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MY BOOK PART 1
MY BOOK PART 2
A GOOD THRESHING
OR
JOY IN THE FURNACE
BELOVED IN CHRIST
Normally, when I write, just afterwards I get a taste of satan's worst. This time I'm writing from the furnace, but the Lord has given me such joy that I wanted to share it with you all.
I'd like to talk with you about grain. Jesus said in Jn. 12:24 "Unless a kernal of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed." He went on to explain how this seed by "dying" then germanates and becomes fruitful, like we, as Christians are supposed to do.
But, what happens to the seeds after they are many?
I thought you'd never ask. The process is not all that wonderful, from the seeds' point of view, if it had a point of view, that is. After harvesting, in which the stalks are cut down, bundled and taken into a central area, the bundles were threshed or sledged, or later in History, flailed. These all involve a breaking down and crushing to remove the grain from the husks of wheat. Then the grain and huskes were winnnowed or tossed up in the air to have the grain , which is heavier fall to the ground but the husks, which are very light blow away. The sledging or threshing involves a breaking and crushing action which doesn't sound at all pleasant for the wheat. The action here can be likened to our becoming broken in order to remove the fleshly lusts and desires from our lives, not something to look forward to, but necessary.
Take heart however, Isa. 28:28, says, "Grain must be ground to make bread, so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though He drives the wheels of His threshing cart over it, His horses do not grind it.(vs 29)"all this comes from the Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom."
Now, isn't that wonderful? NO? well, now comes the winnowing. Jer. 15:7,"I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the city gates of the land. I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people." and again in Mt. 3:17, John the Baptist is speaking to the people warning them of the sin in their life, "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into His barn burning the chaff with unquenchable fire." a pretty bleak picture for the chaff, here being that which is the refuse part of the crop, Or Sin, or unredeemed sinners.
Ok, we've been crushed, and winnowed, what's left. Next comes the refining part of it, the ginding of the grain, in order to break it down so the gluten will be released and the bread can hold together.
As Christians, we need to be refined or matured. Remember when you prayed that God would make you a more loving person? What did He do? Oh yeah, He brought a very unlovable person into your life that you would either love or die trying.
Or, when you prayed for more patience, He caused more vexatious situations in your life that caused you to either subdue your irritation in waiting or scream yourself hoarse. This is grinding away at our rough spots.
Then, the bread dough, I won't go into the kneading and adding together of ingredients, is put, where, WHERE? into the oven of course.
God doesn't cause all this rough stuff in our life, but He uses these things to bring about a Christ-likeness in our characters. We can continue to buck our circumstances and wail at our misfortunes or we can see that it is for our ultimate good.
We can look at our circumstances through the person of unchanging Goodness: Jesus, or we can look at Jesus through our circumstances and be disappointed in His Goodness. end of part one
JOY IN THE FURNACE II
To pick up where we left off, the bread was in the oven baking. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace because they refused to worship a false god, people looked into the furnace and there were four men walking around in there. Jesus was with them in the Furnace! When we are going through hard times, who is with us? Who said He'd never leave us or forsake us? Jesus! There are some Hymns I'd like to share with you,
It is Well With My Soul
When peace like a river attendeth my way when sorrows like sea billows roll whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.
As I listened to these lyrics today I thought how our circumstances are meaningless in the long run. Our goal is Heaven, this is our proving ground, not our permanent home. So if our sorrow comes in like giant crashing breakers, or huge waves against the our shores, what does it matter, in the light of our hope of Heaven? Therefore, All IS well with our soul.
God is Good God is good, all the time He put put a song of praise in this heart of mine God is good, all the time Through the darkest night His light will shine God is good, God is good all the time. When you're walking Through the valley there are shadows all around do not fear He will guide you He will keep you safe and sound For He's promised to never leave you Or forsake you, and His word is true.
When I hear that verse I always think about those shadows and how very afraid I am of them. But shadows are not substance, they are merely absence of light. He guides us through our dark times and brings us to our greatest good, even if it doesn't look like it at the time.
And the last hymn, which is my favorite and I sing it often:
GREAT IS THE LORD Great, is the Lord and most worthy of praise, In the city of our God the Holy Place The Joy of the whole Earth And great is the Lord, in whom we have the victory He aids us against the enemy We bow down on our knee .
And Lord we want to lift your name on high and Lord we want to thank you, for the works you've done in our lives, and Lord we trust in your unfailing love, for you alone are God eternal Throughout earth and Heaven above.
Do you see it? The gradual, but unmistakable turning of our wills and desires over to Him to make our lives a tribute to His glory? Psalm 37: 4,"If you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart." I read that this way: if I am making the Lord the center of my life and delighting myself by my thoughts, actions and attitudes in what the Lord has for my life, He will give me the desires, or He will replace the ugly, lustful and hurtful desires my flesh has, with the desires He wants me to have, which are for my highest good, into my heart. He gives me the desires of my heart, by my allowing Him to change my heart to beat in synche with His.
NOW I HAVE JOY IN THE MIDST OF THE FURNACE!!!!
Lord, Help me to place all my trust in you. To believe you when you say you are faithful and that you are doing a good work in me. Help me to praise you in the midst of my trials and to walk beside you. Lord, I commit my ways to you, now, In Jesus' name, Amen.
JOY IN THE FURNACE III
BELOVED IN THE LORD:
This is the third part of how to have Real Joy while we are in the furnace of afflictions; what I have learned.
On May 13, 1980, Mount St. Helen's blew up and spewed tons of ash all over the world. Most of the ash, however, settled right around the blast site, creating a bleak landscape that botanists and biologists claimed may never recover in our lifetime. I remember, at least one report that the devastation was similar to the above-ground a-bomb test sites from the early fifties.
We all resigned ourselves to the prospect of a small disaster residing in our state for as long as we lived. However, we reckoned without God. It wasn't much later, that scientists revisited the site and pictures began to appear in the newspapers of new growth appearing in small areas all over inside the blast zone. The feet-deep layers of what had been labeled toxic ash yielded new and normal vegetation!
