Wings of Eagles Ministries

NAMES OF GOD, (con’t)

2012-01-24T16:33:00.001-05:00

Isn’t it interesting that to show all of the wonderful character qualities of God we have all these names to think about??? Here are a few more:

JEHOVAH-SHALOM…means “The Lord our Peace, “ or “Peace Giving One,” as used in these verses: “I am the God who gives you peace,” and in Jude, “You comfort my soul.” Gideon was the first to call God Jehovah Shalom in Judges 6:11. It indicates giving peace in the midst of conflict. The well known word Shalom translates to the concept of “total peace and well being, “ Phil 4:7. ”SAFETY IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF ADVERSITY OR CONFLICT BUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD!”

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU, “The Lord our righteousness…”I am the God who teaches you justice,” Matt 5:13-16 and Jer 23:1-6.

JEHOVAH-JIREH, “The Lord our provider. “ One of the most commonly used and known names of God, one we are pretty much all familiar with. Here are some verse that speak about that name: Gen 22:13-14; Jn 3:16; 1:29; Rev 5:6-12; Rom 8:28; Phil 1:6; Job 3:14; I Thess 5:14; Phil 4:8; II Tim 1:7; Matt 6:25; Phil 4:13; Prov 18:24; and Matt 28:20.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE, ”The God who heals, “ Ex 15:26 speaks about the God who heals all there diseases.

JEHOVAH-NISSI, “in Ex 17:8-16 I am the God who leads you to victory,” also in I Tim 2:8.

JEHOVAH-M’KADDESH, “The Lord who sanctifies,” Ex 17:31:13, God requires holiness but had to provide it Himself…Heb 10:10; Jn 17; Lev 20:7-8; I Pet 2:5-9

JEHOVAH-SABBOATH, “The Lord of Hosts, “ I Sam 1-3; 17:51, speaks of warfare, service and power. This name of God is used in the Prophets, in Jeremiah alone, 80 times, in Israel’s times od great needs. “Host” refers to heavenly bodies, hosts god can marshall at any time because: “The battle isn’t yours, it’s the Lords.”

EL-ROI, “The God who sees.” Gen 16; Psa 121:3-8. Hagar was Sara’s maid, an Egyptian who had her own Egyptian household gods, stoney-faced idols that had never comforted her. Here was Abrahams God, the Living God, seeing her and intervening in her life. There was a rebuke, for Hagar had forgotten her place, that she was a slave girl. Her bad attitude toward her mistress is what caused the problem, and El-Roi told her to go back and submit to her mistress. In another illustration, Jacob in Gen 31:25, lamenting his 20 years in his uncle’s boot camp tells Uncle Laban “except El Roi God, who has seen all my afflictions, that God who knows my 20 years of trouble, rebuke you, you would have sent me away empty handed. El Roi has seen my affliction and taken my part.” Yet again, Moses in Ex 3:4-9 is told by El-Roi that He has seen the affliction of His people and has come to deliver them. It seemed to Moses, after 40 years of sheep-tending in Midian that God had forgotten His people. MANY TIMES WE FEEL FORGOTTEN, BUT EL-ROI SEES! We get one more look at El-Roi in Revelation, where John sees Him in glory with “eyes like a flame of fire, eyes that pierce and penetrate, from whom nothing is hidden.”

EPHESUS…”I know thy works, labor and patience…”

SMYRNA…” I know thy works, tribulations and poverty. “

PERGAMOS…”I know they works, and where thou dwellest and that thou holdest fast My Name and hast not denied thy faith.”

THYATIRA…” I know they works, and love and service and faith and patience.

For me as an older, single woman, it is a great comfort to know that I have a Heavenly Father that “sees” me, wherever I am, whatever I am doing, wherever I am going, and He is watching over me.

Names of God, con’t

2012-01-22T15:13:00.001-05:00

EL SHADDAI…One of the most beautiful names of God,and my personal favorite is “El Shaddai.” It means “almighty, all-sufficient One…”but it also means “father-mother God.” I read years ago that this meaning of the name shows that God had to create two humans to reveal His full character, a male and a female. I don’t know absolutely if that is true or not but in many ways it makes sense. Adam and Eve were created very different on purpose. They were to compliment each other and perhaps…to fully show God as He truly and completely is. It is an interesting thought to ponder isn’t it?

God uses these frail vessels of ours to accomplish His work and will chasten if if we can bear more fruit through discipline, Hebrews 12:1-6 makes this clear. A good illustration is the story of Ruth. Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons went to Moab to escape famine and and “forget” God. Moab was a land cursed by God because of the incest of Noah and a daughter. The daughter had a child by her father, named him Moab and was cursed forever by God. Noah had another daughter who also had an incestuous relationship with her father, producing a child named Ammon. He too was cursed by God for the same reason, and his descendants, the Ammonites carried the curse. Elimelech died, the two two sons married Moabite women. The two sons also died so Naomi decided to return to her people. Daughter-in-law Ruth went with Naomi because she loved her and her God. Ruth met and married an Israelite named Boaz whose story concerning Ruth is a picture of Christ as our Kinsman-Redeemer. It is a truly beautiful story, full of solid biblical truth…read it for yourself! Ruth is only one of four women named in the lineage of Christ. It clearly illustrates god’s dealing with individuals…Israelites were forbidden marriage to Moabites but because of Ruth’s heart attitude, God showed her mercy. All of this shows that God is loving, merciful and has so many wonderful character qualities two humans were needed to full explain Him.

JEHOVAH-SHAMM’AH…meaning, “the Lord is there,” “I am God who is there,” the present One, the One who delights to be where His people are.

The great desire of the heart of God is to dwell in the midst of His people. This is not just words, it is an integral part of the character of God. He could not fellowship with His creation until He made man…made in His own image, (1) one who could understand God (2) one who could talk with God (3) one who could fellowship with God (4) one who would desire to fellowship with the Creator who made him. God wanted someone who could walk and talk with Him, be appreciated and learn to appreciate God. He made man to be WITH Him!!!! In Gen 3, it was God who sought Adam and Eve. God always does the seeking, Jesus said so in John 6:44.v God does the seeking, man runs and hides. Enoch “walked with God”…that’s it! Abraham was “a friend of God.” Can He say that about you? Abram had to break all ties and relationships in order to truly develop a strong reliance on God and learn to walk with Him. Jehovah-Sham’mah wants that kind of relationship with us very, very much. A friend shares your hopes, dreams, desires, problems and cares. Between true friends there is agape love! Love where you seek the will of God for the object loved. The tragedy of human history is that there are too few humans willing to be that intimate with God. Jehovah Sham’mah reaches out today wanting us to come, walk and talk with Him, but we are too busy. To Israel God revealed Himself visibly ad the “Shakinah Glory.” We read about this through the Old Testament. In the New Testament He is known to us as the Holy Spirit.

God is awesome, no doubt about it. The more you understand, the more you want to understand…and the more you love Him!

Names of God, con’t

2012-01-19T19:00:00.001-05:00

The names of God are a rich treasure, meant for us to “dig” out! Most young Christians are not too interested in digging deep… that comes from knowing the Lord for awhile an wanting “more.” The first two or three blogs gave you the pieces you can refer to get the most out of these names, most of which are combinations. Many begin with “el” which means “strong one.” You’ll see as we go along.

EL-OLAM…eternal, everlasting, indefinite in time, forever and ever, hidden secrets. In Joshua 24, Joshua told the people about their forefathers serving other gods in “olden times.” Olam means way back when…The Hebrews searched for a word to use for the idea of eternity, hidden time, secret and yet unrevealed things. Bottom line?…”From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God…from Olam to Olam, Thou art God!”

EL-ELYON…”The Most High God”…Possessor of All, The Strongest, The Distributor of Blessing. In Genesis 14, we find the first mention of El-Elyon, as Abraham meets Melchizedek, King of Salem, who uses this name: El-Elyon, Most High GOD, Possessor of Heaven an Earth. There are two special characteristics of El-Elyon: (1) He faints not, He never wearies, He lives forever, He never ages. (2) We cannot search His understanding, we cannot reason Him out. We can only know “El Elyon” as He chooses to reveal Himself to us. Remember, “eye hath not seen,nor ear heard”…1 Cor 2. In the New Testament we have ‘SECRETS”…(1) The Church revealed at last, (2) the Rapture, (3) parabolic teaching. Down through the ages we have mysteries and secrets revealed to us as El Elyon sees fit!

When life is a mystery to you, and life is taking a course you do not understand, remember El Elyon, Who does not always show us the way when we think He should…He is sufficient and His names alone should be reassuring to us that He is in control and is working things around to His glory and our good.

GOD’S SUFFICIENCY COMES IN OUR EXTREMITY!!!!

Names of God, con’t

2012-01-18T18:38:00.001-05:00

ADONAI…Any study of the names of God is a real adventure into his true character, which we shall see as we discuss the names themselves and the meaning behind each one. He Himself revealed and gave the writers these names so we could better understand Him. We will see revealed for us His Divine Attributes and all the richness of His personal character, the very character we are destined to “put on” and become. God makes very clear in His Word what He is like, He gives us specific illustrations and stories of His dealings with men made in His image. By this, we can know He is a trustworthy God and if all else fails around us, He CANNOT!

The meaning of Adonai is Lord, Master, Sovereign…and refers to God and His relationship to us as our Master. Jewish history and especially during the time of the Romans, tells us the story of the “bondservant.” If a slave serves his time according to Levitical law, and is happy with his relationship with the master, he can tell the master he will become his bondservant, and work for him for the rest of his life for no pay, but the master will take care of him as he has in the past. The master will then take him to a wooden doorpost and put a hole in his ear and a gold earring through it to tell the world that this man is “free” and has chosen to belong to his master. It is a relationship of love and devotion. It is born out of loving respect, and obedience is given heartily. In return for the obedient service, the servant expects and receives direction, supervision, an provision. In Exodus, Moses argued with the Lord about going back to Egypt, but the Lord prevailed in His love and Moses called Him ADONAI, signifying that he understood and received the commission. Disobedience was out of the question. In Joshua 5 we read that Joshua encountered ADONAI and fell on his face! The master has the right to expect his needs to be met.

Studying the character of God is like examining a fine diamond. The various hues and points are all beautiful but when you put them together, you see a jewel so fine it has great value to the one to whom it belongs. So it is with our God!

JEHOVAH…REVIEW, this is His most used name, it signifies redemption and covenant-keeping…it is a very holy name. Remember back in Genesis after Adam and Eve sinned and hid from god? Who did the searching? God did, He sought the sinner and so it is until this day…if God does not draw us to Himself, we would not come! John 6:44. As redeemer, Jehovah revealed His holiness and His just demand for righteousness on the part of His creature. Then…he hastened to display his love for us by providing the sacrifice that covered sin with perfect blood. He did it all…He even knew before the foundation of the world what was going to happen, the Triune God declared the plan among themselves and proceeded with creation. Proof???? Where did your immune system come from? Think about it…you were born with it, right? Guess what, Adam and Eve were CREATED with it, because God knew they would need it after sin entered the world! I think that is awesome! Thanks to my son Pastor Bill for that fact, preached in message at his church last month. Now salvation is prerequisite to full appreciation of the blessing God and His names bring to our lives. Until we become part of God’s family by accepting and acknowledging His plan of salvation, we do not have the Holy Spirit to teach and enlighten us to these wonderful character qualities of the Triune God. He is a wonderful God and Father!!!!

Forgiveness…yes…or no?

2011-12-24T11:29:00.001-05:00

Here are some notes from Bill’s prayer meeting on Wednesday. I added a bit mainly because forgiveness is such a major part of my Healing classes. I have found over the years, for myself as well as those I teach it is of such importance in our relationship with the Lord, we need to be reminded of and ponder it from time to time. We all struggle with the concept and frequently believe we HAVE forgiven, when in reality we have not. Psalm 68 says “if I regard iniquity in my heart, He will not hear me.” So think about it, especially now that we are so close to a new year…

"Our willingness to forgive shows the world Christ. 1)It is not a normal action, forgiveness/lack of is of our flesh, it is not a once for all deed and we need a lot of grace to do it. 2)you haven't forgiven if the deed is a topic of conservation or comes to mind frequently. 3)are you pondering revenge or justice? 4) does it occupy your mind and thots too much and you can't get rid of it? 5)Do you get annoyed or irritated at the mention of them? 6) Do you avoid that person? 7) Are you secretly delighted at their misfortune? 8) Do you feel like a victim? 9) Are those around you tired of hearing about it?" To really forgive, starts in the heart/mind and then the will. Five ways you can know you are/have forgiven them...1) first thot about them isn't what they did to you. 2) you would gladly assist them if they needed it and you could do it. 3) can you think positive thots about that person now? 4) Does your heart want to hurt them? 5) have you stopped keeping a record of wrongs and looking for them to fail? Keeping your focus on positive things for and about this person will be a great help to you...and to them.

More on the Names of God

2011-12-07T19:35:00.001-05:00

I think we will look in more detail at God’s primary names, the names we first looked at two blogs back. We talked briefly about His name Jehovah, Yahweh and Adonai. We can now talk about them with a little more detail. JEHOVAH is God’s redemptive name…Isaiah 12:2 says this, “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He is also become my salvation. “ After sin entered the human experience, it was Jehovah who sought the sinner…as Redeemer, Jehovah revealed His holiness and His just demand for righteousness on the part of His creatures. Let’s look at Adam ad Eve, the parents of us all. Understand, their sin did not take God by surprise…I Peter 1:20 tells us God had the salvation plan already worked out…I Peter 1:20 tells us His plan was formed “before the foundation of the world.” He knew they would not obey Him even though He gave them instruction NOT to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” or they would die. They ate and they died, spiritually. I often wondered where Adam was when Satan was taunting Eve. Was He there? I ask that because God held him responsible and made him the head of the human race, and God said Adam sinned knowing what he was doing. But, the plan was prepared and God spoke it to them and us in Genesis 3 Jehovah was prepared to redeem His now fallen children and their descendants. You may wonder as I have, why did He create them knowing what they were going to do. The rest of Scripture seems to indicate that He wanted a people of His own, to love and care for and to worship and fellowship with Him. He was willing to do whatever needed to be done to make that happen. BUT…He wanted them to love and obey Him of their own free choosing, because they wanted to. He is a wonderful Father.

Up until the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God made Himself known to Israel as ELOHIM…THE STRONG, FAITHFUL ONE. But to Moses and the Jews in Goshen, He was JEHOVAH-ELOHIM, Maker, Redeemer, used to speak of His relationship with man. He has the RIGHT of being our creator, He has MORAL authority over us, He has the right to govern us, power over our human relationships. His rights over us are shown clearly in the book of Ruth…Boaz showing himself to be Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer, as God is our kinsman-redeemer. We have a responsibility to be obedient to Him and respond to Him in the way He has laid out for us in Scripture.

JEHOVAH-YAHWEH, the holiest of God’s names. This is the great “I AM.” This is the self-existent One. Israel spent 400 years in Egyptian bondage. While there, most if not all of their knowledge of God was gone. When He led them out to the wilderness, He took them to Sinai where He had them encamp and He taught them who Jehovah was. He taught them that He was Holy. He gave them over 400 laws that would govern all their living conditions. He taught them they were to be a special, separate and peculiar people. He was a Holy God who hates sin, all through all the Old Testament, He could not compromise, He must judge, using His name to Israel, Jehovah. In His dealing with Pharaoh He was their Redeemer and Creator. He had to judge Pharaoh and He did! He laid down he moral law to them, telling them the price of disobedience was judgment as laid out in the law. Ad they became more and more disobedient, God allowed them to be overrun by their enemies and taken into captivity, their cities destroyed and temple in ruins.

ADONAI is a beautiful name, it means Lord, Master, Sovereign and primarily refers to Him and His relationship to us as our Master. We CAN become His bondservant…our choice. In bible times a servant who had served his term, had come to love his master and desired to stay with him and would stay voluntarily. In exchange for his loyalty, obedience and service, the Master would provide him with everything he needed. This is the relationship Moses had with God as did Joshua, calling Him Adonai. The Master had the right to expect absolute obedience and in return made every provision for the bond-servant. Studying the Names, attributes and character of God is like examining a fine, exquisite diamond. The various hues and points are all beautiful but when you put them all together, you see a jewel so fine it has tremendous value to the one to whom it belongs. So it is with our God!

Names of God, con’t…His perfections and attributes.

2011-12-06T18:49:00.001-05:00

          Last time we looked at the three primary names of God, Jehovah…Yahweh…Adonai. His character and perfections are recorded for us in Galatians 5:22-25. If you want to know what Christ was like…there it is; love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. They are referred to as the Fruit of the Spirit and we are to be working toward the same character qualities in our lives. You will notice it is “fruit” of the Spirit, not “fruits.” Not plural but singular…we are to attain to ALL of them!

          This time let’s look at His attributes…He is SOLITARY, He as a Triune or three-part God, never had a beginning. Let that sink in for a moment! He always was and always will be. The Triune God had no need of any one else, He was fine as He was. But, at some point in “time”…(eternity is timeless)…they decided to create. There were angels before there were humans, they existed in Heaven with God. They wanted beings that they could fellowship with, love, care for and provide with a relationship with Them. But make no mistake, He did not need us, He wanted us for Himself, to decide for themselves to love Him back and have full and complete harmony with Him.

          He is INFINITE. Always was, is, will be, with no time constraints. Can you think ahead to ‘forever?” I have no problem thinking backward to eternity past, but for some reason, I can’t think forward without thinking of “an end.” There is none when it comes to God and guess what? We too are eternal…if we know Christ as our personal Savior we will live with Him in the Heavenlies forever, John 14. If we have no personal relationship with Christ, we will live without Him eternally. Think about that, forever apart from God with no hope of change. Pretty ugly thought isn’t it!

          H is OMNISCIENT. He knows all there is to know about everything. Wow! And the best part, He is willing to share that knowledge with us. Now we will never “know it all…”but there is much He can teach us by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, if we are willing to let Him. When the Scripture says we “can have the mind of Christ,” I Corinthians 2:16, it means exactly that. We can learn by reading, thinking, praying, absorbing and applying the Scripture to our lives what God has for us to know. Can you imagine anything more glorious than being made capable of thinking as God thinks. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 1:9, “Enable me to see things from Your point of view.”

          He is SOVEREIGN. Do you remember Harry Truman’s famous plaque on his desk, “the buck stops here.?” Well It REALLY stops with God!!!! We may not realize it in this life, but it is true and in His time, all things will be the way He wants them. No one argues with the Queen of England…neither will they argue with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They may do as they please now, but a day is coming when that will no longer be an option. He will exercise His Sovereignty in full and set up His Kingdom.

          He is OMNIPRESENT. He is everywhere at the same time. How? I have no idea, but the Scripture says it is so, and that’s it for me. This is one of my favorites…He is IMMUTABLE….He never changes. If you think about that, it can be very reassuring. As He was long ago, He is today…and will be tomorrow and all the tomorrows. If He “tells” you something, He does not change His mind. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Malachi 3:6. It also makes His promises more precious…He will do what He says…no matter what! He is HOLY. What is Holy? The very presence of God sanctifies and makes us holy, as we submit our will to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us…we take on His Holiness. Glory! He is GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL. I think we all know what these attributes are. Grace is an internal quality of kindness and gentleness,especially in the face of adversity. Mercy is a quality I dearly love…working with inmates for so many years, along with their wives and moms, mercy was called for many times and in large quantities. There are some criminal acts that are especially abhorrent to me…but not to God! He had to grant me the ability to tap into His mercy and show it in just the right proportions. There have been times when He has literally “blown me away” at His graciousness to me and enabling me to cope with difficult situations. He is JUST. This one fascinates me because I learned the difference between “fair” and “just.” God is not always fair…but He is always just. He cannot be any other way, it is pat of His character. At times I have asked Him about what I considered an unfair situation…through the Word, He showed me He is never wrong, He knows the hearts of people involved in the situation, and He knows the end from the beginning. I learned to rest in that knowledge. And I guess best of all, He is FAITHFUL…HE steadfast, an anchor…He is there…always and forever. He is an awesome God and I for one am glad He made us and loves us now and forever.

How’s Your Worry Level?

2011-12-04T17:59:00.001-05:00

Jesus Himself told us not to worry about our lives, what to eat, our health, what we’ll wear…He said His Father takes care of the ravens and clothes the flowers so how much more will He do for us since we are of such value to Him. That’s very good advice straight from the teaching of our Lord. I love the portion in Luke 12:32-34, “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have, give to the poor, provide yourself money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Of course that is excellent advice, but not at all easy to put into practice. I always considered myself the world’s greatest worrier, God took a lot of time working with me to get me to quit it…and I still fall back into the pattern, especially with funds. But, I can say without hesitation, in 35 years he has never let me down. There have been many, many rough spots but when they were over, I could look back and see the lesson learned. And when I really gave it some serious thought, I’d realize He could not have taught me that particular lesson any other way. I can be hardheaded at times!

I think we get the mistaken notion that things should go well all the time. If we are in good, solid fellowship with the Lord everything should go smoothly. Not! Probably, life would be boring if it was the same all the time, I don’t know since mine is always changing. That is one of the lessons I learned, change…it’s a good part of life. I know people that cannot handle change at all, desperately try to keep their entire lives the same…same vacation place, same restaurants, same routes to and from places…any kind or suggestion of change throws them for a loop. I have no idea why God wants us to be able to handle change, I suppose it is because change is the norm. But even at best, change is unsettling and we tend to worry and fret. We second guess ourselves about everything including where we are with the Lord. And usually it is not what we think at all. One of the things I have worried about is “am I doing enough” for Him…don’t ask me why, but there it is. Fruitfulness is important to me, but in my calling, hard to see. The Lord taught me long ago, that’s really not my business, it’s His. My part is to “tell” and His is to apply. Fruitfulness is really faithfulness in God’s! There is a verse in Romans that says this, ‘it is required in stewards (servants) that they be found to be faithful.” Not successful, especially by the world’s standard, but faithful. Do what God has asked you to do, the rest is His work. In taking that to heart, the worry syndrome should be greatly reduced shouldn’t it? Struggling and pondering our paths are all part of our learning process…the struggle helps us understand the outcome is not of us, but of Him. Our pride wants to take credit, we like to think our own abilities gain a good result. Not true…dependence on the Lord causes us to realize we are NOT sufficient in ourselves, and He makes it clear in His Word He will not share His glory with another!

Another thing to keep in mind about worry is this: be careful how and when you make decisions. Tired, too busy, changing circumstances or an emotional time. Good decisions are made slowly, with considerable thought. And sometimes God would have us wait with patience, with full trust in Him…very hard to do and takes a good bit of practice. But it does get easier as He gives you more opportunity to exercise your patient trust. I said it before, here I go again, He has never let me down. I think the verse that has sustained me the most, is a familiar one, Romans 8:28, “We know that God makes all things work together for good for them who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” I have seen some very bad events be worked out well for a child of God…very unexpected and out of the ordinary, but for the good. Then you KNOW He is working for you, because He loves you very much. Look at Psalm 34…fret not thyself, fret not thyself, fret not thyself…good advice.

IS THERE “MAGIC” IN FOLLOWING JESUS?

2011-11-09T16:29:00.001-05:00

The answer to that question is a direct NO!!! Following the Lord can’t happen without hard work…to quote Dr Dennis Kinlaw. I dearly love Dr Kinlaw’s writing. His devotional, This Day With The Master is truly a pleasure to read. He has written many wonderful, thought provoking books, not books you can breeze through but ones that takes quiet contemplation. And worth every minute, he has great insight and it is obvious He walked very close to the Lord. There will be other thoughts of his interspersed in this blog but you would do yourself a big favor if you acquired his books for your own reading pleasure.

The object of our Christian life is being conformed to the image of Christ, and that’s not at all easy. God expects us to use what He has given us in order to know Him better. It becomes an intellectual shaping of our minds, as He says in I Cor 2:16, “…we have the mind of Christ.” Or Phil 2:5, “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The Father’s intention is for us to think like Jesus…Col 1:9 says “let me see things from Your point of view.” He wants our old, carnal minds gone! The second important transformation for us is to surrender our will to Him. That’s a difficult thing to do and rarely a once-for-all thing, we all will experience those times when that “little voice” inside of us corrects our thoughts and actions. And incidentally, yielding the will is connected to taking up your cross…we are to bow the knee, yield our right to ourselves and our own plans and intensions, to His desire for us. And His desire for us is always correct and in our best interest. Any desire God has for us is best and we CAN reach a point when we clearly understand that principle and automatically seek His guidance. Another aspect of this is Jesus telling the disciples the “way is narrow, and few their be that find it,” Matt 7:14, the way to life eternal and a quality, godly life here, is narrow and difficult. Knowing Jesus intimately is hard work, no shortcuts…He expects us to roll up our spiritual sleeves and get to it! Of course He is there to help but He will never do for us what we can do for ourselves. Working for Him is our calling and our responsibility…no magic here!

It’s interesting that in our day and age, what is pushed most is “self-help…” and self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction…self, self, self! We cannot find real fulfillment inside of ourselves, it comes from the external…God Himself.We need to remember that the Lord Himself looked to the Father for leading and direction. If HE needed guidance from His Father, surely we do also.

I’ve walked with the Lord for a long time. Most of that time I was learning trust and other character qualities that are important for workers to have. I don’t really know exactly when it was that I found myself looking to and talking to Him about everything. I am a widow, my kids and grandkids are adults, He is my all! I learned I could turn to him in full confidence that the steps I was about to take were the right ones and should they be incorrect, He would “nudge” me internally to halt. What a wonderfully freeing sense that is. There are so many places in Scripture that tell us our varying relationships to Him…Father, brother, friend, husband, many more, but you get the picture. The relationships are very personal ones and we are entitled to them…He will never let us down or desert us or give us bad advice…He is always available to us. I realized I couldn’t go wrong, as long as I was yielded, close and listening. We are all entitled to walk that close to the Lord, but it is not an easy path and certainly not to be taken lightly. But we need to think about it, and act. Are you willing?

HOW’S YOUR “FAITH ATTITUDE?”

2011-11-08T15:31:00.001-05:00

Have you ever noticed that we only seem to look at problems and events in our lives from our small, human perspective? I tend to, and am trying to learn not to but to do what it says in Colossians 1:9, “ see things from God’s point of view.” Not an easy thing to “unlearn” worry and fretting and “re-learn” trust! There have been times when I have almost hated that word…it makes me feel guilty! But, it is fact. Learning to trust in the Lord is possibly one of our most difficult tasks in our Christian life. He does NOT see or do things as we do, and His view is the right one. We as adults are so use to our own way of thinking, seeing, and doing all our lives, we DO NOT include God in our thought patterns and decisions, we just go right ahead and do what we want to do. And that’s where our problems come in.

