God knows the desires of our hearts. And as we are seeking to walk in His ways, and to walk in humbleness of heart and mind, He will prepare our hearts, and bring us to steadfastness of vision. David said, "LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear" (Ps 10:17). But even as we seek to walk in His ways, we must learn through many strange experiences that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways, God’s ways (Isa 55:8).
Knowing that it is God’s will that we prosper in His ways, we look for it--and like His servant Joseph we find ourselves prospering... but in a prison house that we did not choose. And yet we are free. For who is more free, or prosperous, than one who is a bond-slave of the Lord? (Gen. 39:3; 1 Cor. 7:22; Eph. 4:1).
Knowing that He would make us to be co-heirs with Him in His everlasting Kingdom, we ask to know the way, and He makes us to be the least of all, and the servants of all. For He who is King of all kings became a bond-slave, that He might show us the way to the throne. (Matt. 23:11; Phil. 2:7-9).
We ask Him to make us loving and kind and patient with others--and He brings across our pathway those who are embittered with life, unloving and uncaring, that the springs of love and charity might be able to flow forth in healing streams. For charity suffereth long, and is kind... charity never faileth… (1 Cor. 13:4-8).
We ask that we might bear abundant fruit for the Kingdom of God, and He lays us low in the dust; for He knows that except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. (Jn 12:24).
We ask for true peace and rest... and He sends us into a world where all is turmoil and confusion, that we might know His peace in the midst of the storm. And He bids us to take His yoke upon us, that as we labour with Him we might know His rest. (Jn. 16:33; Matt. 11:29).
We ask for a forgiving spirit, and we find even our loved ones may turn against us, that the forgiving virtue we desire might be nurtured and released. And in the flow of forgiveness we ourselves are inwardly healed and liberated, even before they have felt the pain of their wrong, or the joy of forgiveness.
We ask for a lowly and humble heart--so He leads us into valleys of great weakness and disappointment, that the lowliness of the Lamb might subdue the proud and haughty lion within, and beautify the meek with His own nature.
We ask that we might hear His voice more clearly in a world filled with so many confusing sounds--and He leads us into a wilderness, and feeds us with manna from heaven, that we might hear His voice, and know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. (Deut 8:2,3).
We ask for His abiding presence... for a closer walk with Him... and He sends trouble. He causes His billows to overwhelm us, so that He might draw us closer, still closer to Himself; that in the billows of God we might discover the depths of His love and truth and faithfulness. "Deep calleth unto deep" as we are overwhelmed in the cataracts of distress, and we cry unto Him who is looking for an abiding place in the broken and the contrite heart. (Ps. 42:7; Isa. 57:15).
We ask for enlargement in God, and He confines us and restricts us and closes us in on every side. And sometimes we ourselves may wonder if others are right when they judge we are wasting our time, and wasting our efforts, and accomplishing nothing of profit to God or to man. (Isa. 49:4). For He knows that it is only as we are restricted in our ways, and confined to His will, and reduced to God, that we will know the enlargements and the depths that are in Him, and an open door into the Heavens...
For those who draw nigh to God in priestly service can find no pleasure in anything this life has to offer, nor even in the gifts He has given them. Their true delight is only in Him, and in doing what He shows them to do. Therefore the Lord reminds His priestly people, "Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land... I am thine inheritance". Those who are looking for the City where the Lamb is the Light, can never be satisfied with any other inheritance. (Num. 18:20; Phil. 3:8).
And so if we truly desire to be clothed upon with these virtues of Christ, no matter how feebly we may have tried to frame our desires into an effectual prayer, if the desire is there for Him and for Him alone, to know Him, to walk with Him, and to abide in Him... He sees that desire, He hears that desire as though it were a fervent prayer from the heart and lips, And He will be faithful to prepare our hearts and lead us in the right way, strange though it may seem to be in our own eyes, or in the eyes of those who do not understand the ways of the Lord.
"LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble : thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear" (Ps. 10:17).
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Redemption, God’s Masterpiece
In the heart of the artist or musician or artificer--someone with special creative talents--there is always that inherent desire to bring forth their masterpiece. They try and try again, but remain unsatisfied. There is always that nagging sense of failure... “I haven’t done it yet... I’m not satisfied. I cannot rest till I have done my very best... and this is not it!” And yet no matter how many times they try, they generally end up with the feeling, “It could have been better... I must try again”.
Now God is the infinite Artist, and Builder, and Architect of all things. Unlike “masters” here in the earth He doesn’t try, and try, and try again; but often it seems that way. And the evolutionist would like us to imagine that’s the way it is. We might get the impression that God tried to make a perfect man when He made Adam... and failed. That He tried to bring forth a holy nation in Israel... and failed. That He tried to establish Aaron in a holy priesthood... and failed. That He tried to set up a powerful kingdom in David, or Solomon... and failed. But it was not that way. Rather He was demonstrating over and over again the futility of man, and the inability of man to maintain order and beauty in a fallen creation. But underlying all this was the scarlet thread of Redemption, while He waited in great patience and longsuffering for the day when He Himself would come on the scene, and bring forth the ultimate Masterpiece of His creative hands.
And so we have the story of Redemption. It is there that God poured everything He had into the creative work of His hands, and found rest and delight in a people whom He created for His glory, For the apostle Paul tells us that “We are His workmanship” (Eph 2:10). To bring about our Redemption, God poured everything He had, everything He is... into the redemption of His people. So in reality “We are His Masterpiece!” It cost God everything He had... even His only Begotten Son. And we will never fully appreciate the glory of Redemption until we understand that it was God Most High who clothed Himself in flesh, and submitted Himself to the hatred and scoffing of His rebellious creatures for their redemption and transformation! And that it was in this great creative work that He found complete fulfillment and could stand back and say, “It is finished”. He made this declaration, first from the Cross, and will declare it yet again from His exalted throne in the heavens (Jn 17:4; 19:30; Rev.l0:7). For what He accomplished at the Cross must yet be consummated in a people made complete in Christ, and conformed to His image. The old creation could manifest but the limited rays of His glory. It took the New Creation for God to manifest the full shining Light of His glory, And the redeemed ones of Adam’s race are yet to be revealed to the highest of His celestial creatures, as His ultimate and perfect Masterpiece. No wonder we are told that the angels desire to peer into these things that pertain to our salvation! (1 Pet 1:12). And so in redemption:..