When I visited, 13 years after the blast, I could still see the acres of blown down trees, left there for effect, but the whole place was recovering nicely and the layers of ash were in many places, difficult to even find! AND LIFE ABUNDANT, WAS EVERYWHERE!
Deep down, under all the veneer of devastation lay the truth. Life was not destroyed, but changed and now the same scientists are saying that the ash was, WHAT? good for the soil, and renewed the centuries-old forest by adding much-needed nutrient.
No, the place would never be the same, and no, it would never look the same, but it would survive and be productive. It would be how God intended for it to be.
Joy is our very life. It abides under layers of devastation awaiting rebirth. Joy in the Lord has absolutely nothing whatever to do with happiness, nor giddy mirth. It is not dependant upon blessings, cash-flows, possessions, "good luck", favorable circumstances or any other of life's goodies. It is not destroyed by grief, despair,depression, anger or problems. Nor is it gone just because we may temporarily succumb to the pressures of misfortune. It has nothing to do with any of that. It has everything to do with hope. Or better yet the confidence that sustains hope. For even hope may be gone, but the Joy remains, because we remain confident in God's goodness. We remember whose we are and we know that through God's mercy, which is constantly being renewed and His faithfulness, which surrounds Him and reaches to the skies, we will emerge victorious. Hey, guess what? It's a done deal! So, even when we cry all night as King David wrote in Psalms, soaking our beds with our tears, God is faithful and will restore us, not the way we were, shudder, but much better. The ash of our despair and griefs, become nutrient to a new fruitfulness. From death and destruction, hope, fruit and new life, a life of being more Christ-like. PRAISE HIM.
Lord, enable me to see more clearly through my tears, and know that with you all things ARE possible, and that you are the Lord and nothing is too hard for you, and Lord, thank you for that abiding JOY!, In Jesus' name, amen
SUFFERING
Job lost everything he had, all his children, his possessions and his wife said ’curse God and die.’ Stop this suffering Job just escape, was her point. Job said, ‘Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?’ taken from Job2:9-10
Ecc.7:1…’the day of death is better than the day of birth. There are many who say God does not put trouble in our lives, nor does He allow it, it’s all satan’s work. That doesn’t jibe with the Word nor what I know of God. God is all powerful and is in control. If He loves us why would bad things happen? First lets examine what bad is:
Since I’m writing this I will just give you what I see is the excepted version of ‘bad’ is in our modern society. ‘Bad’ is anything not good. ‘Good’ is anything we like, that is fun, pleasant, interesting pleasing, advantageous to us (me) right NOW! What is God’s definition of ‘bad’ or ‘good’: Ecc.2:1-2, ‘…The day of death is better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man.’ Hmmmmm? What can that possibly mean? Throughout this entire book the wisest of all men is telling us that we really don’t know what is good for us.
Since we will die. And life is hard and cruel going home to heaven is better than being born.
That is all well and good until pain comes. Pain is bad, its hard to tolerate, hard to live with. Job was in pain when he was told of his many losses and he, ‘fell to the ground in worship.’ Job 1:20. Huh? Worship? Well, just maybe he already knew, ’That in ALL things, God works for the good, for those who love Him.’ Rom 8:28. Maybe Job understood Isaiah 55:9, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,’ God says, ‘so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ His ways, thoughts and purposes are beyond our very limited understanding.
Maybe a loving son of God can trust God and still run to Him even tho’ things are not all rosy.
Suffering is a good thing it builds character. Rom. 5.:2-5 "and we rejoice in the hope of God, not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces Perseverance, ....character, .... hope. And hope will not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."
I'm not being glib, I lived it, this verse and Rom 8:28 are burned forever in my Spirit. I own them fully. And nothing can separate me from His Love.
Lord, you alone know my days, and I know that your plans for me are good and your desires for my future are to be trusted. Help my limited ind accept from your hand the trouble (bad) and the good.
FOR GOD SO LOVED....ME!
PERSONALIZING THE WORD OF GOD
I am a very personal target for satan, and his little henchmen, who do a very personal work against me. They know just where I already hurt. They mess up my computer and life, they try to curse me and my home with problems and sickness. I know I am a target. We all ‘know’ we are a specific target.
The other side of that coin is that we are all, individually a specific recipient of God’s concern, His love, and His son’s death was for our personal benefit.
So, to carry that thought just a tiny bit further, I personalize God’s Word. John 3:16, becomes “For God so loved Me, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that because I believe I will not perish, but have eternal life.”
There are two Psalms that I routinely recite to myself, both personalized. I say them, not as vain repetitions but as reaffirmations of God’s promises to me. One of them is already personalized, it is Psalm 23 a promise of God’s concern for my provision, primarily.
The second is Psalm 91 which has become, “I who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty....”
I have said the personalized version of Ps. 91 as many times as 4 in an hour. When the enemy harasses me I just repeat it until he stops.
After speaking out these truths I then thank God for these promises of provision and protection. This is how ‘I encourage myself in the Lord’. NIV says ‘finding strength in the Lord’ as in 1 Samuel 29: 6b, when David, who wasn’t yet King David was almost killed by his own men, when they got home and found that someone had taken not only everything they owned but their wives and children. I can imagine David was quite upset over his own losses, but his troops wanted to kill him because of their grief.
The Word doesn’t say How David strengthened himself in the Lord, but perhaps he reviewed some of the Psalms he had written to the Lord, maybe Psalm 61 ..”Hear my cry O God, listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.”
Or maybe he thought of Psalm 31 which speaks of problems and terror and slanders and reduces it to (vs.14) “but I trust in You O Lord, I say’ my times are in Your hands, deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.” Then he said, (vs. 22) “In my alarm I said ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ yet You heard my cry for mercy when I cried to you for help.” Then David offers us this encouragement: (vs. 24) “Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord”.
Lord, I thank You that You are very personally concerned with my welfare, my needs and even my wants. I thank You for Your exceeding great and precious promises to continue to care for and love me, and I ask that, no matter what shadow is hanging over my life, that You remind me to strengthen myself in You, In Jesus’ name, Amen
ARE YOU IN THE EYE OR THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM?