When God wants to enlarge our faith and us as a person, He allows trouble to enter in. It may be the result of a wrong decision, our own or someone else’s, a questionable action or many other things pertaining to our lives. Distress/stress will bring out the “real” us. How we re-act to trouble tells a lot about us…good or bad. God never has led us to believe that the Christian life is a bed of roses…it is not, He likens it to battle and in Ephesians Paul lists pieces of armor we are to use to enable us to defeat the enemy. And…make no mistake about it, the enemy will always be right there to make the most of any difficulty we encounter. And if he can spread doubt and anger in us, directed toward God, he is a happy camper. There are so many things in life that cannot be explained, and so our “human” re-action is anger, discouragement, doubt of God’s goodness and love for us. I have found it takes years of experiences with the Lord’s intentions and how He achieves increased faith and trust in us, years and years. And, each passing month and year should produce a strengthened faith in Him. It does not come upon us overnight, sad to say. Paul tells us to “endure hardness as a good soldier,” 2 Tim 2:3, and Peter in 1 Pet 4:12 adds “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial that has come upon you as though something strange has happened.” Both Peter and Paul are speaking to our ATTITUDE toward hardship! It is an attack by the evil one and they want us to think right and understand the appropriateness of the battle we are in. It helps me to remember that Satan’s battle is with God, whom he hates…we are the battlefield. How we handle our difficulties reflects back on what we know of God and His character and the trust we are willing to put in His faithfulness day by day. Not an easy thing, takes lots of practice with various difficulties and trials but we can master it and come out men and women of true faith in the Living God. Remember, each distressful event can strengthen our faith if we look to Him with confidence in His love, mercy and goodness.

ARE YOU FORGIVEN MUCH??? OR LITTLE?????

2011-11-07T16:11:00.001-05:00

I am currently reading in Luke, one of my favorites. Luke records a lot of interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. We have those among us now you know…those who think themselves “righteous” and above everyone else but their lives don’t show it to be true. It has always fascinated me that people think no one watches them! I saw this sooooo many times in prison…men would come to Bible study and/or services and act very “holy” but leave that setting and they were as blasphemous as ever. They may have thought they were kidding me, but after a number of years, I could tell who was real and who wasn’t. And of course they were not fooling any of the other men that lived with them! I’m convinced this goes on all the time, we just are not aware of it. We live behind closed doors, and believe no one knows what goes on behind those doors. But, that frequently isn’t so…even pastor’s homes are not immune. Again, in prison I cannot tell you how many men told me they came from a pastors home, but could not in their minds reconcile the difference between what Dad said and what Dad did. I truly believe many young people today are terribly confused by what they either read from God’s Word or hear in Church and the way they see their parents living. Very confusing for young minds and spirits to grapple with. Remember that Jesus said “it is better for you to be thrown in the middle of the sea with a millstone around your neck than for you to lead one of these little ones astray.” Your very life style can “lead a little one astray” and I don’t think He was speaking of only babies when He used the term, little ones. In Luke 7:36-50 we read this event: Jesus went to dinner at the home of a Pharisee. While there, a woman approached Him, knelt at His feet, washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Pharisee was offended by this, and criticized Jesus thinking He should have known “what kind of woman” she was! Jesus knew what was in the mans mind, told him a story about two debtors, one owed his creditor a large amount of money, the other a small sum. The creditor forgave them both. Jesus asked the Pharisee which one would love the creditor the most? Simon’s answer was that he supposed, the one that was forgiven most. Jesus told him he had judged rightly. Then Jesus said to him, “ I came into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet, you gave me no kiss of greeting nor did you anoint my head with oil. But this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet, she washed them with her tears and dried them with her hair and anointed them with fragrant oil. So, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven her for she loved much. But, to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. He turned to the woman and said, your sins are forgiven, go in peace, your faith has saved you.”

How many times do we not speak up to or for someone because we “don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings” or don’t want to start something, or just are afraid to speak up. Thank God Jesus never was. There are times I wonder why when people, some, friends of mine, congratulate or thank someone that is a down right ungodly person, and puffing them up don’t they realize they are offending their God? Ungodly people act in ungodly ways, sometimes even act in nice ways. But, should we make something of it and allow them to believe we condone their overall behavior? Will this help in their coming to a realization of their sinful ways or attitudes? I wonder…I am sure the Pharisee that in his heart was criticizing Jesus, did not care about the woman, he was concerned about his reputation…he had a house full of guests! Many times we do things to keep peace when we should not, and that adds to our sin. After all, there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Either one can be forgiven but we must be careful of our words, our actions, our friendships, who we seem to align ourselves with. All this is inherent in this section of Scripture that speaks volumes to forgiveness and quality of loving Him and how they frequently are tied together. So I ask you, how do you love Him? This is a question I ask myself frequently…and it is not a matter of “how much?” It is a matter of quality and depth and I suspect we have to know Him a long time to love Him with the quality of love this woman did. Why do I say this? She risked a lot…in that day, women did not attend these dinners, just men. And…women NEVER took down their hair except in their own bedroom, and only in the presence of their husbands. Jesus did not rebuke her, in fact He commended her, commenting on her love for Him. So I guess, we need to evaluate our own quality of love and commitment to Him from time to time. And, remember to ask His forgiveness for not doing it more often.

GRATEFUL

2011-11-05T19:09:00.001-04:00

This morning, I wrote on my status for FB that I was grateful for God allowing me life when He did. I’d like to elaborate a bit on that, primarily because there is so much more to say…I’ve lived nearly 3/4 of a century and it has been extremely eventful to say the least! If you read my blogs you know I love Israel and her history, have read and researched from a Biblical perspective how and why she is back in the land God gave her 4,000 years ago. So I will start with the events as I know them, that brought her home.

We have to go back to the late 19th century when what were referred to as Zionists began to write letters, get bills passed, make people aware of the plight of the Jews. They had been homeless now for nearly 2,000 years, A Roman General named Titus completely destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, just a Jesus predicted in Matt 24, and drove all the Jews out of the area. It is referred to as the Diaspora, and has lasted until 1948. These things are all recorded in the Scripture for us, and very detailed. But you have to read it for yourself…and you will find it fascinating, that God would give us so much information. And……we can believe it or not, our choice.

When God made the earth as we know it, He apparently had a time-frame for how long He would deal with humans…I say apparently because I do not know and have not read to my knowledge, any dates for the end but He has given us many, many events to watch for so that we know when it is near. Israel once again being back in the land He gave to her thousands of years ago. Another important happening is for the city of Jerusalem to be controlled by the Jews. This happened in 1967. He said the Israeli’s would make the land bloom, grow, be prosperous and important once again..

If you pay attention and think about what I am telling you, you will understand that life and history is all about God and His people, the Jews. The rest of us are part of the story but only a small part. Jesus made that clear in John 15 in the story of the vine, and the grafting in of “another” branch…that’s us, gentiles…He graciously offered us a place in His Kingdom if we would accept His gift of eternal life by admitting our unsaved and hopeless condition without Christ, yield to Him and be His “body” here to further His Kingdom . The primary reason that happened was because of the unbelief of the Jews ending in the crucifixion of the Lord, all part of the Triune God’s plan from before the foundation of the world.

God has been working out His plan for the end time for probably a couple of hundred years…some of the events that needed to happen did happen in the time period of
WWl. Papers were signed giving legal claim to the area now Israel. The League of Nations was formed and some of the members championed the cause of the Jews. Most important I think was the British Empire was given the land we now call Palestine, plus a little more, because they were part of the Allies that conquered the Ottoman Turks. The Turks held most of the Middle East, it was divided up among the allies, Great Britain, US, and France. This “victory” put the land into the hands God wanted it in, basically non-Arab hands. Then we move on to WWll…the horrible holocaust and the influx of Jews from all over the world…truly an act of God, drawing them back to their homeland. The League of Nations was no longer a power, but the United Nations had taken it’s place. They were asked to finish what the League had started, give the Jews back their homeland and the Arabs living in the area an equal amount of land for theirs. The Arabs refused, the Jews accepted. Israel became a recognized nation on May 14, 1948, and the two groups of people are fighting on until this day. I have other blogs about Israel that you can read to get more information if you like.

The last thing I want to put down for this blog is something from Daniel, he said learning would increase rapidly, people would “run to and fro” and Jesus said in Matthew that “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the day of the Son of man.” If you will recall, in Noah’s day, the people of the world were so corrupt, God destroyed them all but Noah and his family, eight people in all. Pretty bleak huh? I’ve live nearly 74 years, seen most of these things happen, count myself blessed to have been born in this time-period. The car, the planes and military weapons, the atom bomb and Hiroshima, the birth of the EU, computers, cell phones…TV!!! My grandkids cannot believe I grew up without TV and a computer! But…….we have paid a terrible price, our marriages and family life, our Christian life has turned into religiosity, most of us do not “know” God as we should, we run around and around doing nothing…you get the picture don’t you. I am still thankful for the lifetime God has given me, the love and mercy He has shown me, I trust He has made me worthy of His love.

BE THANKFUL…

2011-11-04T15:49:00.001-04:00

I’ve known the Lord for 35+ years now, I frequently throughout the day tell the Lord I love Him or thank Him for bringing me and my family to Himself…I have tried for years to make it part of my thinking process to be grateful. Then, there are times when I am overwhelmed with the thought, actually a reality, that I don’t know Him nearly well enough, or love Him with the kind of quality and depth I should. When I think about the time some of the “old timers” gave to Him…I don’t know how to feel! I know I do not measure up. And I also know He is the only One I can compare myself to…I guess what I am saying is, I want more. But…I do not always know how to achieve that place. I have read about how much God desires our intimacy, and I know what He means, but I’m not there…I want to be but I’m not, at least not yet.

I am a single…divorced/widowed, and live by myself. I am semi-retired, spend most of my day either reading, praying, memorizing Scripture or doing the things I need to do for Wings of Eagles. Friends stop by and visit, Christian friends so we usually end up talking about the Lord, or people we know with problems and how we can help for give them encouragement. But I continue to “feel” it’s not enough. I want to know more about him. Most of His character qualities are evident, I see them and do my best to incorporate them into my life because I really do want to be like Him. I think frequently about Heaven, probably because of my age and due to a lot of my friends are going home. I’ve re-read everything I can find about Heaven and still can’t get a good idea of what it will be like. But I know that is my home, and earth is just a stop-over.

I wonder how people manage to get along with out Him to turn to…who do they ask for advice? Who do they turn to just to talk? Who do they look to for comfort in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep? I cannot not imagine. I have been His for so long, I cannot remember what it was like, and I don’t really want to. Most of the time I feel as though my life before Christ took me for His own, happened to someone else. And when I seriously think about the direction my life and the lives of my kids might , no would have taken…thankful is not anywhere near strong enough to explain Our lives were a mess, and they would only have gotten worse, but a loving, gracious God stepped in and brought us to Himself, all three within a year or so. Talk about the Love of God!

Well, I think that is enough ThinkingOutLoud for today…God bless you and keep you, talk to you tomorrow!

ARE YOU SHOWING GOD’S KIND OF LOVE?

2011-10-28T13:40:00.001-04:00

Most of us have come to understand a few basics, #1 being that Christ is truth according to John 14:6…”I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” That’s pretty clear…without a relationship with Him, truth is not discernable, we cannot know real truth. Also the fact that He says He is the way…that never sets well with persons of other faiths but I didn’t say it, Jesus, God the Son did! Narrow? Darn right it’s narrow! Jesus Himself said His way is narrow but the way of the world is wide. So, I said all that to say this, you and I can only discern truth if we have a personal relationship with Him. #2 BEING a Christian is not a matter of doing, it is a matter of BEING…He is much more interested in what you are in your spirit man than in the things you do. He even spoke a parable about workers in the field, check it out. So if being is so important, then it stands to reason that God’s quality of love is meant to be a personal possession of each one of us. Most of us will most likely take our entire lifetime to achieve it but the important thing is that we understand and are working all the time to achieve it. When the Scripture speaks of “being holy as I am holy” in my opinion, that’s what it means…God’s holy love demonstrated in and flowing out of us!

God in His Essence is Holy and He is love. That is a hard concept to get ahold of…HE IS LOVE…it is impossible for Him to do anything unloving. Now that’s something to consider, nothing He does to us, for us, on our behalf can possible be anything but pure, unmixed love because He is! Trying to get a grip on unconditional love is difficult enough but grasping that God’s essence IS love, don’t you find that a mind-blower? We all long for “love.” This generation has taken perverse love to a new level, always relating it to sex which it isn’t, sex is the fulfillment of love, given us by God to be used within marriage to cement two beings into one, who will love and respect one another. I believe this longing for love is something God put inside of us to give us the desire to search for Him. His love is a pure and burning one, seeking the best for another, and moral purity leads us to be able to know that love with our partner, and move on together to find complete fulfillment in knowing and loving a holy, pure and loving Father.Remember, He did not make us different than Himself but LIKE Himself, in His own image and likeness, the very likeness of the Son.

ARE YOU SHOWING GOD’S KIND OF LOVE?

2011-10-28T13:37:00.001-04:00

ARE YOU LIKE THE RICH, YOUNG RULER?????

2011-10-26T15:39:00.001-04:00

This is probably my absolute favorite portion of Scripture. I just read it again this morning from the book of Mark. As always, I get really tickled when I read these things I have read a kazillion times before, but still get a thrill on reading it again. Even before this man spoke, Jesus knew what was going to happen…and it did. The young man wanted “salvation” but he wanted it his way, preferably with no cost to him. Not a cost in dollars but in lifestyle. Jesus questions to him were pretty much normal for this kind of conversation. But, it went farther than a brief encounter. He pressed Jesus and Jesus laid it all out for him. What I truly love about the Mark account is the phrase, “He looked at him and loved him.” Even though Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, he played it out, giving the young man every opportunity to respond correctly…but, the young man couldn’t bring himself to give it all up. Apparently he had quite a lot, and enjoyed a rich lifestyle. He like it, it pleased him to live high, have friends in high places, go to special places…all the things rich people do today. They live “large” as the young people say. He actually lived for himself alone, never thought of the future nor a life hereafter, or doing things for others. Charles Stanley believes this young man is the same man referred to in the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man in Luke 16…see if you agree with Dr Stanley.

To me, This young man is very typical of most people, especially now…you know, the Judges line, “every man does that which is right in his own eyes.” This young man surely did, to his eternal detriment. The tragedy then and now is that we tend not to allow ourselves to think ahead to what happens after death…live for today seems to be the way everyone lives today, even Christians sad to say. No laying up treasure for yourself in Heaven…most do not even know what that means. Most Christians don’t even know what a tithe is, so of course they don’t give it. Many would tell us they can’t afford it, reality is, you can’t afford not to, especially today!

When I read this account, I always think of my men. I can’t tell you how many, probably thousands by now, have said to me, “Mrs Farrow, when I get out, I am going to stay clean and serve the Lord. I will never forget you or Wings of Eagles and all you have done for me. You will see me outside this fence.” And…I know that at the time, they mean it. But like the rich young man, the allure of the world and for them, making up for lost time, is very strong. Many DO stay straight and get involved in their churches, for which I am very thankful and consider my mission accomplished. But they are the minority. Why? Because it is very difficult, all of us know that…but for addicts no matter the addiction, it is even more difficult and getting work is next to impossible. Some I hear from, most I don’t. And…I have to admit, it took many years and tears for me to get use to it to the point like the Lord, “I could look on them with love, and let them go.” And, many of them I did indeed become very fond of, basically good men, misguided but good intentions. And I believe that is how the Lord felt about the young man in this account. When I first read it, I didn’t see the parallel but later I did, and let me tell you, it became very precious to me. You do not pour you life into other people and casually “let them go.” There is a price, but a price that is worth it for sure.

So if you see yourself in what I have said, no matter which character you line up with, be blessed. You are loved by the Lord and most likely by some person who ministered to you at a time when you really needed them. Did you ever say thanks?

WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY, PART 11

2011-10-23T16:04:00.001-04:00

If you pay attention to the news at all, you will hear things like, “the Israeli’s are occupiers” or “we (Palestinians) want them out of our land” or “we will push them into the sea” or “the Holocaust is a fraud.” Reality is that 60+ years ago they were offered the same amount of land in the same area as Israel. It was called “partitioning.” It was all part of the ending of WW11 and what had belonged to the Ottoman Empire now belonged to Great Britain. When that war ended the allies, US, Great Britain, and Russia divided overseeing the lands that were conquered, including the Middle East area. The newly formed United Nations, (the League of Nations had disbanded) offered part of what had belonged to the Ottoman Empire, to Israel and the Arabs living in that area, not yet referred to as “Palestinians.” The surrounding Arab nations convinced them that they would invade Israel promptly and push them into the sea. Then the Arabs could have it all. Unfortunately for them, the surrounding nations did invade Israel the day after they were declared a nation, can you imagine a one day old group of people beating back people that had it all!!!!!!! They lost, Israel remained in the land, and began to make it bloom, just as the Scripture said. God was at work and still is…they are His people, He called them back to their homeland and has been protecting them all the while they have been there. In 1967, another was broke out between the Israeli’s and the surrounding nations, Israel advanced, pushing them back and regained the Holy City, Jerusalem! Look at a map…see little Israel, the size of New Jersey, and then look at how much land the Arabs own all around Israel. The Arabs that refused the partitioning, have lived in the area on Israel’s borders, in settlements, and in the intervening years, untold millions have been given to them…they were now called the Palestinians and led by Yasser Arafat, starting in the late 60’s…to enable them to re-settle and improve their lot. However, no one ever accounted for what happened to the money and they still live in the same condition as they did in the late 40’s and early 50’s. Sad, but true. Over the years, what I have related here has gotten “lost.” The true story is no long the story being told all over the world but the real story is still real. I tell this story as often as I can because I feel compelled to keep God’s truth about His people out in front of we Christians so we are not deceived. These are God’s people, God’s land, God’s Jerusalem…we must remember that!

Now, where are we in history at the present time? One can only guess, especially since the Lord Himself said, “The day and the hour no man knows but My Father only.” Matt 24:36. My personal belief is that this present generation, including me, will go to be with the Lord in the Rapture and return with him after the Tribulation, in power and glory. All of the GOOD prophecy teachers agree, this generation…Matt 24:32-36, is the one based on that Scripture. The symbol for Israel all through the Old Testament into the New is a fig tree, that portion of Scripture talks about the fig tree blooming, and when it does know that the time is near. We have seen Israel become a nation, it has indeed “blossomed,” and we are 60+ years from the date of Israel’s re-birth. They retook Jerusalem in ‘67 which I important for the Tribulation period and it indicates the time of Gentile domination over the Holy City has ended. The European Union has become very powerful and controls most of Europe. The nations that the OT speaks of as being aligned in the end times, are all descendants of Ishmael and Esau, (Edom) and are today aligned. God said to Hagar (an Egyptian and an Arab) in the desert He would make of Ishmael a great nation but they would be wild men, full of anger and hate and subservient to Isaac’s descendants. Are they not as God said????? Matt 24 are the Lord’s own words, He speaks of severe weather changes, earthquakes, the Arab nations aligning with Russia, (Revelation). Daniel tells us learning would increase greatly in the end time. There will be one religion. Right now some protestant churches are opening their doors and worship services to Muslims in an attempt to integrate the two, twenty-six states are participating calling the merging, Chrislam! Soooooooo……. the stage is set, the players in place, we shall soon see what will happen.

WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY?

2011-10-22T18:43:00.001-04:00

I am not exactly a history expert but I have come to love Biblical history and of course into that scenario fits Bible prophecy. I DO know a lot about that…when I returned to the Lord 38 years ago it was because of Hal Lindsey’s book Late, Great Planet Earth. As a child I had been to church, Sunday school, Bible studies, Bible clubs, anything that had to do with the Lord, we as a family were involved in it. I was pretty well taught, and my main teacher Miss Margaret Carter really like prophecy so she talked and taught about it a lot. As a teen, I decided to go my own way, God let me but many years later reminded I was His (commitment made at a youth rally when I was 12) and it was time to make that a reality in my life. From that time on, I read, studied and read some more. Time lines fascinated me, especially trying to fit together Patriarchs, Priests, Prophets, Kings, Kingdoms, it was great fun to me and I did a lot of research. consequently I learned…especially history from God’s point of view! I remember made a time line of the entire Old Testament, took me about two months, and I loved every minute of it. You should try it, I did it by hand with few resources and learned a lot! And even now in my “old age” I still remember it all. Once I researched the book of Daniel, I was anxious to get through the Prophets so I could go to Revelation and study and compare what I had learned in the OT. In case you don’t know it, everything fit together…God is a very orderly God, and makes it easier to understand by the gift of His Holy Spirit.

The timeline from the book of Daniel especially fascinated me…it seemed God was telling us exactly when everything was to happen. He spoke of days, weeks, months, years…I was really intrigued. What was God saying and if He was saying it , He really wanted us to know what and when. Then Matthew 24 had to be taken into consideration. So…my gleanings gave me this:

God started His end-time plan about 100 years ago with a few Jewish Zionists that worked diligently for a Jewish homeland. We know the Jews were dispersed all over the world since 70AD, but God said a time would come when they would return to their homeland. There were some Jews living in the area, along with Arabs, living peacefully. The Ottoman Turks ruled from the 600’s AD until the British conquered them during WW1, then the territory became a British possession, one they really did not want. There were legal papers drawn up over the years giving the Jews legal claim to a portion of the area, the League of Nations sanctioned the claims, when they broke up and the newly formed United Nations came into existence, the paper work was transferred to into the control of the UN. But…nothing more happened, until WW11 ended and the Holocaust was seen by the world. Everyone cried out for the Jews to be given a land. Many people worked to make it happen and on May 14, 1948 it did. Israel became a nation and Harry Truman our President recognized Israel as a sovereign nation. Now the sad part of the tory is this, the same size portion of land the Jews accepted, the “Palestinians” refused to accept.

TO BE CONTINUED…

God’s Point of View

2011-10-20T17:38:00.001-04:00

Did you ever give a thought to seeing “things” from God’s point of view? I never did until I read Colossians 1:9, “see things from God’s point of view…” it seemed like an impossible thing to me. How could I , with my finite little mind, see my life and others from His point of view? We are so use to looking at everything the way we always have, and don’t give it a thought after we come to Christ. But…I began to see that was not what God had in mind…He wanted us to learn from His Word, apply what we were learning and allow it to penetrate our minds and hearts. Scripture says “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks…” the mouth speaks what we are storing up internally. I found many times that what I was learning from the Lord was contrary to my natural way of thinking and especially different from many things I had been taught I had to pray hard and long to get input from Him. My mind/heart did not want to give up it’s own way and I would tell myself, “yea but.” However, God always prevailed, and as I read and compared Scripture to Scripture, I slowly realized just how messed up our human reasoning was/is and how abundantly clear God’s Word was if we would persevere.

Everything we say and do begins in the mind. As a side issue, anything we put in our bodies, such as booze, drugs,etc., will cloud it and keep us from thinking God’s thoughts. In the same way, being unwilling to obey something God is telling us to do will hamper growth…when we won’t…we stay where we are until we obey. Just a principle I learned over my years of reading. God wants His best for us but it comes at a price…yielding. And we do not do that easily. You might say the mind is the watchtower of your life, what you put into it shows in your life, your speech, your mannerisms, certainly your character. Here is something to think about…what did Christ mean when He said if we would follow Him, we must “take up your cross” and follow Him? That really perplexed me for along time. Finally, years ago, I attended a seminar for Christian workers at Sandy Cove with my son Bill and his wife. The speaker was John MacArthur, our favorite writer. During his teaching he said this, “ take up your cross…what does that mean? Well, it means to give up your right to yourself, your life, your plans and desires and give your life to Him to use as He sees fit…willingly.” That last part is the key to “our cross.” He wants us to serve willingly, with our whole heart, soul, mind, strength. He did not want to take up His cross and be separated from the Father for the first and only time in His life anymore than we want to give our total selves up to Him for whatever He has in mind. And frankly, many times we do not know initially what it is He has for us to do in service to Him. I know I didn’t! One of the areas of our lives we have the most trouble conquering is our right to ourselves, personal rights it is referred to in counseling courses. When we come to Christ, we give up our rights, especially our right to our own lives…no more “old nature” ideas and actions, but a putting on of the “new nature” made in the likeness of Christ. Really, it’s a no-brainer…

All in all, seeing things from God’s point of view is not difficult. It is mostly a matter of wanting His best and being willing to let Him have His way in your life.

An Authentic Christian Life

2011-10-19T15:44:00.001-04:00

How many people have you met over the length of your Christian life that when asked, “are you a Christian” answered yes…then as time went by, you really, really wondered? And…as you wondered, felt guilty because you were “judging.” Well, I have a lot of experience with that kind of question and answer. Very perplexing to say the least. Not the part about judging but people saying they are believers and yet live like heathens. What are we to do? How are we to know? Some of what I am going to write is my opinion, some from Dr Kinlaw’s writing. I trust you will have something to ponder.

Our belief must be authenticated by how we live and how we live on a consistent, day-to-day basis. We are NOT to be like the world, the Scripture says to be “in the world but not of it…” Have you ever thought about what exactly that means???? I have given that a lot of thought, mainly because of hearing people say things about judging when you ask about or discuss certain behaviors. There are the obvious things like drinking, smoking, sleeping around…but today, those are socially acceptable ways of behaving, God forgive us….you get answers like, “the Bible doesn’t say anything about not drinking or not smoking…” but the Bible does say not to be drunk. In my opinion, and I say that on purpose, it is a better thing not to drink at all if only for testimony sake. But, there are other reasons. Alcoholism pretty much runs in family lines. If there are drunks in your family line, why would you want to risk the behavior just to be sociable??? Believe me when I tell you, it’s not worth it, my husband was an alcoholic, from a long line of alcoholics. It not only eventually killed him, but it ruined our life together, destroyed our business, had a profound influence on our two kids, (God took a hand in that, He brought them both to Himself and gave them partners and careers that led them to a life lived for Him) and forever influenced our way of looking at “social drinking.” As far as promiscuous sex, the bible does directly address that as a no-no. Some have said silly things like “God doesn’t want us to have any fun,” or “no one will know,” or “I’ll be careful not to get pregnant.” There are other results and implications that hardly ever get talked about. STD’s for one, physical damage for another. I think the worst is the emotional damage, because it is never talked about or recognized. God made us to be monogamous, that is what He indicated when He said, “the two shall become one flesh.” Two people joined in sexual union are for all intents and purposes, one. That oneness was designed for one man, one woman for life. When we break out of God’s order, not only are we in sin, but we are damaging ourselves emotionally. It may not show up immediately, but in the mind, it does it’s work because the way God made us is broken. And, that can make for serious damage. All three of those things usually cause one to “sneak around,” to hide the behavior. We would not want everyone to know what we are doing! And in the end, it is the emotional damage worldly living causes that does the damage. inappropriate dress goes with worldly living, and……….it could lead to rape……..or worse. Going to movies or viewing video/tv that is inappropriate can damage the mind/emotions. Watching too much brutality twists the conscience. There are probably many, many more. If you let your mind wander you can probably think of quite a few yourself. Ponder these things, they may be in your life or you may be thinking of putting them in your life…my advice…DON’T!