We behold God in His infinite depths, as well as God in His infinite heights. We see Him stooping to lowest realms of darkness, to raise a people into the highest realms of light. We see the glory of His condescension, as well as the glory of His ascension. We see the glory of His weakness, as well as the glory of His power. We see the glory of His emptiness, as well as the glory of His fulness. We see the glory of His humility, as well as the glory of His exaltation. We see Him stopping in His steps, to hear the cry of a blind Bartimaeus, And we see Him riding majestically in the heavens, as the One who has conquered over all the forces of evil. We see Him riding into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass, And we see Him ascending in clouds, with power and great glory. We see a bleeding Lamb, slain for our redemption. And we see the same Lamb, high and lifted up on the throne of Glory, with angels and cherubim falling down before Him, and the redeemed of the earth crying out..
“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev 5:9)
And it is in and through this strange combination of the weakness of man and the majesty of God Most High, that He is seen as the Master Workman of the New Creation. In a way that no artist or musician has ever been able to do, God has invested everything He has, everything He is, in the people whom He has redeemed for His glory. He can do no more for us--other than to open our eyes and ears and hearts to receive and to perceive the fulness of His salvation. This is a great work, indeed; and for this we continue to cry out, and hope for, and expect. Then will He be fully satisfied. Then will He “rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph 3:17)
But let us not think for a moment, having come into this fulness of glory, that we have come to the end. In this life, when we come to the end of a matter, or to the end of life... we face deterioration and decay. But in New Creation life--how could we ever exhaust the riches of Him who is infinite and eternal? Even now as partakers of Eternal Life there is to be an expansion of His glory within us, and this must go on throughout eternal ages. Here in this brief period of our lives that we call “time” we can only pause for a moment, and faintly discern a new galaxy of truth and revelation far beyond the limits of our present spiritual constellation. But as surely as we find ourselves caught up unto God and into His eternal purpose, the realms of eternity become more and more real to us. So we must continue to abide in Him, now and all our days, as we anticipate the glory that is yet to be revealed. For how can we know, except in the most incomplete and fragmentary way... what God means when He declares to us “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7)? Nor do we say these things to encourage more research in those areas, for it is certain they will remain obscure to us until we become one with Him in His love. Rather, our hope is that He would bring us to greater humility and worship before Him, for knowledge can very easily blind our eyes to the more excellent way, and nurture pride in our hearts.
Now God is the infinite Artist, and Builder, and Architect of all things. Unlike “masters” here in the earth He doesn’t try, and try, and try again; but often it seems that way. And the evolutionist would like us to imagine that’s the way it is. We might get the impression that God tried to make a perfect man when He made Adam... and failed. That He tried to bring forth a holy nation in Israel... and failed. That He tried to establish Aaron in a holy priesthood... and failed. That He tried to set up a powerful kingdom in David, or Solomon... and failed. But it was not that way. Rather He was demonstrating over and over again the futility of man, and the inability of man to maintain order and beauty in a fallen creation. But underlying all this was the scarlet thread of Redemption, while He waited in great patience and longsuffering for the day when He Himself would come on the scene, and bring forth the ultimate Masterpiece of His creative hands.
And so we have the story of Redemption. It is there that God poured everything He had into the creative work of His hands, and found rest and delight in a people whom He created for His glory, For the apostle Paul tells us that “We are His workmanship” (Eph 2:10). To bring about our Redemption, God poured everything He had, everything He is... into the redemption of His people. So in reality “We are His Masterpiece!” It cost God everything He had... even His only Begotten Son. And we will never fully appreciate the glory of Redemption until we understand that it was God Most High who clothed Himself in flesh, and submitted Himself to the hatred and scoffing of His rebellious creatures for their redemption and transformation! And that it was in this great creative work that He found complete fulfillment and could stand back and say, “It is finished”. He made this declaration, first from the Cross, and will declare it yet again from His exalted throne in the heavens (Jn 17:4; 19:30; Rev.l0:7). For what He accomplished at the Cross must yet be consummated in a people made complete in Christ, and conformed to His image. The old creation could manifest but the limited rays of His glory. It took the New Creation for God to manifest the full shining Light of His glory, And the redeemed ones of Adam’s race are yet to be revealed to the highest of His celestial creatures, as His ultimate and perfect Masterpiece. No wonder we are told that the angels desire to peer into these things that pertain to our salvation! (1 Pet 1:12). And so in redemption:..
We behold God in His infinite depths, as well as God in His infinite heights. We see Him stooping to lowest realms of darkness, to raise a people into the highest realms of light. We see the glory of His condescension, as well as the glory of His ascension. We see the glory of His weakness, as well as the glory of His power. We see the glory of His emptiness, as well as the glory of His fulness. We see the glory of His humility, as well as the glory of His exaltation. We see Him stopping in His steps, to hear the cry of a blind Bartimaeus, And we see Him riding majestically in the heavens, as the One who has conquered over all the forces of evil. We see Him riding into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass, And we see Him ascending in clouds, with power and great glory. We see a bleeding Lamb, slain for our redemption. And we see the same Lamb, high and lifted up on the throne of Glory, with angels and cherubim falling down before Him, and the redeemed of the earth crying out..