We are always in this world as we live our lives. This world is chaos. It is a constant storm. If you don't recognize it, it's because you are used to this being the case. Stop for just a minute.
Listen! Is everything peaceful? No sirens, no billboards demanding your attention? No bills needing to be paid, no children upset? No trouble or problems looming on the horizon? See, there is chaos raging all around us. When we are unaffected by it, we are in the eye of life's storm. There is only one way to be there. If our relationship with Jesus is more real to us than the storm. But, when the storm intrudes, and is stronger than the peace we receive from being in the Lord's presence, then we are in the middle of the storm. We call this condition: suffering.
Suffering can come about for many reasons. Maybe we are undergoing discipline and our rebellious natures are fighting against the strictures put on us by God to correct us and we are suffering for that reason. Hebrews 12:8, "If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons."
Or, maybe we are being pruned : John 15:2, "(God) cuts off every branch in (Jesus) that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." What! God prunes us when we are in the full bloom of doing His will and things are getting done right? Yep! And we don't like it, we call it suffering, and we usually rebuke satan for this.
Also suffering just happens, Matthew 5:45b , " He sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous." Plain old misery, and what the Bible says about it.
Psalm 119:49, "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." When we are in the midst of the storm we remember the promises God gave us, Jermiah 29 :11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,... plans to give you a future and a hope."
Then we can have the courage to face tomorrow's onslaught, because the Lord has promised to give us a future and a hope.
Psalm 22:24, " for he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help." This is God's reaction to our suffering .
So, now we are enabled to: Romans 5:3, "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
See that? If we know that God will use this time of sorrow to produce a new character in us and show us that there is still hope then we can carry on through this storm. James 1:2-3, says it this way, "Consider it all joy my brethren whenever you face trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." We can remain faithful to believing what God says He is and does, when we have this hard-won perseverance. And here's what we can do with our new knowledge of what suffering has produced in our life: II Cor.1 :4-5,because "(God) comforts us in all our troubles, ... we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
All this doesn't help much if you are currently in the middle of the storm, so here's a word of help, practical help. Ephesians 6:13, "When you have done all, to stand..." That's it, when you have done all your human mind can come up with to solve your personal storm, Quit trying and just stand. Stand in the assurance that God sees your distress and hears your cry, and He will be your help, your Shield, and your strongtower into which you can run and be safe. Then you have just gone from the middle of the storm to the eye.
Lord, when the wind howls its menace in my life and my windows and doors threaten to blow in from the force of the tempest, help me to remain in the knowledge that I am the apple of your eye and your plans for me are my ultimate best, and to be able to rest in the assurance that I am in your will and in your eye. In Jesus' name, Amen
WHO IS GOD????
Just when I think I've got God all figured out, He changes. Did He change or did He just not meet my expectations of who He really is?
(Jn. 1:29-34) John the Baptist is asked by the Pharisees who he is and he tells them that he is Not the Christ. He then tells his own disciples who Jesus is: the Lamb of God, and Son of God. Here it clearly shows that John the baptist knows who Jesus is.
However, when John is thrown into prison, his own troubles and hardships made Jesus difficult to understand and he sent his disciples(LK. 7:18) to ask Jesus if He was the one expected (the Messiah) or not. Why would John the Baptist doubt? Jesus was questioned (Lk. 5:33) about His 'religious' habits. Why didn't He fast? Why didn't He pray so others could see it? How could Jesus be a 'Godly' man while doing unGodly things? Jewish traditions required ceremonial washings, praying loudly in public, fasting publicly etc. Since they couldn't see Jesus doing these things He must be a sinner. Even John was fooled.
Does God do surprising things in your life so that you find yourself doubting in times of stress? I know I've struggled with a lot of doubts, especially when God doesn't 'make sense'. Do I know who God is? If God doesn't meet my expectations then whose perceptions are off? Is He NOT God if I don't understand His methods? Is He not a GOOD God if I don't see the 'goodness' right away? So I ask, Who is God?
Love vs. Justice
In the experience of the Cross we see Love bought by a steel-hard resolve to allow any suffering any amount of humiliation to accomplish salvation for creatures (us) who patently do NOT deserve anything but the fires of hell. He draws us by His kindness and Grace and we are drawn, because we don't deserve any mercy. He loves us that much. He is kind and merciful loving and sweet, and giving and Just, and vengeful, and punishing. He is the God who thunders through the heavens and carries the little lamb next to His heart. He is loving and He is Just, He can be neither unless He is Both!
Oh Lord forgive my small thoughts of you, forgive the times I thought of you as mean, cruel, disappointing, or namby-pamby as a kindly Grandfather who only wants us to be happy. Show me Your Glory that I might follow you for who you really are. In Jesus' name, Amen
SALT OF THE EARTH
We are told to be light and salt.(Mt. 5:13) Salt does two things it preserves and it flavors. as a preservative it keeps whatever is treated with it edible longer, if a bit salty. As a flavor, it enhances the flavors of whatever it is put in. We then are to preserve God's truths so that people can see in us an example of God's grace. As a flavor we are tasty in a world that is flavored with evil.
Sugar also flavors but it does not preserve, in that it doesn't differentiate truth from error. In other words it covers over good and bad but doesn't point to truth as paramount. So, why is it that so many Christians think they have to sound and act so sweet you could almost get Diabetes from them. Some almost glisten from the sugar they are dipped in. Jesus said that the Pharisees, who looked really good on the outside, were like whitewashed tombs, pretty and clean on the outside, but inside full of dead men's bones and filth (MT. 23:27). So, if someone cultivates a sweet exterior is it all the way through or is it just skin deep? Love isn't love that just pretends, it is really Hate masquerading as NICE. And whitewashing has a not-so-nice habit of washing off. Another reason to let God do a work in us rather than trying to 'do it ourselves.'
Now, I'm all for kindness, gentleness and love, but our God is Just and He does punish evil. Part of our job, as led by the Holy Spirit, is to point out error and to say"this is wrong", when someone is flagrantly sinning. Yes, God is love but love does not allow evil to flourish forever. When a Christian is just too nice to tell the truth, how can that be love?