TRUST

2011-10-15T14:27:00.001-04:00

Do you believe God is the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of all? Do you believe that strongly enough to obey what He directs you to do? Psychologically, you will not obey one you do not trust and you cannot trust one you do not know. You can only learn Biblical faith and trust from an armchair in a limited way. Until you risk, and frequently risked greatly and God has worked for you, you trust will not be in operation. That biblical faith emerges when you have risked a lot and know that if God does not work for you, you’re sunk! We are all acquainted with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…they told the King whether God saved them or not, they would not bow the knee to him. Now that is real faith!!! And, God did save them, in a dramatic manner. David the King urges all to put their full trust in Him…he says this over and over in the Psalms. Biblically, the word trust indicates a relationship of two friends that know each other VERY well, and know the depth of the other’s character. That is how we can “know” God will undertake for us..we know His Word and we know His character. It takes a pretty long and intense relationship with God to be able to trust Him completely but it is attainable…because He wants us to know we can trust Him. And,…glory of glories, He will trust us with His work, His people, His message. Is there anything better thn that.

“Letting God Be God…”

2011-09-28T17:34:00.001-04:00

I love Dr Dennis Kinlaw’s devotional, This Day With the Master. I frequently put some quotes from it up on Face Book. He has a way of saying things that strike a note in my heart, and I trust in yours also. This blog is mostly from the last few days of reading from his book. I trust you will enjoy!

The Ten Commandments…if you give them some thoughts, they are all encompassing. Take the FIRST…” Thou shalt have no other gods before me” literally means to let God be God! He is telling us nothing else really matters, just Him and our relationship to/with Him. The others all seem to have a sort of commentary on the first. If any of us would honestly contemplate what God has done for us and continues to do on a day to day basis, allowing Him to be our all is not too much for Him to ask or expect. However, how many people do you know that think and act, “God first and foremost?” I dare say not many since when you do, people tend to think you strange and keep their distance. They really think you go overboard, but would never tell you that. I read on another page, “I live and breathe God.” same idea…the SECOND is very similar, “thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” and is talking about our relationship to anything that is NOT God. So, the first concerns our relationship to Him, the second our relationship to everything/everyone else. The THIRD has to do with language…how is yours? Do you exhibit Christ when you speak? The FOURTH has to do with time…do you use yours wisely or do you fritter it away? The thing closest to us, our speech, and the thing farthest away, our time, both come under God’s law. The FIFTH, SIXTH AND SEVENTH are connected, sanctity of the home, life and sex, since we all come from a home, have life and a gender, God wants to ensure that all of us order our lives correctly so as to be a blessing and not a curse. The last THREE also tell us God wants to ensure that we measure all of our lives to be a blessing and to bless him…possessions, truth and desires are all compelling character traits and need to be under His control. So how do you sum up? Are you compliant to the will and Word of God? Or…are you more about yourself? Remember, He ALWAYS knows and does what is best for us, whether we acknowledge it or not.

HOW DOGMATIC IS SCRIPTURE ABOUT MARRIAGE??????

2011-09-26T14:54:00.001-04:00

Last weekend my grandson was married in a beautiful ceremony, family and friends in attendance to wish the couple God’s blessing. The bride was absolutely stunning and of course, my grandson the groom was dashing and handsome. The reception was fun and a good time was had by all.

So…….what is my problem? Let me first say my thots and concerns are not necessarily directed at the newly-weds, but some thots can apply, which one’s I won’t tell, lol. Naturally we begin with qualifications according to the Word. God’s expressed instruction is both must be His, Amos 3:3 says,”can two walk together unless they be agreed?” 2 Cor 6:14 is equally good, “be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” It seems to me that the only true requirement is that both be true believers, primarily because if God is in the union, He can work with them in their difficulties…if they will let them.

The Jews have a few traditions that go back centuries and I think are good ones. The Rapture is a picture of the completion of preparation for the marriage…the marriage of Christ and His church, all the elements are there. Let me explain. In tradition, the parents made the “match” based on compatibility of individuals and families. Usually they knew each other well, lived close to each other so a marriage was “arranged” called a betrothal. This most times was when the couple was very young. Then each party went home to prepare for the marriage. The boy and his dad and brothers built a home on the back part of dad’s land. The girl and her mom and sisters began making the trousseau, the clothing the bride would need plus all the household items she would use to make a home. When the parents thot the time right, the boy and his dad and brothers came to collect the bride and invite her family to come and witness the wedding. After the ceremony, the newlyweds went to their own home, he was instructed to stay at home for one year, he did not work the fields, go to war, he stayed with his bride “to comfort her…? why? Because she was no longer as closely connected to her mother and sisters and maybe girlfriends. They were both to stay in their home, learn about each other…the “leave and cleave” aspect. And, a good one at that! ` They were to learn how to depend on each other and not other family members because they were now their own family unit. This ‘learning” process was to happen before a baby came. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

Today we see none of this, our culture is such that each one does what seems right to them…there is no getting to know each other, no learning to compromise and no “setting up’ of the male to become the head of the household. And that is God’s intent from Eden! And I believe our divorce rate proves once again, God knows best.

For 30 years I have taught and counseled prisoners for the Chaplains office. My main class is always a well attended one because the men learn from each other that if they attend and take part, they will learn a lot about themselves, life and marriage. We have gotten into many good discussions over the years, mainly because most of them have no idea what God intended for a couple. All they knew was, if you saw someone you liked, you hopped in the sack with her asap, and if it went anywhere, so be it. Most had multiple children by multiple women, no sense of family, no idea how to be husband or dad…they knew how to “father” but being a dad…that’s another story!I never met one that knew the significance of the father of the bride, putting the hand of his daughter, his little girl that he probably loved more than anything in life, into the hand of this “boy” and saying to the question, “who gives this woman to be married to this man,” I do…not realizing that dad was transferring his care and protection of his daughter to this “boy.” Many dad’s don’t realize the significance either, and that’s a pity because it is important and significant. God gave headship/authority to Adam/men. He had his reasons…the woman was led astray by the evil one, the man sinned with open eyes. God wanted the woman protected. He made the man more logical and less emotional than the woman. He had a purpose for that, she would be the nurturer and comforter, and He made her that way on purpose, Each had a role to play to create a harmonious home for the children to grow up in…look at what we have done to it. Girls who convince their intended husband to stay close to her family are walking a very dangerous path. Number one they are out of God’s order…both of them, since he should know better and stand his ground. But many are afraid of looking the one they love, so they compromise. Number two, she will NOT leave and cleave, she will turn to her mother and sisters whenever she has a disagreement with her new partner. Bad deal…a barrier will arise that MAY cause him to engage in thot and activity he should not even think about because he feels betrayed and rejected. You can use your imagination as to what sort of things I am referring to.

You may believe I am being alittle overboard here…but let me say again, I have heard this exact scenario time and time again. It causes years of pain and suffering, the children suffer as well…because you cannot break God’s order of things and expect them to go well. Yes, He will be there to help you but you have greatly handicapped Him by poor choices. Please, if you are thinking of marriage, pray on these things and do as God says, you will never be sorry you obeyed Him!

Thinking of THAT day, 9/11/01

2011-09-11T13:59:00.001-04:00

On Monday, I had an invasive breast biopsy and wasn’t feeling particularly good on Tuesday. I got a call from my pastor asking if he could come by for a visit, bring coffee and donuts from Dunkin. I said sure. We were sitting in my living room with the TV on, tuned to Fox when they announced and then showed the first tower being hit. Pastor John and I looked at each other incredulous…what in the world was going on???? Pastor came for a short visit, stayed most of the day, glued to what was going on. It was almost too much to grasp. How could anyone plan and carry out such a terrible plan? How can anyone contemplate the murder of thousands of people? How can anyone hate that much?

Pastor and I both knew the Scripture, all the areas that speak to the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, where and when it began. They started talking on the TV about Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and who else may be behind it. They certainly seemed the most likely candidates.

As you think about the horror of the incidents and the days that followed, do you like me TRY to grasp the depth of hatred and rage it takes to commit a deed like that, especially in “God’s” name??? I really cannot, but it tells me in the Scripture that it’s so and that they, would always be at odds with their brothers. Now, the question becomes, who are they and who are their brothers. For lots of background and details as well as Scripture verses to back these statements up in previous blogs. If you scroll up you can read the details in the blogs about Israel.

The story goes like this: God wanted a people of His own, to love, care for and fellowship with. He called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldea's, took him to another place to settle, Canaan. There was a famine and Abram took his family to Egypt for food. When they returned to Canaan they brought with them a maid for Sarai, Abram’s wife. Her name was Hagar. God promised Abram a land, and a posterity but he and Sarai were childless and getting quite old. So they decided to “help God out.” Culturally, it was ok if a servant had a child by the master, it was considered his and his wife’s. Hagar conceived, bore a son, named him Ishmael. Later, Sarai, now renamed Sara, conceived at the age of 90 and Abram, now renamed Abraham was 100. She bore a son, the son of promise and gift of God, and named him Isaac. Years later as conflict between the women and the boys grew, Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away, back toward Egypt, Hagar’s place of birth. Genesis tells us that God told Hagar that He would bless Ishmael because he was Abraham’s son, make 12 tribes from him and bless him. But…he would always be at odds with his brethren, the descendants of Isaac. He would be a wild man, live in tents. Ishmael lived this out along with Esau who was born later but also was not inclined toward Abraham’s God. Basically, if you read carefully through the Old Testament, you find they always worshipped pagan gods, always. This goes on even today, almost all Arabs and Muslim’s worship Allah, who is not the same god as Jehovah God. So you can see, over the years, the hatred grew and grew and today, the world is calling the Israeli’s “occupier’s”. Not so, not only does the Bible give the area outline of what God gave the Jews, but history records the declarations of legal ownership granted Israel by the League of Nations and later the United Nations in 1948. Incidentally, the “Palestinians were offered equal territory in ‘48 but refused it. This is what we have today, in 2011, but it will soon end, God’s way.

ISRAEL, con’t part six

2011-09-04T14:26:00.001-04:00

You may wonder why I am so intent on writing about Israel…mainly because God loves them and tells us to, then because since 1948 they have been in the right about their land. Yes, God gave it to them, it’s boundaries are laid out in many places in the Scripture, also Jews have lived in that area for 6,000 years along with Arabs. Their main dispersal was in 70 AD, but remnants have always been there. In 1948 the newly formed UN (previously was called the League of Nations) “partitioned” the land and offered the Arabs a section as well as the Jews. The Jews accepted, the Arabs said no! Now you tell me who are the “occupiers?” All of this recent history has gotten lost someplace…NO ONE in the general public seems to know the true story. God will not hold those guiltless who believe the lie!

Today I would like to talk about what is written in Ezekiel 37-39. God tells the prophet to write about Gog and Magog. He starts off with an oratory on bones…He asks the prophet is these dry bones can live? As Ezekiel watched the bones began to come together. God told the prophet He would put meat on their dry bones, cause them to stand up, a mighty army, and breathe life into them again. They stood up but were disheartened, hopeless. His answer is wonderful…” I will dig up your graves and bring you out alive O My people. Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel, and you will come to realize I am your God. I have said it, and I’ll do it!” ™

He told Ezekiel to cut two sticks and write on them, one for Joseph’s people and one for Judah’s. Then tie them together and make one stick. Tell the people I am making them one people and am calling them out of the nations to which I have exiled them.They shall be one people living in the land of Israel, their home, and they will live and thrive in the land and mountains of Israel and all the world will know that they are mine. Their land will bloom and be prosperous, and they will be free and they will be Mine!

Then God told Ezekiel to prophecy a time when a country from the far north will desire what they have and will invade them…the land of Gog and Magog…present day Russia. Joining with her will be Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Syria. But…God will deal with them Himself and they will be defeated in the mountains of Israel. He will send an earthquake that will split the area, torrential rains, hail, lava flowing from the eruptions,..” I God will call for all out war against you O Gog, and you will know how great and holy I am …I will make myself known all over the world and never again will I let my holy name be dragged in the mud!”

More next time…

Israel, con’t part five…reading Revelation

2011-09-01T16:44:00.001-04:00

I don’t wish to comment on the early chapters of Revelation dealing with John’s letters to the various churches, at least not a this time. But I have been intrigued this time reading through, about the things God will bring about during the Tribulation. It’s only been a year since I read the entire book through but my goodness, how things have changed in a year and the happenings of the rest of the book are that much more probable. so here goes…

Chapter Five gives us a beautiful picture of the Throne Room of God, we can only imagine! One is seated on the Throne and holding a scroll, thought to be the title deed to the earth. All around are Angels, various and unusual animals, 24 thrones circling the main Throne, with 24 white-robed Elders wearing golden crowns. There were thunders and lightening's, all sorts of gorgeous colors, the colors of precious jewels. The angels were of many differing sorts and would cry out,”Glory, Glory, Glory” and “Holy. Holy, Holy.” The Elders would respond by throwing their crowns before the Throne crying, “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy…” The scroll in the hand of the One on the Throne was written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. But no one was present,worthy to open the scroll, and John wept. Suddenly there appeared a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. The Lamb took the scroll from the One on the Throne and all those in the throne room fell down and worshipped and sang a new song to the Lamb and the One on the Throne. There were thousands times ten thousands all praising and glorifying the Lamb and the One. Then John says, “everyone” in Heaven, on Earth, in the Sea and under the Sea sang, “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy.” We can only imagine!!!!!

The Lamb took the scroll and tore open the first seal. One of the animals called out, “come out…” and out came a rider on a white horse carrying a bow, (no arrows) was given a victory garland and rode off conquering! A second animal cried, “come out…” out came a red horse to make war with the people of the earth, taking peace, and he was given a huge sword. A third animal cried, “come out…” out came a black horse carrying scales, to weigh the food, little for the poor and more than enough for the rich. A fourth animal cried, “come out…” and a colorless, sickly, pale horse came out, it’s rider was Death and Hades close behind. They were given the power to take 1/4th of the population by war, famine, and disease. A fifth animal cried, “come out…” I saw the souls of those killed for holding fast to their witness to the Word of God. They were under the altar and cried out to God, “How long O Lord until we are avenged???” They were each given a white robe and asked to be patient until their number was complete. The sixth seal brought forth a terrible earthquake, sun turning black as ink, moon all bloody, stars falling out of the sky, everyone running for cover, EVERYONE! All sought cover crying, “save us from the One who sits on the Throne and the Lamb for the day of their wrath has come!

What does all this mean???? It means all is in readiness for the playing out of this scenario. Think about the individual seals…peace…a treaty between Israel and the Palestinians would create a sense of peace would it not? But it wouldn’t last and there would be war, thus the red horse. The famine is here already, but it would get worse if there was a widespread war. Enough of a famine and deaths could reach extremely high levels. In present third world countries there are people dying all the time, these tragedies would exaserbate the situation. More next time…

Israel, con’t, part 4

2011-08-29T16:13:00.001-04:00

I am as always, year after year, reading through the Scripture, and am in the book of Revelation. Once again I am reminded that what we call life, is all about Israel as far as God is concerned. Not that He doesn’t love all of us, after all He provided a Savior for “all” and provided a parenthesis during which the Gentiles were “grafted in” for salvation as well as the Jews, read Romans 9-12. But first in the heart of God is Israel and the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He absolutely WILL keep those promises! No matter what our President says or does, or Abbas, Ahmadinejad, or any other person or nation, Israel will ultimately prevail, because they are God’s! And, all those who are against her will have to account to Him at the Great White Throne Judgment, read Revelation 21. I guess what annoys me the most is the twisted logic of those who are pushing so hard for a Palestinian state without recognition of Israel’s right to exist, and insisting on the “right of return” which means any Arab that wants to can move into Israel and claim land. These things make no sense to me. I know there is a saying that “if you tell a lie often enough and loud enough, it will be believed.” It must be true, at least in this case. Another issue that perplexes me is the dividing up of Jerusalem…as a city, Jerusalem goes back to the time of Abraham and Melchezedek, some 4,000 years. David the King danced in the streets of Jerusalem over 3,000 years ago. The Muslim nation did not exist until 600 AD. And yet they want it to be their capital because it is “holy” to them. But the biggest irritation to me is the fact that they were offered as much as was offered to the Jews, they refused it while the Jews accepted back in 1948. Has the world forgotten that????? I guess so, or can it be just “political correctness?” If so, and it happens, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are in BIG trouble with the God of Israel, and I would not want to be them…”It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living, angry God.”

Israel…con’t

2011-08-28T17:14:00.001-04:00

I get amazed every time I read or see on TV the President of Iran or other Arab leaders speak of Israel with such hatred in their voices and attitudes…sometimes they look as though they might have a stroke they are so enraged. It is so forceful, it isn’t human…hate like that…my,my,my! Then not too long ago as I began reading through the Scripture as I do over and over, in Genesis I read what God had to say about Ishmael and later Esau, and I will ask you to read it for yourself…Genesis 16 and 27. Bare in mind that Ishmael’s mother was Egyptian, came from Egypt to Canaan with Abraham and Sara out of Egypt when they had gone there for food in a famine, didn’t seem to want to trust God for provision. A sin of distrust on Abraham’s part began a set of circumstances that exist to this day. It shows itself clearly in the hatred and violence of the Arabs toward the Jews. They do not want them to have even the little sliver of land the UN gave them in 1948, no where near the amount of land God gave them. I challenge you to read Genesis and Numbers and find the portions where Scripture clearly lays out the boundary's’ of just exactly how much land God gave them. Interestingly, they have never possessed all He gave them but they will one day when He returns in power and glory!

Another aspect of distress to me is the anti-Semitic attitudes of non-Arabs and even Christians, and it is an uninformed point of view. If one knows the facts, even apart from the Bible, it is very hard to see and/or understand that view. When Israel was given their land in 1948, it was a barren desert. If you ever saw the old movie Lawrence of Arabia, that will give you an idea of what Israel looked like in ‘48. Ezekiel 37 and 38 really tells it really well, ad well as some of what will happen during the early years of the Tribulation. Ezekiel tells how Israel will bloom after her people begin coming back from various parts of the world, and begin new lives in their homeland…and do not forget that just a few years ago when Israel gave the Palestinians Gaza, a thriving area with homes, farms, businesses, etc., they burned everything to the ground!!! Does that make any sense???? No, not a bit…that is pure, horrible rage!

To be continued…

Israel, can't part 4

2011-08-28T17:01:00.001-04:00

What will it mean if this anti-Semitism continues and/or gets worse? To me, it indicates one more time that we are definitely in the last days and moving rapidly toward Christ’s return for His bride! In my opinion, when Israel became a nation in 1948, the scenario was “kicked off.” Old Testament prophecies began to come alive as Israel bloomed, prospered and began to make her mark in the world. US Presidents,Congressman,Senators and other important persons saw her as a force to be reckoned with and were very supportive of her democratic government, the ONLY nation in the Middle East that was democratic. That attitude continued for decades, President after President, just about all were supportive of this tiny nation thriving in the midst of her Arab neighbors…all were antagonistic and threatening. The world quickly began to forget that the “so-called” Palestinians had refused their own state, were NOT the original occupiers of the area, thousands of years ago both Arabs and Jews shared the land, and the more antagonistic toward God…pagans…were conquered by the Israelites at God’s instruction so as not to pollute the holiness God instilled in them as a pattern for living. Even God’s instruction to the Jews was at times harsh but it was always to keep down sin among His people. You may ask why God desired a group of people He called “His”…what purpose did He have in mind in calling Abraham out from his homeland and people, not even telling him where He was taking them???? Well, He wanted 1) a people, a group of people actually, that would love Him and obey Him, and be His very own people that He would love and care for eternally, 2) a people that would keep account of His instructions and preserve the writings, 3) a line of people that would remain pure that He could use to bring His Son into the world as Savior of all. In return He gave them a land, starting with Abraham, that would always be His/theirs. The key word here is “OBEY…” Of course they did not, He was constantly dealing with them in their sin, the whole of the Old Testament is full of the account, and much of the New. But, the Covenant He made with Abraham was unconditional since He knew they would not keep it, and unconditional is unconditional…then and now! He said “I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you,” then and now. He never breaks a promise…

If we go back to the book of Daniel, we’ll get a timeline of God’s dealing with Israel. All is accomplished with the exception of seven years. get out your study Bible and check it out, all but seven years. We Christians refer to that time period, as does the Apostle John in Revelation, as the Tribulation. Jesus Himself referred to it in Matthew 24-25, calling it a time when there would be such horrible events He would have to intervene at the end or none would survive, so terrible nothing in past history would compare and as you know, some pretty awful things have happened so it must be going to be too horrible to even contemplate. But it will come because God said so and He never changes His mind or breaks a promise.

ISRAEL…GOD’S PRIDE AND JOY!

2011-08-28T16:11:00.001-04:00

When I was a little girl, we had a lady in our town and church named Margaret Carter who loved teaching children. She did it very well, with Sunday School, release school time, Bible clubs in her home…any place she could, she taught kids. I had no idea I was learning so much, thank God I was. She talked a lot about endtimes, emphasizing Daniel with her flannel graph lessons. When I was 15 my father, my favorite person in the whole world, died. I remember blaming God, and deciding to go my own way…and I did. For 20 years I lived exclusively for me. Then, someone gave me a copy of Hal Lindsey’s book Late Great Planet Earth, I read it from cover to cover in an evening and was never the same! I did a 180* turn to the Lord and to my surprise, all I had learned as a child, especially from Miss Carter, came back! I was so hungry for more, I read, and read, and read. That was 1974.

I also remember sitting with my dad and watching our new TV set, while Israel was partitioned by the UN, (Israel accepted the land offered, the Palestinians did not) and given nation status. I saw David ben Gurion stand on a balcony and tell the Israeli’s they now had a homeland and no one could take it away from them. I heard on the radio with my grandfather, President Truman recognize Israel for diplomatic status with the USA. That was May 14,1948.

The very next day, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq invaded the brand new nation to take it away but Israel prevailed and they had to withdraw. They had told the Palestinians NOT to accept what the UN offered because they were going to “push Israel into the Med and they, the Palestinians, could have it all. Not happening! From that time until the present, the Palestinians live in refugee structures even though the US, UN and most EU nations sent them millions of dollars that went right into the pockets of their leaders like Arafat and the people never saw any of it. There are thousands of Arabs that have continued to live in Israel, prospered and are happy there. They do not want Palestinian rule. When Israel gave over Gaza, it ad left with homes, farms, fields, businesses…what did the Palestinians do???? They burned everything to the ground and now it is a barren, scorched piece of land not the blooming, thriving land it had been since 1967.

All I have written here is secular history. I have not said one word of what God gave the Jews, and what the boundries are. I’ll leave that for another blog…

TO BE CONTINUED

RELATIONSHIPS

2011-08-15T16:27:00.001-04:00

I’M SURE WE HAVE ALL BEEN TO THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE READY TO THROW OUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR AND WALK AWAY FROM SOMEONE. THE RELATIONSHIP MAY HAVE BEEN A CLOSE AND PERSONAL ONE OR A MORE CASUAL ONE. EITHER WAY, WE CAN GET FED UP WITH A PERSONS CONSERVATION, ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOR OR SOME OTHER CHARACTER QUALITY OR LACK OF ONE. CONSIDER WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY BUILT THE RELATIONSHIP ON…SOME INCIDENT, SOMETHING IN COMMON, A MUTUAL FRIEND?????? THEN CONSIDER IF THE RELATIONSHIP IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO YOU TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT. I GUESS THAT SOUNDS PRETTY COLD BUT THINK ABOUT THIS…A RELATIONSHIP IS DIFFERENT THAN A FIENDSHIP.RELATIONSHPS CAN BE CASUAL, FRIENDSHIPS MORE PERSONAL AND INTENSE. AS A BELIEVER, I BELIEVE WE NEED TO BE MORE “ IF WE WERE, WE WOULD EXPERIENCE LESS PAIN AND HEARTACHE.

WHEN READING THE SCRIPTURE CAREFULLY, YOU GET THE IMPRESSION THAT JESUS WAS ERY DISCERNING IN HIS FRIENDSHIPS, PARTICULARLY BEFORE THE CRUCIFIXION…HE WAS DOWN RIGHT PICKY! WE NEED TO BE AS PICKY IN OURS. WE ARE NOT GOD, AND DO NOT KNOW A PERSONS HEART SO IF HE WAS CAREFUL, WE SHOULD BE EVEN MORE SO. I DO NOT THINK I COULD ENTRUST MY INNER THOUGHTS TO A NON-BELIEVER. IN ALL PROBABLITY THEY WOULD NOT “GET IT.” HOW CAN THEY UNDERTAND US WHO ARE INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN THEY ARE NOT? IN MANY CASES, FRIENDSHIP WILL LEAD US TO SOMEONE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO. THAT BEING SO, THAT PERSON MUST BE TRUSTWORTHY AND DISCRETE AND OF COURSE HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST OR YOU WILL NOT BE ON THE SAME PAGE. WE MUST HAVE SIMILAR INTERESTS, AND IT IS HELPFUL IF YOU HAVE THE SAME ACQUAINTENCES/FRIENDS. AND VERY IMPORTANT…IT TAKES TIME TO DEVELOP. CASUAL RELATIONSHIPS USUALLY DO NOT DEVELOP INTO TRUE FRUENDSHIPS. JUST BEFORE THE CRUCIFIXION, IN THE UPPER ROOM, CHRIST TALKED WITH HIS DISCIPLES…HIS HAND-PICKED FRIENDS…AND TOLD THEM HE HAD ELEVATED THEM TO TH OSITION OF FRIENDS…QUITE A COMPLIMENT, THAT I DO NOT THINK THEY UNDERSTOOD UNTIL MUCH LATER. HE TOLD THEM A FRIEND COULD BE TOLD THINGS AN ACQUAINTENCE COULDN’T, BUT THEY HAD SPENT THREE YEARS TOGETHER NIGHT AND DAY, AND KNEW EACH OTHER VEY WELL. REMEMBER ALSO, HE TOOK PETER, JAMES AND JOHN WITH HIM WHEN HE WENT AWAY TO PRAY, AGAIN A COMPLIMENT THEY WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND UNTIL LATER. IN CONCLUSION, IF GOD HIMSELF WAS CAREFUL WHO HE INVESTED FRIENDSHIP IN, SHOULDN’T WE BE DISCERNING, DEPENDING ON THE LORD TO ASSURE OR CENSURE A FRIENDSHIP? HE INSTRUCTED US TO “BE WISE AS SERPENTS, HARMLESS S DOVES,” WE NEED TO TAKE THAT ADVICE TO HEART.