“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev 5:9)
And it is in and through this strange combination of the weakness of man and the majesty of God Most High, that He is seen as the Master Workman of the New Creation. In a way that no artist or musician has ever been able to do, God has invested everything He has, everything He is, in the people whom He has redeemed for His glory. He can do no more for us--other than to open our eyes and ears and hearts to receive and to perceive the fulness of His salvation. This is a great work, indeed; and for this we continue to cry out, and hope for, and expect. Then will He be fully satisfied. Then will He “rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph 3:17)
But let us not think for a moment, having come into this fulness of glory, that we have come to the end. In this life, when we come to the end of a matter, or to the end of life... we face deterioration and decay. But in New Creation life--how could we ever exhaust the riches of Him who is infinite and eternal? Even now as partakers of Eternal Life there is to be an expansion of His glory within us, and this must go on throughout eternal ages. Here in this brief period of our lives that we call “time” we can only pause for a moment, and faintly discern a new galaxy of truth and revelation far beyond the limits of our present spiritual constellation. But as surely as we find ourselves caught up unto God and into His eternal purpose, the realms of eternity become more and more real to us. So we must continue to abide in Him, now and all our days, as we anticipate the glory that is yet to be revealed. For how can we know, except in the most incomplete and fragmentary way... what God means when He declares to us “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7)? Nor do we say these things to encourage more research in those areas, for it is certain they will remain obscure to us until we become one with Him in His love. Rather, our hope is that He would bring us to greater humility and worship before Him, for knowledge can very easily blind our eyes to the more excellent way, and nurture pride in our hearts.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Self-pity vs Repentance
This really spoke to me today. I used to have a very bad problem with self-pity and the subject hasn't come up in awhile. I think I was reminded today because its so easy to fall into old habit patterns of thinking. I found this helpful:
A common problem that we deal with is self pity which never leads to transformed behavior or restored relationships.
· It diminishes, in our eyes, the gravity of each sin we commit against love and honor towards others.
· It hinders Godly repentance by feeling that life has not been fair with us and believing that others are the cause of our frustrations. Thus we do not look to God but people to meet our need.
· It places the primary fault upon others for relational conflicts because we feel that we have been treated unfairly.
· If they would not have done that to me… Or, If only they would have done this for me then life would be better and I would not be forced to act in such a way!
· It excuses our negative attitudes by seeing the weaknesses in others and feeling that our rightness justifies our judgmentalism or actions.
· It tries to get others to feel sorry for us and to get them to feel that we have been treated unfairly (defilement) thus strengthening the stronghold of selfpity within.
· It may try to compensate for our relational failures with increased hyperreligious activity, aggressively striving to earn self-worth or acceptance, or we may take on a false sense of responsibility and place all the blame upon ourselves for relational conflicts thus denying others the opportunity to deal
with their own issues.
· It often leads to others feeling manipulated or demeaned by closing our heart to those that will not come into agreement with our self-pity, thus leaving others feeling that they have little value or honor in our presence.
· It may result in hidden anger at our feelings of loss or unmet expectations.
· This increases our blame towards others and results in deeper feelings of anger, insecurity, shame, isolation, self-condemnation, addictive compulsive behavior, and/or depression.
· It leaves us dissatisfied at work, church, and at home and we want to escape to a place where we can find rest.
On the other hand, Godly repentance always involves action. It is not just emotions and tears. It is to be so grieved at the wounding and stress that our actions and attitudes have brought to others that now we are willing to humble ourselves and do whatever it takes to restore healthy relationships.
· It is to be so grieved at the hurt that our actions and attitudes have brought to others that now we are willing to humble ourselves and do whatever it takes to restore healthy relationships.
· It comes to hate the destructive habit patterns that have misrepresented God's love and grace to others.
· It becomes more concerned with others' needs than our own pride and walls of self-protection.
· It is willing to lay down the need to be right in order to see healing in those whom we have hurt or offended.
· It chooses to walk in openness and transparency, and willingly comes forward and acknowledges our sin against love and how we have hurt or offended others.
· It does not seek to make excuses, seek to put the blame on others, or diminish the depth of our self-deception or fear of intimacy with which we have struggled.
· It takes the focus off of ourselves (self-pity) and begins to focus our energy upon humility, confession, forgiveness, repentance, and healing the pain that we have caused others.
A common problem that we deal with is self pity which never leads to transformed behavior or restored relationships.
· It diminishes, in our eyes, the gravity of each sin we commit against love and honor towards others.
· It hinders Godly repentance by feeling that life has not been fair with us and believing that others are the cause of our frustrations. Thus we do not look to God but people to meet our need.
· It places the primary fault upon others for relational conflicts because we feel that we have been treated unfairly.
· If they would not have done that to me… Or, If only they would have done this for me then life would be better and I would not be forced to act in such a way!
· It excuses our negative attitudes by seeing the weaknesses in others and feeling that our rightness justifies our judgmentalism or actions.
· It tries to get others to feel sorry for us and to get them to feel that we have been treated unfairly (defilement) thus strengthening the stronghold of selfpity within.
· It may try to compensate for our relational failures with increased hyperreligious activity, aggressively striving to earn self-worth or acceptance, or we may take on a false sense of responsibility and place all the blame upon ourselves for relational conflicts thus denying others the opportunity to deal
with their own issues.
· It often leads to others feeling manipulated or demeaned by closing our heart to those that will not come into agreement with our self-pity, thus leaving others feeling that they have little value or honor in our presence.
· It may result in hidden anger at our feelings of loss or unmet expectations.
· This increases our blame towards others and results in deeper feelings of anger, insecurity, shame, isolation, self-condemnation, addictive compulsive behavior, and/or depression.
· It leaves us dissatisfied at work, church, and at home and we want to escape to a place where we can find rest.
On the other hand, Godly repentance always involves action. It is not just emotions and tears. It is to be so grieved at the wounding and stress that our actions and attitudes have brought to others that now we are willing to humble ourselves and do whatever it takes to restore healthy relationships.