He also calls us to be light. Light exposes, it reveals all sorts of ugliness and filth that loves to hide in darkness. Have you ever been in a dimly lit basement? It probably didn't look too bad until a bright light was turned on then you see DIRT!
So, in addition having love and kindness, be light and salt of the earth!
Lord, I ask that I be transparent, that when I am loving I really do love, that when I need to tell the truth that I can do it, in love, but that I am 'real' always. In Jesus' name, amen
INQUIRE OF THE LORD
Three times the other day, the Lord took me to the book of Hosea. I briefly scanned it to make sure I knew what it was about, yep, it's the Israelites 'whoring' after other gods. I searched my own heart to see if I was holding onto an idol or two in my own personal skeleton closet. No, I don't think that's what He's telling me. Then on Friday, I received the Times Square Sermon newsletter, and it had a different slant on Hosea than I had picked up on. It spoke of The United States and our churches not inquiring of the Lord. So, I did a little check on scriptures concerning inquiring of or consulting the Lord.
There were 20 that were not repeats that could be taken as a teaching on this subject. I chose to show the consequences of NOT inquiring of the Lord.
(Joshua 9) The Lord had told the Israelites not to associate with the people who were in the promised land when God took them in to possess this prime piece of Real Estate. The people who were already living there thought that this was their property but, God found them and their practices detestable. So, the Israelites were to dispossess all of those living there and not make treaties with any close neighbor. However, the Gibeonites decided to fool the Israelites. They came into the Joshua's presence with worn shoes and moldy bread to make it seem as though they had come from very far away. Then they got the Israelites to make a treaty of peace and alliance with them. Now, Joshua was too smart for himself, and he allowed them to talk him into doing what God had told them not to do. And, to make it worse, Joshua forgot to Inquire of the Lord, who wouldn't have been fooled by the appearances, and would have told them," no." It wasn't very long after that the Gibeonites had to call Joshua to come to their aid because they were attacked. It was such a fierce attack upon the GIbeonites that God made the sun stand still so that Joshua and his army could defeat the enemy. God could have told Joshua not to ally himself with the Gibeonites because there was trouble ahead, but wasn't consulted.
Isaiah 8:19- "...should not a people inquire of their God ? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?(speaking of mediums) there is no light of dawn in them (those who do not ask God) vs. 21 "Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God." around them..."they will see only distress and gloom." Pretty terrible fate for those who inquire of mediums and not God, and that's what happened to Saul (1 Chron. 10:14) after he consulted a medium .
(Hosea 4:14) "Wine will take away understanding of my people. They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They are unfaithful to their God" vs. 14..."a people without understanding will come to ruin".
Zeph. 1:4-6, The Lord "will stretch out his hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem." and he goes on to say that He will cut off every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and idolatrous priests, and all who bow down to the starry host and swear by Molech "those who turn back from following the Lord, and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of Him." This is in the coming Judgment , when the Lord comes back in HIs glory and power with all His angels to destroy the works of the evil one and to establish His reign over the new heaven and new earth! Hallelujah!
"Blessed is the land whose God is the Lord!"
Lord, For those of us who eagerly await your return, strengthen us and enable us to withstand the lies of the enemy when he says " where is this "coming" He promised?" (2 Peter 2:3-10), Help us to be patient to see the day you have promised for these last 2 days (2 thousand years) since you were here before. In the meantime guide and direct us in YOUR ways. Thank you, In Jesus' name, amen.
DISCOURAGEMENT PART ONE
When my life implodes in on me and the dust from the fallout settles on me in the form of malaise I know I'm heading for discouragement.
Discouragement is the enemy's tool to make us just give in, throw in the towel and just quit.
When Job lost everything, his wife (speaking for the enemy)(Job 2:10) dished him up a nice slice of discouragement pie when she said,"Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die!". She was saying, do you still believe that God is Good? Ha!, Tke matters into your own hands, just curse God, then He will destroy you and your suffering (and mine) will be over.
Taking matters into our own hands is saying, "Ok God, you had your chance, and you've flubbed it, now I'm just going to QUIT.
Galatians 6:9 says,"Let us not weary while doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Job was doing very well, in fact the next part of the verse says( Job 2:10), ..." In all this Job did not sin in what he said..."
Even though Job was experiencing terrible pain, in fact he had lost all of his wealth, his children and his health, all he had left was a sour wife, who was tired of being tied to this 'loser' and wanted him dead, he did not sin, had not sinned. He looked at God and said, same verse,"Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Isn't Job saying that God, who knows the end at the beginning also knows the best route for Job to take through his life? God still "brings all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes."(Rom. 8:28) "all things" doesn't leave much at the end of it does it? ALL is not an unknown quantity, it means everything we go through.
I speak from experience when I say that God is my refuge. When trouble strikes, I run as fast as I can to Him, I have no other rock to stand on. Again and again God has led me through very bad times, but holding His hand we made it through. Job learned that lesson so well he was able to say,"Though He slay me yet will I put my hope in Him." (Job 13:15)
Lord, help me to know that you are right there with me, as grieved as I am . You are ready to be my refuge, when I give up trying to do it all myself and run to you for help. In Jesus' name, Amen
DISCOURAGEMENT (2)
Discouragement comes from worry, and not believing God. Why do I say that? Because you or I can tolerate anything if it is for a brief or specified length of time. In other words, I can handle being paralyzed without being discouraged if it were only for one minute or being destitute if I knew I'd have provision in a day or two. You could too, even tolerating pain, even extreme pain if you knew it wouldn't last long or if you knew when it would end. It is in the not knowing how long we will hurt, grieve, be lonely (insert problem here), that we become discouraged. We sigh and say ,"I can't do it", when in fact we are doing it.
But we worry and are afraid that 'this' will go on FOREVER! So, we lie down and say,"No more" and sink into the soft mud of despair, which certainly does us no good. Then maybe we snivel, 'self-pity!. Now aren't we good company!
OR
(Psalm 121: 1-2), "I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and Earth".
