We are in need of you Lord for we know that there is no life worth pursuing that is not consumed by your holy fire.  Take our very breath and use it for your divine purposes and when we fall short of your glory bring a refreshing that shakes the very gates of hell as you have promised we would live in victory over our enemies.

Holy Spirit, you alone can bring life, hope and peace. We wait for you as we look to no one else for the blessing of our Lord.  We are your servants and we will be content to be used in anyway you may deem necessary.  We offer ourselves this day into your care trusting you to be the faithful and wise God you have always, in every generation, shown yourself to be.  We lay our lives, homes, and all that concerns us at your feet and ask that in your sight we would be perfected one day at a time.  We ask that as we continue to live we will ever seek to glorify Jesus and His everlasting sacrifice for we know this is your will. Empower us to be the people you have called us to be and when you do we will be careful to give you all the glory. This we pray as we ask that you shine the light of your truth into our hearts and show us anything that would bring reproach on your name.  Expose it and heal it so we may give you the glory that you are so deserving of.   Bring revival in the name of Jesus for this is the cry of your people.

John 1: 41-42   He went and found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, we have found the Messiah ( which is being interpreted  Christ).  He brought him unto Jesus.  Jesus looked upon him and said;  Thou art Simon the son of John: but from now on you shall be called Cephas ( which is by interpretation, Peter)   

In the first two gospels Jesus first calls Andrew and Peter, along with James and John from the shores of the sea of Galilee and from their fishing boats.  In the gospel of John, however, we get a slightly different perspective of Andrew.  In John’s record Andrew actually introduces his brother to Jesus.  Theologians argue about the two different records. Some think that the sea shore encounter took place after the wilderness trial and upon Jesus’ return He went and sought out the brothers and called His disciples to Himself.  This makes the most sense to me.  But what is most striking is the quiet place of servitude that Andrew always seems to take in the scriptures.  If the scholars are correct than the account in John would precede the two accounts in Matthew and Mark.  Andrew actually knew and believed that Jesus was the Messiah before his brother and yet he is never found in the scriptures to be arguing with his brother for leadership.  Peter was the outspoken one who is either the hero or the zero.  He never changes in his personality as he consistently and passionately speaks out.  Conversely,  Andrew takes just the opposite role as he hardly ever is seen in scripture to be the one in the center of attention.  In fact, there are times when he purposely confers all attention away from himself and onto others. (John 12:22)  I have never found a verse where he is crying out, “But I knew Jesus first.”  No, he seems to be content being unnoticed.

I wish I could say that I was more like Andrew,  though I appear to be more like Peter, at least in the moments where I am led by pride and arrogance.  I often think I have it all figured out only to make another huge mistake  having to be humbled all over again.  Sometimes it seems like I have betrayed Jesus in my self confidence and self reliance only to have Him come to me once again and reassure me of His plan for my life.  I am now fifty years old and as I get older I am more confident than ever in the fact that it is better to be like Andrew than it is to be bold and brash like Peter.  I would give up the moments of glory or recognition in a mil a second to quietly serve my Savior in the background avoiding those times that have led to great embarrassment.  I only want to bring Him glory!

I find my rest in this;  God is sovereign and whether we are a Peter or an Andrew, or somewhere in between, God is able to take us as we are and use us, in spite of our defects to bring Himself glory.  Who else but God can or would do such a thing as this? This is the power of the cross! This is the love of a Savior that cannot be shaken and once He sets His mark on us we are forever sealed in a holy redemption that does not depend on our works. He is God and He is able to secure the worst of sinners in the strength of His grip and none can loosen His hold.  Maybe it is this knowledge that empowered Andrew to serve quietly while Peter struggled to earn his way or prove himself? Only God Knows but I am sure that Andrew may have had something worth looking into.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: The righteous run to it and is safe.  

It has been said that there is safety in numbers.  I wonder if a lone sheep feels that in a pack of wolves?  It is not always true that in a multitude of bodies there is safety.  It is not the case at all, and unfortunately it is no different in christian circles sometimes.  I have been guilty of  being someone who forgets that I was saved by grace and that it is grace alone that keeps me on the right path.  I looked at others who struggled to overcome and I wondered why?  Sin is an ever present reality in our world and the truth of it is, no one is exempt or above a  great fall.  King David loved God and he had had many great victories in God’s name and yet he committed a grotesque act in God’s sight.  No one is above the capacity to commit treason and it is my knowledge of this that stirs in me an ongoing love relationship with my Savior. He alone is the ‘ Sinless One’.  Why do we forget?  I can only speak from my own experience.  Grace is God doing for me what I cannot do on my own and those times when I fall short, I forget that is not me and it never will be me.  I have a pride problem and it likes to deceive me when I lie to myself by thinking I am something other than a sinner.  God can and will humble those who forget and our fear of Him goes a long way to help keep us on course.

Those times when I have fallen short I am, once again,  reminded that I am a mess and that without Jesus my life would not be worth a spit.

I also remember what it feels like to climb out of the primordial ooze feeling like something less than human.  Someone not worthy to bear the title “child of God.”  How could I possibly condemn someone else when in me there is nothing good?   I have seen the other side of this as well as I have seen the true Spirit of grace as His people opened up there arms to me and said, “Come on in brother, we understand!”  They did not act as pharisees throwing me before the world.  No, they kept my confidence as I openly confessed my need for mercy and looked for help in their counsel.  This has changed my life and allowed me to move out of the dark and into the light.  Perhaps this is what the scripture verse today is all about?  That we come together under the banner of God’s name and there we huddle up under God’s wing, together trusting in Jesus to keep us from being eaten by the wolves of this world. There is safety in those numbers because there is freedom to admit our need for help and prayer.  I scarcely imagine where I would be without those kinds of people in my life?  I thank God for people who did not run me off with their criticism.  They just kept on praying and believing until I started to look like Jesus. And when they saw my faults, they reminded themselves that we are all sinners bound together by the righteous robe of Christ. It was and never will be about any of us.   It is all about Him!  

I would like to apologize for the leave of absence for devotional.  I have had some personal and health issues, and am trusting God to heal.  I thank each of you for reading and taking the journey with me.  I love each of you and more importantly, God loves YOU.   I WILL RESUME THE DEVOTIONAL in a day or two, upon my return to Denver this week. Pray for safe travel and see yo soon.

Ephesians   1:13-14   In whom you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation;  in whom having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  Which is a down payment of our inheritance , until the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of His own glory.