Accountability and Confrontation, Dirty Words…

2011-08-14T17:27:00.001-04:00

For most of us, either of these issues are inviting. We don’t want to share our most personal matters with almost anyone, especially bad habits, thoughts, actions. but…we need to in order to grow a healthy and Godly Christian life. It is difficult to find someone you can trust not to blab to others, and one who will listen! As I see it being a counselor myself, listening is a lost “art.” People constantly over talk or interrupt or their facial expression tells you they are not listening. I think over talking bothers me he most. It says to me, “what you are saying isn’t important, I know better than you…” I just really dislike it and a lot of people do it on a continuing basis. Years ago when I was a new Christian and not yet in ministry, I had a retail store. People use to come in, sit down in the small sitting area I had, and many times pour out their hearts to me. I had always been a”people” person but this was different, I was almost compelled to pay attention. At times, I would start to interrupt, and would sense the Holy Spirit urging me to keep quiet. When it happened more than occasionally, I gave it some serious thought and prayer, and realized the Lord was teaching me to shut MY mouth and just listen. Later I learned by experience that good counseling was mostly a matter of listening. Most of the time, God has an answer for troubled people, something in His Word that can be applied or used as a guideline. If you are doing all the talking, you cannot hear what your friend is trying to tell you. And…it goes without saying, if you are not in the Word, living close to the Lord, you will have no answers for them. Now confrontation is another whole ball game…Again, a very close relationship to the Lord and deep knowledge of the Word and Biblical principles are essentials to be effective in confrontation. A Godly walk will draw others to you when they face situations they cannot handle alone. There are a few “rules” in confronting, 1/ being honest and direct, choosing your words carefully. Also watch YOUR body language. But do not beat around the bush, weigh what needs to be said and lay it squarely on the line. Be as loving as possible, non-judgmental, with the aim of giving the person a way to see the situation from god’s point of view. And never, ever confront anyone in anger or you’ve lost your opportunity to help another grow in the Lord, they will back off, perhaps permanently. If possible use an action you’ve seen so that you can be specific and not generalize…generalizing feels like an attack and you do not want that. Where possible be empathetic. If you’ve walked in their shoes, tell them so, it will help them realize you are not criticizing. And I think most important, be affirming. We never know what kind of childhood and upbringing they may have had, possibly never feeling adequate, being told they are stupid and useless. You will be surprised how many people have serious damage from childhood, damage only God can heal…and you may be the conduit He wants to use to accomplish it. Earn the right to confront…listen carefully to the Holy Spirit’s checks and act on them. That way you keep short accounts with the Lord and are always ready to be used in His service. Opportunities frequently come when we aren’t looking for them, so be alert…and ready!

THINKING, LOVING AND CARING ABOUT ISRAEL

2011-04-22T16:46:00.001-04:00

I am a Bible believing Christian, every jot and tittle, I follow and read about prophecy, I also follow and read about current events. I’ve been a Christian, a very committed one, for 37 years, got right with the Lord through reading Hal Lindsey’s Late, Great, Plant Earth in 1974. I had been properly instructed in the Scripture as a child so I knew what he was talking about was true, and probably coming about soon. I remember either watching or hearing the UN voting on Israel’s partition. I remember Abba Eben speaking before the UN as they debated what to do. At the time, I didn’t know what was going on but for some reason, I had a sense of “history.” I remember President Harry Truman making a speech stating our nation’s recognition of Israel as a nation. I wasn’t very old so I don’t remember too many details but after my experience with the Lord in ‘74, I remembered, and gave it a great deal of thought. I’ve been “thinking out loud” about Israel and her place in God’s world and ours. I consider it a great privilege to be alive now, in this time period, when I believe God’s final dealing with Israel as well as His wrath with mankind will be happening. There is a saying, “I’m not expecting the undertaker, I’m expecting the uppertaker!”

These last couple of years have been incredible in light of Bible prophecy. People say they can’t understand Revelation or Daniel or any other of the Prophets…hogwash…they don’t want to. The speed with swift…the Bible uses the term, “suddenly.” Who, 40 years ago would have thought the Arabs/Muslims would be taking over as they have these last years. Who would have thought the nations would be aligned as they are, with everything moving in the direction of one, great big world, governed by a few liberal radicals or that Christianity a we have known it would be almost totally wiped out! It is happening so fast it almost takes your breath away. Jesus told us, warned us, begged us, and still we don’t listen…then or now. The show is about over and we are soon to see the finale.

If President Obama turns us away from supporting Israel and being her greatest ally…it’s all over. There are more verses of Scripture that speak to the issue of “those who love Israel/those who hate Israel” than I can record on this blog but take my word for it, these are A LOT! God loves Israel and her people with an undying, unconditional, unexplainable love. And we as a nation had better think about that. But I doubt the powers that be will give it any thought and eventually we, Israel’s last important friend, will turn on her and she will be all alone. The big BUT here is this: they are never alone, Israel’s God will never leave her or forsake her, no matter how stiff-necked she is. Watch!!! We are about to see the greatest event in human history, the curtain falling on the drama of God and His creation of and love for humanity.

TAKE THE NAME OF JESUS WITH YOU

2011-01-21T13:32:00.001-05:00

This beautiful hymn was written by a woman name Lydia Baxter, inspired by Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jeus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Most of us realize the name “Jesus” brings comfort,, cheer, settledness to those who are suffering and/or bereaved. It can also bring a sense of peace to persons who are depressed and/or fearful. Lydia Baxter was bed-ridden most of her life, she was always cheerful and patient. She would tell friends she had a “special armor. the Name of Jesus. when the Tempter tries to make me blue or despondent, I mention the Name Jesus and he can’t get to me anymore.” Mrs Baxter wrote this hymn from her bed, just four years before her death in 1874 at age 65. She was always known for her interest in and discussion of Bible names…their origin and those who bore those names…Samuel, “asked of God,” Hannah, “grace,” Sarah, “princess,” but the name that meant the most to her was the name, Jesus. It was used often during the evangelistic campaigns of DL Moody and Ira Sankey in the latter part of the 19th century. We still sing this hymn today, it speaks to us about carrying His name through our lives and even speaks to us of eternity, and the “joy of Heaven” that awaits us.

Here are the words, ponder them and enjoy…

Take the name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and of woe; it will joy and comfort give you…take it then where’er you go…

Take the name od Jesus with you, as a shield from every snare; if temptations round you gather, breathe that holy name in prayer…

O the precious name of Jesus, How it thrills our souls with joy. When His loving arms receive us, and His songs our tongues employ…

At the name of Jesus bowing, falling prostrate at His feet, King of Kings in heaven we’ll crown Him, when our journey is complete…

CHORUS…Precious name, O how sweet, hope of earth and joy of heaven.

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2011-01-14T13:47:00.000-05:00

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DAY BY DAY

2011-01-07T13:03:00.001-05:00

This seems an appropriate hymn to think ponder early in a new year. It was written by a young Swedish woman, along with many others.
She learned early in life to live with the consciousness of the Lord’s presence all the time.

At the age of 26 Lina experienced an event that influenced her all the rest of her life. She and her father took a ship going to the city of Gothenburg, Sweden across Lake Vattern. The ship lurched, and her father, A devout Lutheran minister, fell overboard and drowned before the eyes of his adoring daughter. Prior to this event Lina had written some 650 hymns, many that influenced the revival that swept the Scandinavian countries during the latter half od the 19th century. After the tragic death of her father, poetic thoughts, expressing a tender, childlike faith and trust flowed freely from her broken heart. So tender and touching were her many beautiful hymns expressing her love for her Lord, she became known as the “Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” Ponder these beautiful words:

Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here; trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what He deems best…lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me, he whose name is Counsellor and Power. The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid: “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” this the pledge to me He made.

For some reason, the words of this hymn really speak to me. I am very fond of hymns but this one seems special. I think Lina’s “trust” level climbed and climbed through out her life, until she so “leaned into” her Lord for everything, she just rested in His goodness and love for her. I relate to that and aspire to the same kind of love for Him. I know it only comes with time and trial, I know that because I have lived through both and learned much, both about myself and about my Master. The words of this precious hymn say it well and will always be very special to me.

WHAT TO TAKE INTO ETERNITY

2011-01-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

Oswald Chambers, that grand writer from England, said God’s not interested in our doings but in our character…it is the only thing we can take with us into eternity. Think about that…we could work/serve Him all our lives, doing all kinds of wonderful, kind things and have them count for nothing when we appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ. And why?????? Because He is interested primarily in what we “are”…what we have allowed the Holy Spirit to accomplish IN us! We kind of loose sight of the fact that we are born in sin, with a very active sin nature that just about always wants us to do what we shouldn’t. And of course that starts with our thought processes…think it, entertain it, finally do it.

There are lots of places in the Word that speak to the renewing of the mind. If anything needs a makeover, our minds do. Especially when you think of them as a computer with a humongus hard drive. Everything that gets fed in, gets filed away for future reference. And all those accumulated thots and ideas are like filters, through which we run our experiences and observations, good, bad, somewhere in between. They definitely color our actions and re-actions to life situations, how we handle most things. When most of our input is negative and ugly, we see most of life from a negative and/or ugly perspective, then we act accordingly. We need to “unlearn” those points of view and the only one to enable us to do that is the Holy Spirit. That’s probably the hardest part of His job…bringing us to the place that we can see our bad thinking and behavior. When we mature to the point we can actually be aware of our crookedness and sinful thinking, we are making good progress down the path to fullness in Christ.

I once read an old tract that was called,”others may, you may not..” I only had one and lost it some place along the way. The point of it was that God is preparing us for whatever place He has for us to serve. Most places are unique to the one serving so it makes sense that the training would be equally unique. What God will allow one follower to do, He may not let you do. Why? You may never know until you are face to face with Him. But…He knows why you can’t, and you may be sure there is a reason. Obedience…one of the most critical character qualities but obviously one that matters very much to Him…obedience. Do you think Abraham WANTED to kill Isaac???? I’m sure He did not, but he followed the instructions God gave him, to the letter, without understanding. Could you? Could I? I wonder…

Another part of character changing is learning to “not go with the Flo.” We are living in a time period that the Bible describes as “calling right wrong and wrong right,” but that doesn’t mean we must do what we know is wrong, even just “a little” wrong. So many of God’s instructions for us, especially for family life, are completely turned around. Marriage has become “unnecessary” in general. Living together or multiple relationships are common. Divorce is commonplace. Affairs, one night stands, all are done everyday. And the affects on any children is disasterous in most cases. No wonder our character is so warped and twisted when all around us is totally contrary to what God has instructed in His Word. He says, “one man, one woman, for life.” Most of us don’t want to go through the character-building exercise of working through a marriage, creating security for children, actually making a family…with His help all the way. Character…it isn’t changed and built overnight, it takes time and a lot of hard work, but I believe eternity will tell us, it was worth it.

ABIDE WITH ME

2010-12-24T16:48:00.001-05:00

I know this is not a Christmas song but…one of Christ’s names is Immanuel which means Christ with us. I’ve always loved the concept of abiding…”settle down and make yourself at home”…which I believe is very critical to our developing an intimate relationship with Christ. He talks about it in John 15, encouraging us to “become” comfortable with Him. This hymn also encourages closeness. It was written by Henry Lyte in 1847,shortly before his own home-going.It has been a hymn of great consolation and encouragement ever since. Pastor Lyte was a sickly man but a very spiritual one. He suffered from asthma and tuberculosis. Despite his poor health, he was a tireless worker with a reputation as a poet, musician and minister. This is the man who coined the phase,”it is better to wear out than to rust out.” He pastored for years in Devonshire, England but the climate caused his health to deteriorate and he moved to southern Italy where it was warmer. It is said for his last sermon to his poor parishioners, he literally had to crawl to the pulpit, but he did, and exhorted them to prepare themselves for the solemn hour when they too would join their precious Lord. He stressed the concept of ABIDING IN CHRISTON A CONTINUING BASIS. It is said he wrote this beautiful hymn just before he died, was sung infrequently in England at the time. In 1855 Henry Ward Beecher wrote a collection of hymns and noted that this one should be “read and not sung.” Later, a man named William Henry Monk , a music editor of a well-known Anglican Church Hymnal and included in the first edition of that hymnal published in 1861.

William Monk personally contributed fifty original tunes for the hymnal. In addition to his work as editor of this hymnal, considered by hymnologists to be one of the most important hymnals ever published. Additionally, he was choir director and organist at King’s College, London.

Henry Lyte’s text for this hymn was taken from the account of Christ’s walk with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and their statement, “Abide with us for it is toward evening and the day is spent,” Lk 24:29. Another of his hymns is “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.

I love the idea of God desiring us to abide with Him…not so much in a physical place but in the heart…to be so comfortable with him that we sense His nearness and we begin to “talk” with Him continually…the Scripture says to “pray without ceasing…” and I believe that is what is meant here. We abide with our spouse, we’ve gotten use to him/her and enjoy and look forward to being with him/her. Comfortable with the Lord and it CAN be attained along with contentment and rest…qualities that saints should aspire to and work toward. God desires us to be whole emotionally, and as we work on these concepts, emotional wholeness becomes a reality and we can rest in His desire and ability to care for us. Abide…what a beautiful word.

GUIDE ME O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH

2010-12-22T17:27:00.001-05:00

One of the great problem in the church today is music…hymns…the younger generation does not care for hymns at all, just “praise music.” Personally, I prefer traditional hymns but I don’t mind the older chorus’ such as “Isn’t He, Jesus, Name Above All Names,” etc. A nice mixture can really enhance a worship service.

I recently received an early Christmas gift for my Kindle from my son Bill, a devotional entitled Amazing Grace, 366 Hymn Stories. As I began looking thru it I thought perhaps there are other bloggers interested in background to these hymns, so here goes.

This great hymn was written in the 18th century, in Wales. A young man named William Williams was preparing to go to medical school. He came across an itinerant preacher, Howell Harris holding evangelistic services, attended and came to Christ. One of the attractions to the services was gospel singing by the congregation. He decided to also dedicate his life to preaching the Gospel, traveled one hundred thousand miles over forty three years on horseback, preaching and singing. He wrote and sang in Welsh so that the listeners could learn the songs. He earned the title, “sweet singer of Wales.”

His inspiration for this particular hymn came from the record of the Israelites travels in the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan. Throughout all the 40 years of wandering God provided all they needed, food in the form of manna…fresh every day. Water as they needed it, their shoes never wore out and they followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He was always there…guiding!

Is this God of the Israelites the same God we worship today? Of course He is, problem for us is we don’t get to know him so that we can trust and wait for Him to supply our needs. We are very use to meeting our own needs by whatever means possible, sometimes without even consulting Him. It had taken me the better part of 30 years to learn some of the lessons of trusting and waiting…try it, you’ll like it!

In Full Thanksgiving Now We Come

2010-11-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

In Full Thanksgiving Now We Come

To be Sung to the Tune of
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
(Alternate Tune)

O Lord our Father and our King,

Your gracious Name we gladly sing;

Our minds and hearts to Thee we raise,

And lift your Name in glorious praise!

In full Thanksgiving now we come,

Where worldly tongues are sadly dumb.

With grateful hearts for all Thy grace,

The favor of our Father's Face.

His blessings many, showered down,

The chief, to see our Master's crown!

To walk with Him, as one made pure,

Secured in mercy through God's Door

That Door is Jesus, God's blessed Son,

God's precious Lamb, His Only One!

He took our sin, and made us clean,

So we may worship unashamed.

His Kingdom here is but a taste,

Of glory all we hope will haste!

But until realized then we stay,

And work and serve, and live and pray.

We thank you Father for Thy Love,

And for all else sent from above.

But yet we long for that glad day,

When in You presence we will stay!

O Lord our Father and our King,

Your gracious Name we gladly sing;

Our minds and hearts to Thee we raise,

And lift your Name in glorious praise!

Original Words by Pastor Bill Farrow
Valley Forge Baptist Church

thinkingoutloud

2010-11-20T15:31:00.002-05:00

PROMISES AND INTEGRITY...

Many years ago, in the midst of one of the most troubling times of my life, I came across a very lovely verse, a verse that would sustain me many, many times over the years to come. It comes from Psalm 41:12, "Thou Lord upholds me in my integrity" The time period in my personal life way very stressful, especially financially, and I was a new Christian. I didn't know the Word very well, nor did I have any idea what the character of God was like. All I knew was that I was truly hurting and had no place to turn...I literally threw myself into God's arms, looking for mercy and leading. I realized I hadnothing financially, but integrity was something important to me.
I began to search the Word for promises, mainly because my Pastor told me God always keeps His promises because He cannot deny Himself. As I read, I journaled constantly, and wrote promises in red. I frequently memorized them, carrying a small notebook with me where I wrote them down to keep them with me. When God says HE upholds our integrity...that's it...it's like salvation, He gives and no one can take it away. Truth, right living, learning to control my thoughts and my tongue in order to interact with people in a godly way, all became very important to me. I found verses like: "Peace I give to you, My peace I give you..."John 14:27 and in the same area of Scripture He said, "I have told you these things that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete, John 15:11. I realized that if He could have that sense of peace and joy 24 hours from the cross...how could I not lean on Him for the same experience. Reality...the promise is there, it's up to me to hold onto it for myself, and believe He does what He says. That time in my life was very hard, but I really learned WHO He was, and how much He loved me, for no reason but that He chose to. Incredible, true, precious and available to you.

Want to Be a Honker

2010-06-07T16:50:00.001-04:00

Jesus told us not to worry about our life and it’s needs. Psa 37 tells us not to “fret ourselves”…and the Apostle Peter tells us to “cast our cares on Him because He cares for you. Good advice particularly for those of us that tend to fret or mull over things that are in our minds. The last few days I read some of this material in a devotional, thought it exceptional and would like to share it. It’s an illustration from nature.

Along with not worrying, Jesus told us to look at the birds, and how God cares for them. We may well wonder what in the heck we can learn from a bunch of birds. Well be prepared for a surprise, I was truly impressed by the following story about geese.

Winter is approaching and geese are flying south for the winter. They do this year after year. First, notice they fly united. They don’t fly separately, in random style because alone, they can’t go the distance. They are designed to flu in the usual V formation that we see in the fall and early winter. When the bird flaps it’s wings, the air movement created provides an uplift, easing the work load of the bird behind it. Together, their flight range increases about 71%. Even the youngest, weakest, and oldest geese can make the trip, because they accomplish together what they cannot accomplish separately. Here is the lesson: Scripture tells us, “let us meet together and encourage one another.” We are not called to fly solo! Occasionally a goose strays off on its own but soon becomes exhausted, loses altitude and ultimately pulls wearily back into formation. “Look at the birds,” and learn!

Every goose is a “pinch-hitter.” When one gets into a pinch, another goes to bat for him. Every formation has a “point goose.” He’s out front leading, setting the pace for the others. It’s a tough position because the point goose cuts the headwinds, meets the changing weather conditions, is the first to feel the rain in it’s face, the snow in its eyes and the ice on its wings. He keeps the formation on target whatever the situation. It’s hard, exhausting and lonely at times because there’s nobody ahead of him to be the wind beneath his wings. The formation depends on him to persevere, stay on track and get them safely to their destination.

Every church has a point goose…he’s called the pastor! Each department has a point goose, education, youth, finance evangelism, care ministries, etc.. They lead, set the pace, and give direction to those who follow. Point ministries are usually over-functioning and tend to burn out. Just before the point goose is exhausted, a space opens up in the formation and he slips back into it while another bird replaces him, seamlessly becoming the next point goose. Pinch-hitting for each other preserves the life of the formation. A great church isn’t about great staff, it’s about volunteers willing to pinch-hit whenever needed.

In the world of geese, the aged, very young and infirm are kept protected in the rear of the formation. But they aren’t isolated, discounted, or considered useless; they fulfill a vital role. They become the honking section and cheer for the leader. Inevitably bad weather threatens the mission. The going gets tough and the tough are struggling. From the rear of the formation a lone honk sounds, initiating a goose chorus honking encouragement to the point goose. We too need a “honking” section in times of stress, and that’s part of the responsibility of the church…encouraging! Speaking uplifting words, praying for us, some saying, ‘we are behind you, we’ve got your back.” Many servants of Christ have crossed there valley of discouragement because of the “honking” of an old, pock marked, battle-hardened, straggle-feathered honker, too stubborn to let a brother or sister quit on their watch! A few “honks” of encouragement can overpower a storm of complaints. So be an encouraging “honker.”

Geese have life-long relationships, fully committed to each other. When the ravages of time or circumstances make it impossible for a bird to continue the trip and it begins to lose altitude or fails to keep abreast of the formation, the gaggle provides it comfort, nurture and protection. Two strong geese leave the formation, flying with the “patient” safely between them, finding a sheltered location with food and water and make a home for the needy bird. They’ll stay with their ward until it either recovers or dies before joining another formation. For them, everything goes on hold to care for the ailing bird. What an example to us of self-sacrificing love! If a gaggle of birds can do it, surely God’s family ought to be able to do it.

Lost and stray geese are always welcomed into a formation. There is no elite club for geese. When a bird is separated from it’s gaggle by weather, accident or infirmity, it is taken into another and given full family status. Thee formation will alter it’s plans, reschedule it’s arrival time, and inconvenience itself to accommodate a straggler that needs them. Many bird newcomers arrive dirty, bedraggled, and ill fed. They are never turned away. God’s church isn’t a museum for masterpieces, its a hospital for those who have been hurt by life. Christ has no higher agenda than to welcome than to recruit, save, and adopt to adopt a stranger into the fold. We need to re-read the section in I Cor 6 that speaks to the issue of just who it is Jesus sends us out to recruit for His gaggle…we ourselves were taken into the formation, washed, sanctified, justified and given full family status! And thank God we were!!!!

KEEPING ON KEEPING ON…

2010-04-27T15:00:00.001-04:00

The Scripture tells us ,”blessed is he who perseveres,” James 1:12. I’m sure I am not the only one that at times has felt like giving up, just throwing my hands up in the air and quitting…am I? Probably not. Simply because trouble comes to all of we believers, trouble that is especially designed to smooth off rough edges, teach us some valuable lesson God knows we would not learn any other way, or something along that line. I’ve been a believer for 36 years and in full time ministry for 29, believe me when I tell you I have learned some hard lessons…all at God’s hand, and looking back, I would not have missed even one. I said, “looking back.” At the time the emotion was not always positive. I’ve noticed in myself, every time God wants to make a major change/shift in my ministering, I initially fight Him…not always consciously, but a battle goes on in my heart and mind. Possibly, it would be better said the battle is in my mind. I’ve learned over the years, my mind is not reliable and neither are my emotions. My spirit is because it is controlled by the Lord. Very early on He begins to teach us discernment, some people have the spiritual gift of discernment, don’t always recognize it and frequently don’t trust it until someone much older in the Lord teaches them how and why. They are truly blessed because that gift is badly needed today within the body of Christ. There are many, many false teachers and con men coming into our churches and taking advantage of the flock. People with the gift of discernment can “sense” they are not really what they say they are. God knows this kind of thing would come about which is why He provides the church with such gifted people. They need to trust their relationship with the Lord and exercise the gift and not “feel” as if they are judging. I used those quotation marks on purpose because many times that happens…we make judgments all the time, all of us. But spiritual discernment is another whole thing…when the Spirit of God speaks in that still small voice, that’s discernment and we need to listen. Discernment needs to be exercised…trained. To do that and discern correctly, you must meditate on the Word, memorizing passages that speak to you and your gift, always compare what God is saying to your spirit with what He says in His Word. We know He will never contradict Himself so knowledge of Scripture is important. Be willing to observe and obey the conditions that go with His promises.Hebrews 5:14 tells us that “who by constant use have trained themselves and their senses to discern.” Practice means you may make mistakes, so be willing to learn from them, and grow in this area. When your head doesn’t know which way to go, trust your spirit, your Spirit trained spirit will guide you correctly. It takes faith to operate in the spiritual area, not reason, and if you are going to go for reasonable answers and guidance, you will not develop discernment and will make many wrong choices and decisions. These times are usually when we most want to give up…we feel like a failure and are ready to quit. Don’t, just cling to God and remember this: “reasoning is a product of your head, discernment is a product of your spirit. Your head doesn’t comprehend/understand spiritual things, you cannot count on it leading you correctly. But…God in His mercy will, and He will never let you down or leave you all alone. he will be there, especially when you want to give up because for many of us that is a “bottoming out “ experience and God meets lots of people at the bottom, and then makes great saints out of them because they have learned they can’t do it….but He can…and will.

time

2010-04-22T15:47:00.001-04:00

Have you ever considered how much time you spend with the Lord???? I dare say, most of us don’t We may be fairly serious about tithing our money, but not too serious about tithing time. It works out to 2 hours and 20 minutes a day…how do you rate? The Word tells us to learn to pray without ceasing, not to hard a task if you are in the habit of consulting God about your daily itinery…again, most of us aren’t, we go ahead and make our own decisions without bringing God into the equation. You might be surprised at how much He would have to say about the matter. That still, small voice of His can powerfully affect our hearts and minds, and change them. He always sees the bigger picture and the other people involved plus, the long term implications for all concerned. He always wants what’s best for us…all the time.

Personally, I think this present generation is so self-centered it rarely if ever thinks beyond “me” and that’s a pity. The Godhead constantly thinks of us and the outworkings of our lives. We don’t make it easy for them either…beside being selfish, we’re stubborn and don’t want to be corrected, even by God! I teach a class to prisoners on Healing For Damaged Emotions. It takes us back to the way we were raised, by whom, and how. It is pretty amazing how much the Holy Spirit can bring back to memory scenes long forgotten, or thot to be. We are all as product of our upbringing, good and bad. It is those bad habits and character traits
God wants to change by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. However, and it’s a big however, we must voluntarily give Him the time through the reading of the Word, prayer, meditation, memorization to show us our flaws and lead us in the proper way to correct them in order for us to be whole, emotionally. Every generation that allows that to happen on a personal basis, breaks the cycle of bad character and it’s effect on the next generation. It is sin that is transmitted through the genes and causes the sin to show up in flaws. Only God can correct the mess.That’s why Christ came, paid the penalty price for us all, went back to the right hand of the Father and sent the Holy Spirit to finish what He started. The Father desires many sons for His glory, and we, as redeemed sinners are those sons…glory!