So, when my troubles start to overwhelm me and my circumstances cause me to look to the hills (molehills of problems) I say, my help is in the Lord, maker of the heavens and earth. If God can make the heavens and earth, silly, I tell myself, can't He come up with provision I need? Can't He who created me make me whole? Can't the God who set the stars in place comfort my grieving heart? Aren't these trials to make ME stronger? Doesn't God know that these troubles are besetting me, and won't He take me through?
If my help is in the Lord, I know that there is an end to my pain, I know I will persevere , because He will strengthen me. ALSO, I know that this 'bad' thing will be a 'good' thing because He said so, and He alone never lies.
Lord, show my doubting flesh that I cannot, but that You can. I believe, but help my unbelief. Lliberate my spirit to fly with yours to the heights you can take me because I trust in you alone, In Jesus' name, Amen
ENCOURAGEMENT
Acts 4:36-37, "Joseph. a Levite from Cyprus, whom the Apostles called Barnabus (which means son of encouragement) sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the Apostle's feet.” We can see two things here, first that Barnabus was an encourager and by way of explanation gives us an example of his encouragement.
Encouragement is not usually found in spouting platitudes, or throwing out Bible verses that come to mind, or saying any old canned line. For instance, unless God directs you to, try not to tell one who has just lost a loved one (and is probably struggling to believe that God is Good), , "Well, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." This is simply not comfort to someone who is very probably saying inside,"Why God?" It doesn't answer their question and just reinforces in their mind that the enemy is right, who is at that very time, telling the bereaved one that God is capricious and uncaring. If God gives you nothing, say nothing.
The encouragement offered by the man renamed son of encouragement, was practical. He provided for the needs of others. The pioneers, and founding Fathers of our country had wonderfully practical help for those in need of encouragement.
They understood that often the necessities of life are forgotten by one who is bereaved or discouraged. They brought food, already prepared, or did household chores. To seek to give relief for anything that will lift some of the burden from those who are overwhelmed is real encouragement. Food for the fridge(for someone who may be too distracted to shop or cook, or remember to eat, even), a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, and willing hands to give aid, are some very good and practical things to do for someone who is beset by trouble.
Talking is usually NOT encouragement. Especially,"I know how you feel." YOU DON'T. You may have had a similar occurence in your life. But our circumstances, and our reactions to them are wildly different. You may have experienced their current problem at one time, even, but YOU DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY how this person feels about their problem. a statement like" I know", minimizes their need for comfort, because it says, "it's not really a problem, I had that and it's not so bad." Grieving is a part of the healing, let the person grieve.
Try to find another phrase,"I care about you""you must be hurting (or very hurt)""I'm sorry you are in pain" "Can I help in any way"( and offer practical help, specifically) and the best one, "Can I pray for you?" Don't be too surprised if they say they don't feel like praying. And if you do pray for them with them, try not to preach while you are praying, your flesh may "know" what is perfect for that person, but God really does know. Let Him guide you. If a person's trouble is as a result of unconfessed and ongoing sin and God is dealing with them concerning it He may have you speak a word to them to convict and bring repentance. If God does not tell you to say anything say nothing.
Job's friends came to him in his trouble and decided that the trouble was a direct result of Job's sin.
Most of the speculations of Job's friends centered around the idea that Job brought on his own trouble and he was being punished for it. So they rebuked Job, and God rebuked them!. (Job 42:7) "He said to Eliphaz the Temanite."I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. God was saying that He does not punish, he corrects, His people. Basically, the 'comforters' said God was petty and vengeful, but Job maintained that God is Just and that even if Job didn't understand, God is still good. So, it's probably a very good idea to see what kind of comfort He thinks is best in any given circumstance.
Lord, show me how to be an encourager, how to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, help me to give a word which is aptly spoken, so it will be an apple of gold in a setting of silver. Show me how to love your other sons and daughters as you do. In Jesus' name Amen
THE MASTER GARDENER
I have a very small intensive garden, it is where the deck, next to my porch was removed and it is easily contained. I have flowers, and vegetables in this tiny area. Due to its shape and size I have put things in rather randomly, to the untrained eye. Today, I finally got around to weeding it and what a mess it was. Grass and chickweed was wrapped around the leaf lettuce and spinach. Originally, I just turned the soil and scattered the seed. Now the ground was hard and littered with stones, showing up my sloppy preparation. I thought, with horror, "Oh, God, is this like my life, have I put out fruit before the ground was prepared and now must just be plowed under and begun again?" "My dear child," the Lord spoke to my heart,"I am the master Gardener." as I weeded and dug the Lord refreshed my spirit, He said," I can go in where you cannot and loosen the weeds with out disturbing the delicate and beautiful things I have planted there."
"Just as you cannot always distinguish between a young spinach plant and a weed, I do and I can remove the harmful things in my garden." He continued ,"I know what I put in my garden, that is your life".
After I cleaned the ground of weeds it was pretty bare in there and some of my flowers and vegies were lying on their sides, so I doused the area with a good sprinkling of water, and thought of the times I had been weeded (Pruned, and tested) then refreshed and restored, God is so good, just when it becomes too much He reigns on (In) our lives to refresh us..
Then I thought of my yellow Labrador, Revival, who decided it was also HER garden and no amount of scoldings could keep her out, she was the bull-in-the-chinashop when I first started this project. God then told me that the damage she did was like when we try to weed each other's garden. We have no idea what is a weed and what is a rose in each other's lives, and to please let Him do the work!
Lord, I thank you for being the tender of my garden, for caring for me more than I care for myself, and even though I have rushed ahead and put out fruit too early in the season, you are faithful and have gone in behind and cleaned up the messes I made trying to do it all myself. Show me Lord as I continue this wonderful adventure with you, how to stay in the your footprints and follow in your way. In Jesus' name, Amen.
UNAUTHORIZED FIRE
Burn out, we've all heard a lot about it. We know what it means, but from personnal experiance I can tell you what its cause is.
There is so much need out there so many things that need our attention, so much lack, even in the Body of Christ, that so often our hearts are moved to compassion to help. God knows those needs and also who He wants to fulfill those needs. There's a blessing in following God, there is trouble in disobedience.