I have a friend who just bought a home. He and his wife are totally enamored with their purchase.  They scrimped and saved for a couple of years and he worked two jobs periodically so they could come up with enough to put a down payment on the place of their dreams. It took everything they had saved to get into their home, but they will quickly tell you that it was worth it.  They have room to grow and watch their children grow for years to come.  The home is not fully purchased, although he showed me paperwork which had their names on it and that was enough to cause them to make the payments necessary,  until one day,  the home will be fully their possession.

As I read this mornings passage I could not help but see the same story as the Apostle Paul takes the reader of Ephesians through the hall ways and dining areas of eternal grace.  He lists all the selling points or things  that God has done for us through foreordaining our salvation, and it was His good pleasure to show us grace that we do not deserve.  He goes on to say that all God’s good intentions were a mystery hidden from the foundations of the world but now they are all revealed in Christ in order to give people outside of Israel’s covenant a chance to be a part of His plan.  God did all of this in His wisdom to show us His glory!

And just the same way that my friends took everything they had and placed a down payment on their home, God took everything He had in His only begotten Son and purchased our lives from a cruel landlord.  He has laid the riches of heaven down and watched as cruel mockers and torturers nailed his greatest treasure to the cross of Calvary, and He did so in order to purchase us so that He could come and live in us.  Paul’s point and proof are summed up in  the fact that we are now sealed or occupied by the Holy Spirit and His occupation of our lives is proof that we have been purchased.

And unlike my friends,  God has paid fully for our redemption so that we need not worry about earning our way.   IT IS FINISHED!  And proof of this is the fact that we are filled up with His Spirit. This is the evidence that Jesus is mine and I am His, oh glorious day!

He only waits, like my friends, to give His children and their children time to grow. One day soon He will come to claim what He has purchased and until then we are to rest and trust in the fact that we are sealed with His Spirit until the day of our redemption, Glory to God.

Romans 16:22 -23     I  Tertius, who write this Epistle, salute you in the Lord.  Gaius my host , and the whole church, salute you.  Erastus the treasurer of the city salutes you,  and Quartus the brother. 

Romans is treatise of our faith as Christians. Without the book of Romans there would likely have been no Reformation in the 16th century.  Without the book of Romans the church would likely have fallen into a state of watered down Judaism because the book of Romans defines our faith in such away that liberates the New Testament believer from the notion that we must earn our salvation.  It renders all men into a state of hopelessness leading them to the foot of the cross where God’s solution to mankind’s rebellion is found. The book of Romans is a cornerstone to orthodox christian faith.

At the end of the book we read of a man named Tertius, who was writing what Paul dictated.  Very carefully he intently listened as the Apostle laid out what the Holy Spirit gave him.  After what probably took days to get down on parchments, the epistle was done. What a sense of relief!  Now it could be sent on ahead of the Apostle Paul to prepare the church in Rome for his arrival, having a foundation of doctrinal truth already laid.

Near the end we read of Tertius’ final salutations and as he runs through them, he is listing those who send their regards, stating each of their positions and contributions until finally he simply say’s,” Quartus the brother also salutes you.”  We know nothing of this man except that he was present and he was considered a brother.  As I have pondered the book of Romans throughout my life it has always struck me as an incredible honor for Quartus to be mentioned in the finest document ever penned by man, and his contribution?  He was a brother!

The Bible teaches us much about what a true brother is;  Proverbs says that a brother is born for adversity. (17:17)  Again in Proverbs it say’s that we may have many friends and sometimes to our own hurt, but occassionally we find one that is closer than even a natural brother.  (18:24)

What did Jesus say about a brother?   He said we are to never judge our brothers. ( Matt 7:4)  He also said that if we are angry with a brother we must reconcile that relationship before we can move forward with God. (Matt 5:23-24)  Moreover he challenged us to forgive without keeping score of the times a brother might offend us.  (Matt 18:35)  And in Luke he tells a story about a younger brother who leaves home leaving victims and heartache in his path, and who returns to his father sorrowful for his choices. We see in this story what our own attitude should be about a brother who repents.

Somehow, in a book filled with the richness of christian heritage and truth, the book of Romans teaches us, yet a little more through the life of a man with no key position, no title, and no other acknowledgement except he was a brother. Considering the age of persecution and difficulty that faced the believers of that day and the sacrifices that were made to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the fact that those believers lived the gospel with every breath they took, Quartus must have been to his peers all that the scriptures say a brother is, and in that he is forever included in the Holy Writ, simply for being a genuine brother and friend of Christ. What an epitaph! What an amazing accomplishment!  May you and I be remembered in such a way!

Revelation 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door and knock;  If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.

Song of Solomon  5:2   I was asleep, but my heart awakened:  It is the voice of my beloved that knocks saying,  Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled;  My head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.

For many years I have known the Lord.  Throughout the years I have made it a practice to open my Bible early in the morning and today’s scripture verses are the reason why?  When I wake from my sleep He is waiting for me and there He fills me with a refreshing I have come to desperately need.

We have an amazing God who has, through the blood of the cross, removed every hindrance to fellowship with Him.   God does not need man and He is not lonely.  He did not create us to fill a void in His own being for if He did He would not be  ” The All Sufficient One.”  No, God has and always will be complete in Himself and His completion is derived in the absolute perfection and unity that the members of the Trinity share.  Perfect love and purpose, and equal in every attribute that is God.   So why did He create us?  So we could come into fellowship with Him in the same kind of love relationship that the Trinity shares.  What is more, we will never be complete until we seek God with an understanding that nothing in this world can take His place in our hearts.

This is what the Bible teaches;  that God, like the morning dew, awaits us to fill up our lives with relationship which yields eternal purpose and creative design.  We can look for that in other places and things, and we all have, but nothing will ever come of those pursuits.   God will not let us find our peace anywhere else for if He did, He would, by merit of letting us find happiness in something or someone other than Himself, be guilty of allowing something else to be our God breaking His own commandment.

Instead, He places before us this incredible invitation to come to Him.  Jesus said He stands waiting and knocking at the door of our hearts and anyone who opens up their mind and soul to His presence will enjoy the same fellowship He has with the Father.  Imagine that! To be in that circle of friends, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!  Wow!  That is enough to make my soul say, ” I have awakened out of my sleep and opened the door to my Beloved!”