WHY??????

2010-04-21T13:25:00.001-04:00

Did you ever wonder why you are here? I’m sure you have, you’d be very unusual if you didn’t. If you listen to the world and contemplate evolution, you might think there was no purpose for you, at least nothing in particular, just chance. Cultural thinking says we are totally in control of our own destiny, we make or break our own way. The popular religions today tell us life is all about “us” and what God can do for us…never what we can and should do for Him.

In reality, God made us for Himself, to be loved by Him, to learn to love Him back, to allow Him and the written Word to so change us, to “conform us to the image of Christ,” that we bring glory and pleasure to Him. Do we think about that? I doubt many of us do on any kind of regular basis, and probably rarely work on it. We are required to allow the Holy Spirit to change us morally, spiritually and even physically…we should all be aware that our inner self or character NEEDS changing…we all have trouble with self-image, our view of ourselves. We frequently put ourselves down even if it is in our own minds, and think negative thoughts about us. There is a verse I like that speaks to that: “Hear my prayer my Father, listen to my plea and answer, for my thoughts trouble me and I am distraught,” Psa 55:1-2.

We also need to remember that it takes the Lord along time to make the changes He wants to make in us. We don’t get that way over night, and we are not going to change over night. It may take years of prayer and Bible reading for Him to get across to us the character flaws He desires to correct. Other believers can act like “sandpaper” on us, rubbing rough spots of our character with rough spots of their own until they smooth out. Lots of Christians don’t even realize they need to make changes, that it is part of our growth process to allow the Holy Spirit to change things about us that are not Christlike. And believe me, He can put His finger on problems and convict us until we see what He is driving at. Sometimes other believers will tell us flaws they see, which we should then take to the Lord and ask Him for verification and then act on it. Never ,never should we ignore the Lord. Usually He will pursue us by bringing some circumstance around again to remind us He is pointing to some change. The truly unfortunate people are the ones that go through life thinking they are perfect or nearly so, and have no need for change. They can make life very unhappy for lots of others around them and cause a lot of disruption in the church. That’s not what God wants from us, He wants us to be as loving, kind, and peaceful as Jesus and to share our loving ways with others.

So the answer to the question, “why are we here?” We are created to bring glory to God, love Him and be loved by Him forever…what great purpose!!!!

FEAR, WHERE DID THAT COME FROM????????

2010-03-29T17:42:00.001-04:00

God’s Word tells us in I Timothy 1:7, ‘God doesn’t give us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.” Why do we get this spirit of anxiety from time to time?? Is it our life style, our diet, guilt, etc., There are times when I’m not sure we can really put a finger on the cause, but it seems to be a mindset that happens frequently to many people. Today, in 2010, it seems to me we have a lot to be anxious about…the state of our state, our country and world, the financial situation here in the USA. All of these situations and many more contribute to a sense of uneasiness, don’t they. Nothing seems stable anymore, and we are not sure what tomorrow will bring.

I’ve often wondered what those without Christ do to cope with this “fear.” Without God to hold onto, to lean into and be supportive…what does one do? The Scripture is full of reassuring chapters and verses that very forcibly tell us that God is in control and will never forsake us, never. Almost the entire book of
Psalms states problems, then when the author turns to God, what His solution is, to relieve our minds and hearts. When I am distraught I frequently read through the Psalms, and maybe a few of the Proverbs. John 13,14, 15, 16, and 17 are always comforting. Plus, the concept of “abiding” fascinates me, making chapter 15 my favorite. I like to memorize the Word, and carry a small notebook with me where I have recorded various verses that are meaningful when I am in a poor state of mind.

What are some of the root causes of these nasty “feelings”…my son Bill likes to remind me that I should not go by feelings but by what I know to be true, and truth only comes from Jesus…remember the Scripture where He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. “ He is saying that there is no truth without a relationship with Him…pure and simple. So, the Word puts out truth and that’s that. Think about it and I think you will agree. One of the feelings that mess us up is feeling inadequate, not measuring up…do we sometimes have unrealistic standards for ourselves and others that we cannot possibly live up to? Perhaps. And then, we “feel” inadequate. Guilt can do a number on us too…real and/or perceived. True guilt can be given over to God, forgiven and put away by memorizing Scripture that tells us just that, such as I John 1:9, “if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It doesn’t get much more explicit than that. However, we have to believe it. False guilt is more difficult because we don’t have the same sense of forgiveness…we are not sure God is forgiving us, so the perceiv4d guilt lingers. Many of us grew up without a sense of security, which we are supposed to get from our family. It doesn’t always happen that way, especially today, it is every man for himself these days. Mom and Dad do not convey a sense of unconditional love, so we grow up feeling we MUST measure up to what we perceive Mom and Dad expect of us, to be loved. Complicated isn’t it???? The human mind is such a sophisticated piece of us, and also happens to be the control tower of our thinking processes.

MORE TOMORROW…

WHAT’S HAPPENING?????

2010-03-27T18:34:00.001-04:00

I have been a believer for 36 years, came back to the Lord in 1974 after reading a book called, “Late, Great, Planet Earth,” by Hal Lindsey. The book vividly described end time events, and I was completely turned around spiritually. I had a fair knowledge of these events from my childhood, I had been brought up in a nominal Christian home in a small town here in South Jersey. Most of our lives revolved around events in our local Methodist Church. I had a very good knowledge of the Scripture and the book brought it all back. Since then I have read and studied, the Bible as well as paying close attention to current events. The two or three Bible teachers I consider well versed in prophecy agree we are most likely in the generation that will be “caught up” into the clouds in what is referred to as the Rapture of the church. I believe as they do that current events, beginning with the re-birth of Israel in 1948, point to the soon to happen,Tribulation, a seven year period of God’s final dealing with His people Israel, to bring them to Himself. It is also the time when His wrath will be poured out on unbelieving mankind. It will be horrible beyond imagining, but well deserved. If you have never read Revelation and Daniel, you should because you are living it. I must admit, even knowing as I do, that God is completely in control and nothing happens without His knowledge and approval…from a Christian perspective, all is well.

Even with all I know and believe to be true, I am still taken aback with what is going on right now…it fits very well into the overall picture but I have a hard time processing it all. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the generation that sees Israel become a nation once again, will live to see Him return in power and glory, to rule and reign on earth for 1,000 years, called the Millennium. The Bible states a generation is “three score years and ten.” Close? You bet. Then we have nation alliances, Russia aligning with the Arab nations, China very big militarily, and a huge population. The EU getting bigger and bigger, controlling more and more of it’s member nation resources, borders, money and foreign policy. Daniel speaks of a great increase in knowledge, travel, gadgets and technology, world wide communication and TV. Then there is the matter of a nation such as Iran openly declaring their intention to push Israel into the Mediterranean Sea and be rid of her, and…to that end they are developing nuclear weapons. Christians are beginning to be put down and shut up, accused of hate speech and such. Jesus spoke of wars and rumors of wars, ethnic groups versus ethnic groups, religious deception, and how about weather changes, earthquakes, bigger and multiples, tsunamis, hotter summers and colder winters. We have food shortages in many places on earth and diseases that are becoming more difficult to cure. Jesus also speaks of anguish of heart and spirit, perplexity , peoples hearts failing them from stress. And now we have Obama. I have paid attention to Presidents since John Kennedy…he was the first president I voted for, fifty years ago. I would ask anyone that reads this blog to read the Scripture I gave, Daniel, Revelation, and Matthew 24, and read them in varying translations to get the full flavor of the teaching…and then sit down and ponder where our progressive president is taking us…NOW!

We are on a dangerous course, our Constitution and Bill of Rights are being shredded and ignored completely. Congress is by and large, sold out to special interest groups, which makes them unable to do anything ethically and morally correct. We will fall to our debt, collapse from within and be part of what is happening in Europe, or worse. Mr Obama is a pied piper, and we are the mice. His disgusting behavior this past week with Benjamin Netanyahou, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks volumes to any one that knows the Scripture. Of, just has a sense of decency. Wake up America, wake up, be sure of your position in Christ and when it’s time to vote, VOTE! You may not have another opportunity.

REST…OR TODAYS VERSION,… TIME OUT

2010-03-26T13:01:00.001-04:00

We live in a whirlwind society…busy, busy, busy! We are never still. I am as guilty of it as anybody and God has had to deal with me harshly more than once, I am ashamed to say. I am a classic “type A” which means I picture a goal straight ahead, and heaven help you if you get in my way. It’s not a malicious thing, but a focus thing. God has taught me many interesting lessons in my 37 years as a Christian…quite a few in the category of my work. Working as a teacher/counselor to inmates inside a state prison isn’t too high on the priority list of missionaries, but it’s where God called and placed me. Let me tell you right off, had I known then what I know now…well, I probably would have gone on and done the same. Prison ministry, especially hands-on, direct contact is difficult and challenging. I had one thing “up” on a lot of folks that put their hand to that plow…I was middle aged when I started, thus a “mother figure” and it served me well. I have since graduated to a “grandmother figure”…29 years later will do that…and being older granted me respect, and a hearing. My classes are always well attended, and I never had a discipline problem. The men knew that I had lived through many experiences, and I was willing to share them to get a point across from Scripture. They also knew I was a volunteer…no paycheck for being there. But the drawback for me was I saw the need…it was overwhelming…and unmet. It still is. Very few people have any desire to go into that setting and attempt to convert addicts, alcoholics, womanizers and thieves. But, that’s where I ended up and I wouldn’t change anything. But I would say the need made me work longer hours, more days, be more intense than I should have been…I forgot that God is NOT a hard taskmaster, HE remembers we are dust and doesn’t expect as much out of us as we think He does.We strive for goals He never gave us. Jesus said “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” It won’t destroy your health or your peace of mind. I’ve learned that the hard way. We tend to lose perspective and our priorities get out of line. And, a very important thing I learned, if I feel guilty about taking a break, time to change my way of thinking. I’m nor lazy because I’m tired. God never intends for us to take on more than we can safely handle and does intend us to know when enough is enough…the what, when, and how of our commitment. Rest, can be a state of mind. But it can also have to do with the physical, spiritual and emotional part of our lives. Listening to inmates stories, most of which I have absolutely no control over or ability to change…can and did do me in. I recovered, but it left me with a weakness emotionally that I have to watch all the time. I am good at what I do but I must be very careful about how long, intensely, and actively I do it before taking a break. Occasionally, I have to sit down with the Lord and re-prioritize my days…getting older puts limits on how much of anything I can do and I have to respect that or pay a price I won’t like! Now I said all this to try to emphasize to any who may read this blog that God doesn’t drive us…we drive ourselves…He said in Genesis 2:2 “God ended His work…and he rested” It doesn’t say it was permanent rest, but it was regular rest, according to Exodus 20. There He instituted a weekly physical rest but as you think about the physical, you must realize it also includes emotional and mainly spiritual. Humans need time out…too bad in our “modern” society we don’t realize it and honor the God that instituted it…we could and should spend the Sabbath rest with Him, and REALLY get some rest.

INTIMACY, KNOWING GOD

2010-03-25T15:59:00.001-04:00

Have you given much thought to the concept of Godly intimacy??? Probably not, because it is not something preached or talked about, no Bible studies on the subject…but it is what God wants from each of us. the whole of John 15 is about abiding, another word for intimacy. To abide conveys the idea of “settling down and making yourself at home with another.” Marriage is supposed to create the atmosphere of abiding, leading or culminating in intimacy. How does this transfer to our relationship with God Himself??? As far as I can tell, and this is from my own experience and application, Romans 12:1-2 is the starting point…”I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves, A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God…it is your reasonable service (spiritual act of worship, NIV). And, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MINDS, that you may test and approve what God’s will is… His good, perfect and acceptable will of God.” In marriage, we give ourselves to another, one we love and desire to spend the rest of our lives with. It means giving in many different ways…deferring to the others likes and dislikes in a variety of ways, changing habits that interfere with getting along well, it means respecting the others family ties and arranging your lives together in time with family plans…it means many changes because of your love for the other person. And of course the ultimate intimacy is physical, as the two become one. In Genesis the word “cleave” is used. I remember reading years ago that cleave is from the same root word as glued…imagine being glued to your partner, but it does paint a picture doesn’t it!!!! Now transfer in your mind that idea…glued to God. Can’t think of a more safe place to live, being so close to God, I’m glued. And of course that works both ways…He is glued to me! Now if that is so, and I have come to love Him so much that I don’t want any separation between us…I will WANT to be conformed to His likeness. In Romans 8:29 we are told “those whom God foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…whom He predestined He called, justified and glorified.” In Ephesians 4:22-24 we are told to “put off the old self, which is corrupted by our deceitful human desires, and be made new in the attitude of your minds and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This is indeed a beautiful picture of two becoming one, but who could ever imagine that God would want to that intimate with the likes of us. But, the whole of His Word and His very character says yea, and amen. It obviously is why He created us in the first place and then had to send His Son to redeem us because of sin, in the second place. We must have great value to Him…from His point of view.

I don’t know about you, but I am very happy I have all eternity to show my gratitude, love and praise for Him…and frequently wonder if even eternity is long enough to praise our God and Father.

PRAYER, A CONVERSATION WITH GOD, con’t

2010-03-24T12:25:00.001-04:00

In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Farther on in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul followed His lead in his own prayer life, giving us some extraordinary examples of just how we could pray for our families and friends. Along with the example, we need to remember when we pray the Word back to it’s Author, He cannot deny Himself and will answer. In John 15 Jesus tells His followers “ask ANYTHING according to My will, and it’s yours…” did you get that? According to His will???? Constant contact with Christ changes our point of view and our asking changes, because we see things from His point of view. Additio9nally, praying His own Word back to Him keeps us in His will because it’s promised in His Word! He is indeed an amazing God1

Back to Jesus and Paul’s patterns in prayer…

1. ADDRESSING GOD…Always be mindful of Who you are addressing, I have never been one to be overly familiar to the point of “Daddy”…but that’s me. I had a very dear father, one I was completely comfortable with…I carried that over into my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Not everyone is that fortunate and their relationship with God suffers for it.

2 BE BRIEF…all of Jesus and Paul’s prayers are brief and to the point. Wordy praying is usually windy praying.

3. BE DEFINITE…don’t ramble, keep focused on WHOM you are talking to…I believe strongly that our Father LOVES to give and do for us, and when we are specific, all the better. If He knows it’s not good for us, He’ll overrule…would you have it any other way???? Notice that most of Paul’s prayers were spiritual in content, sharply defined. He knew what he saw either in people’s lives or missing in their lives. He then prayed for those things. Oswald Chambers said God gives us insight into people’s lives not to criticize but to pray for God to change them…excellent to remember.

4. BE CONFIDENT…if you know you are where you should be spiritually, you can ask with confidence, especially when you are praying God’s Word back to Him…God will never deny His Word! When praying for physical issues or financial, I try not to dictate…I realize god frequently uses these very issues to “grow us up”… and won’t always answer in the manner we think He should, but it’s always answered in the BEST WAY possible for the circumstance. I have experienced both problems many times in my walk with the Lord, and must say He is faithful, but He also works to “stretch” us. I have been in the habit of deferring to God’s Omnipotence and love for me. I will use this phrase after my petition, “if it pleases You.” I’ve learned I don’t always know the best answer, but He does and I want His best more than my answer my way. He is trustworthy!!!

Notice in the Apostolic prayers, he doesn’t petition for temporal things, rather spiritual and gracious things. Here are some of his requests for his followers…

Ephesians 1:17-19

1. understanding

2. revelation of Himself

3. opened eyes

4. to know His calling, riches of His glory in His inheritance with us.

5. the exceeding greatness of His power toward us

Ephesians 3:16-19

1. grant us to be strengthened internally

2. to have Christ dwell in us richly, by faith

3. to know the love of Christ

4. to be filled with all of God’s fullness

Philippians 1:9=11

1. to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing

Colossians 1:10

1. to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom

2. to walk in a manner worthy of Him

3. to please Him in all respects

4. bearing fruit in every good work

5. increasing in the knowledge of Him

6. strengthened with all power, according to His gracious might

7. attain all steadfastness and Patience, joyously

Paul’s petitions usually ended with this: “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

In praying we need to remember the concerns and interests of God come first. Whatever He is working out in your life will be for His glory first, secondly for your good. That’s what Romans 8:28 is all about. Additionally, remember worship is no substitute for service and service is no substitute for worship…true worship will inevitably find it’s expression in loving, sacrificial service.

PRAYER, A CONVERSATION WITH GOD

2010-03-23T12:40:00.001-04:00

Most of the New Testament prayers were Paul’s, for and about the Gentiles that came out of heathenism. Being their spiritual father it is natural that he also be their devotional example. His prayers are so natural, and contain so much emotion, we can safely assume he spent ALOT of time talking with the Lord about the converts and many other subjects of concern. As a contrast, statistics tell us that the average pastor spends 4 minutes a day in prayer for his people…which explains why the church today is so weak and powerless…God does not use prayerless ministers and missionaries!

Paul was concerned for his converts well being and growth, which urged him to appeal to the Father on their behalf, and to offer thanks for the opportunity to minister to them. His concerns were justified, as this was an age of superficiality, and ignorance of the True and Living God, since most of the Roman world worshipped Caesar or other Baal-type gods.

Prayer in it’s highest and fullest sense rises from a heart full of thanksgiving, from a heart filled with the wonder of God and His working among men. Such “thinking” bears the heart and mind before God in worship and adoration. As we learn to understand “who we are” before Him…sinful, unworthy beings, …”and “who He is”…One before whom even the Seraphim veil their faces, Isaiah 6:2. We can become aware He has us made His sons, by His grace and mercy…sons, and everything that entails including heirship, Romans 8:16-17, but creatures still. Our present age shouts that we are all “somebody”…with a spark within us that is good, we just need education and opportunity to bring it out.
it’s the opposite of what the Bible teaches, and what God Himself declares, that we are all totally depraved because of the fall in Genesis 3, Romans 3:23. We need to be born again, John 3, with a new start, and then and only then can we begin to have value to God because the new us. We are new because of what Christ did Colossians 2:13, not something we did on our own. If left to ourselves, none of us would come to God or even desire to do so , John 6:44. And…we would be totally and eternally lost.

Bearing in mind our standing before God, as we begin prayer we should keep three things in mind:

1. CONFESSION of sin, and recognition of who we are

2. PETITION of needs and requests

3. HOMAGE of our hearts to our Father

Blended together, these attitudes of our hearts to His become as the fragrance of incense, pleasing to Him.

The Apostle Paul gave us this example: “we will devote ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word,” Acts 6:4. We New Testament believers have a responsibility to lay hold of God and write His Word on the hearts of those listening to us. We must prevent the enemy from snatching away the seed…the only means to this end is prayer, continual, fervent prayer for those we share with and teach…and God will bless our efforts that they may bear fruit to His eternal praise.

Prayer is the appointed means of receiving spiritual communion from God…along with time in His Word in order to learn what He needs us to teach and witness to. Time spent with Him, quietly, to fit ourselves to go and tell…this is a heavy responsibility! We must learn about blessings,spiritual gifts and graces, They are recorded over and over in His Word, we must read, meditate, memorize…spend time alone with Him in order to receive our orders from Him. Romans 8:26-27 tells us that the Spirit reveals to us in quiet times, the will of the Father…and then gives directions…in quiet times! In our present day, how much quiet do we surround ourselves with…we are always on the go. God wants to communicate but He speaks in a still, small voice…we need to be quiet to hear Him! ! John 5:14-15 os one of those precious verses that give us assurance that when we “right” and quiet before Him…He WILL reveal His desires for us and will grant them. Praise His Name, He is always THERE for us!

SAVING ME FROM ME…

2010-03-08T16:55:00.001-05:00

“Wholly committed, fully dedicated…” I read in a devotional book, along with the translation from the Old Testament, telling us that commitment and living up to it gives us a heart of peace. I like that, Peace and/or contentment mean everything to me. I have learned over the years that I can do without a lot of “stuff” but not my sense of contentment. I dearly love the “feeling” (I dislike using that word) of contentment, kind of like the warm fuzzies. That feeling tells me all is well, I am in sync with my Father and I can enjoy the settledness. As I understand it, peace is a result, not a cause. It means the war has stopped, I am no longer trying to run my life but have let go of it after giving it to the Lord. He does such a superior job of running me, I cannot tell you why I even bother to try and run it myself. I think it is mainly a matter of breaking an old habit. We do so many things because it’s how we’ve always done it…we don’t think. If we grow up as unbelievers, we have taken a lot of garbage into our thinking processes. The current generation has it even rougher…they are actually being taught to stand up for themselves, be proud, do your own thing, think for yourself, etc., etc. All of these concepts go directly against Scripture and the character of God. I am not young, have lived a diverse life and had many, many experiences…good and bad. But nothing has compared to the sense of contentment I have had when I am totally in sync with my Father and following His leading. I guess a lot has to do with trust. Charles Stanley once said, you will not obey one you do not trust…my experience has taught me that trust takes time and probably experience. I have been a Christian for 36 years, in so-called full time ministry for 29. I could relate dozens of times when God has been actively teaching me about Himself. Out of those times, I have learned to trust Him and obedience has come easier and easier. Then, I realized that sense of contentment…and it was/is wonderful. I believe Jesus has total possession of me, and I am very glad about that. When you exhibit singleness of heart, you become part of the answer to the world’s problems, because the grace and mercy of the Lord flow through you. Colossians 1:9 tells us that we can “see things from God’s point of view…” that is an awesome thought…elsewhere we are told we can have the mind and attitude of Christ. Another verse tells us to let the attitude of Christ be in us. I don’t know about you but to me, those are awesome promises and what God promises, He delivers. He cannot deny Himself. We are His sons and daughters, He wants the best for us and He will allow things in our lives to get us to the place of full blessing and walking with Him. He is so very awesome, and yet so very personal, doing in our lives those “little things”…the things that tell us clearly that He loves us very much. He proves it. Not because He must but because He wants to! How can you not trust a Father such as this?????? We are told to “be still, and know that I am God…” We could easily think to ourselves, “be still and know I am your Daddy…” Wonderful idea, try it!

BEING ALONE WITH GOD…

2010-03-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

Thinking about the “old timers” of the faith,the Matthew Henry’s , Adam Clark, Dr Barnes of Barnes Notes fame…all record in their journals that they started their day in their study, alone with God at 4 or 5am?????? There are others from that time period that say the same thing, they began their day early, one-on-one with the Lord. I must confess, I am not in that circle…I spend quality and quantity time with the Lord, but not at 4 am. I think the object is the “alone” thing…it is very difficult today to be alone, even people like me that live alone, with TV, stereo, radio, computer, etc I am rarely alone and totally quiet in my home. I recognize I make the choice about the quiet, so I will make no judgment since I am guilty as much as the next guy.

The Holy Spirit is one of the most precious and special gifts god has given to us. He takes up residence within us the moment we come to Christ in repentance and are born again. This is what Jesus meant when He told the disciples, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you forever>” In the Amplified the adjectives used after comforter are, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener and standby. Quite a list, right? The Holy Spirit becomes our every thing, connecting us to god and urging us to do the things we should, and not do the things we shouldn’t. One of HIs biggest jobs is to urge us to spend time with the Lord…He is also very good at convicting us of “wrongs.” Sometimes too good, lol.

I have always had difficulty thinking of God in less than three persons. I don’t really understand the concept of three/one. But…it doesn’t matter that I don’t understand, it is still a fact. I trust God enough to wait to understand but still believe Him. An old Sunday School song said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me…” understanding is not essential, believing and obeying are. In fact, it is impossible to obey without Him, it’s just not in us. God,the Creator shared with us everything we need to know in His Word. If we don’t understand, later on we might…but we need to accept the fact that we don’t NEED to know it all. Jesus said to His disciples, “I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to understand them now,” John 16:12.

Nevertheless, we are urged to spend quality time alone with God. As I have aged in the Lord, I have found I honestly and truly cannot get along without that time…it has become so much a part of who I am and how I function that I cannot really “get myself together”…when I have not been with the Lord. And…living alone, I have found myself taking with Him, even laughing with Him and singing to Him…I guess He has become my Treasured Life Companion. And…I wouldn’t have it any other way!

ALONE WITH GOD…..

2010-02-28T13:32:00.001-05:00

I read recently that the average pastor spends about 4 minutes a day with the Lord personally. Where would you think that leaves us??? I suggest, at less than that. If you were God, how pleased would you be with your people considering what it cost you to purchase back for them their salvation and eternal future with Him? Is it any wonder we have few spiritual giants among us??? In our everyday life, how many do you meet, how many in your neighborhood or at your place of employment? My son Pastor Bill reads a lot…and I mean a lot. He particularly likes to read about the Puritans and other long past believers. I have read many giants from the past and have the same opinion Bill does…we are the losers because we have allowed ourselves to get into a circle of “doing.” We are so busy, we never take the time we must have with the Lord alone, in order to maintain a quality spiritual life. I remember reading about Oswald Chambers and his relationship with Christ…he referred to it in a Biblical term, intimate. We generally think of that word as referring to a sexual relationship in marriage. Not so, God uses it as depicting such a close relationship with Him that even if we DO think of it in those terms, we won’t be far off. His idea of intimacy is being so close and in tune, we talk to Him continually, think through with Him our daily life and decisions, look to Him to think with us our choices and options. It becomes a matter of what or in this case, Who is in/on our minds. Every Biblical character we read about that did great things for God, was “with Him” continually. Our problem is we have allowed our lives to become too complicated, we constantly spin our wheels and frequently get no where. If we would spend more time with Him we would have spiritual giants among us once again. If we let Him, He will show us the “much more” of Scripture, more beyond what others see. He wants us to realize our true strength will come from our stopping the idea of controlling our own lives and turning the “control tower” (our minds) over to Him. Our entire human society teaches us the opposite. Consequently, when we spend little if any time with Him, we don’t take in enough to make the difference. We think like the world thinks because that is where our input is coming from.