· It is to be so grieved at the hurt that our actions and attitudes have brought to others that now we are willing to humble ourselves and do whatever it takes to restore healthy relationships.
· It comes to hate the destructive habit patterns that have misrepresented God's love and grace to others.
· It becomes more concerned with others' needs than our own pride and walls of self-protection.
· It is willing to lay down the need to be right in order to see healing in those whom we have hurt or offended.
· It chooses to walk in openness and transparency, and willingly comes forward and acknowledges our sin against love and how we have hurt or offended others.
· It does not seek to make excuses, seek to put the blame on others, or diminish the depth of our self-deception or fear of intimacy with which we have struggled.
· It takes the focus off of ourselves (self-pity) and begins to focus our energy upon humility, confession, forgiveness, repentance, and healing the pain that we have caused others.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Narrow Way
I got this off Lois's blog "DISTILLED" but its so timely for me I needed to post it here too:
"The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one's way and stray from the path, even after years of discipleship. And it is hard to find. On either side of the narrow path, deep chasms yawn.
To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way.
To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.
To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenceless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way.
To see the weakness and wrong in others, and at the same time refrain from judging them; to deliver the gospel message without casting pearls before swine, is indeed a narrow way.
The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all of the time, it is indeed an impossible way.
But if we behold Jesus Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray.
But if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the straight gate.
He, and he alone, is our journey's end. When we know that we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the straight gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very narrowness of the road will increase our certainty.
The way which the Son of God trod on earth, and the way which we too must tread as citizens of two worlds on the razor edge between this world and the kingdom of heaven, could hardly be a broad way."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one's way and stray from the path, even after years of discipleship. And it is hard to find. On either side of the narrow path, deep chasms yawn.
To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way.
To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.
To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenceless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way.
To see the weakness and wrong in others, and at the same time refrain from judging them; to deliver the gospel message without casting pearls before swine, is indeed a narrow way.
The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all of the time, it is indeed an impossible way.
But if we behold Jesus Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray.
But if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the straight gate.
He, and he alone, is our journey's end. When we know that we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the straight gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very narrowness of the road will increase our certainty.
The way which the Son of God trod on earth, and the way which we too must tread as citizens of two worlds on the razor edge between this world and the kingdom of heaven, could hardly be a broad way."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Spiritual Authority..
There are two kinds of leaders: those who use people for their own interests, and those who sacrifice themselves for the interests of the people. The former denotes the nature of worldly authority, the latter godly authority. Pharoah allowed his country to be destroyed while striving to preserve his power over the Jews. Moses on the other hand, so loved and identified with these people that he even offered his own life to appease God's wrath on them. See Phil 2:5-10.
Selfish ambition is one of the most destructive characteristics found in ministry and has led to much perversion and humiliation that has come upon the church. When men are established in positions of authority prematurely, it is a tradegy for both leader and led. To be placed in spiritual authority before having been freed from carnality will in fact "feed" the carnal nature and can even prevent true spiritual growth and authority.
"Premature responsibility breeds superficiality"
Selfish ambition is one of the most destructive characteristics found in ministry and has led to much perversion and humiliation that has come upon the church. When men are established in positions of authority prematurely, it is a tradegy for both leader and led. To be placed in spiritual authority before having been freed from carnality will in fact "feed" the carnal nature and can even prevent true spiritual growth and authority.
"Premature responsibility breeds superficiality"
Monday, March 19, 2007
Glory Just Around the Corner
I Peter 4
12-13Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
14-16If you're abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It's the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that's a different matter. But if it's because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!
17-19It's judgment time for God's own family. We're first in line. If it starts with us, think what it's going to be like for those who refuse God's Message!
If good people barely make it,
What's in store for the bad?
So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.
12-13Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
14-16If you're abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It's the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that's a different matter. But if it's because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!
17-19It's judgment time for God's own family. We're first in line. If it starts with us, think what it's going to be like for those who refuse God's Message!
If good people barely make it,
What's in store for the bad?
So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.
CHRIST-CENTERED ?
Real spiritual growth occurs when we realize that God has only one goal for us, and that is, the full, mature, complete, and experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ. To the extent that we discard "things" and become focused wholly on Christ, to that extent we will make progress.
Christians should walk in the Lord Jesus as they received Him. We must not allow anything to keep us from growing up in to Him. Spiritual growth in the life of a Christian is determined by the measure of the increase of Christ and the decrease of Self: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). It is not a question of gifts, knowledge, years of experience, or power. If by the end of today there is less of me and more of Jesus then I am growing. Otherwise I am not. Jesus must become greater and greater in my life, and I must become lesser and lesser. This is the Path.
Along this Path towards apprehending Christ as all in all there are many pitfalls, snares, hindrances, and detours. Thus, Paul says we are to be on our guard and let no man spoil us. In this context, the word "spoil" means, "to destroy and strip of one's possessions; to deprive of something valuable by force." Every spiritual blessing heaven has to offer is found in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Each believer has an incredible fullness and completeness in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ is THE Gift of God, the ultimate Gift, and this Gift is precious, valuable, and of great worth.
How then can we be spoiled? According to Paul we are spoiled "through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments (elements) of the world, and not after Christ." It matters not if the philosophy is good, right, morally excellent, and praiseworthy. It matters not how well intentioned, meaningful, or helpful the tradition is. It matters not how necessary we think the worldly element to be, or how important it is to society in general. If none of these things are "after Christ", that is, if they are not of Him, through Him, and unto Him, then they are worthless insofar as God's Purpose is concerned and must be discarded.
The spirit of Antichrist is not necessarily seen in something that is obviously satanic or demonic. Instead, the spirit of Antichrist is revealed in anything that seeks to spoil us by taking our eyes off of Christ - it is anti-Christ, against Christ, antithetical to the great Purpose of God.
How easy it is for us to become distracted into something less than Christ! Are you centered on Christ? Is Jesus your obsession? Is He your focus? Or have you set your sights on something beneath Him? This speaks right to the heart of the crisis we find ourselves in today.