He is waiting for you this morning and if we open our Bibles to Him daily, He promises we will find a richness of fellowship that will transform our lives and recreate us into His image.  In his presence there is fullness of joy.  Get into His presence and know the joy that waits for you, it is God Himself that extends an invitation to all of us that is out of this world.  He knocks at the door, do you hear His voice?  When we respond to this invitation we will hear his voice in the other matters of our lives. It all starts there and if we do not respond to His invitation or voice we will live without the very purpose for which we are created. What an awful tragedy that would be.  He loves us so much He gave up His own life to include each of us in a love story like no other.  Thank you Jesus!!!!

Proverbs 16: 8-9  Better is a little, with righteousness,  Than great revenues that come from injustice.   A man’s heart will devise his way, but it is the Lord who determines his steps.

For many years I was a petty thief.  Sometimes I would go into a store and put something in my pocket  just because I could.  I stole from my family, my friends, and even God’s people through my lies and manipulation.  I thought I was slick and that everyone else around me was wrong for distrusting me. I did not even know how sick I was.

It all finally caught up with me when I was given a prison sentence that far exceeded the actual crime for which I was being sentenced.  As I look back on my life the Proverb for today’s reading comes into clear focus.  While I may not have  been  guilty of the actual charges, I was guilty of infinitely more.  I just did not want to earn my own way in the world.  I lied and cheated everyone around me and  even if I was working I had no integrity, my reputation meant nothing to me.   I now tremble before a holy and just God as I have been taught what it means to fear God.  He will not be mocked and what we sow, we shall reap. I got ten years and I deserved every minute of it for the heart ache I caused anyone who attempted to love me.

That is what the scripture says;  it is better to have a little and yet be righteous than to be wealthy and be dishonest. The scriptures go on to say that we determine what our course will be.  We are the ones who plan on living a life of honest work and good ethic, or we can plan on making a fast buck at everyone else’ s expense. Either way, God will determine the outcome.  We can lie and cheat our way through life or we can determine, through repentance, that we will work hard and be faithful, honest, dependable people who trust God to provide, not our own clever manipulations.  Either way God will give us the fruit of our purpose.

I know that times are hard and work is scarce, but the difficulty of our circumstances is only the tool used by a Sovereign God to try our hearts to see if we will return to the life we have elected to forsake.  God cannot bless dishonest gain and it does not matter how much we may put in the offering plate, if it comes by some other means than honest gain, it is blood money and God will eventually reveal the origin of the theft.  God will provide for those who want to do right.

Work is part of the consequence of Adam’s transgression. When we choose to work hard and do without that which God does not, in this moment provide, we are electing to submit to the consequence of sin while waiting for the solution to the problem.  Ultimately we know Jesus has done away with the consequences of sin, but until He returns, we are to work to provide for ourselves and our families.  When He comes God will usher us into a state of rest that no longer requires our work. Until then we should be busy laboring for the care of our families and advancing the kingdom of God.  Above all things we should be known as honest people who are, of all people, determined to choose a good name over a quick fix.

Acts 16: 30-31   And they brought them out and said,  Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, you and your house.

No one can challenge us like our own families.  Seems they know us better then we know ourselves sometimes and more often then not they remember the worst minutes of our lives.  They have seen all my disappointing screw ups, they know my weaknesses, and we test each others patience like no one else. Yet in spite of these truths I cannot imagine my heaven without them.

I was praying and reading through the Book of Numbers some time ago and as I made my way through, what seems to be an endless list of family genealogies I began to ask, “why are all these names in the Bible and why do I need to know they are there?”   As I sat there wading through the names and history of those who were going into the promise land the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said;  ”wouldn’t you like to know your families names are written in My book and that they are going into the Promised Land?”  I immediately repented for looking at the Book of Numbers with anything other then sheer and absolute joy.

Sometimes we struggle with our families.  Our children, brothers or sisters,  even a parent, can cause us to believe that they will never be on board.  This morning let us take our encouragement from the Word of God which says that if we would believe in Jesus, we and our households would be saved. There are two Greek words for the word house or household.  Both of them have in there meanings the word family.  This morning, as I go to church I am going to put my faith out there and believe God that as I put my trust in Christ that eventually, and no matter what difficulties may come, my family or house will be saved with me.  I am going to believe that in spite of my flaws and failures they will one day cast their gaze on the God I serve taking their eyes off of me and my faults to walk with God .  And I am going to believe that for every single member of my family down to Aunts, Uncles, and second cousins twice removed but included once in the redemption of my family, all will be saved.  Why?  Because I know God is pleased by faith and faith unlocks the door for amazing things to happen.  This is His promise and I am going to believe it today and every day until we are all in eternity together where God will heal me of all my defects of character and they will finally, with me, see Jesus face to face. Oh what a day and family reunion that will be.  I would rather be guilty of believing God for too much then not enough, and I do not think that is even possible! Ephesians 3:20.

Jeremiah  9:23-24   Thus says the Lord,  Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;  but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth:  for in  these things I delight, says the Lord.

Jeremiah penned these words in a time of great duress and trial for his nation. Israel had been in decline for years as the young man had preached of impending captivity as his people continued to spiral out of control and further away from God. There were those, however, who had not been as readily affected by the judgments of God. They were the wealthier citizens who felt that they would be okay, no matter how bad things got because even if Jeremiah’s predictions came true, they could fight or buy their way out of difficulty. Maybe they could cleverly manipulate themselves into a more tolerable situation?  God saw the hearts of those who had these hidden ports of confidence and self reliance and He warned them that these would not be sufficient to escape what was coming.

I believe we may be in such a time as this.  As we survey the landscape it seems our own nation slips further and further away from God. Our leaders are not men and women, for the most part, who seek to run our country on the principles and faith that has allowed America to be the City On A Hill that we have been for so long. Why?  Because we as a people do not believe in the relevance of God’s truth or fear the consequence that comes when we turn from Him to serve the false gods and ideologies that history has proven to be void of life.  Still and sadly,  this generation must test what God has sworn He will do to those who have known His blessings and turned from Him to serve demons.

It is with a sobering and balanced perspective that these words come to encourage our hearts. For those of us who do love Jesus Christ we must prepare our hearts and be in constant vigil to keep our hearts from drifting into the self reliance that others have fallen into. We must refresh ourselves in the truth that no matter what our nation and country are going  through we have a God who exercises loving kindness and justice for those who know Him and put their trust in Him. We cannot be guilty of the sin of Jeremiah’s contemporaries who put their trust in money, might, or in worldly intelligence for these things have left those who do empty and scattered along the waste places of human history.