With every good intention I can see someone who is in need and meet that need, and for the most part, I am exactly following the law of Love. There is also time when my meeting that need in some one else or offering a service to God that He is NOT asking me to do that results in much trouble.
Leviticus 10:1, "Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censors, put fire in them and added incense: and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His commanfd." I will give you a brief background. Aaron and sons were just instituted as High Priests before the entire Israelite Nation, the boys grew a bit bold and used the censors that were only to be used at certain times, This was the result: Lev 10;2,"So fire came out from the presenceof the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord." Talk about burn out!
This of course in the old covenant, but these examples were given to us so that we would understand who God really is. He's a very big God and we are very small. He is very smart, we are dummy's (comparably). Father really does know best, we see only a teeny part. When we are running under our own power, we are not hearing from God because we are too busy to listen, busy working "for Him", doing not what He asked us to do but what looks good to us. I won't go into scenarios but let it suffice to say that our works He sees as filthy rags, His are righteous.
In His power we are able to bend a bow of Bronze, scale a wall, and run against a troup of soldiers. In our power, well... we are offering UNAUTHORIZED FIRE.
Lord, I know that unless you build the house, the laborers labor in vain, I am so foolish that I run ahead of you and continue to offer unauthorized fire. I leave myself penniless and in desparate want. Then I cry to you for help. I ask that you help me break this cycle of stupidity on my part and to listen intently to your leading. To look to the left and to the right but to wait for the voice behind me saying this is the way, walk in it. In Jesus Name, Amen
MANY ARE THE TROUBLES OF THE RIGHTEOUS....
PS 34:19 a righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
PS 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
God has us go thru' troubles to refine us, to remove the dross that we carry in with us when we become Christians, We are not good, only God is good, we don't even recognize 'good' when we see it, Fire is to refine us to perfect us into his image. It is good to have troubles, then we 'become' Christ-like, instead of stay in our sin. (Rom 5:2b And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.) God is good all the time is not just a song, its truth, trouble should be embraced and we need to be thankful for. Either that or tear out the page containing Rom 8:28. If you don't believe me, read: PS 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. PS 119:72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. PS 119:73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. PS 119:74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. PS 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. See God allows afflictions to draw us closer to Him and to our purification.
1PE 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 1PE 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
What is being said is “embrace the fire, the purification and be grateful for it, Thank Him because He is treating you like a beloved Child.
HEB 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
We don’t know why we are suffering in any particular situation, some is from satan, some from our own sin consequences, some is our disciplining. But what is our proper response? First as in 1 Pet 4:16 it says to praise God we are Christians. But lets see Phil 4:4 PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Here it says to pray about our troubles. What should we do if we don’t get an immediate response, immediate relief? Rejoice! We know by Rom 5 that we are being matured in God’s school of life lessons….What if our troubles are so bad so painful and so debilitating that we can’t wait?
EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. So, we stand, we stand in the knowledge that the ‘valley of afflictions’ is not our home, it’s a place to learn, a place to grow, but we don’t pitch our tent there because we are not staying. How do we know that for certain?
PS 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
Lord, I am frail and I hate being uncomfortable and in pain, I’d much rather be wealthy, but I know I have a heart that’s prone to wandering and I would no longer trust in you if I had a lot of money as a shield from the problems in this world. I thank you for the suffering and fire in my life, for to be in your presence while I plead for relief, and being conformed in your image by the suffering I’ve endured is more precious to me than any riches this world can provide. Thank you Lord for giving me the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ so that I may “somehow attain to the resurrection", In Jesus’ name Amen
A PLEASING SACRIFICE
In the Old Testament we find that sacrificing to God was a concept that was instinctive. Everyone sacrificed, even to false gods. Even the first brothers, Cain and Able sacrificed to God. And this was long before God taught the Israelites how and what to Sacrifice. Sacrifice today isn’t as instinctive but its still common, not animal sacrifices but those that God finds pleasing to Him.
PS 51:16-17 ’You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.’ So God is looking for a right heart? Hmmmmm? Lets see…a few verses above that… PS 51:10-13 ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’
Ok, we see that God wants our devotion and He calls it a Sacrifice, lets see if there are any other ways we can sacrifice.
EPH 5:1 ‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children [2] and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’
AND MY ALL TIME FAVORITE
HEB 13:15 ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. [16] And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.’
It’s not popular these days to give anything our stuff is locked and guarded, we aren’t even friendly to people we don’t know. We sit in our houses locked away and we do and give nothing, but God desires us to sacrifice, to Him by doing for others. Being otherly my former Pastor called it. To actively think of others even before ourselves…. huh? That can’t be! Oh yes it can…
Rom12: 10-13 ‘be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. [11] Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. [12] Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. [13] Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.’
O lord help me to open my tight fist full of my ‘stuff’ and to be able to freely give as I have been given to show Love as you have shown Love to me, to Forgive as you have forgiven me, to Honor others above myself, In Jesus’ name Amen
HIS FAITHFULNESS AS A SHIELD
(PSALM 91:4b) " His faith fullness will be my shield and rampart..." A shield protects and deflects the arrows or darts that are thrown at the shield bearer. But, it must be used to be effective. Using, in this case, means to have in place. It doesn't go into place by itself one must actually hold it up in front of themselves. (Eph. 6:14 &16) vs 14 begins: Stand Firm, then goes on to describe the different pieces of armor and their uses. In verse 16 it says," Take up the shield of faith." "TO TAKE UP" is an action.
Yesterday someone lied about me and a person in authority decided to believe the lie, even though I had been saying to myself."No weapom formed against me shall prosper..." which was a taking up of the shield. The lie still wounded me, why, because I took the shield down to examine the dart that had lodged in the shield that was there to protect me. It didn't have to hurt me at all but instead of allowing the Lord to soften the blow I tested the point out for myself and was poisoned by it. I should have been grateful for God's protection, but I allowed the enemy to dig it into me when I lowered the shield to inspect the dart.
I can count on the Lord's faithfullness to be my shield if I take it up and leave it there. So, I stand firm, take up the shield, for you oh Lord "are a shield around me, you're my glory and the lifter of my head"(Ps. 3:3) and with your help "I can advance against a troo, and with my God I can scale a wall" (2 Sam. 22:30).