Christians should walk in the Lord Jesus as they received Him. We must not allow anything to keep us from growing up in to Him. Spiritual growth in the life of a Christian is determined by the measure of the increase of Christ and the decrease of Self: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). It is not a question of gifts, knowledge, years of experience, or power. If by the end of today there is less of me and more of Jesus then I am growing. Otherwise I am not. Jesus must become greater and greater in my life, and I must become lesser and lesser. This is the Path.
Along this Path towards apprehending Christ as all in all there are many pitfalls, snares, hindrances, and detours. Thus, Paul says we are to be on our guard and let no man spoil us. In this context, the word "spoil" means, "to destroy and strip of one's possessions; to deprive of something valuable by force." Every spiritual blessing heaven has to offer is found in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Each believer has an incredible fullness and completeness in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ is THE Gift of God, the ultimate Gift, and this Gift is precious, valuable, and of great worth.
How then can we be spoiled? According to Paul we are spoiled "through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments (elements) of the world, and not after Christ." It matters not if the philosophy is good, right, morally excellent, and praiseworthy. It matters not how well intentioned, meaningful, or helpful the tradition is. It matters not how necessary we think the worldly element to be, or how important it is to society in general. If none of these things are "after Christ", that is, if they are not of Him, through Him, and unto Him, then they are worthless insofar as God's Purpose is concerned and must be discarded.
The spirit of Antichrist is not necessarily seen in something that is obviously satanic or demonic. Instead, the spirit of Antichrist is revealed in anything that seeks to spoil us by taking our eyes off of Christ - it is anti-Christ, against Christ, antithetical to the great Purpose of God.
How easy it is for us to become distracted into something less than Christ! Are you centered on Christ? Is Jesus your obsession? Is He your focus? Or have you set your sights on something beneath Him? This speaks right to the heart of the crisis we find ourselves in today.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Learning Obedience through Suffering
It is told in Hebrews 5.8 that Christ “learned obedience through what He suffered.” Suffering called forth obedience from the Lord. Please note here that He did not bring obedience to this earth; He learned it—and He did so through suffering.
When we meet suffering we then learn obedience. Such obedience is real. Our usefulness is not determined by whether or not we have suffered, but by how much obedience we have learned through that suffering. The obedient ones alone are useful to God. As long as our heart is not softened, suffering will not leave us. Our way lies in many sufferings; the easy-goers and pleasure-lovers are useless before God. Let us therefore learn to obey in suffering.
Salvation makes people obedient as well as joyous. If we seek only joy, our spiritual possessions will not be rich; but those who are obedient will experience the abundance of salvation. Let us not change the nature of salvation. Let us obey—for our Lord Jesus, having been made perfect through obedience, has become the source of our eternal salvation. God saves us that we may obey His will. If we have met God’s authority we shall discover obedience to be easy and God’s will to be simple, because the Lord Himself was always obedient and has given this life of obedience to us.
When we meet suffering we then learn obedience. Such obedience is real. Our usefulness is not determined by whether or not we have suffered, but by how much obedience we have learned through that suffering. The obedient ones alone are useful to God. As long as our heart is not softened, suffering will not leave us. Our way lies in many sufferings; the easy-goers and pleasure-lovers are useless before God. Let us therefore learn to obey in suffering.
Salvation makes people obedient as well as joyous. If we seek only joy, our spiritual possessions will not be rich; but those who are obedient will experience the abundance of salvation. Let us not change the nature of salvation. Let us obey—for our Lord Jesus, having been made perfect through obedience, has become the source of our eternal salvation. God saves us that we may obey His will. If we have met God’s authority we shall discover obedience to be easy and God’s will to be simple, because the Lord Himself was always obedient and has given this life of obedience to us.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Vance Havner..
Quote of the Day
In state and church too many decisions are reached by compromise; steam-rollered by a consensus of rubber stamps and yes-men. It is fast becoming the unpardonable sin to be a lone dissenter on any issue. The big idea is to present a united front at any cost. A prominent churchman has reminded us that this can be a sinister device, smothering all opposition and excluding passion for rightness and reform. Under the pretext of a solid front to enemies without, we are told to overlook al deserters and traitors within our own ranks, since this causes division. Unification, unanimity, and uniformity are the order of the hour, and woe unto any Micaiah who disagrees with four hundred false prophets bidding Ahab and Jehoshaphat go up against Ramoth-gilead! This will, of course, in time produce a monolithic world state and world church with the mark of the beast and plenty of trouble for any who do not wear his brand. This is the advance program of Antichrist.
In state and church too many decisions are reached by compromise; steam-rollered by a consensus of rubber stamps and yes-men. It is fast becoming the unpardonable sin to be a lone dissenter on any issue. The big idea is to present a united front at any cost. A prominent churchman has reminded us that this can be a sinister device, smothering all opposition and excluding passion for rightness and reform. Under the pretext of a solid front to enemies without, we are told to overlook al deserters and traitors within our own ranks, since this causes division. Unification, unanimity, and uniformity are the order of the hour, and woe unto any Micaiah who disagrees with four hundred false prophets bidding Ahab and Jehoshaphat go up against Ramoth-gilead! This will, of course, in time produce a monolithic world state and world church with the mark of the beast and plenty of trouble for any who do not wear his brand. This is the advance program of Antichrist.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Bahama Mama..
Amazing Sunset
The beach when we arrived..no one there!
RELAXING..finally
A different view..
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
As it was in the days of Noah..so shall it be before Jesus returns:
by Manfred Schreyer
(Num 6:24-26 NIV) "' "The LORD bless you and keep you; {25} the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; {26} the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'
(Psa 119:135 NIV) Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.
• Our life can be observed as a great paradox. There are those moments where we are overwhelmed by the wonderful gift of life and then there a times when some of us find ourselves strangled by circumstances in life.