Only God knows our hearts and again He warns through the Prophet Jeremiah that, ” the heart is deceitfully wicked.”  Will you join me today as together we will ask the Spirit of God to search our hearts and expose anything in us that might be deceptive or lend itself to self reliance. I believe that as we do this, God’s promise to us will be the same as it was to Jeremiah.  Jeremiah 17:7 Those who trust in Him will be as a green tree in a land of famine.  Lastly, let us offer a prayer to God on behalf of our nation and our leaders. It is never too late for a revival if, perhaps  God would grant our nation and leaders repentance.

Romans 5:19   For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,  even so through the obedience of the one shall many be made righteous.

There is a story in the book of Daniel about three men who refused to bow down. Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream where he saw a golden image that represented the kingdom of Babylon. After the dream pride got the best of him and he erected a statue and required everyone in the kingdom to bow down and worship the golden image.  Three men named Shadrach, Meshach,  Abednego refused to bow down, choosing rather to suffer the consequences of disobeying the king of Babylon as opposed to breaking the Law of God. (Daniel chapter three)  The king in a fit of fury has them thrown into a fiery furnace where the Son of God appears and delivers them from the king’s wrath.  In total shock and amazement the king is impressed with the courage these three men displayed and orders that the whole kingdom be careful not to dishonor the God that these three men served because He is able to deliver like no other.

Imagine the freedom felt by those who were too afraid to stand up to the king.  Now the whole kingdom and all those who were in captivity were free to serve God because of the courage of three lowly servants who had it in their hearts to do right.  This is the whole point of our passage today in Romans.  Because Jesus stood up to sin where Adam had bowed down we are all, by faith in Him, seen as righteous in God’s sight. The evil consequence(death) of our oppressors is broken and we are free to serve God and His Law, all due to the fact that Jesus would not bow down to sin.  In the story of Daniel we see a glimpse of the man who would undo what  Adam had done, but there is more.

Throughout the 2000 years of church history there are numerous more stories of men and women who faced similar circumstances. The Bible tells us that many have faced imprisonment, loss of property, and sometimes death in order to stand up for what they believed.  For most of us however, it is simply learning to stand up in the face of temptation and say, “no” to the things that tempt us to bow down to the false gods we encounter every single day. Satan has a carrot for each of us as he dangles wealth, power, pornography, drug addiction, alcoholism, or an adulterous relationship in our face silently appealing to our fears, enticing us to bow down to a false god, breaking God’s commandments.

The Holy Spirit is asking you today to stand up.  STAND UP to the false gods and demonic spirits that would lead you astray trusting that as you do the Son of God will show up in your life, just as He did for the three Jewish boys, who refused to bend their knees. This is the sanctifying work of God’s Spirit and it all starts with the desire to say no to sin and yes to God. We may have to start over every single day, but if we have it in our hearts to do right, God will eventually teach us how to be what Jesus has equipped us to become.  As we do we can live with this hope; just as ONE  MANS obedience made way for others to live obediently, so will ours.  Who is watching you to see what you will do? Trust that if no one else is, God is!

Romans  1:20-21   For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his ever lasting  power and divinity;  that they may be without excuse:  because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks;  but became vain in their reasoning’s, and their senseless heart was darkened.

Have you ever known someone who is ungrateful?  It seems like nothing anyone does for them is ever enough.  Ingratitude is difficult to be around.  On the other hand, we have all been around people who are shining examples of what it means to live with a grateful heart.  Recently I have observed the infatuation that has swept the country in the life of a young man who lives with gratitude.  His name is Tim Tebow.  What is it about this individual that is so endearing? I  believe it is his gratitude and willingness to give God the glory  for his success! He is not alone in his desires to do so.  There are people all over the world who readily and joyfully acknowledge God in their victories, and their defeats!

This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in the epistle to the Romans. As he outlines the major problems of humanity and what has contributed to our downfall he includes ingratitude as a major issue in God’s view of our demise. Why?  Because failing to give God thanks means that in our own hearts we are either attributing our success to ourselves or worse, some other deity we have created in our minds.  In doing so, we as His creation fail to glorify Him as our Creator. The Bible teaches us that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Light. (James 1:17)  It also tell us that what ever we possess, whether it is a gifting of talent, money, spiritual insights,  like those we watch and admire, all things have been given by God and we did not obtain them on our own. (1 Corinthians 4:7)  If that is so, then who should get the glory?  What is at stake here is the heart of man. Sometimes our failure to acknowledge God is a failure of our own heart to give credit where credit is due. More importantly, just as people have been drawn to Tim Tebow, people are drawn to God in those moments when He is lifted up as the sole provider of those good things that take place in our lives.

Finally, very rarely do we see it as such, but a grateful heart is a heart of worship.  Paul goes on to say that in mankind’s failure to give God thanks, we turn to false gods and render worship to them in our senseless imaginations.  We may not see the leap from one to the other, but in God’s sight ingratitude is failing to revere Him as our loving Creator who provides all that we need.  God has left us without excuse as Paul tells us that the invisible qualities of God’s power are seen in all of creation. That is a rather sobering thought!  Conversely, to live with a gratitude for God and what He has provided in the death and Resurrection of His own Son, is to worship him in spirit and truth.  These are the kind of qualities people are drawn to for God himself rewards those who lift him up simply by saying, “thank you.”  Who would ever think that worship is so basic?  Evidently God does!

Psalm 37: 3-5   Trust in the Lord and do good;   Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness.    Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.    Commit your way to the Lord;   Trust also in him and he will bring it to pass.

The Bible is a book of promises from beginning to end.  It begins with the promise of physics in creation or physical laws.  We do not worry about the sun coming up every morning, it is set in motion by the power of God.  After Adam and Eve sinned God promised a Redeemer who would separate them from sin.  God called Abraham and promised a son who would become a mighty nation. Through Abraham’s sons God promised to bring the Messiah and just as God promised Jesus came into the world and did all God promised or said he would do.

Throughout the history of God’s people there were people who had deep inner longings to accomplish things for God. Hannah wanted to give birth to a child.  Manoah also wanted to give birth to a child.  Both of these women were used to bring prophets into the world who would lead and deliver Israel. David wanted to build a house for God and gathered materials and wealth and eventually his son built the temple where God would be worshiped for generations.  Their desires were not of their own making, but God moved on them to bring about His purpose in fulfilling His promises to the world.