Another contributing character quality that we have greatly neglected is humility. The world makes humility, meekness, gentleness, caring, seem to be signs of weakness not strength. Years ago an old friend of mine used this phrase, “meekness is strength grown tender.” I never forgot that quote, she was speaking of
Christ and it truly fit Him…He was the strongest man that ever lived…and died! We as believers need those qualities in our lives and in an active manner…those qualities show moral character, ethic, principle…qualities sadly lacking in our country today. There is a moral glut…if you pay any amount of attention to our congress and other leadership that is available to us on fox News and the few other conservative/fair and balanced outlets, you can plainly see the total lack of morality and ethics in many/most of our representatives. They have even forgotten they represent us…they say they do but don’t act like it. They do not listen to what their constituents are saying and voting and promoting those values and issues that the people want. That is what our Constitution promotes, actually what our War of Independence was fought for…representative government. We elect individuals to “speak” for us by their vote. Today, our representatives think they know more and better than we do and will vote accordingly. Progressivism has taken us far away from what our Founders intended and wrote. I understand we living in the end time and much of this is being allowed by God to that end, so I try not to rail against what God is allowing. But it surely saddens my heart as I watch the Body of Believers that I am part of and care about, accept like the sheep we are, what the world wants us to accept. A humbled heart doesn’t accept such things, but looks to God for further instruction and for action. I trust you will consider and obey the Spirit of God as he leads us on to “higher ground,” which is being alone with God, drawing wisdom and strength from Him, for His glory.

DEALING WITH THE GOLIATHS SURROUNDING US!

2010-02-26T14:44:00.001-05:00

Recorded for us in 1 Samuel 17 is the account of David and a literal giant named Goliath. David was a teenager at the time, had come to the battlefield originally to bring supplies to his brothers who were fighting in the battle with the Philistines. The account is very inspiring…David could not believe the Israelites, God’s own people, were intimidated by the Philistines, even if they were giants. As far as David was concerned, the Israelite warriors were God’s warriors, and the battle was NOT theirs, it was His! Why were they so afraid???? Sound familiar? Can you put yourself in the place of the Israelites or are you like David, incredulous at their lack of trust in the Living God? I think we have each been in same places…and our faith has been tested and in some cases, tried.

What is the back story here???? There is more than originally meets the eye…David was indignant, with righteous indignation because he felt the attitude of the Israelites brought reproach to the Name of a Holy God. He believed someone had to wipe away the reproach to God and if no one else would do it, he would. In our current society, we come across Goliaths/Philistines everyday…we are surrounded by people who have no regard for God, His Word, His world, His people Israel, the church…I could go on and on. There are blasphemers all around us all the time. Do we handle them as David did? Do we look to the Lord Himself to give us instruction, strength, wisdom, weapon,…victory?????

Unbelievers/nonbelievers/atheists, etc., surround us, and are very vocal. How about the ACLU???? How about those that are pro-choice? How about those that hold a non-Biblical view of homosexuality? Are these issues not our modern day Goliaths? Like David are we righteously indignant on God’s behalf pertaining to upholding His Name and His holiness on issues that are contrary to the Word? Do we know the Scripture well enough to uphold the Biblical view in a discussion, not an argument since that is futile, but an exchange of views? It is our responsibility to be informed, to know the Word well and accurately, and as it says in Colossians 4:6, “let our speech be seasoned with salt, knowing how to give an answer to all.” Could you defend what you believe to be God’s truth?”

Do you know how much the Judeo-Christian faith and Scripture influenced the founding of our country, and the writing of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Do you know how many of the Founders and signers were Pastors and Seminary Professors, writers of Christian classics as well as our founding documents. The American Heritage Foundation has DVD’s and books that are marvelous to see and read, retelling the ACCURATE story of our Founding Fathers, with the documents to back up the truths, not the mish-mash we have in what are called history books today? David Barton is a marvelous historian and teacher, knows his material and can set straight the mess progressives have made of our history and and trying to do to our country. Check him out on the web, at www.wallbuilders.com. His DVD series on our American Heritage is well worth buying and viewing, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to confront the goliaths of our time.

We are living in a privileged time…The Lord will be returning soon for His church. But in the meantime we are told to :occupy” and in our time, we have the privilege of defending the Scripture, our Christian heritage, the principles and ethics we have been taught in our youth, and sharing out faith as God gives us opportunity. I trust you will be serious concerning your faith, your relationship to the Lord and the sharing/teaching of His Word…He’s coming soon and we must be about our Father’s business.

MARANATHA!!!!

2010-02-25T12:30:00.001-05:00

Scripture teaches us that one day, which one unknown by us, our risen Savior will come from heaven to take His own to heaven…wow! This promise I originally learned as a child in Sunday School, and God re-emphasized to me and returned me to Himself at the age of 36 by reading Hal Lindsey’s book, Late Great Planet Earth. I recognized that what Hal wrote concerning the Lord’s return was possibly even probably going to happen in my lifetime. The primary reason I believe this to be true is his point that for the first time in over 2,000 years, Israel is in it’s own land. Because of the book by Hal, and reading additional books on the same subject, I have become convinced this is the timeframe. Matthew 24 gives us a good itinerary of events prior to His return and tells us this…”therefore, keep watch.” You could well ask, what does He mean to “keep watch.” As I see it, it means to go about your life, being a faithful testimony by living out Biblical principles. By allowing the Holy Spirit to make the changes in our character that are necessary to conform us to the image of Christ, being an active member of the Body of Christ. We are to contribute as the Holy Spirit directs. Additionally, we are to remember we are pilgrims here, heaven is our home, we are not to become “like” the world around us but be separate and a testimony. But, we are to “WATCH!” Be aware of what is going on around us in our town and state, the governing of our great country and the world. And we are to look at this governing from the Bible’s point of view. I am sadly disappointed at the illiteracy of the church in general concerning prophecy. WE MUST KNOW THE TIME IN WHICH WE LIVE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE! If we don’t we will fit into the parable of the Ten Virgin’s in Matthew 25, half kept themselves ready, half did not and were left behind. Where are you? I would urge anyone that reads this blog to carefully read or re-read the books of Revelation and Daniel. Hal Lindsey has a great web page with loads of information, all backed up, on exactly this point. Hal is also a great student of the Israeli people and their homeland. If you don’t understand about Israel’s history, you will be totally uninformed concerning prophecy. ISRAEL IS HISTORY AND THE OBJECT OF PROPHECY! We are privileged to be living in the time frame when the return of Christ for His church will probably happen…we may never face death, but rather be taken up to the clouds and be changed, and meet our Lord. Hallelujah!!! Read or re-read the portions in I Corinthians 15:51-57 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18, which will tell you about what we call “the rapture” of the church or the “catching away.” I cannot think of a greater privilege than to among that company, I and my immediate family. These are exciting times, and Israel is the centerpiece. If you are not following current events you are missing an exciting (and at times, discouraging) series of events. Please don’t be fooled…Israel is not the bad guy here. They have problem areas, but they are not the heavy’s. If you want to have a discussion on this issue you can email me at eagleone4@comcast.net and I will be happy to share. I love prophecy, mainly because I can see the detail in God’s plan. I love to do timelines and research on Biblical events…recently I spent a lot of time going back over the history of the Jews and the Arabs. Most Christians know the bad blood began with Abraham’s sons, Ishmael and Isaac. The Bible tells us that Abraham and Sara “helped God out” by Abraham fathering Ishmael by Sara’s Egyptian maid, Hagar. He was the child of the flesh. When the time was right, God opened Sara’s womb and she gave birth to Isaac in their old age, the child of promise, Genesis 15:4. A major problem today is that so few people, Christians as well as non-Christians do NOT believe the Bible is God’s inerrant word and therefore do not believe what it says. However, there are many historical records that back up the teaching of Scripture as factual. And, remember please, just because you don’t believe what the Bible teaches doesn’t make it untrue. It is still the Word of God, true and faithful, every jot and tittle. In addition to loving Scripture and prophecy, I have become a follower of current events, probably because of my love and knowledge of prophecy and being able to see the alignment of those current events with the bible teaching about future events. It is exciting! God is never wrong, always is right on the mark, total truth! We are about to see the fulfillment of God’s plan for mankind and the Jews in particular. Praise Him, He is about to come.

HAVE YOU THOT ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTALS LATELY!!!

2010-02-23T16:09:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered why there are so many denominations and divisions in the Body of Christ? I have…in fact I have spent considerable time thinking about it over the years and I still don’t have a definitive answer. I’m very much a people person, and over the years have come to a pretty good understanding of how and why our minds function the way they do, at least the Biblical view and alot of wisdom from the Lord. Because I have been involved with inmates and their families for so many years, it is a priority for me to have the wisdom and mind of the Lord, as He promised I could have in His Word. I don’t want to operate on my own understanding, I need His. And, He has graciously shared His understanding with me, at least as much as I can handle. We often wonder why one group pulls away from another, and decide to fellowship separately. At first look it seems like some minor thing, some seemingly silly, fleshy thing, power seeking, control, . Many times it is over the Scripture…which version, how it is taught, interpreted, viewed…This raises another question, what Biblical principles are so firm and presented in such a definitive way that we really need to be in agreement to truly worship together. But, they are few and I have indeed researched and read to come to the conclusion of these few points that believers need to consider with no compromise:

1. God is a tri-unity. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. All are equal in position and power, but each has a different function in regard to humanity and salvation. All three are eternal beings. The best illustration of this is at Jesus baptism in Matthew 3.

2. All Scripture is God-breathed. It is the infallible, inerrant Word of the Living God. The Scripture we have today in the KJV, the NKJV, the NIV and a very few others, are accurate translations, reliable for us to use for reading and study. There are some versions that are called “paraphrases,” are clearly noted in the preface by the authors as such. A good illustration of this is The Living Bible. OK for just casual reading but not for study. Many paraphrases are very scholarly works, the Phillips NT is beautiful for reading but it is a paraphrase, a work interpreted and put in everyday language by the author. It is also clearly stated that this is truly a paraphrase.

3. Jesus Christ was virgin born. It is considered culturally correct these days to believe otherwise. We do so at our peril, since Scripture clearly states He was virgin born. Why is this important? Leviticus 17 says, “the life is in the blood.” I don’t know why God said that, but He did and that makes it so. Medically we know most diseases are transmitted through the blood, we can rightly believe that based on what God said and did concerning the blood makes it the conduit for sin. All through Scripture it is stated blood must be shed to remit sin. Look at all the OT sacrifices and the elaborate instruction God gave concerning the offering of those sacrifices. Another interesting fact is this, the flesh is not inherently sinful but it is fed by the blood. Ponder this: a baby “in-utero” has it’s blood supplied and recirculated by the mother, being enclosed in a sac and separate. This is the plan made by God in eternity past, and carried out in the birth of His Son. Beautiful isn’t it!!!

4. Jesus lived a sinless life, gave Himself willingly as the payment to the Father for the sin of mankind, fully and completely. The debt is paid. After His death and burial, He was resurrected bodily on the third day, by the power of God. He was taken bodily into Heaven, in view of His disciples and He promised to return for His church.

5. Heaven, Hell, Satan, and judgment are all very real, whether one believes it or not.

6. Possibly the most important point is this…salvation is by faith in Christ’s atoning work, and by faith in Him alone, nothing added and nothing subtracted. We are secure in our salvation when it is transacted according to the Word in John 3, are to live a separated life, one that is according to the Scripture and pleases God.

These are not difficult concepts to understand, why we cannot agree on them I do not know, or at the very least, agree to disagree and worship together the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with our whole hearts as children of God.

AFFLICTION

2010-02-18T14:25:00.001-05:00

This time of year many of us are prone to depression…not necessarily the heavy-duty, debilitating type, just a “flat,” not quite with it feeling. This winter seems especially bad, probably because of all the snow, keeping us “house-bound” more than usual. Frankly, after quite a few bouts over many years, I don’t have all the answers but I am convinced God knows every whip stitch that goes on in my life and I assume yours, and He allows it for a reason and a season. Paul had a “thorn” in the flesh…could depression be a thorn? If so, I am obligated to “bear it well” and allow God to use it. Paul said his thorn kept him from being proud…maybe the same applies to me…or you! This I also know, I work diligently on staying very close to Him during these times, pray a little more, read a little more, and I make a project out of memorization. I keep a little notebook handy, even when I go to bed, write down verses that seem to “hit the mark” for where I am, and go through them when I sense the heaviness coming. Perhaps I would not have as close a relationship with Him if it weren’t for these bouts ? It’s important to keep as busy as possible even though you are house-bound and probably don’t feel like it. There is a name for the condition,SAD, but I don’t remember what the initials stand for. At least it has been identified and recognized as an existing condition, apparently quite common. I have to say the memorization works pretty well, not totally but running through a number of verses does ease the sense of gloom.

I’ve known the Lord for 36 years, as I have thought back over my life I remember quite a few bouts, a couple pretty long-lasting. I also remember reading that many of God’s men and women from the past have endured bouts of depression, causing me to assume that your spiritual condition probably has little or nothing to do with it. When men like Martin Luther, Judson Adonijah, C.I. Scofield, the man who founded the Salvation Army, named Brengel to name a few, come down with the “blahs” from time to time, (some had very serious bouts according to what I read) why not an ordinary person like me, no matter how much I love the Lord and how close I live to Him. It may not be any different than the high blood pressure I take medication for!!!! But I have to admit I work harder at “lifting” it than I do on lowering my blood pressure…because I am convinced He is allowing it for some reason and I need to be open to hearing what that reason is. I also know from Scripture that any affliction is for a season, it has a beginning and it will have an end, and God knows the timeframe. Will I trust Him and hang in there, continuing my memorization and “singing and making melody in my heart to the Lord?” Yes, I will. I found many a verse that spoke about praise, singing, and glorifying the Lord with speech, witnessing and bearing testimony to His goodness. And,…I remember that no matter how I “feel” God does not change, not one wit, He is ever the same and I can take that to the bank!

WHERE ARE WE IN OUR GROWTH PROCESS?????

2010-02-11T13:59:00.001-05:00

2 PETER 3:14 is a wonderful verse to use as a guide for our growth…we can check ourselves by these few words: “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless, and blameless.” The word diligent is perfect here, Peter means we are to be always on the alert, with our minds focused on how we are developing in Christ. Following are some markers I found in a DVD by Dr Charles Stanley. They have helped me immensely in my years as a Christian. They are good, common sense “rules.” We have no problem getting a physical checkup,”surface but seem to have trouble with spiritual checkups. We should not, as the spiritual is frequently more important than the physical. I would suggest writing them down and keeping them in your Bible or journal for future reference.

1. We should have a growing hunger for “more” of God. I have met far more superficial Christians than mature, committed ones. Sorry to say, “surface Christianity” is all too common and much is by choice. maturing is hard work.

2. We need a deep desire to know God’s truth, His deeper truths. It is God’s desire that we know Him “intimately.” That takes some doing, time and desire…Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life…” This says to me that one that does NOT know the Savior, cannot know truth. I know that is a strong statement but I believe it to be true…apart from a relationship with Him, we are unable to discern the truth, our thinking processes are crooked. Most people don’t realize that when we are born again, our minds are NOT born again, we are instructed to “renew” them. There are a number of verses that tell us that we have work to do on our minds. A good word study is looking up in a concordance the word mind, and write out the verses you find in your journal so you can meditate on them from time to time.

3. We become aware of our sinful state…not that mature Christians should see themselves as worthless or devalued in any way, rather it should make us sense in new ways, our desperate need for Him. The older I have grown in Christ, this very attitude has taken over in me. I KNOW I need Him more now. I am a single, live alone, and fully recognize my need to depend on Him for decisions, leading, and companionship. I understand how when I was a young believer I thought and acted on my own. But as I grew I realized what I was doing, and then what I should do, and proceeded to change my thinking. Now I take great comfort in “leaning” on Him and needless to say, my life is much more settled and comfortable.

4. We develop a quicker response to sinful thoughts, which becomes sinful deeds. At times early in our Christian life, we may even presume on God’s Grace and stay in a sinful behavior longer than we should. We know we’re growing when we can quickly take that offense to the feet of Christ and leave it there.

5. As we grow, the battle frequently becomes more intense, problems seem bigger, temptations more inviting. We can however, rest in the knowledge that the Lord is developing us into mature believers as He shows us His power to overcome ANY situation.

6. We have come to recognize that we do more growing in hard times than in peaceful times. God reveals Himself to us in the most exciting ways when our backs are against the wall and we have no choice but to His power to see us through the trial victoriously. Additionally, we discover character qualities in Him (and sometimes ourselves) that we didn’t see before.

7. There is a saying, LOVE is spelled TIME…as we grow, a sincere desire to serve develops and we want to give Him the time necessary to serve fully and well. That time for His work is given out of love for Him, not out of duty and it becomes very pleasurable. We also need to remember that God is not a hard task master, He wants us to pace ourselves and not overdue it. Proper rest keeps us at our best for Him.

8. We have come to understand that God is a sovereign God, and that good and bad both come from God’s hand and is under His control. We may not understand it all, but we have learned to trust. Romans 8:28 proves true…”all things” work together. “all things.”

9. We should see our faith growing, our confidence in His willingness to answer. He wants us to “pray big.” Nothing we can ask is too big for Him to handle and personally, I believe He enjoys surprising us with answers just to grow our faith. We can tell we are learning to let the Holy Spirit guide our asking also.

10. A big example of growth is wanting to share our Lord and our experiences with Him, with others. We understand that others need to know Him and w3e are willing to tell them.

11. We become willing, even eager to give to God’s work. He teaches us that His plan is that His people are to support His work. It helps us get out of the “me” point of view. We also will find the more we give, the more He gives back to us.

12. A true believer cannot divide up his life into little sections…God is active in every part of it. We find ourselves talking to Him all the time, it just becomes second nature.

13. He, and spending time with Him become our #1 priority…we give Him the first and best part of our day, willingly.

We have moved into an intimate relationship with the Savior…the best place to live from moment to moment!

ABIDING IN HIM AND OUR FRIENDSHIPS

2010-02-03T16:45:00.001-05:00

When you think about it, abiding in Christ should make us the best possible kind of friend. We should be able to show to others the best character qualities there are…Christ’s…the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control, Galatians 5:25. Others should be attracted to us BECAUSE we exhibit these qualities. But, for our sakes and for the sake of others we should have some mental ground rules for developing friendships. Think about these:

1. Be careful and take your time. You’re risking a lot, so do not be in a hurry.

2. Try to discern if this person is “free from neediness”…are they looking to you to make them feel good about themselves? (That’s God’s job)…are they requiring, perhaps demanding a lot of your time?

3. Are they “negative” in their conversation? Are they frequently putting a negative “spin” on situations? Do you find yourself feeding into their negativity when ordinarily you would not?

4. Do you feel “shut in” with this person…no one else allowed in?

5. Do you come away from time with them feeling distressed or even depressed?

These things need to be considered in forming friendships…it kind of falls into the area of an “unequal yoke”…believe it or not, some people can’t be fixed! They have chosen to stay where they are, and God being a gentleman, won’t force them to change. He will urge, but not force. People as I described above are always looking for friends…they wear out the ones they have and have to move on to others. So be careful!

So how do we make wise evaluations in forming friendships? Think about these things:

1. You share mutual concerns and interests.

2. The focus for each of you is doing something positive for the other.

3. We must be willing to risk rejection, and perhaps be misunderstood.

4. Be willing to understand and love unconditionally.

5. Be willing to be open and transparent.

6. Be willing to “serve” the other.

7. Be willing to confront…one of the most difficult things to do.

8. Be willing to ask for and give forgiveness, and say, “I’m sorry”

9. Accept criticism and praise gladly, have their best interest at heart

10. Be committed to the spiritual growth of the other, and allow the principles of Scripture to govern the relationship.

Few things in life are more rewarding than a mutual and edifying friendship! One of the most difficult things to do as a friend, is to understand what is going on at times. You know something is wrong but you just can’t put your finger on it…here are some things to consider when you are in that spot.

Attitudes that destroy relationships:

1. selfishness 2. manipulation 3. jealousy 4. criticism

5. anger/exploding 6. coveting 7. disloyalty 8. dishonesty

9. busyness

If you give some thought to the above, any of them can cause harm to a relationship…where do you stand?

Ways to heal and rebuild a relationship:

1. address the matter 2. determine what happened 3. apologize where appropriate 4. refuse to explain and/or defend yourself, God will do it for you…..5. Ask…what can I do? 6. make a commitment to rebuild…

Additionally, you may want to consider these things…

1. Am I projecting onto my friend something or a problem with someone from my past?

2. Am I acting fearful, afraid to open up or be transparent?

3. Am I expecting more than they can give?

4. Am I feeling rejected because of my own insecurity?

Considering our own true feelings and why you are having this problem can open up areas in our lives that need healing, a healing that only God can give. He wants us whole, and if we look at ourselves, and see we are over-reacting to someone’s desires or expectations in a friendship, we may need God’s touch for us too, personally.

Most of what I have written here i have learned from personal experience. Additionally, I’ve taught classes to inmates on Healing for Damaged Emotions for many, many years. All the while I taught, I continued to learn myself. God is awesome in His patience and love, as well as His desire for us to be whole. He is the One that makes that possible, try it…you’ll profit greatly.

DO WE KNOW HOW TO “ABIDE?”

2010-02-02T14:40:00.001-05:00

I don’t think I am alone in noticing that life in general is getting more difficult. It’s not just finances, jobs, and the accompanying situations but it’s interpersonal relationships and how we relate to each other, speak to each other, and respect each other. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong century, should have been born in the Victorian era…I may have fit better. I am also convinced that living a peaceful, fruitful life in our time frame, makes belonging to Christ imperative, I know I could not go on from day to day with general living, apart from relationship with the Lord. Years ago, John 15 made a big impact on me, the concept of “abiding” completely captured my imagination and created a deep desire within me to know the Lord in this manner. I’ve pursued it passionately and have never been sorry for the time and effort I put into it. Lots of reading, prayer, “think time,” and applying have become a permanent part of my daily life. Of course the application moves it from a vertical relationship to the horizontal plane, my learning experience expressed to those I come in contact with. This blog gives me the opportunity to express what I’ve learned over the years. Who knows but that someone may read my experience or think my viewpoint has value, and put it into their life. I believe that is a part of discipleship!

Abiding in Christ requires time…how much? Good question…think about this, we all know that God asks us for a tithe of our funds to finance His work. Well, what about a tithe of our time to “finance” our growth and closeness to Him…a tithe of our time is 2 hours 24 minutes each day. Think about that for a minute, and ask yourself how close you come. If we took that seriously, we Christians would set the world on fire! Our love for God shows itself in the following ways, 1) time spent with Him 2) talking with Him 3) thinking about Him and what His Word says 4) our feelings for Him, and expressing those feelings 5) trust…do we REALLY trust Him? Interesting ideas, right?

So how can we know we are abiding in Him?

1. We are being obedient to Him, and acting on what His Word says

2. We produce fruit…the fruit of the Spirit, which manifests itself by changes in our character, our conduct and attracting others to the Savior

3. We experience the pruning of the Father…difficult times, difficult people, difficulty prioritizing our lives.

4. We see our prayers being answered in new ways, because our asking has been altered.

5. We find we love, and are more patient and tolerant of others, particularly difficult people.

6 We live in the joy of the Lord, regardless of our circumstances.

As we think about these things, we have to wonder about our love for Him, for each other, and living in the world the way we should as far as our testimony goes. Friendships are very important, and we need to be aware of with whom to develop a friendship and who we are better off leaving alone…next time I’ll share some gleanings I’ve developed over the years.

WHERE HAS “THE HOME” GONE??????

2010-01-28T16:21:00.001-05:00

This little study really precedes yesterday’s about the church, but either way is a serious issue then…and now! God’s plans and institutions don’t change, too bad we fail to pay attention as we should. God established three institutions for society:

1. The Home 2. Human Government 3. Worshipping Community

The Worshipping Community consists of two groups:

1. Israel, Old Covenant 2. Church, New Covenant

First in time is the home (in time and significance) because the home is the basis for society. Is it any wonder the world is in such terrible shape if the home is foundational????? Satan always knows exactly where to attack to do the most damage. When God wedded Adam and Eve in the Garden, He laid the foundation for the social institutions humanity would build. When that foundation crumbles, society begins to fall apart (?)…Psalm 11:3. As we read in Judges 17:1-6, we can see that crumbling in action.

Dysfunctional families don’t come much more dysfunctional than this. Spiritually and morally dense, they managed to break almost every one of the Ten Commandments and not feel the least bit guilty before the Lord! In fact, they thought they were serving the Lord by the bizarre things they did. Does this ring any bells in anyone’s head? Look at this list:

1. The son dishonored his mother, stole from her and lied about it.

2. He coveted the silver and took it. Colossians 3:5 says coveting is idolatry.

3. He lied about the whole deal until the curse scared hi8m into confessing. He broke the 5th, 8th, and 9th, 10th, commandments

4. He broke the 1st and 2nd by having a shrine of false gods in his home.

5. He stole the silver, breaking the 3rd commandment and took the name of the Lord in vain.

Breaking seven of ten commandments without leaving home is quite an achievement! Deuteronomy 12 tells us the people were not permitted to have private ‘shrines” in their own homes. Micah’s mother made no attempt to deal with her son’s sins: his character surely didn’t improve by the way she handled the matter. She was a corrupt person herself, her son was no better. He ordained his own son to serve as priest…Micah knew the Levites were to be the only priests, anybody else serving as priests were to be killed, Numbers 3:10.

Because Micah and his family did not submit to the authority of God’s Word their home was a place of religious and moral confusion…a great deal like homes in our day where money is the God the whole family worships. If every home and family had Christ at the center and Head of the home, we could stop some of our crime before it starts. Godly homes are the foundation for a just and happy society.

Not only did God establish the home and instruct parents how to raise their children, (Deuteronomy 6) but He also instituted spiritual leadership in the worshipping community. Ander the Old Covenant, the tabernacle and then the temple were the center of the community and the Aaronic priesthood supervised both. Under the New Covenant, the Holly Spirit calls and equips ministers to serve Him and His people. Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4:1-6. In His Word, God told the Old Testament priests what they were supposed to do; and in His Word today the Holy Spirit guides His church and explains its order and its ministry. It’s all there…we need to read it, understand it, and obey it.

WHERE’S THE CHURCH GONE?????