• When we observe life, we can easily come to the understanding that life is corrupted with evil.
• I heard from those who lived longer then I have lived that our time is the worse of time. Well, it is NOT! Very early on in the history of creation God was so angry, because the world that he had created had become morally bankrupt. God had become so disgusted with the human race that He as ready to wipe it out.
• I recently spoke with someone who had committed a very violent crime and almost killed the person. And in that conversation the individual stated: “that person had it coming.” These are the statements of corruptness of the human mind, where all conscience is missing, where there is not a tear of hope.
• The person who was almost killed in fact (at least according to the this person) had indeed treated him in a very horrible way. Treated the person with no respect, dignity, fed the person with lies, cheated the person almost daily, etc.
• When I sat with the individual, I thought that that must have been the state of humankind during the time of Noah.
• Yet when you read the story about Noah, God took notice of Noah. The bible tells us that Noah was a pleasure to God. Noah was a pleasure, because Noah accepted the will of God.
• What God really wants from us is the deep desire from us to love God with everything we have. He wants us to take all of our own desires aside and make room for Him. God in a way longs for our love.
• There is no greater objective in this life then to get to know our God in an intimate relationship.
• Do you remember the commandment of Jesus to love our God with ll of our heart, mind and soul?
• Nevertheless, love alone is not enough . . . unfortunately.
• I know people who believe they have given their life to God, but they have only placed a safe bet. You see they see God being part of a religion. Here is their equation: If in fact there is another God like Buddha . . . Buddha seems to be more accepting of other Gods. Most of the man-made religions allow to worship multiple deities and the common phrase today is that “there are many ways to God” So people take that statement with the full knowledge that our God does not accept any other God. And that is where they place a safe bet: They commit their life to God with their tongue. They now believe that if they die and God should not exist as described in the bible they have nothing to lose since the other gods are accepting. But if the God of the bible exists they have placed a safe bet on Him.
• Those who are doing that live a lie! Yes, they even participate in church, they even participate in the life of the church, but the one thing that the God of our bible is asking of them they do not . . .
• They do not trust God completely. You see, when God told Noah to build the ark, Noah did so without any question. Noah built a ship not to survive, but because it was asked of him.
• All of this seems very simple to you and to me, but the reality is that we would have not built the ship. And I will tell you why:
• As we look today to the word of God, we end up in endless interpretation. Because when we do not know the reason for some of the things God tells us in His Word, we find a reason. Even when we do not know what the consequences are we establish them. Because we think we are so knowledgeable of everything. We just know . . . And if we do not know we just follow our instinct.
• Allow me to say this: When God spoke to Noah that He would flood the earth with rain, I mind you that Noah had never seen rain, because until that time God watered the earth from the ground up. Ref. Gen 2:5-6.
• If God would have spoken to us today about an upcoming flood, we would have not been so much concerned with building the ark, but we would have founded a think-tank to interpret the word: “rain.” And then we possibly would have come to the conclusion that we do not need an ark, but that we need to convince God that there is another way to look at the situation.
• But the story tells us that Noah built the ark . . . over a very long time . . .
• Trust in God . . . constant trust in the word of God, eternal trust in the love even in the moments of discouragement.
• We look at the Word of God and we think that God changed His mind over the years. We believe that it does not mean now what it once meant. We believe that God meant it differently than what it means now.
• Well, let me say this: It took Noah a 100 years to build the ark. Not a single day with a sign of rain. Days of mocking by others who though he was a nutcase.
• Noah could have easily said “the flood is not coming,” “there is no sign of the promise given,” “this is all crazy” . . . but Noah trusted God with all that he had. He placed his entire energy to follow the will of God. He did not sit down and re-interpret the word spoken to him; he was not influenced by those who ruthlessly opposed his doings. No, he loved God so much, that he gave it all and he trusted God with all he had.
• He obeyed every instruction, every detail God had brought to him, Noah did not alter anything . . . Noah followed exactly the model God gave him.
• God’s face was shining upon Noah, because the flood did come and it destroyed everything
• The moral of the story?
• God does not owe us an explanation as much as he did not owe Noah an explanation. God says that understanding of the things can wait, but not our love and loyalty to God. God wants our trust, and by our gift of choice we have the power.
• Not to follow His will lead to suffocation of the eternal glory. Disobedience will lead to the cries of those who are grounding in the waters after they die. Noah had no ropes others could hang on to; he did not offer last minute reservation, Noah did not open the boat to let those in who barely hung on to the trees which the flood uprooted . . . it was too late.
• With the Word of God and the commands we cannot pick and choose.
• The world we experience with all its horrifying stories is the decay caused by the standards we set for ourselves in society. We are to blame for the crimes that are committed. We are willing to trust our own will and interpretation of how things should be . . . but we are not willing to accept the offer God makes to us in His word.
• You can’t choose. You can’t have one foot on the ark and the other touch the ground.
• My plea is just like the one from King David: (Psa 119:135 NIV) Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.
(Num 6:24-26 NIV) "' "The LORD bless you and keep you; {25} the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; {26} the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'
(Psa 119:135 NIV) Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.
• Our life can be observed as a great paradox. There are those moments where we are overwhelmed by the wonderful gift of life and then there a times when some of us find ourselves strangled by circumstances in life.
• When we observe life, we can easily come to the understanding that life is corrupted with evil.
• I heard from those who lived longer then I have lived that our time is the worse of time. Well, it is NOT! Very early on in the history of creation God was so angry, because the world that he had created had become morally bankrupt. God had become so disgusted with the human race that He as ready to wipe it out.
• I recently spoke with someone who had committed a very violent crime and almost killed the person. And in that conversation the individual stated: “that person had it coming.” These are the statements of corruptness of the human mind, where all conscience is missing, where there is not a tear of hope.