It is in knowing that it is in God's faithfullness I am shielded from harm. By refusing to believe that I am in a danger that I face alone, that I am being kept by His armor. when I listen to satan, who tells me that maybe God won't take care of me this time, that I am not taking up my shield and trusting in His faithfullness.
Lord. I seem to forget a lot that you have always brought me through before, help me to remember that your mercies are new everyday, and that I can lean on the everlasting arms. In Jesus' name, Amen.
KNOW HIS VOICE
When I had only been saved for a few months I had a dream where the Lord himself came to the house where I was living and brought something for everyone there. To me, He gave a large manila envelope. I opened it and a found a snake and spider. The spider immediately began to crawl around on me, I held the snake in my hand confused. "Lord", I said, "You know I'm not afraid of snakes." (I was also thinking I was especially not afraid with Jesus standing right next to me), "But, this is not a garter snake, is it?" He told me "No, it's a viper, have faith!"
I looked at the snake closely and noticed that the snake was still in the shape of the envelope, and there was frost around its head. I know that snakes are totally dormant when cold. I saw immediatly that He was telling me that there were many terrible troubles coming for me, (all the while the spider was crawling around me) but that Jesus already had these troubles neutralized. He told me that the spider was a Brown Recluse, a very dangerous spider, indeed.
Then He said for me to give the snake back and to kill the spider, it might hurt someone. So, He was saying that when trouble loomed on the horizon, like thunderclouds, to give them to Him, He already had taken care of them for me. The spider, I later learned were the lies I had believed for so long about who God is, I was to 'kill' that.
I had 'heard' the voice of God. So, now I must act on it. After 5 more years I'm still working on believing what He told me that night.
God speaks to us all the time. John 10:3 & 27. "The sheep (hear) listen to my voice"... says Jesus, they, we, know His voice and follow, He calls us by name. Please read that whole chapter. The Lord will speak to you, He speaks to all of us, hear His voice and follow. He will give you specific instruction sometimes, or He may just give a word of encouragement. He sometimes will remind us of a particular Bible verse, He will show us examples in nature, like my snake, or He will have a friend tell us something that we KNOW is for Him. However the Lord is speaking to you today, remember, it will always be in line with what the word of God teaches, He is the same yesterday, today and He will never change! So, today if you 'hear' His voice do not harden your heart as they did in the wilderness (the Israelites, led out of Egypt by Moses, Hebrews 3 & 4), for many died there as a result of their grumbling and lack of trust in God.
Listen and obey, For " to Fear God and keep His commands is the whole duty of Man." Ecc 12:13. Excercise yourselves unto righteousness, listen for His voice, read your Bible, pray, especially in the spirit, for these practices bring us closer and draw us into His spirit where we can find His peace. Listen and Know His voice!
Lord, please tune my ear to know your voice, tune my steps to walk in your way and tune my heart to do both, willingly and to see the path you'd have me follow, help me to light my path by your word and to seek your peace and persue it, in Jesus' name, amen
WILL HE FIND FAITH ON EARTH?
LK.18: 1-8 this is the parable of the persistent widow. To paraphrase it, Jesus tells a story about a woman of His time. Widows were held in extreme low esteem, they essentially were nobodies. Jesus said though that this widow needed justice and the judge hearing her case was not inclined to be of much help. So, she just kept on imploring the judge to help her. So he did because he was worn out from her pleas. Jesus said that though the judge was not disposed to help because He feared God or was a 'nice guy' he helped her because she kept asking. Then we are exhorted to continue asking God for help because God IS disposed to help and WANTS to bless us. Then Jesus said something I mulled over for months, "I tell you, he will see that they (Christians who continue to ask) get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, WILL HE FIND FAITH ON EARTH?" Its the capitalized line, I could not get out of my mind. Why did He say that? Why here?
I asked everyone, someone, who could be an Angel for all I know said we were exhorted to be faithful in this passage. Yes, but that's not all.
Romans chapter 11 beginning with verse 17 talks about the Olive tree, an agricultural symbol for
Israel, The branches (the Jews who refused to believe in Jesus, were broken off and wild olive branches, (the Gentile Church) were grafted in, but St Paul tells us in verse 20, "Granted they were broken off because of their unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant but be afraid."21"For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either."
And one more Scripture: Luke 7:6-8, "So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Him, "Lord I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under Authority (note), with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "go" and he goes; and that one, "come" and he comes. I say to my servant, 'do this' and he does it" Jesus' reply? Verse 9, "I have not found such great faith in all of Israel"
Our times are perilous; we need to hear from God now more than ever before. Faith is Authority, Authority over satan, Authority over Temptation, and Authority over fear. Faith isn't just blessings and goodies falling from heaven, its survival as a Christian. Jesus made it plain; will He find faith when He returns? Please meditate on these scriptures; this is very relevant and important for today.
Lord help my unbelief, for I desire, above all to know you to see your Glory and to lift your name high in Victory!
HE IS MINDFUL OF MY NEEDS
Psalm 139 a Psalm of David
PS 139:1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
PS 139:2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
PS 139:3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
PS 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
PS 139:5 You hem me in--behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
PS 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
PS 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
PS 139:8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
PS 139:9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
PS 139:10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
PS 139:11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
PS 139:12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
PS 139:13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I find this very comforting and the poetry of it makes my eyes water and my heart soften towards His voice.
David sings, “ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
I know I can’t go anywhere His love can’t find me. No matter what happens His angels are guarding me and keeping my heart pure.
For years I recited a personalized version of Psalm 91 asking for His protection, affirming my trust in Him. Because I had such a hard heart and my life was such a mess I recited it several times a day.
Life in this world is hard and it’s very difficult to keep from compromising our love for God with our need for sustenance.
In the years after I married I’ve allowed myself to fall away, I fell away from Church attendance, I fell away from the many ministries I’d been in. I fell away from the personal praise and Worship singing I used to do. My heart became hard and my love for God’s other people was not what /He wants, I was critical, unloving and not very charitable. Slowly God has been reeling me in from the depths where I’d made my bed, He found me and has lovingly carried me to His will for my life.