2010-01-27T15:53:00.001-05:00

This is a story from the book of Judges, (17:7-13) a very up and down book to say the least. The time of the Judges came about after the death of Moses, the death of Joshua and no apparent leader to take the place of these two giants of leadership. The people of Israel were at loose ends due to no leader and what we see in the book are cycles of prosperity, indulgence and sin, falling away from God, judgment from God, conquering by a foreign nation, captivity, eventually back to prosperity, etc., etc. There are seven cycles like this throughout the book. It ends with these words, which I personally believe exemplify OUR day: “and because there was no leader in Israel, every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” This story is about a man named Jonathan. He was a Levite, who was living in the town of Bethlehem, no one of the designated towns for priests to live in. He was probably there because the Israelites were not supporting the Tabernacle and it’s ministry as God had commanded them to do. (you can read about how God intended His work to be funded, especially OT times in the Pentateuch, particularly Exodus-Deuteronomy.) When God’s people grow indifferent to spiritual things one of the first evidences of their apathy is a decline in their giving to the work of the Lord! Instead of seeking the mind of God for his future, Jonathan set out to find a place to work and live even if it meant abandoning his calling as a servant of God. The nation was at a low ebb spiritually, and quite possibly he could have done something to bring them back to God. It was his responsibility to do just that. Even though he was only one man, that’s all God needs to begin a work that can change a nation. Instead of being available to God, he was agreeable to men. He eventually found himself a comfortable home and job with a man named Micah. If Jonathan was typical of God’s servants in that time period, it’s no wonder the nation was confused and corrupt. He had no appreciation for his high calling as a Levite…he was a chosen servant of God! The Levites were to assist the priests in ministry, they were to teach the law to the people, be involved in the sacred music and praises of Israel. Numbers 3:6-13; Nehemiah 8:7; 2 Chr 17:7-9; 35:3; Ezra 3:10.

Jonathan gave it all up for comfort and security in the home of an idolater. Now bear in mind, Jonathan’s ministry with Micah wasn’t a spiritual ministry at all. He was a hireling…not a true shepherd, Judges 18:4; John 10:12-13. He didn’t serve the true and living God; he worked for Micah and his idols. He wasn’t a spokesperson for the Lord, he gave people what they wanted to hear, Judges 18:6. When he was offered a new and more favorable position, more money and people, and he took it. He then assisted his new employer in stealing his former employers gods!

Whenever the church has a “hireling ministry” God can’t bless. We need true and faithful shepherds who are called of the Lord, and are actively and completely serving Him…and doing it His way. He is not doing it for personal gain but out of love for his Lord and Savior. He knows he is called to stay with the flock, feed them, protect them, and lead them to the best of his ability. He will stay with that flock until God tells him otherwise, not making a move until He tells him so. True shepherds receive their calling directly from God, it is not a job opportunity, read Galatians 1:6. It must grieve god to see His people worshipping the idols of ministerial success statistics, buildings, entertaining programs and music, reputations, and more worldly ideas. What makes it worse, these hirelings will call what’s happening the blessing of God. Jonathans and Micahs will always find each other.

God should have been King in Israel and His Word, law…but the people preferred to do their own thing, Judges 21-25. Take for instance the tribe of Dan, who didn’t accept the assigned the assigned (by God) territory, but coveted another’s place. Joshua 19:51 was to oppose the divine will. Isn’t it the same today??? We aren’t willing to accept what God gives and instead want what somebody else has, and will do almost anything to get it, James 4:1-3. The corruption that is in the world is fed by “evil desires,” 2 Peter 1:4. The elders of Israel should have put a stop to the men of Dan as they moved north to conquer another’s territory. Covetousness is strong, and once people get an appetite for “something more” it is difficult to control them. When the Danites met up with Jonathan, they asked his counsel and he told them what they wanted to hear. He told them about Micah’s collection of god’s and the spies invaded the shrine and stole them! The Danites then hired Jonathan thus silencing him, he was always ready for a better job! When Micah discovered the shrine had been vandalized, he called his neighbors and they pursued them. But it was useless and Micah had to go home defeated. In verse 24 Micah says “what else do I have?” This reveals the folly and tragedy of “religion” apart from the true and living God.

The tribe of Dan was the first tribe to adopt an idolatrous system of worship. Their house of worship was in Shiloh, but they preferred their images and idols. Years later when the kingdom divided, Jeroboam 1 set up golden calves in Dan and Beersheba and encouraged the whole nation to turn away from the God of Israel, I Kings 12:25-33. the story of Micah, Jonathan and the Danites is more than a story, it is the revelation of the wickedness of the human heart and the hopelessness of human society without God. We truly should be mindful of this story in our day…we are proceeding to do the same thing!

MORE TOMORROW

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MESSAGE, con’t

2010-01-23T13:00:00.001-05:00

Continuing on about our Life Message…

6) Accept the fact that God loves you unconditionally…We humans have a very difficult time getting an understanding of unconditional love, mainly because whether we realize it or not, we love conditionally, I believe because of our fallen nature. Many times even our body language puts forth the idea that our love depends…God’s love is as far from that as possible…remember, He loved us before we even gave Him a thought! Conditional love is based mainly on performance, you do/act right (by our standard of right) and I will love you. Many…too many children perceive that fact very early in life, from a parent or guardian, and it sticks, unfortunately. If we are spending adequate time with the Lord, maturing in our attitudes and ways of interacting, we will develop an unconditionally loving attitude toward others, and REALLY show Christ to people who badly need Him.

7) God is in control of absolutely everything in life…we all SAY this, but don’t model it in our lives and live as if we do indeed believe it! We all like control, of ourselves and others. But, the real control tower, our minds, is God’s and HE SHOULD be the one controlling us. I think we should give this serious thought, because it ties into so many other areas. REMEMBER…when we are born again, our minds are NOT born again…the Scripture tells us in many places we are to renew our minds constantly by reading Scripture, meditating on it, memorizing it so that it sinks in and becomes real…what a privilege to think (and act) God’s very thoughts…see Colossians 1:9…and have His mind on everyday things.

8) Depend completely on the Holy Spirit for every direction…He requires that we submit to Him, and stay yielded in order to be effective in our service. We are gifted for service to the Body of Christ and placed where HE wants us to serve…see Romans 12:1-2…The place of service may be different than you would pick…why?…because God hates pride, and frequently will put us into ministry that isn’t easy for us to do in our own strength. Then we MUST depend on Him to do it through us. God hates pride so much, it is destructive to us, ruins our testimony and robs Him of the glory only He deserves. Another area where we need quiet time with Hi8m in order to be where and what we should be…we can never serve in our own strength but many times we will try. We mess it up, trust me, we incapable of doing the kind of job God wants done when we attempt to do it on our own. Additionally, in our own strength, we will feel proud and self-confident, something He hates.

9) Personal time of meditation is the best time we could ever spend. to be content and please God we MUST know the Word. Additionally, we must be familiar with the character of God, which can only be learned by knowing the Scripture internally and personally from cover to cover, observing the character studies contained in the Book. This reading and contemplating grows us and gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to conform us to the image of Christ and having His mind.

10) The Word of God will transform your life…YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!!!!! This transformation is the process God has ordained, He uses it to teach us about Him, our fallen nature and His plan to change that nature “line upon line, precept upon precept.” and as He tells Israel all through the Old Testament, “I tell you these things for your own good.” Indeed, YOU CAN TAKETHAT TO THE BANK!’

God bless you as you mull over these precepts. They worked for me, and they’ll work for you, if you’re willing.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MESSAGE, con’t

2010-01-22T14:10:00.001-05:00

Here are the principles I said I would post, things I’ve learned in my 30+ years of walking with the Lord…

1. Obey God and leave the consequences to Him. A phrase that is spoken frequently to the point I wonder if we take it seriously. I have found in obeying God what we would call “consequences” are not as devastating as we might expect. One thing I have learned: He is not A HARD TASKMASTER and doesn’t expect more than we can give. We many times get ourselves in positions that are harsh, and may be, but the question becomes, is it truly of God or did we bring it on ourselves? And…He always has a way of escape the harshness, but it will be HIS way!Bear in mind: A) We need to learn to listen to Him. 2) We need to learn to trust Him, and this takes practice, but is definitely worth it. As we read the Word, God reveals to us areas that need change…He wants us to ponder it as we sit quietly in His presence. I am pretty sure we have lost the ability to “be still” in our so-called modern society. God speaks with a still, small voice…when WE are quiet! When we are constantly on the move, He may have to bring something into our lives that forces us to “settle.” Quieting ourselves and being available to the Spirit takes devotion.

2. Learn to trust the Lord for everything you need. 1)Ask yourself if you are willing to stop worrying, fretting, being anxious, or frustrated. 2) Are you willing to believe what you see…what you hear…or what God says????? Most of us don’t even talk to God about our everyday decisions, our schedules, our purchases, plans and dreams…we just “do them”…I have found that God loves to be consulted about these seemingly small areas of our lives, He really does. Try saying to Him, “I don’t know the end from the beginning, but YOU do” and mean it. His response will surprise you!

3. Learn to wait on God. 1) He always has a specific time and purpose .2) Sometimes we wait because WE are not ready, or others are not ready, and sometimes He has a better way. Waiting today is almost a joke. now days, if you want it, go get it! it’s called “immediate gratification”…but God isn’t into that. He has a bigger picture, there are others involved, and He knows more than we do. Many times that quiet little voice inside us urges me to wait, be still, don’t do or say that…and the more I obey, the better things are. As a single woman living alone, it is a great comfort to me to know I can depend on God to this extent. I can trust Him to do only good for me and that takes much of the stress out of everyday living.

4. Give generously to God’s work. 1) Don’t be overly attached to “things”. Hold them loosely. 2) Ask God to protect you from greed and materialism. 3) Life isn’t made up of “things” but our relationship with God, and what we convey to others about Him.

5.Recognize you can’t and don’t live the Christian life on your own. As I said earlier, we are God’s Ambassadors, good or bad. How many times have you heard someone say, “if that’s what a Christian is like, I don’t want to be one,” I would not want to answer to the Lord for that kind of testimony.

That is only half the principles, the last ten I’ll post tomorrow. I trust they are a help to you as you seek to understand, trust and obey God, and learn to love Him better.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MESSAGE????

2010-01-20T15:52:00.001-05:00

How much thought have you given to the “picture” of your relationship with the Lord do you project to those you come in contact with? I’ve given it alot of thought, especially as I’ve grown older and seem to be bumping into too many what I would call “phonies”…Ii hate making that judgment but the Scripture says, “by their fruit (Gal 5) you will know them.” When a person’s lifestyle and interaction with others is blatantly ungodly, what other conclusion can you come to. At times I think to myself, “do they realize they will have to account to God one day, for very idle word?” Probably not, I can’t imagine they don’t care, and don’t think it through. But that only makes it even more important for the rest of the world of believers to live what the Scripture says.

What made me think about it was an a few incidents at the prison with the staff. They are usually a pretty hard-hearted bunch, not inclined to talk with chaplains, even small talk. A few years back, I became chaplain “by default.” I was very pleasantly surprised at the reaction of the staff, the helping attitude, the desire on their part to come to me with problems…family and personal. I realized they had been watching me for along time . I wasn’t aware of it, but they were, and obviously felt comfortable with me, enough to talk, one-on-one. The more I thought about it, I realized we should all be like that all the time. Our everyday lives should be so transparent and open that our commitment to Christ and His influence on us, would be obvious! We should display an attitude of acceptance and availability. I understand not everyone is a “people person.” And, even more sadly, not every professing Christian has gone though the process of maturing in areas where they are weak, where there are stronghold of anger and/or bitterness or other places of character or personality flaws. I think we need to think about that…there are thousands upon thousands of believers that have NEVER allowed the Spirit of God to refine them, deal with them in areas of their lives that need healing, and that is very, very sad. God desires balance in our lives, and is perfectly capable of making balance a reality in each and everyone of us. To minister to people, one needs to be whole, and only God is capable of doing that. He can and will, if we let Him. But usually we go about our lives after salvation in the same way we lived before we came to Christ. We bring all the accumulated baggage of the years and relationships prior to salvation right along with us, recognizing Christ cleansed us from sin and ASSUMING He dealt with our defects at the same time. WRONG!!! Our minds are not born again, and need to be renewed day by day. Over and over the Word tells us about renewing, abiding, having the mind of Christ…etc., etc. Do we do anything about it??? Usually not, we just go about our lives, continuing to ignore this very critical area of growth. How about you? Are there places in your heart/mind or spirit that you know are not what they should be but you aren’t sure what to do? You are not alone…if you want to talk about it, email me and we can talk.

Another area I ponder alot…what could we possibly do to please God or make Him happy? He doesn’t need us you know…but He loves us and has chosen to interact with us, even though many times I am sure we are a burden to Him. What can we possibly do to make Him pleased He made us His? Many months I read through the books of Psalms and Proverbs, 5 Psalms and 1 Proverb a day will take you through the two books in a month and give you a good grasp of the content of both. Tomorrow I will give you ten principles I gleaned from these two books that give us an idea of what pleases God.

ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST FROM SCRIPTURE?

2010-01-18T18:04:00.001-05:00

In the Christian life, it will never do to only accumulate knowledge. What you learn with your mind you must respond to from the heart in obedience. Then, and only then does it become yours…your own personal possession, one you can live, and share with others. You will find you can empathize with others trials and pain! There is a big difference between sympathy and empathy…most of us can sympathize with almost any situation that is difficult, but empathy takes personal experience…you can only empathize if you have “been there, done that.” Knowledge that is not filtered through the spirit of a redeemed man will make him proud and self-reliant, instead of obedient and even more dependant on the God who gave Him the knowledge to begin with. Appropriation…a big word, an important word…when knowledge becomes yours through personal experience and understanding, you have turned that knowledge into wisdom by the power of God in you!!! The world and other Christians are looking for people of God that are living what Scripture says…they are looking in the hope that God and His Word are real…will you live it in front of them?

GODLY WISDOM… is seeing things from God’s point of view and responding appropriately. Here are some ways to walk with wisdom.

1. Have a strong desire to walk wisely.

2. Learn to meditate on the Word, portions that “stand out”to you.

3. Learn to turn your mind to the truths in the Word, use the “grid” in Phil 4:8 to filter the truth.

4.Don’t be afraid to “step put” on something the Scripture tells you to do, take the step and leave the consequences to Him.

5. Learn to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Learn from your mistakes, and never be afraid to ask yourself, “why do I feel/do this way.”…

6. Believe that God is all-wise, that you CAN trust Him, and when you do, listen, He’ll protect you and keep you safe with integrity.

7.Have the courage to do what God asks of you, even when you don’t understand, (it isn’t necessary to understand, but it is necessary to obey), and are fearful. Understand clearly that you will never go wrong trusting and obeying God.

THE RESULTS…

1.You will gain a clear picture of who God is and will see His point of view.

2. You will gain clear direction about God’s plan.

3. You will also gain God’s protection from wrong thinking an action.

4 God will provide the strength and power to accomplish the task.

5. Peace and contentment will become a personal possession for this kind of obedience and humility.

6. Prosperity, materially and spiritually will be yours according to Prov. 8:17-21. This does not mean that you will become a millionaire, but you will definitely have what you need.

7. This kind of walk with the Lord contributes to long life and good health. Additionally, you will become a blessing to those whose lives you touch…family, friends and co-workers.

STANDING ON THE PROMISES…

When you find promises in the Word, and you are having difficulties with an issue in your life, think about these things in regard to answered prayer…

1. Does this promise meet my personal need/desire?

2. Am I asking, yet being submissive to His will?

3. Would God’s fulfilling this promise honor Him?

4. Could this answer harm or interfere with His will for another?

5. Does the Holy Spirit bear witness that God is pleased with my request?

6. Does my request contradict the Word of God?

7. Will the answer further my spiritual growth?

Learning to know the promises of the Word, to ask with confidence because you know you are in His will, can lead you on a wonderful life of intimacy with Creator of the Universe…imagine that!!!! Intimacy is about a relationship, not a gift exchange. When we live expectantly, serve Him purely, slow down and spend seasons with Him in His Word, in prayer and meditation…He fills your soul with HIMSELF. God doesn’t meet us at the Mall…He meets us in the inner sanctum of our hearts. If it’s intimacy we want, we need to be more intrigued with the Giver than the gift. Not the stuff He does for us, but HIM!…to experience Him more than we do, more than all the things we are attracted to and we will find that He and He alone…IS SUFFICIENT!!!!

THOUGHTS ON THE PARABLES

2010-01-16T17:47:00.001-05:00

When Jesus finished these parables, He asked the disciples if they understood…they said yes. Hearing and understanding involves responsibility1 and to illustrate this He told another parable. In verse 52 Jesus speaks of the teacher of the law…a steward perhaps, one that dispenses out of the household things both old and new…He is telling the disciples to be prepared to not just hear and record in the mind what they are learning but to align them with Old Testament teaching, and be willing and able to give it out…live it and give it…the household steward is responsible to the master to guard the treasure and dispense what is needed, where and when it is needed. Teachers of the Gospel are to do the same, carefully and fully, remembering they are accountable to the Master.

From verse 53 to the end of the chapter, Jesus is in Nazareth, His hometown, teaching and preaching. And, causing a stir! The Scripture says they were OFFENDED with Him. He annoyed them! they wanted to know who He thought He was!!!! We need to remember that if we are teaching/living the Gospel our lives and teaching WILL OFFEND OTHERS JUST AS HE DID! Part of our identity with Him is this form of persecution…misunderstanding perhaps, but it will happen because of WHOSE we are, it is our lot and our privilege! THEY knew who He was, the son of Mary and the carpenter…they did indeed know Him after the flesh but they surely didn’t KNOW who He was! Pity…He was from that time on referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, and His followers Nazarenes, but there was no hometown reception for Him…Matthew chooses this incident to close out the section on “rebellion against the King.”

There are other interesting parables worthy of our thinking about. Three in particular speak to us about our attitude and compassion toward those we are to serve.

Matthew 18:12-14 THE LOST SHEEP

I personally love this one, it speaks of the concern of the Shepherd for EACH sheep…one has wandered away and He goes and finds it, and rejoices much that it is found. He states that it is not His will that even ONE should be lost. It reminds me of another, recorded for us in Luke 15:11-32 THE PRODOGAL SON…such a beautiful picture of God’s desire for us to “come home” to Him. The prodigal son his inheritance (in those days this would indicate he wished his father was dead), left home and lived an utterly debauched lifestyle until his money ran out. When He realized what was happening to him, he repented and returned to his father. In the parable, the Father was ALWAYS looking for his son to return, and when he saw him coming, he ran to meet him with his arms opened wide, eagerly forgiving and loving him. He ordered a feast to be prepared and there was rejoicing and happiness in the home. The older brother, however, who still had his inheritance and would gain everything his father had, was sullen and angry…Jesus in the parable was talking to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who like the elder brother were self righteous, prejudice, indifferent to repentant sinners…

Matthew 19:16-26, THE RICH YOUNG RULER

This is another favorite, mainly because I use it as a yardstick with prisoners, particularly as they prepare to leave for home.The parable tells us that he came to Jesus, asked Him some questions, which the Lord answered. He still persisted on asking more, again Jesus answered. Finally, Jesus got to the heart of the matter…the man’s HEART attitude toward his life. He was more interested in “doing” than in “being”. Jesus told him to divest himself of his belongings and become a follower…the man could not do it! He was apparently very comfortable with what he had, both in possessions and in position, and wasn’t willing to “see” that these two “things” in his life would keep him from God’s best. Many times we are willing to settle for doing good things for God, when He really wants us to be “perfect” just as He is…He wants us to mature, whole and complete, not holding onto “stuff”…we are like the rich some ruler, we decline the Lord’s offer and move on. This is the part I like…Luke says, “Jesus looked on him with love,…and let him go”!!!!One of the most difficult parts of a mentor’s job is the “letting go”…for whatever reason…and there are many times we must “let him go.”

We serve a gracious, loving Father, One who wants us to enjoy His heaven with Him. He works very hard on us to prepare us for that pleasure. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases we resist His grace, and lack of forgiveness is a prime offender, but not the only one. We really need to think long and hard, are we “hearing” all that we should, and are we responding in a positive way to the Holy Spirit, and His urging us to really be reconciled to God. Not only salvation, but are we allowing God to have His way???? He wants us to have the same mind and heart as Christ. We are to be conformed to His image…the question is…ARE WE??????

THOUGHTS ON THE PARABLES

2010-01-13T16:59:00.001-05:00

Satan has been known to use some distinctive ploys…here are a few:

1. False teachers who lie and contradict God’s Word.

2. Fear of what others will think.

3. Pride,…that binds one to sin, the need for salvation and the further need for sanctification, and cultivates the desire to compromise.

4. Telling oneself, “I’m not so bad,” or “I can help myself.”

5. Doubt

6. Prejudice

7. Stubbornness

8. Procrastination

9. Love of the World

10. Love of sin

The superficial hearer eagerly embraces the message of salvation with great emotional excitement but in reality the acceptance is shallow. They NEVER count the cost, they NEVER repent of sin…remorseful, maybe…but true repentance indicates a willingness to leave sin and go the other way…toward godliness. They NEVER die to self…self and self gratification stays in the front of the mind, and whenever trial comes, they escape into their sin and their old life, and the old life in part is doing or working things out for yourself instead of waiting for God, and His BEST for your life. And this is not too difficult, because they never really turned from it! Sadly, this type of person fills our churches…and THINK they are saved because they are active and zealous for the church…they are rarely consistent, the “feelings” have changed but not the heart…that rocky, hard place below the surface of the heart that was never penetrated by the Gospel. And with the stresses of life, they fall away in despair.

The worldly hearer (such as the Rich Young Ruler), are those who hear the Word taught, even agree, but are in reality very worldly. The Gospel cannot take root in this heart! It cannot root or grow because their first love is for the “things” of life and they see these things as having more meaning to them, than spiritual things. Tragic, but true. They find they must work for them and work hard…but that’s not God’s plan…He offers a gift, but we must take it, and at times, give up the tangible for the spiritual. This kind of person works too many hours to give God any quality time, spend their money on “things”…entertainment and fine dining, fitness, exotic vacations, to “get away from it all,” definite wants but not needs. Their life is full of thorns and weeds. In the end they must choose, their love for worldly things or identification with Christ which is true cross-bearing…the two cannot co-exist. Genuine faith will turn away without a second thought, from anything that puts a strain on the relationship or fellowship with God.

The receptive hearer is the one who hears the Word, and understands…the only barrier to salvation is unbelief! Good soil accepts Christ on HIS TERMS, hearing, understanding, bearing fruit…the maximum amount of fruit can be born by the heart of obedience you show forth. Obedience is the key to a fruitful life, and is very pleasing to God.

Matthew 13:31-52… The mustard seek and yeast seem to us that Jesus was saying that in spite of great opposition, the “kingdom” would grow abnormally…false growth…room in it for wheat and tares, (the darnel of the middle east could not be told from real wheat until after the harvest), outwardly giving a false picture of expansion. The leaven is an inward thing…false living and false being…clearly present today and I’m sure in many ages past.

Matthew 13:44-45… The treasure is the nation of Israel, (Exodus 19:5; Psa 135:4;) it was put here to being glory to God…it failed! There are many who teach that Jesus died for all in order to save Israel, (John 11:51; Isa 53:8). Due to their rejection, they have suffered judgment and seeming destruction but in God’s sight, they are “hidden”…and will be revealed yet in a future time, with great glory. God sees Israel as His Treasure and will one day establish her in her glorious kingdom.

Matthew 13:45-46… The pearl represents the church. Today the church, the Body of Christ, is made up of gentiles and believing Jews, (Ephesians 2:11) Unlike most gems, the pearl is a unity…it cannot be carved up like a diamond or emerald. The church is a unity, (Ephesians 4:4-6) even though here on earth there is division. Like a pearl, the church is a product of suffering. Christ’s suffering made possible her existence. A pearl grows gradually, so does the church and so do we as members of the Body. And as the pearl grows underwater where it cannot be seen, so the growth of the true church cannot be seen clearly.

Matthew 13:47-50… the net or dragnet is pretty evident…fishermen throw out the net and it drags along the bottom and gathers what it will. Even so, the church gathers “what it will,” believers and pretenders, and God Himself will do the separating.

THOUGHTS ON THE PARABLES

2010-01-12T20:25:00.001-05:00

I have always thought of the parables as the teachings of the King…Jesus had such a wonderful way of expressing Himself and using as examples, familiar items. Obviously He wanted people to understand what He was telling them, even going to the extent of calling the disciples aside and giving them detailed explanations. Sometimes they got it, sometimes they didn’t. But…after the resurrection, they understood it all. For the next day or two I’ll be blogging on my view of the parables, so here goes!

Matthew 13 is a dividing point in the teaching of the Lord. Prior to this, He taught in the synagogues, to His own people the Jews as was His instruction from the Father. His manner of teaching was straight-forward and with authority. He performed miracles to show His Messiahship, according to the Scripture. But the Jewish leaders didn’t want this meek, loving, truth-telling Jesus…He didn’t fit THEIR picture since they were looking for a Messiah-King to deliver them from Rome, and give the leaders more prominence. It’s really interesting that the most spiritually blessed and enlightened of all generations turned its back on the King, the very Son of God…and He, after many attempts to show them, pronounced judgment on them…read what He said to them in Matthew 21:33-45!

Does this mean that God’s plan for Israel has been frustrated and failed? Not at all…it simply means the final fulfillment will come about at a later time, a time when Israel WILL believe! In the meantime, an interval of time is in operation, (see John 1:12), a period not revealed in the Old Testament, one that the Lord referred to as a mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven, read Matthew 13:11. It begins with His rejection and crucifixion, even though they continued to preach to the Jews until the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, and it continues until the present time. The parables were primarily directed at His disciples/followers, intended to teach them what His kingdom was going to be like, what they could expect as they (and we) take up the preaching and teaching of the kingdom. When we read Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God, they mean the same thing. Matthew used “Kingdom of Heaven” in his gospel 32x’s, and it is not used anywhere else.

Jesus admonished His listeners in three ways…in Matthew He says “let him hear”…in Mark 13:9 He says “be careful what you hear”…and in Luke 8:18 He says “be careful how you hear”…the word hear is used in Matthew 19x’s and is very good advice!

MATTHEW 13:1-30… A parable is taking a commonly known object or practice and using it to illustrate truth or a principle. Jesus was hiding truth, wrapping it up so to speak, in order to continue to teach His disciples the things they needed to know to carry out the plan of the Father. The word parable itself means, “to cast alongside…a story or comparison put alongside something else to make the lesson clear:”…this method of teaching enabled Him to continue His teaching, to adapt to their capacities, and because he knew principles were grasped better when pictures were painted. Also, He could severely reprove His enemies without giving open offense. He intended that His teaching give understanding of His words and the principles he was teaching, to those who trusted in Him. Please read Mark 4:34. He speaks of the interval as a mystery…the revelation of something previously unknown, a spiritual truth known only by divine revelation. Only those on the “inside” were told the truth, and told by Him!