What do you have in your heart?  Is there some deep inner longing to do something for God.  Maybe to see your family reconciled or to start a church? Has God put a business plan in your spirit or maybe you have felt the need to get involved in a particular ministry.  Whatever it is God PROMISES that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will bring it to pass.   God has a plan for each of our lives and one of the ways we find that plan is by listening to the goals and dreams that the Holy Spirit puts on our hearts.  Just like Hannah and David we will play a part in the redemption story and what God is wanting to use our lives and desires to accomplish is yet to be written.

Delight yourself in Him and trust in Him. Trust what the Holy Spirit has put on your heart and be faithful with the small matters of today and wait. God will do exceedingly more than we can ask or think if we do not say “impossible” in our own thoughts. Delight in God and talk to Him about what is in your heart. Feed on His faithfulness as you read the scriptures and see how he used the desires of others to bring about His own purposes in redemption.  He has a plan and if you love Him and you have something brewing in your heart, there is a real good chance it is the Holy Spirit. Offer whatever it is to be used for His glory and the furtherance of the Gospel and trust that He will bring it to pass. Our God is a FAITHFUL God and He loves to do the extraordinary with the least likely vessels. Dream big, we serve an amazing God.

Matthew 13: 55-57    Is not this the carpenters son?  Is not Mary his mother?  And his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas.  And his sisters are they not all with us?  Then where did this man get all these things.  They were then offended in him.  But Jesus said unto them,  A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his own family.

I have a past and if you are like most of us, you do to.  Unbelief takes shape in many ways and one of the most difficult things to deal with is the rejection of those we esteem and love.

Jesus understood this as well as anyone.  He lived in a community where he was known, not as an  extraordinary individual with super human healing abilities, but as just the son and brother of other members of that community.  When he began to minister to the poor and downtrodden with his message of hope and love those closest to him could not believe or accept that God had elected to work so mightily in his life.  They could only see Jesus in the light that they chose to see him in, and that was his past and who he was when they knew him.  Although Jesus was without sin, unlike you and me, there is a sad reality we must be prepared to overcome in our journey with Christ and it is this very issue.  Sometimes those closest to us will be among the last to genuinely believe in God’s electing to work in extraordinary ways in our lives.

That is not the end of the story though, glory to God! Later on in the book of Acts we find Jesus’ mother present with the rest of the disciples waiting on God. In the book of Galatians Paul mentions meeting the brother of Jesus in the Jerusalem  church.  There are glimpses into the family life of Jesus that indicate that even the doubters came to believe in him, and they loved and served him.  What changed their minds?  A consistent and determined effort!  Jesus did not let his families doubts deter him from what he knew to be true and neither should we.  We may have hurt or offended those we love by our sinful choices, but if we are faithful to God through out our lives,  they too will eventually see the ressurected Christ  and be counted among the saints.  The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Having patience to see the prize, no matter how far away it may seem, is the only way those who doubt our claims to be different will change their minds.  Until then, there is a world rapidly decaying.  Go find someone who does not necessarily know you and your past and tell them what amazing things God is doing for you.  I have endured this same doubt and in the midst of it I prayed and asked the Lord that as I went out to serve His family with all my heart,  if He would please remember mine?  I am here to testify that God is faithful and my family is serving God today. Do not be dissuaded with doubt, no matter where it comes from. Be faithful to God and wait.  In the long run the most ardent disbelievers will be persuaded and give glory to God!

Psalm  101: 2  I will behave myself wisely and in a perfect way:  Oh when will you come to me? I will walk within my home with a perfect heart.

Does God really require perfection? If  He did we would all be doomed and there have been times when we all have felt the weight of sin. Thank God for the cross of Jesus.

So what is the Psalmist saying to us? What is God teaching us if we know we cannot, nor ever will be, perfect in this world?

There have been times in my life when I just wept before God for my offenses against Him, only to return to my sin? “Why, oh God, why?”

Psalm 101: 3-4  I will set no evil thing before my eye’s:  I hate the behavior of those that turn aside;  It shall not stick to me.  A perverted heart shall depart from me: I will know no evil thing.

I was engaging in a sinful behavior and afterwards I was sitting in my depression, which is not repentance or godly sorrow, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said;  ”You are not sorry!”  ”What are you talking about? You can see I am sorry?”  ” If you were sorry you would stop hiding the things that lead you to sin! You would stop hanging out with those sin sticks to and you would not look at evil, what ever form it appears in.”  When He said this to me I knew I had to clean house. I got rid of books and magazines. I erased phone numbers from my phone. I tossed videos in the trash and I said goodbye to some people that needed to go. Was it easy?  No, and it is no easier today. Having a perfect heart begins with having a clean home. I would rather put the things and people out of my life that need to be put out, then to one day stand before God only to be forever put out of His presence. When you look at it like that it suddenly gets easier, and you never know who you might influence for good by making this bold move for Jesus.

We all have a subtle enemy who is waiting for the opportunity to cause us to stumble.  He does not have to wait long when we have sin tucked away where no one can see it, but God does! When we clean house of all the things that can lead us to sin, an amazing thing happens.  God comes to reside in our homes and lives giving us the grace we need to overcome those things we cannot defeat on our own. When sinful things are within reach it is much easier to have them in our view. When we put them out of our reach they are not only out of our sight, but Jesus comes into focus and then it all becomes worth while. He fought and died for us so we could live in victory. That doesn’t mean we do not have to fight for what has been given freely, and it is a fight for our homes, and in God’s sight that is having a perfect heart! Are you growing toward perfection? This is not a one time endeavor. I have found that sin has a way of creeping back into my life and  I am ever in the need to clean house to keep a clean heart.

John 12: 32   And I, if I am lifted up, will draw all men to myself.

Have you ever read in the gospels where people are running through the streets shouting; ” Peter and John are coming, Peter and John are coming?”  What about  the Epistles? Do you remember Paul’s instructions regarding assembling together?  ”And when you get together make sure you come with enough time to check out the neat bookstore and coffee shop.” How about Jesus’ very own words; “true worshipers shall worship with contemporary music only.” Now don’t get me wrong because I like all of the above as well, but what is the main attraction? There is only one recipe for building the church of Christ and that is Christ Himself.  If we labor for any other reason we labor in vain. If we go to church for any other reason we attend with motives that are not inspired. We cannot attend church because one says they are Baptist or Pentecostal, although we should go where our convictions lead us. Our main desire should to be to find a church where the name of Jesus is spoken more often then the pastor’s, the visiting evangelist, or the music directors. We cannot make more of the Holy Spirits roll then the scriptures instruct as it is His privilege to exalt the completed work of Christ and when we exalt Jesus it is because the Holy Spirit is in our midst anointing our inspiration, so He may anoint the message. If we fail to have the right inspiration then what we have is not from God and it cannot and never will be blessed or anointed.