Did I also mention that my life started to fall apart, my home life, my vocation, my business hit the bottom, still God met me there. Surely the darkness hid me but God says darkness is as Light to Him, and He found me.
He has hemmed me in--behind and before; laid His hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
If you have fallen away from your first love, He will come, take you by the hand and lead you back.
Lord, I have a heart that is prone to wander, I ask that you hem me in and hold me so close to your heart that I can feel your breath on me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART
First we know God is Love; 1 Jn4: 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
If we are like Him through Love then w are after His heart, right?
So, the first requirement is Love, but Love whom? We love God, and our friends, so we can hate our enemies?
Jesus says this:
MT 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
OH My, a son, I guess loving those whom God loves will make you part of the family.
Ok now we have LOVE what’s next? What is it to be a person after God’s own heart? God said King David was a man after His own heart, what was David like?
We know David wrote a lot of Psalms, He really led the praise and Worship in his time.
This was when David was running from his son who meant to kill him:
PS 3:2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah PS 3:3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. PS 3:4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah PS 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
PS 3:6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
PS 31:1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. PS 31:2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. PS 31:3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
PS 108:3 I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. PS 108:4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. PS 108:5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.
David had a lot of troubles in his life but he had a lot of faith that God would deliver Him, see in Psalm 108 he praise God for His faithfulness, David has faith, another way to be a person after God’s own heart.
Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Faith is very important to be a person after God’s own heart.
We have Love and faith. I want to dig a little deeper into love and faith in the coming weeks.
Lord, I am so weak and I find it hard to love those who hurt me or are who are different or strange, I know you love All so I need your help to love the unlovable. I have such a hard time seeing anything but my
own misery when I’m sick or poor, I know you will always provide for me, but Lord, help my unbelief, I am often so afraid. Forgive me Lord and increase my love and faith, In Jesus’ Name, Amen
FINDING FAITH
LK 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.'
LK 18:4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!"
LK 18:6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
We know that without faith it’s impossible to please God. When we lay our petition before him we are asking, by faith that He gives us the answer we want to hear. Jesus was telling those around Him that the widow, who had to know that the unjust Judge wasn’t inclined to give her anything; and why should he, she had no money, no political connections, no important family to help him in his ambitions had faith. She had faith that if she kept on appealing to him, he’d relent and give the judgment she wanted.
Our Heavenly Father is already predisposed to give us our heart’s desires; He wants us happy, contented and filled. But He wants us to believe to keep the faith to remember He IS our source and to keep coming back to him, with not only our requests and complaints, but also our praises and yes, even our sorrows. He wants us to have the faith to believe He is our Father to whom we can crawl [like a baby to his daddy] to as He sits on the throne [crawl in His lap] and just know He is God. Omnipotent, our El Shaddai, our Jehovah Jireh, the Almighty one, Redeemer, source for all our needs, wants and desires, HE IS GOD. And He can do anything, and through us He does! This is faith. To know, to believe, to ask, to receive and to Love Him..
PS 37:4 ”Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I’ve always felt that delighting myself in The Lord is my heart’s desire; that in the delighting in Him He plants in my heart His desires for my best.
God has a purpose for our lives and it is something for each of us that He knows will be for our greatest joy and highest fulfillment.
2Cor5: 7 We live by faith, not by sight. So when God gives us our life assignment, we can trust Him that it is the best thing for us. Even if we are absolutely sure that what He is asking of us we cannot do. Oh yes, surprise, we can’t, we need Him to achieve whatever he has for us to do. More Faith.
Lord, All my days are numbered, all my thoughts known and you know all my needs, I ask that you forgive me when I forget to ask of you, or forget you are ready to help me. Help me find the faith to really trust you with everything. I know when I delight myself in you; you give me the desires of my heart. I want to be a person after your own heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
OBEDIENCE
What does it look like?
2 JOHN 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
And Jesus said:
MATTHEW 19:17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" … "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
What do we watch out for?
ROMANS 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. [18] You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Here are some kinds of obedience: Taking our thoughts captive.
2 CORINTHIANS 10:4-6 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. [6] And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
Helping those in need.
MATTHEW 25:41-43 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
When I first got saved I used to pray, “O God teach me perfect obedience” as a result my life was so troubled, so awful and I grumbled and complained; years later I realized Jesus learned obedience thru’ suffering so I had to also. But without it, we cannot be totally His.
HEBREWS 5:7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. [8] Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
How to obey properly
MATTHEW 23:1-4 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: [2] "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. [3] So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. [4] They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
When we begin to see Jesus as our highest ambition, our true Love; we will know that He desires our love in the form of obedience. In fact 1 SAMUEL 15:22 says “To obey is better than sacrifice,” In the New Testament 1 CORINTHIANS 13:3 says “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” And as we’ve seen above Love IS obedience and vice versa. He wants us to Believe, Trust and Depend on Him, and that IS obedience. Love isn’t a burden it’s a pleasure. Therefore Obedience isn’t a burden either. It’s a matter of rearranging our priorities. If I say to myself I prefer to live a life of debauchery, of pleasing only myself and giving only to myself, I’m not living in Obedience nor Love. There is so much that needs to be done it can be overwhelming, but God gives us each a job to do and if we all do our job all the work will get done. If I see a problem does this mean God wants me to fix it? It could be, yes. In Ministry School were taught three rules before we do anything, the first rule was: Ask God, the second was : Ask God, and the third was: Ask God. The best way to know what God wants of us is of course Asking Him. It’s sometimes hard to know what His answer is, but if you pay attention, you will begin to see His answers everywhere.
Here again, Obedience is the key, the closer we are to Him the easier it is to ‘hear’ when He is speaking to us. In fact if we are ‘abiding in Him we will be lead on the path He has for each one of us; you remember the one where He gives us a future and a Hope, a Life of fulfillment.
Lord, I desire to serve you with my whole life with my whole heart, I want to wait on you and be your own Handmaid, I ask that You give me the desires to follow You wherever You lead and a real hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. In Jesus' Name, Amen
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