• The person who was almost killed in fact (at least according to the this person) had indeed treated him in a very horrible way. Treated the person with no respect, dignity, fed the person with lies, cheated the person almost daily, etc.
• When I sat with the individual, I thought that that must have been the state of humankind during the time of Noah.
• Yet when you read the story about Noah, God took notice of Noah. The bible tells us that Noah was a pleasure to God. Noah was a pleasure, because Noah accepted the will of God.
• What God really wants from us is the deep desire from us to love God with everything we have. He wants us to take all of our own desires aside and make room for Him. God in a way longs for our love.
• There is no greater objective in this life then to get to know our God in an intimate relationship.
• Do you remember the commandment of Jesus to love our God with ll of our heart, mind and soul?
• Nevertheless, love alone is not enough . . . unfortunately.
• I know people who believe they have given their life to God, but they have only placed a safe bet. You see they see God being part of a religion. Here is their equation: If in fact there is another God like Buddha . . . Buddha seems to be more accepting of other Gods. Most of the man-made religions allow to worship multiple deities and the common phrase today is that “there are many ways to God” So people take that statement with the full knowledge that our God does not accept any other God. And that is where they place a safe bet: They commit their life to God with their tongue. They now believe that if they die and God should not exist as described in the bible they have nothing to lose since the other gods are accepting. But if the God of the bible exists they have placed a safe bet on Him.
• Those who are doing that live a lie! Yes, they even participate in church, they even participate in the life of the church, but the one thing that the God of our bible is asking of them they do not . . .
• They do not trust God completely. You see, when God told Noah to build the ark, Noah did so without any question. Noah built a ship not to survive, but because it was asked of him.
• All of this seems very simple to you and to me, but the reality is that we would have not built the ship. And I will tell you why:
• As we look today to the word of God, we end up in endless interpretation. Because when we do not know the reason for some of the things God tells us in His Word, we find a reason. Even when we do not know what the consequences are we establish them. Because we think we are so knowledgeable of everything. We just know . . . And if we do not know we just follow our instinct.
• Allow me to say this: When God spoke to Noah that He would flood the earth with rain, I mind you that Noah had never seen rain, because until that time God watered the earth from the ground up. Ref. Gen 2:5-6.
• If God would have spoken to us today about an upcoming flood, we would have not been so much concerned with building the ark, but we would have founded a think-tank to interpret the word: “rain.” And then we possibly would have come to the conclusion that we do not need an ark, but that we need to convince God that there is another way to look at the situation.
• But the story tells us that Noah built the ark . . . over a very long time . . .
• Trust in God . . . constant trust in the word of God, eternal trust in the love even in the moments of discouragement.
• We look at the Word of God and we think that God changed His mind over the years. We believe that it does not mean now what it once meant. We believe that God meant it differently than what it means now.
• Well, let me say this: It took Noah a 100 years to build the ark. Not a single day with a sign of rain. Days of mocking by others who though he was a nutcase.
• Noah could have easily said “the flood is not coming,” “there is no sign of the promise given,” “this is all crazy” . . . but Noah trusted God with all that he had. He placed his entire energy to follow the will of God. He did not sit down and re-interpret the word spoken to him; he was not influenced by those who ruthlessly opposed his doings. No, he loved God so much, that he gave it all and he trusted God with all he had.
• He obeyed every instruction, every detail God had brought to him, Noah did not alter anything . . . Noah followed exactly the model God gave him.
• God’s face was shining upon Noah, because the flood did come and it destroyed everything
• The moral of the story?
• God does not owe us an explanation as much as he did not owe Noah an explanation. God says that understanding of the things can wait, but not our love and loyalty to God. God wants our trust, and by our gift of choice we have the power.
• Not to follow His will lead to suffocation of the eternal glory. Disobedience will lead to the cries of those who are grounding in the waters after they die. Noah had no ropes others could hang on to; he did not offer last minute reservation, Noah did not open the boat to let those in who barely hung on to the trees which the flood uprooted . . . it was too late.
• With the Word of God and the commands we cannot pick and choose.
• The world we experience with all its horrifying stories is the decay caused by the standards we set for ourselves in society. We are to blame for the crimes that are committed. We are willing to trust our own will and interpretation of how things should be . . . but we are not willing to accept the offer God makes to us in His word.
• You can’t choose. You can’t have one foot on the ark and the other touch the ground.
• My plea is just like the one from King David: (Psa 119:135 NIV) Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.
Monday, March 12, 2007
"OTHERS MAY...YOU CANNOT"
by W. B. Howard
(Access Hannah Whitalls books
also for extra comfort & teaching)
If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience, that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.
Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.
Others may brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, he will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others will be allowed to succeed in making money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries. But it likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something better than gold, and this is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.
The Lord will let others be honoured, and put forward, and keep you hid away in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing: and then to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign God, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and He will not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.
He will take you at your word; and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and let other people say and do many things that you cannot do or say. Settle it forever, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes. In ways that He does not deal with others. Now when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven." (End of quote).
FAITH is needed at every step of this life on this fallen planet. Our Saviour knows what He is doing with you, beloved of the Lord. Consider the faith passage, Hebrews 11, what a list of trials and seeming disasters it gives to us. Awhile ago, a missionary and his two sons from Australia were burned alive in their car by Hindu extremists in India. But, Hebrews 11 shows that the history of the people of God on this planet runs red with their blood! This horrifying incident in India is no isolated occurrence in a world teeming with rebels against the One true God, rebels who are controlled by Satan. Faith in the One who loves us so can master insurmountable difficulties. The following quote from F.B. Meyer, written on the Hebrews 11, is a joy to read. Praise God, He will take us through in triumph until we meet Jesus face-to-face in glory:
(Access Hannah Whitalls books
also for extra comfort & teaching)
If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience, that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.
Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.
Others may brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, he will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others will be allowed to succeed in making money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries. But it likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something better than gold, and this is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.