New Testament Christianity is simply this: those who knew Jesus ran from one believers house to the next crying out, ” We have seen Him!” They ran through the streets and market places shouting; ” He’s Alive, He’s Alive!” This is what makes a church a church, and a place where Jesus is the Main Attraction. Two thousand years later people are still publicly testifying that they have encountered the Risen Christ and He is alive and working in their lives. They have seen Jesus and they just cannot wait to run into the market place and tell someone, anyone, and everyone about JESUS!

Every great move of God’s Spirit began with this simple inspiration, no matter if it begins in us individually or collectively, although it starts with individuals who just want to return the glory to The One who healed their blindness, leprosy, raised a son or daughter from the dead, or who was set free from a life of bondage or prison. Jesus’ promise to us as His people is this;  ” If you build my house with this simple motive, they will come!”  There is not a better show in town and look who is giving away free tickets. If you are waiting on God to do something in your life, it may be that He is waiting on you to have the right motive? After all, you are the church.

Heavenly Father, today as you draw people to yourself I pray you would touch lives and encourage the broken in spirit. I pray that each of us would be refreshed in your presence Lord. We believe your Word which say’s that where you are there is liberty. Oh Lord, how we long to be free! Free first of all to serve you without worry for such is the source of our peace. Free from the bondage’s of this world in all the ways they come, for we do trust that Jesus died to set us free and we will settle for no other belief other than what your truth has declared. We are free indeed and now we ask you Holy Spirit to make to us reality what has been declared in the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ. As you do we make a new commitment to you this day;  01-05-12,  that we will live for your glory, power and purpose.  Teach all of us, as we ready ourselves in mind and heart, what it means to be the ‘Bride of Christ’. Let our hope not be for this world alone, but more importantly for the one to come. Then and only then will we be free from the cheap imitations of happiness that the enemy entices us to settle for. Teach us to love one another as Jesus loves each of us. We wait for you to do in us and for us what we cannot do ourselves. This is the bedrock of our faith, our unwavering trust in your compassion’s which are new every morning. We are Yours and  You are ours. What a glorious gift that belongs to Your Church, now let us be faithful with all we are stewards of knowing we shall all give account of how we represent the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ. Accept our love and devotion as we wait for your return and when we fall short, grant us the faith to return to you as this is the very reason Jesus died. Let this day be the beginning of something that stirs your people all over the world, beginning with me. In Jesus Name Amen!

John 11: 35   Jesus wept.

Hebrews 4: 15    For we do not have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one that has in all points been tempted as we are, and yet he remains without sin.

There are moments when the weight of this world and our struggle to live out our faith just flat out knock us down. Jesus stood toe to toe with those moments and he was touched with the feelings of humanities struggles as he was a man walking out his faith in God. Too often we see Jesus only in the truth that He is God in flesh. This is the ancient decree of the true church of Christ and indeed it is the only way to be born again. (John 8:24)  Most of us do not so easily identify with the humanity of Jesus and this is a great stumbling block of the enemy. We have a Savior who has made a way for us to come to him as he is a man, as well as God, and he lives to intercede on our behalf.  Jesus has wept at the grave of his friend and he has rejoiced at a wedding.  He has experienced the full gamut of human emotion or feeling being touched in all the ways you and I can be! How sad it is if we never learn to come to him in our hurts, struggles, and wounded feelings. How can he help if we do not come?

I have a couple of good friends who have taught me this simply by their example. When I am wounded in my journey the first words out of their mouths are; “lets pray.”  They do not try to entice gossip out of my lips by asking for details. They simply remind me that I have a true Savior and He is the only one that can restore my feelings and emotions, reminding me of the facts of God’s eternal truths, and that I am not alone. They do not brow beat me or lecture me. They do not come off as though they never have a struggle. No, instead they identify with me while at the same time escorting me to the throne of grace to find and identify with a True Savior who only waits for me to simply come to him. Jesus did not come to die for my sins only. He came to save me from all that this world throws  at me. We live in a fallen world and anyone trying to live godly will suffer! Jesus is the ( Save- Your) over all sin, the enemy, and words that are designed to hurt instead of edify. If we never come to him expecting to find someone who has been touched with those struggles we will never know him the way we are supposed to, and how disappointing is that?

He is filled with compassion and he rejoices when we rejoice,  he weeps when we weep. He understands and he waits only for us to come. Trust in him begins by simply coming to him while believing that He is who He claims to be, and that He will do what He has said He will do.  We have a true Savior and He is able to save to the uttermost. His arm is not too short to reach anyone who will simply cry out; ” Jesus, save me.” Tell him what hurts you and let him save you from it. He will.   Thank you to all my friends who have taught me this simple, but life transforming truth. I am still learning from your example.

Matthew 5:39  But I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

There are times in our Christian walk when it feels like every effort we make toward helping or serving is met with the sure resistance of the enemy. I do not know why I would be naive enough to expect anything else? We are fighting a battle for the souls of men and there is only one way to win their hearts and that is through the example Christ left us with.

I see Jesus on the mountain sharing the beatitudes with the multitudes and as He speaks these instructions He knew that He would be put to the test, even having the hair ripped from his face. (Isaiah 52:14) He was beaten beyond recognition and humiliated above measure and the only way anyone would recognize Him was in the words he spoke; “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”  Through the pain and suffering, the betrayal and abandonment, not to mention the broken fellowship with the Father, in spite of it all Jesus remained true to His character. He is the ever living example of what grace literally embodies.

We all have had opportunities to receive an offense by a brother or sister. It is just part of the world we live in and it will be this way until Jesus comes back. Until then we are on assignment and that is to go out into the world as sheep trying to convert wolves. The sin of man devours lives just like wolves devour sheep, but we have the antidote for sin, the blood of Christ and a Spirit of peace and forgiveness.

I often need to remind myself where I came from and how many lives my sin devoured before grace changed my mind, and I still fall amazingly short of the goal. How can I not offer the other cheek to those who hurt or offend me or someone I love?  It may be that as we do what Jesus instructs in this regard, we may be the very vessel God uses to show someone the true forgiveness of God? I have often considered that at no time are we more like God then in those moments, as difficult as they may be, when we purposefully choose to forgive. It all starts with the predetermined choice to love like Jesus and when we do, God will do what only He can and that is change the hearts and minds of men. And along the way we become more like Jesus and isn’t that the whole point.?I believe that many times the things that challenge us are the very tool of God designed for this very purpose and we cannot grow any further until we choose the course of Christ? Who do you need to show God to today?

Recommended reading today;  Matthew 18: 15-35

Matthew 15: 8-9   This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  9  In vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of man.

I have often read this verse and felt a heaviness of heart. It is a quote from Isaiah 29:13 and it was spoken through the prophet Isaiah before Israel was led into captivity.  Approximately 600 years later Jesus is speaking the same words to the same nation of people, who are still living in the same deception.

Think about Israel and the glories of the covenant God had made with them, starting with Abraham. For generations they had seen God at work in their midst doing unimaginable miracles, not everyday but as God’s purpose directed. They had a heritage like no people on earth and they still do. So what happened?

The same thing that can happen to each of us when an outward show of religious duty supersedes a genuine desire to serve God with a grateful heart. We are all susceptible to this kind of religion as we settle into our lives living in God’s blessing. We go to church looking at our watches waiting for services to end so we can race home to our creature comforts and all the while God sees that we have drifted from the day He first touched our lives with His glory, love and power. Cultivating a living breathing relationship with Jesus takes a persistent effort. We need to pray that God will fan the fires of our first love so we do not become like the church of Laodicea  (Revalation 3: 14-22)   No one likes lip service and we all have been the victims of such. Having someone tell us they love and appreciate us while their heart portrays something else hurts us. Imagine how Jesus sees that after all God has done to secure our salvation?

Hebrews 6:9 But beloved we are persuaded of better things of you, and things that accompany  salvation, though we speak to you in this way.

Today, let each of us pray and ask the Holy Spirit to stir us up by reminding us of our heritage and what Jesus has done to  reveal Gods love. Let us serve Him in truth and sincerity, not paying Him lip service. He loves us way too much to settle for that, or to let us settle for that. Thank God!

sa

Isaiah 30: 15  For thus says the Lord God, the Holy one of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength, but you would not.

Sometimes I read a verse such as this and I ask myself if God really understands what a fast paced world I live in? I mean really?  Air planes soaring above my head moving at mach six, the pilots hair on fire. Traffic on the ground trying to go as fast while puppies and the elderly are dodging cars. We live in an accelerated society and I wonder at times if it is not because all of humanity knows, down deep, that we are running out of time? But where does all the racing hither here and thither there truly get us?

Psalm 46:10   Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations and in the earth.

The passage in Isaiah tells us that “returning and rest” are our salvation; and that our confidence comes from the quiet times of reflection and prayer we enter into. There is no sustitute for time spent alone with God.  It is in His presence we are changed and renewed from image to image ever drawing closer to the image of Christ. Under the shadow of His wing we learn that we can trust Him as He reveals more of Himself to us. It is there I am more at home then anywhere else in the world. I learned this lesson in a prison cell walking off 16 years of my life, one day at a time. I could never have done that without His presence re-filling me every single day, but every single day I was convinced that I could not face my circunstances without Him. That little cubicle became my home because Jesus was there filling it and me up with His presence. It was there I found my salvation, line upon line, precept upon precept.

Most people are not as stubborn as I am. It does not take a prison cell to get your attention and keep it, thank God! The principle, however is the same. Salvation is the fruit of a loving trust that is acquired resting at the feet of Christ. There is no substitute, and as The Lord warned Israel, so He also warns us,” But you would not.”  Do not be like Israel, or me as we were both led into captivity trying to live without truly seeking Jesus.  Slow down and spend time with Him. He simply waits for us to draw near in order to make Himself known in the quiet. He gets more beautiful in my eyes each day. He is worth the discipline of “being still,” open Bible in hand and open heart on hand. If we will do that much, He will do the rest, including dispensing of the giants we face. He is God afterall!

Matthew 10:39  He that will find his life must first lose it, and he that will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

The Kingdom of God is not as our world and because it is not there appear to ironies in Jesus’ teachings. This is the result of Adam’s transgression and now, because sin rules our world, we live in a way that is completely foreign to God’s original design. This is why Jesus came. He came to re-establish Heavens rule and authority. He does so by teaching us to think in Kingdom principles. Because they are completely opposite of how a fallen world thinks, we call them ‘ironies’. In all reality, however, we are the ones with an upside down perspective. That is what sin does, it deceives.

Consider some of the Bibles teachings.   We are victorious in death and suffering. To find your life you must let go of your past and your way of living to find a new and abundant purpose. The greatest person is not royalty being catered to, but the one who is serving out of a joyful heart that has been touched by the Master. To know God you must walk by faith trusting in the scriptures and God’s truth. We cannot follow after our feelings for they are subtle deceivers subject to circumstance. Humility is the path upward, not self exaltation. The richest person is the one who freely gives with a joyful heart, not those who covet what they own. Finally, throwing off responsibility by rebelling against authority does not lead to freedom but rather bondage. Being responsible to authority brings about true and eternal freedom.

These are the qualities and attributes of our loving Savior. They are the very words of God designed to establish His law in our hearts. They are the example of Jesus’ life.

Hebrews 11: 13-14   These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them far off, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14  For they that say such things make it manifest that they are looking for a country of their own.

These are the great ironies of our faith. Polar opposites of what this world is practicing as human history races toward its finally. God is preparing a place for us and one of the ways He does so is by teaching us, on this side of glory, the right attitude to possess, and the right laws to follow. They may seem foreign to us now, and indeed they are, but that is because we are on foreign soil. Won’t you be glad when we are finally  home and what is an irony now, will then be the standard of rule? I long for that day and for us to be there together. Amen and Amen!

Matthew 9: 38  Pray, therefore, to the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.

If ever there was a spiritual recipe for purpose and success, this is surely it. Christ is admonishing us to pray first of all. But this kind of prayer has some different qualities then our normal prayers. It has very little to do with me, except that I am asking to be a vessel of divine purpose. This kind of prayer begins with a reckless abandonment to the heart of Christ for the lost. It is the foundation of a heart that truly aspires to lift up Jesus Christ, believing that if we do He will draw men to himself, as He has promised! This is the natural response of the life that has been changed, for Jesus also said, “freely you have received, now freely give.”  We are only able to give away those things which we have received from the Holy Spirit. Someone prayed for me, someone spoke to me about the gospel, and someone ministered salvation to me. I did not come into this eternal blessedness without the concern and love of others who paid dearly to  plant seed in my heart and water it with love and prayer. Christ looked on me with compassion and when He did the Holy Spirit found a vessel emptied of self, and a harvester was born and I was born again, oh glorious day!  Pray for the lost, indeed this is good. More importantly; pray that the compassion of the Savior will be revealed in you and as you do, the pray-er will become the harvester. There is no greater thrill then introducing someone to the Lord, except loving Him ourselves.  He that wins souls is wise! What better way to live a life of gratitude for our Savior by loving Him and telling others about His love for you, and them! Pray about it and watch God work.