The Lord will let others be honoured, and put forward, and keep you hid away in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing: and then to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign God, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and He will not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.
He will take you at your word; and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and let other people say and do many things that you cannot do or say. Settle it forever, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes. In ways that He does not deal with others. Now when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven." (End of quote).
FAITH is needed at every step of this life on this fallen planet. Our Saviour knows what He is doing with you, beloved of the Lord. Consider the faith passage, Hebrews 11, what a list of trials and seeming disasters it gives to us. Awhile ago, a missionary and his two sons from Australia were burned alive in their car by Hindu extremists in India. But, Hebrews 11 shows that the history of the people of God on this planet runs red with their blood! This horrifying incident in India is no isolated occurrence in a world teeming with rebels against the One true God, rebels who are controlled by Satan. Faith in the One who loves us so can master insurmountable difficulties. The following quote from F.B. Meyer, written on the Hebrews 11, is a joy to read. Praise God, He will take us through in triumph until we meet Jesus face-to-face in glory:
"There are many difficulties before us all.Stormy seas forbid our passage;frowning fortifications bar our progress;mighty kingdoms defy our power;
lions roar against us;fire lights its flaming barricade in our path;the sword, the armies of the alien, mockings,scourgings, bonds, and imprisonment-all these
menace our peace,darken our horizon, and try on us their power;but faith has conquered all these before,and it shall do as much again.We will laugh at impossibility;we will tread the shores of the seas,certain they must make us a way;we will enter the dens of wild beasts
and the furnaces of flame,sure that they are impotent to injure us;we shall escape the edge of the sword,out of weakness become strong,turn to flight armies of aliens,and set at nought all the power of the enemy:and all because we believe God.Reckon one God's faithfulness.Look not at the winds and the waves,but at His character and will.Get alone with Him,steeping your heart and mind inHis precious and exceeding great promises.
Be obedient to the utmost limit of your light.Walk in the Spirit, one of whose fruit is faith.So shall you be deemed worthy to join this band,whose names and exploits run over from this pageinto the Chronicles of eternity,
and to share their glorious heritage."
(p.139, The WayInto theHoliest)
Read these Scriptures to ponder prayerfully the above comments:
Song of Solomon 4:12-16; Psalm 92:12-15; Psalm 36:7-11;
Jeremiah 9:23-24; Revelation 18:10-20.
OUR GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
Read these Scriptures to ponder prayerfully the above comments:
Song of Solomon 4:12-16; Psalm 92:12-15; Psalm 36:7-11;
Jeremiah 9:23-24; Revelation 18:10-20.
OUR GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
Sunday, March 11, 2007
God Will Judge with Equity
Psalm 75
We thank you, God, we thank you— your Name is our favorite word; your mighty works are all we talk about. You say, "I'm calling this meeting to order, I'm ready to set things right. When the earth goes topsy-turvy And nobody knows which end is up, I nail it all down, I put everything in place again. I say to the smart alecks, 'That's enough,' to the bullies, 'Not so fast.'" Don't raise your fist against High God. Don't raise your voice against Rock of Ages. He's the One from east to west; from desert to mountains, he's the One. God rules: he brings this one down to his knees, pulls that one up on her feet. God has a cup in his hand, a bowl of wine, full to the brim. He draws from it and pours; it's drained to the dregs. Earth's wicked ones drink it all, drink it down to the last bitter drop! And I'm telling the story of God Eternal, singing the praises of Jacob's God. The fists of the wicked are bloody stumps, The arms of the righteous are lofty green branches.
We thank you, God, we thank you— your Name is our favorite word; your mighty works are all we talk about. You say, "I'm calling this meeting to order, I'm ready to set things right. When the earth goes topsy-turvy And nobody knows which end is up, I nail it all down, I put everything in place again. I say to the smart alecks, 'That's enough,' to the bullies, 'Not so fast.'" Don't raise your fist against High God. Don't raise your voice against Rock of Ages. He's the One from east to west; from desert to mountains, he's the One. God rules: he brings this one down to his knees, pulls that one up on her feet. God has a cup in his hand, a bowl of wine, full to the brim. He draws from it and pours; it's drained to the dregs. Earth's wicked ones drink it all, drink it down to the last bitter drop! And I'm telling the story of God Eternal, singing the praises of Jacob's God. The fists of the wicked are bloody stumps, The arms of the righteous are lofty green branches.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
A PLACE FOR THE LORD
"But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?" (Matthew 26:8).
We want to appear to be busy doing for God, busy at our "ministry". But there is a place where we simply "waste" ourselves on Him, and outwardly we appear to be doing nothing. Would that more believers would "waste" themselves more often, ministering to the Lord, sitting at His feet, hearing His word, ministering to Him in secret prayer and fasting! Then when they do rise up to work, how much more fruitful they will be!
Hoping that I'll rise up from our week of resting, and be fruitful! Nice to be home..I'll post some pics in the near future!
We want to appear to be busy doing for God, busy at our "ministry". But there is a place where we simply "waste" ourselves on Him, and outwardly we appear to be doing nothing. Would that more believers would "waste" themselves more often, ministering to the Lord, sitting at His feet, hearing His word, ministering to Him in secret prayer and fasting! Then when they do rise up to work, how much more fruitful they will be!
Hoping that I'll rise up from our week of resting, and be fruitful! Nice to be home..I'll post some pics in the near future!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Grand Bahama Island
Hey, Jerry and I are heading off today for a short holiday with some good kingdom friends! Be back next week. Pray for rest and rejeuvenation - spirit, soul and body. It's been a year to remember..and the next battle is just around the corner..
I know if I take care of His stuff and do things His way, He'll take care of my stuff. I like this verse in the King James:
Psalm 138:7-8 (King James Version)
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
I know if I take care of His stuff and do things His way, He'll take care of my stuff. I like this verse in the King James:
Psalm 138:7-8 (King James Version)
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
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