Deuteronomy 4: 12  And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire:  you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form:  you only heard a voice.

Imagine the moment. Moses is flat on his face as God speaks to him from  a burning bush. Hebrews tells us that the people trembled and quaked at the foot of the mountain afraid to draw near for the glory and power that rumbled from the Mountain. They heard a voice but saw no form, only the burning bush. A holy consuming fire that induced fear.

Matthew 3: 17  and behold, a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Philippians 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God as some thing to be grasped.

The scriptures tell us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. What we see is that before Jesus came God had no form. Instead of being just a rumbling voice inciting fear in the hearts of those who heard it, we now see the face of God in the eyes of Christ. There we are drawn into the eternal counsels of God’s purpose revealing a compassionate God who longs to show us mercy and grace. We hear the voice of God saying “Come unto me, Come!” That is why they flocked to the scene of Jesus’ birth. ( sorry about the pun)  God was going to make peace with man who had rebelled. He would bring into the world a Man who would represent Him in all His attributes. The multitudes came to hear the voice of Jesus as he spoke on the Mountain giving us the beatitudes. What a difference in the two scenes and yet the same God. Why? Because until we hear the voice of God in His holiness, which convicts us as law breakers, we can never look into the face of Christ and truly appreciate the warmth of forgiveness our Father is revealing in Christ. Then, and only then, can we see the form of God dwelling among men with a new message. He promises that anyone who comes to him, He will never cast out! Fear is gone and because of Jesus’ life, death, and blessed ressurection I need not fear anymore. I am forgiven! This Christ-mas season take a fresh look at God’s message and celebrate the hope of “Peace on Earth and good will to all men”. God has a form now. He now lives in man and we hear His voice voice while at the same time beholding His face. Glory to God in the Highest. Jesus is God in flesh, the perfect man. Emmanuel, God with us!  Recommended reading:  Hebrews 12: 18-29  Draw near to Him and He will Draw near to You. He has removed every obstacle, including sin and death.

Galatians 4:4   But at just the right time God sent forth His Son, born of a women, born under the law.  God has a plan for each of us and how often we struggle to remember this truth. Have you wondered if God has a plan for you? I want to encourage you today to know that He does. God is Sovereign and that really just means He is working everything out according to His own purposes and for His glory. When we live for those same two purposes He promises to bless us and provide for us. Consider this; in the first chapter of Matthew the gospel writer tells us that it was fourteen generations from Abraham until King David; fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the exile in Babylon until Jesus’ birth. (Matt 1:17)  How is that for precision?  God has a plan and we cannot hasten it by being impatient or complaining. God’s plan, like His Son, will come in His time and for the express purpose of accomplishing His glory. I have found that in my own life those times when I struggle to wait on God’s plan and blessing, I am struggling because I have lost focus. I have stepped back from what God wants and I have become consumed with what I want. The two can never occupy the same space in my mind and heart. We can live in confidence knowing that as we celebrate in this Advent Season, God has a plan for each of us and ” at just the right time” those things we are believing Him for will come to pass. Trust in Him and know we are all learning to wait in our trials for the ultimate reward, and that is for Jesus to come and take us home. God has just the right moment for that as well and everything else is designed to teach us to wait for Jesus. What greater blessing is there than that? Revelation 22: 20 He who testifies to these things says, Yes: I come quickly.  Amen:  come,  Lord Jesus. Wait in expectation as God, who cannot lie, will do as He has promised. Do not give up! Today may be the last day you have to wait.

John 17: 12 While I was with them , I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the son of perdition of whom it was fore told in the scripture.

What a blessing it was to be in the house of God this Christmas morning. My whole family was there and as we all sat there I couldn’t help but think this is the very reason Jesus came. My sister was late and as I sat there praying for her and praying she would arrive the Holy Spirit laid this verse on my heart. Not one will be left out of all God has ordained. What we celebrate on Christmas morning is the miracle that God has purchased us by His own blood through the cross and we gather in joyful anticipation to remember that God is with us.(Emmanuel) We celebrate our families and friends uniting together to bless and encourage what Jesus has done in our midst. We are a people who live in God’s presence as He has promised to never leave or forsake us. What a triumphant thought! While He is with us none will be lost, no not one. Oh the keeping power of grace. It is as strong today as it was the day I invited Him into my life. Nothing can remove me from His grip. What blessed assurance that my family will be there also. In her usual fashion my sister finally arrived, but not until I let go and asked God for His will to be done.  I am celebrating Christmas with my family today and what joy fills my heart as we are all together. If a sinful wretch like me can fill this way, I can only imagine the joy our Father in heaven has. Maybe now I am starting to understand what Christmas really is all about.

Hebrews 13: 1-3 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 forget not to show love to strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. 3 Remember those that are in bonds as though you are imprisoned with them; and them that are ill treated as being yourself in the body.
Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without Christmas? Imagine if those who oppose the very word “Christmas” had their way? There would be no missionaries taking food and water to the poorest of the worlds population. There would be no relief agencies for disasters such as The Salvation Army, Red Cross or so many others. Imagine the world without Christian shelters to feed the poor in our own country while housing them from the cold of winter. Try to imagine our country without churches reaching out to their communities with food, clothing, drug rehabilitation centers and so on. The volume of charity and love that is directly tied to the coming of the Savior is impossible to calculate. What the face of our planet would look like without Jesus is frightening to imagine. Those imprisoned, as I once was, would have no hope of change and no one to visit them with a message of possibility. This Christmas, as we celebrate by giving gifts to each other and by reaching out to the stranger and incarcerated, we should imagine with those who hate God, what the world would be like without Jesus? Maybe the horrors we read about and see even now would be unbearable for all human kind being amplified millions of times over every single day. Maybe we do now entertain angels unaware and maybe even in the midst of our sorrows as a race we can still hear them saying; Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.” What if Jesus had never come? Those who oppose celebrating His Gift have no idea what they are asking for and that is the peace God offers us all, in spite of ourselves. It truly is a season of peace and good will as the Son shines on the just and unjust. Merry Christmas to you all.