In this parable the sower is the Lord…the seed is the Word and the soil is our hearts…every human heart is capable of redemption…there is no such thing as a naturally unredeemable heart. If a person is never saved, it is because they made a choice not to “hear” and respond to the work of God…John6:37 says “the one who comes to me I will in no way cast out.” All COULD receive the seed and then participate in the life available to all believers. The difference in the soils is not in their composition but in their condition, according to Dr John MacArthur. In the parable, the sun represents persecution, and persecution helps true believers to grow…but…it will kill a plant with no root! This explains who some believers don’t last…their faith was weak, understandingly meager, (no root) and their decision insincere. It is difficult to comprehend that according to this parable, 75% of professing believers are not believers at all! John 2:23-25 tells us it IS possible to believer and yet not be saved. UNLESS FRUIT IS EVIDENCED IN THE LIFE, THERE IS NO SAVING FAITH IN THE HEART!

Here are some fruitful evidences of true salvation:

1. Holiness……….Romans 6:22

2. Christian Character……….Galatians 5:22-23

3. Good Works……….Colossians !: 10

4. Winning Others To Christ……….Romans 1:13

5. Sharing What We Have……….Romans 15:25-26

6. Praising God……….Hebrews 13:15

Four kinds of soil in the parable are as follows

1). Unresponsive 2). Superficial 3). Worldly 4). Receptive

The unresponsive hearer has no understanding because of a hard heart. The Old Testament calls it “stiff-necked!” He is unconcerned with the things of God, will spend little or no time with the Lord, hardly reads the Word, is very good at excuses, still has the same priorities as when he was unsaved, and is generally indifferent to anything spiritual. There has been no penetration by the seed, of the heart and mind. This insensitivity and resisting leaves one open to the enemy…who comes along at first opportunity to snatch away what has been sown…remember, Satan is an imitator…he plants false Christians, encourages false growth, and introduces false doctrine. And boy, is he good at it! Since he cannot uproot true Christians, those with roots, he’ll plant counterfeits in their midst, and counterfeits in the fellowship do great damage…read 2 Peter 2 and 1John 4:1-6. He loves to work, as God’s people sleep.

Waiting and Delays…What a Drag!

2010-01-10T14:32:00.001-05:00

We were wondering about '”knowing” the voice of Jesus, wondering if we were talking to ourselves…Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me, “ John 10:27. Identifying the voice of God SHOULD BE the normal, natural part of any committed believer’s life and walk. But, a new-born lamb would not necessarily know the Shepherd’s voice. A sheep that has been with the Shepherd for awhile SHOULD know His voice! That is part of maturity…recognizing that particular voice. As you pray and seek the Lord’s mind, (see 1 Cor 2:16), you will know you have heard from Him…hard to describe, but you KNOW…peace settles in as you sense the instructions coming to mind, you sense the “rightness” of what you are hearing, and sometimes wonder what took you so long to “get it.” Naturally, it is not an audible voice, but believe me, you know that you have heard from Him. Here are some guidelines to help you as you get to know Him better and are listening for His instruction…

1. What you hear will always be consistent with His Word… God will NEVER tell you to do something or pursue a relationship or business arrangement that is not of Him, and the principles of His Word. Whatever you are hearing, ask yourself, “is this in line with the Word?” Please note here…if you have not built the Word into your life, and developed a close relationship with your Savior so that you are familiar with His character, you may be very confused about whether you are being guided by the Lord.

2. The Lord’s guidance will contradict the philosophy of the world. If we look at the life of Jesus, we find that His ministry often contradicted the way of the world. In my own life, that very thing has happened more than once, and He always clearly showed me the correct way, His way. He taught His followers to forgive while the world teaches us to get even. He admonished them to go the extra mile, even with an enemy. But the world tells us to take all we can and worry about no one but ourselves. God exhorts us to live our lives according to His value system and not the world’s, which is anti-god and anti-faith.

3. What God teaches you will clash with your fleshly desires. God never requires us to do something that is inconsistent with the Scripture, we know that….Satan is the one who entices us to gratify the flesh. We serve a God who enjoys us and intends for us to enjoy life to the full…(John 10:10). His prescription for lasting fulfillment is this: “Seek first the kingdom of God and ALL these things will be given to you.” Instantaneous gratification is nothing more than the flesh seeking to have it own way, it’s desires met. Jesus, instead teaches us to gratify the Spirit and not the flesh…then we will know peace.

4. God speaks word of courage and encouragement to us. God’s word to Joshua was, “be strong and courageous, do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” Jos 1:9. God is omniscient, He is sovereign over all things, and He will never leave us. He provides the courage and strength we need from day to day. However, we need to listen as Joshua did, for his encouragement. If we spend our days running and rushing around, we will miss what God’s Spirit wants to say to us. We need to learn to be still before God! This is what King David did whenever he faced a challenge. He listened for God’s Word to him. The Lord encourages those who seek His way for their lives.

5. God’s Word causes us to consider the consequences of our sin and it’s effect on others. Our actions affect others. Therefore, we have a responsibility to do what is right before God and those we love. We may think our private sin does not hurt anyone but us, but in reality it hurts the entire body of Christ.

6. What we hear contributes to our spiritual growth. We learn by reading and studying God’s Word. The Apostle Paul writes, “faith comes from hearing and hearing comes by the Word of Christ,” Romans 10:17.

7. God’s voice builds faith and brings a calmness to our lives. As you learn to hear and discern the voice of God, a distinct calmness fills your heart. Paul called it, “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, “ Phil 4:7. I can testify from personal experience, this is so. Peace and contentment are a precious gift of God, He loves to give it to those who listen to Him.

God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. He speaks primarily through His Word, through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other, godly people. By applying what you hear to the truth of Scripture, you can learn to recognize His voice! God bless you as you “listen” for His voice!

WAITING AND DELAYS…WHAT A DRAG!!!

2010-01-09T16:01:00.001-05:00

One of the most essential aspects of Christian living, waiting…our God uses it to work into us patience and endurance. Patience, faith, deep faith, and trust in the Living God to work character into us is very foreign to life in America today. As we allow the Holy Spirit to build them into our lives, we mature and take on the character of Christ as God intends for us to do.

What does it mean to WAIT in a Biblical sense? It means to stay where you are, continue doing what you currently are doing, until you receive further instruction from Him! It involves CHOICE,…TO CONSCIOUSLY AND ACTIVELY WAIT FOR HIS ANSWER!

Why wait? He only gives us clear direction when we wait to receive it. And, it is much easier when you are already walking in the Spirit!

To what purpose? God uses the waiting time to get us in tune/step with Him…our decisions effect others, and have an equal effect on those around us.

And what about delays? Brother Lawrence words…”keep my attention on God,” remind us of the words of the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Colossian believers, “set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God,” Col 3:2-3. There is a secret to the Christian life that many overlook. Paul, however, understood it and often wrote about it. Jesus practiced it daily and taught it to His disciples. It is the discipline of maintaining a fixed focus on God!

If Peter had practiced this, he would have never noticed the raging waves billowing at his side that night on the stormy Sea of Galilee. But we often do what Peter did, we start out with our spiritual gaze set on Christ, only to have it drift over to the varying circumstances of life. When this happens we fall to the feelings of insecurity, fear, anxiety, anger and more.

The writer of Hebrews also admonishes us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, “ Heb 12:2. Again, Paul advises us to fix our eyes on what is seen, nor on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal, “ 2 Cor 4:18.

Focusing on the troubles of Your life only diverts your attention away from God. Apart from Jesus Christ, nothing has the power to heal what is hurt or to correct what has been damaged. Only God has the ability to calm your fears, lay to rest your suffering, and bring peace tin place of frustration and sorrow. When you are listening for God’s voice, how do you know He is the One speaking? Are you hearing some other voice? People say, “I am asking the Lord for direction in my life, but it’s as if I’m hearing two different voices. How do I know that God is the One who is speaking to me, or if Satan is telling me to do this? Or…am I just talking to myself?????

WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT…NEXT TIME!

JOHN 13, Servanthood, part 4

2010-01-08T17:57:00.001-05:00

I would suggest re-reading John 13 before reading on…Jesus loved them and us with a kind of love unknown to we humans, a humble, unassuming and unconditional kind of love. He modeled it well. Listed here a a few of the character qualities of Christexhibgited in this act of selfless service on His part…

1. There is no attitude of “me first” but a willingness to assume a lowly position.

2. A deep devotion to doing what was needful for another.

3. A delight in doing for others, no hesitation or begrudging to serve

4. A conscious dependence on the Father, not only here but in everything He did.

5. He was always in control of HIs thoughts, He never exhibited worry or mindfretting.

6. He kept distance from anything that encouraged pride.

7. He was determined to be obedient.

He was clearly teaching that there is complete cleansing in our acceptance of Christ as our Lord and Savior…but we must be mindful of the sin around us that will contaminate and affect us, sometimes pulling us into thoughts and actions we do not want in our lives. Then, we need to take them to Him for “foot washing”…confession, so as not to break fellowship with Him and allow guilt or shame to separate us even for moments of time.

How gracious of Him to speak to Peter about his denial…it did not keep Peter from denying, but it must have helped him to bear the shame of what he had done after the fact. Peter was always the spokesman, always speaking up, many times “putting his foot in his mouth” by speaking up, but his love for the Lord was very real and Jesus knew it. Judas on the other hand had his own agenda, also something Jesus was aware of: we see that clearly at the end of this chapter. I think something is very clear here…the total humanness of everyone involved. Jesus great love for the men, and they loved Him back, but with a different kind of love, more like the way WE love. We all tend to love conditionally, we don’t mean to, but we do, it is the human way. Jesus though totally human, was also God, and knew and loved them as well as us, from the foundation of the world. And His love was complete, full, untarnished by any human tendencies.
They needed to see that, so that they could know how they were to love each other, as He had loved them.I am sure is was not easy for them to put into practice this kind of love. Only the Holy Spirit can produce that quality of love in us…and to have it, we must be willing to put aside our pettiness, our controlling instinct and self-love.The last thing I want us to look at is Judas. In verse2 we read that Satan had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus. I remember years ago, a Pastor taught that Judas was anxious for the Kingdom…now! Jesus was not going in that direction and Judas thought he could help Him out…put Him in a position to HAVE to assume the kingship. Then, Judas could be a big deal, have a higher position in Jesus government. Perhaps! Anyway, in verse 27, Jesus identified His betrayer, He handed him the bread dipped in the dish. And the Word says, “immediately, Satan entered into him,” that sends chills up my spine. What an awful thing. Judas was with Jesus three years, and yet was so blind he could hand Him over to the Pharisees and soldiers…with a kiss! What a hypocrite!

I think it unfortunate that in many cases we really don’t look at these men as human beings, just like us. They had the same heart, mind, vices, habits, baggage…and Jesus knew it and them. In the next few chapters He is going to give them some wonderful advice…and promises. They are ours today, He wants the best for us, in many cases more than we want it for ourselves…but that’s another blog!!!!

MRS JOB

2010-01-07T18:07:00.001-05:00

We are all familiar with the Biblical story of the life of Job, but how many of us have thought of the effect Job’s suffering had on his wife? I really think she gets a “bum wrap” from most of us because she said in her frustration, “do you still maintain your integrity (piety)? Curse God and die!” We forget or don’t think of the effect all this tragedy and suffering had on her…loss of ten children, all of their belongings and wealth gone, household at the very least disbanded…and her husband suffering severely in his flesh, living outside of the city, alone. Remember that no one knew about the scene in Heaven between God and Satan, which is part of the reason Mrs Job and Job’s friends searched for explanations.

The Scripture isn’t clear exactly when the book of Job was written, but most conservative scholars place it after Babel and either before or contemporaneous with Abraham. They knew about Adam (ch 31) and the flood, (ch 12), and it was during the time when the
Chaldeans that murdered servants (ch 1)were nomads, having not yet become city dwellers. I hardly think life was easy for women back then, even when they were wealthy enough to have servants to help. Think about the physical logistics of every day life then, the cooking, cleaning, sewing and weaving, laundry, etc., the lack of sanitation and any kind of medical care other than what was available to them with herbs and roots…this woman had given birth at least ten times and raised those children. She apparently conducted the household efficiently, honoring her husband, and was a respected member of “the community",” Now again, not knowing the scene in Heaven, what would happen “normally” in this kind of a situation and to US!!!!In dire situations, it is frequently easier to deal with the physical than the spiritual. We would begin to second guess God and His goodness…remember too, there was no written Scripture then, nothing to “go to” for comfort, and I would guess it was extremely difficult at that particular time to remind yourself that God had something “bigger and better.” Let’s take the liberty of conjecture about Mrs. Job, the possible bad and the good…think about it in terms of things and the emotions involved that have happened to us.

1. She scoffed at Job’s dependence on God, she said “do you STILL”

2. She was looking at his predicament, not the Person in charge of the predicament…Job’s condition had received Sovereign authorization, but that was unknown to her,

3. She saw the hardship, not the heart/hearts God was working on.

4. Her feelings for her husbands suffering were getting in the way of her focus on God and what He was doing.

5. Her “name and position” were important to her…what would people think!

6. She couldn’t see an answer or a way out of this terrible dilemma.

7. Her suggestion for solving Job’s situation offered him no comfort.

8. She couldn’t see God’s “character building in action” or the “hereafter”vs here and now.

I offer none of these criticisms of Mrs Job…I have been guilty of these attitudes myself on numerous occasions, and that realization in itself has caused me to take a “deeper look” at the spiritual and emotional issues of life, especially suffering/testing in the life of believers. Let’s think about a few reasons why God allows us to suffer

1). Reasons concerning God Himself:

a. to bring Him glory

b. to show His Sovereignty

c. to give US insight into His nature and character.

2). Reasons concerning us:

a. with regard to fruit bearing, patience, joy, maturity

b . sorrow over our own lack or condition

c. God’s concern /sorrow over us and love for us causes Him to chasten/prune (cut away sin and hindrances that would drain spiritual life)

d. God’s grace…not silent suffering but profiting and giving God glory!

e. Godly suffering is not intuitive, it’s learned!

f. Growing to maturity by means of submission and the learning process.

g. expressing in word and lifestyle change, the grace of God in changing us.

h. accepting hardship as the expression of His sovereign will…He chooses to bring us into line.

i. recognition of our call to maturity…suffering/hardship serves a purpose toward growth and maturity TO HIS ETERNAL GLORY!!

J. we will stand in His presence, mature, TO HIS ETERNAL GLORY!!

k. the entire process of bringing sons to glory, conformed to His image, will be TO HIS ETERNAL GLORY!!

John and Servanthood, Part 3

2010-01-06T15:07:00.001-05:00

In our humanness, how can we ever hope to live this kind of life? Well, one way and one way only…in total reliance on the Lord and allowing Him to lead us into an Abiding Life. Now what does that mean? Simply put, it means to remain or stay around, stay close, and listen up! Another definition I heard once is “to settle down, and make yourself at home”…it speaks strongly of identity with Him, as it says in Hebrews, “bearing His reproach outside the camp”…living as He lived…for the Father’s glory. His reproach…what does that mean? He uses the word abide 11x’s in this chapter…it must be pretty important. Fellowship with Him, His life working in and through us to produce fruit, (Gal 5), being obedient is a key issue, and leaves us no excuse to continue on in our own, self-propelled manner. Obedience is a concept we take to very well, we would much rather do our own thing, and usually we think we are “entitled”…we live in a world like the time of the Judges. The last verse in that book speaks of that time frame, but it also addresses ours. “And every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25. But let’s go back to the beginning for a little understanding…Adam and Eve…their obedience or lack of it. The Lord gave them one restriction in their perfect environment…don’t eat, and they did. Imagine that, perfect people, in a perfect environment, and yet sin entered the human race by way of our “federal head”…Adam. All of his descendants now carry his original sin. Christ, the Second Adam, perfectan, perfect life, provided the unblemished sacrifice the Father’s holiness required. He paid the penalty for the original sin of all those that would believe on His name and accept the gift of forgiveness the Father offers. Price paid, fellowship restored, glory coming. His sinless life and sacrificial death took care of the sin issue as far as the Godhead was concerned. Now, mankind could be put back into relationship with God as HE intended from the beginning. When we are born again, the natural spirit (or “old man” as Paul calls it in Romans 6) is where the transaction takes place. know the flesh isn’t made new, we still have the same bodies. And guess what? The mind isn’t born again either…the Scripture tells us we are to “RENEW THE MIND”…HOW???? By reading and reading and reading the very Words of God, His thoughts, His rules, His loce and mercy. All the way through, we must allow His words to wash our minds and attitudes. We have many years of baggage accumulated in our minds that need to be gotten rid of, things we did and said and thought as unbelievers they are now unacceptable. We will give God this time of reading, meditating, memorizing and studying, and do it gladly once we realize what a waste we are in our pathetic, self-absorbed, unrenewed self interest. God means for us to listen to the Holy Spirit as He convicts us of our bad attitudes and behaviors…and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!!! It is not an easy thing to allow God to deal with our old man/flesh…it is messy, nasty and hurtful. It is also a process that takes years and years, alot of hard work. But…here we are at the top of a new year, a good time to begin, so make a plan! There’s saying, aim at nothing and you’re sure to hit it”…make a plan and work it, you’ll never be sorry! ABIDING…BECOMING ONE WITH HIM…NO GREATER GOAL FOR A NEW YEAR!

Jesus and Servanthood, John 15, part 2

2010-01-05T15:24:00.001-05:00

Whenever jesus taught, he used familiar illustrations to insure the hearers would understand. Here He used A VINE, BRANCHES, A VINEDRESSER. This chapter also explains what happens when we don’t listen and obey. Read verses 1-6, and notice He says THE FATHER does two things: 1) He takes away branches that do not bear fruit…2) He prunes brances that do bear to increase production. The whole chapter is pocess we will ALL go through if we are indeed, IN CHRIST! One of the things I like in these chapters is that they do away with the notion that anyone who says they are a Christian…is. What What the Scripture says is that is we say we are a Christian, we will live like one, according to what is in the Scripture as a measuring rod. We will bear fruit to God’s glory by abiding, being obedient and evidencing a changed life. Galatians says “it is no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me”…Gal 2:20. It also says, “I” am crucified with Christ. We use those words, but do they have meaning to us? I think not…Jesus said, “whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, an follow Me. “ Matt 16:24; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:22-26. What does this mean????? Denying myself does not mean doing without something, or giving more to the needy. It is giving up my right to run my own life…it is saying to God and meaning it, (as Isaiah did) “here am I, send me”…it is being willing to do things God’s way no matter the cost. And bear in mind, God’s way is usually contrary to the world’s way. Taking up our cross isn’t putting up with a nasty wife or boss, enduring a painful illness, etc., which is what most people think it means. What it DOES mean is being willing to be identified with the cross and He whose life was given up there. In Roman times only the most vile thief or murderer was crucified. And mind you, Jesus wasn’t very popular with the “in” crowd, the religious leaders as well as the worldly gang. Scripture says, “He was despised and rejected of men”…His family didn’t understand Who He was, and in fact thought Him crazy. His disciples didn’t comprehend His Messiahship, nor that He was God in the flesh. He ma have been the most solitary person that ever lived. Taking up your cross is being willing to assume that kind of identity and life…are you willing??? I have found over the years that most people have trials of one kind or another, but for some reason unknown to me, do not see those trial or circumstances as an opportunity to identify with the Lord of Glory.

Jesus and Servanthood, John 13

2010-01-04T14:45:00.001-05:00

John chapters 13-17 happen to be favorites of mine. I don’t believe there are any more beautiful and meaningful chapters in all of God’s Word. The content of these chapters is intense. Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, had acquired a private room in which to share it. It was referred to as the Upper room. Jesus knew exactly what He was facing an when, knew it was imperative to have the disciples prepared for what they were facing. He completely understood their need for reassurance and courage, even though He Himself felt the need for their support! In chapter 13 He showed them clearly what it meant to be a servant, and emphasized to them that servanthood was expected of them, (and us) as it was expected of Him. He Himself took the lowly position of a house slave and ministered to them. He made it perfectly clear that as the Master was treated, so they could expect to be treated, and so should they expect to serve. Jesus dearly loved these men. He had been with them 24/7 for at least three years, teaching and illustrating to them to them the realities of His Kingdom and indeed, he and the Father are ONE, and as they knew Him, they knew the Father. And now, he was entrusting to them the future of his Gospel, the Father’s plan for mankind. His heart was heavy, thinking of what was ahead, His concern for them and the confusion and fear they would feel. They were His…and He loved them. He wanted them to understand HOW they could get the job done…exactly how they could accomplish the tasks He was entrusting to them. His words to them are His words to us today, and their empowerment is ours…if we take it! Chapters 13 and 14 contain many questions by the disciples , all pertaining to earthly matters, troubled hearts, what was beyond, where was HE going; “they didn’t know the way,” they wanted to “see God!..”and why was He telling them Who He was and not others? There are times today when people ask the same questions of us…

In these two chapters He answered those questions, and tried to reassure them. But, He wanted to bring them back to :now”…the reality of their personal relationship to Him and their service to Him. He very much wanted them to SEE His plan for them here in the world.

And, so He began to tell them about relationship, and service…service that is like His own…selfless, compassionate, caring and complete. His life was lived for one purpose, to complete the task the Father gave Him to do, and bring glory to the Father…and I have news for you…our task is the same! We can choose to ignore the call on our lives if we want to, but God will not let us forget we are His, and we owe Him…we owe Him us! We can/will accomplish the task. Whatever it may be in our individual lives, but only if we do it in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. All of chapter 15 shows Jesus explaining to the disciples how to rely on the Holy Spirit…He calls it ABIDING, and we’ll talk about abiding next time.

BEGINNINGS, PART 2

2010-01-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

Last time we talked about the Old Testament and the 400 Silent Years. This blog will be about the New Testament. Since blogs are short, these are only an over view, but will give you an accurate thumbnail of both parts of the Scripture.

The New Testament tells the story of Jesus Christ, the Promised Redeemer and the history of the Church, which He refers to as His Body. The New Testament additionally contains the “rules” for Christian living, and the reason for living in that fashion.

The whole of God’s Book shows us the progression of god’s plan…no hit or miss here, no mistakes or surprises…from eternity past to Creation to Consummation, to Eternity Future. God knew all that would happen. We might ask here, “why did He bother since He knew man would fail Him and sin, He also knew what it would cost Him in paying the price for that sin and separation in mankind. All I can say is the Love of God prevailed and overshadowed the cost…incomprehensible to us, but true. HE WANTED US!

The next question to contemplate is this: is the Bible God’s Word and is the Bible we have today reliable and true to the original text? We have already heard 19-20. We can additionally read more in Psa 19 and Psa 119 and Prov 30:5-6. This is clear, God Himself says this Book is His revealed Word to us in his many quotes while here on earth. Here is something else to consider, “The Bible claims ultimate spiritual authority in doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness because it represents the inspired Word of Almighty God. Scripture asserts it’s spiritual sufficiency, so much so that it claims exclusivity for it’s teaching. God’s Word declares itself to be true, therefore trustworthy, these facts are dependant on the fact that the Scriptures are God-given, which guarantees its quality at the Source and in it’s original writing. In the Scripture, the person of God and the Word of God are everywhere interrelated, so much so that whatever is true of the character of God, is true about the nature of God’s Word. God is true, impeccable, and reliable: therefore, so is His Word. What a person thinks about His Word, in reality reflects on what a person thinks about God. Consider these two demands: Deut 8:3…Job 23:12.

     By the early Fourth Century (350 AD), what is referred to as “the Canon of Scripture” was assembled, as we have it today. The various councils that met over Church history did not vote for the Canonicity of a book, but rather recognized (after the fact) what had already been written. Regarding the Old Testament, by the time of Christ all the books had been written and accepted by the Jewish community. The last book, Malachi was complete in 430 BC. By Christ’s time, the Old Testament He used and has been used throughout the centuries since were as we have them today…including leaving out the Apocrypha . These books were added to the end of the OT about 200-150 BC in the Greek translation called the Septuagint and continues to appear in some versions. The main case against their inclusion is that no New Testament writer cited a single passage nor did Jesus affirm any of it as He recognized the Old Testament canon of His era. There are three principles used to validate divine revelation and inspiration:

               1.) Recognized Prophet or Apostle is the author, or

               one associated with them, such as Luke,

               Mark, James, Jude

               2. ) Cannot disagree or contradict previous

               Scripture

               3.) Must have the consensus of the Church

               as an inspired book.

     As to preservation, 1 Peter 1:24b-25 says it all. When the
Dead Sea Scrolls were found and studied, 1947-56, the manuscripts found were from 200-100 BC and said essentially the same things that are in our Old Testament today. There are 5,000 existing manuscripts many dating back to within 25-50 years of the writing of the New Testament. Scholars verify that 99.9% of the original writing reclaimed indicates that what we have is what was originally written. The remaining 2% has no variants affecting any Christian doctrine. The most compelling argument for no future additions to Scripture is the admonition in Rev 22:18-19.

     God is an orderly, consistent God. Nothing is left to chance. This accounts in part to why He is so active in our lives. He4 wants us for His own, and He does what is necessary to see that is exactly what happens!

A New Year…Beginnings

2010-01-01T17:38:00.001-05:00

If you were God, and had a desire to share your glory with others, how would you do it? How would you go about “making” others, and revealing yourself to them in a manner they could understand? Would you want them to have “minds of their own” or would you want them to blindly obey you? Now I don’t know whether God asks Himself questions or not, but for we humans, these are valid points to consider. We are going to investigate God Himself, how he works in our lives, how He works in history, and what He expects back from us…the process of this investigation has a name, it’s THEOLOGY…THE STUDY OF GOD. We are going to look at it from a strictly Biblical point of view, no “tradition”…tradition being the long standing practice that has the effect of written down law, but is not. I encourage any who red this blog to check it out for yourself…you should never accept any teaching by anybody without reading the text yourself, praying, thinking and allowing the Spirit of God to open your mind and speak to you by His Spirit in your inner man.

      God has revealed Himself in more than one way…creation, the world around us is one way. he reveals Himself much more completely in His written Word, the Bible. And lastly, in Hebrews we are told He revealed Himself in God the Eternal Son.

     Our Bible is the written record of God’s plan for His creation and His dealings with them. It was written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different human writers, all but two of them Jews. Of course the real “writer” of the Book was God, the Holy Spirit…the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, translated into Greek just before the time of Christ. The New Testament was written in Greek, and the Book we now have was complete as we have it by the end of the first century AD. when the last of the Apostles died. Moses was the first writer, and it is considered truth that John the Beloved Disciple was the last. He (John) was also the only one of the disciples/apostles to die a natural death. All the rest were martyred. The OT records for us the creation, with the promise of the Redeemer very early in the Book, Gen 3;16…from the fall of man we go on through the early years of history, and in Gen 12 we read of God choosing one man and beginning a nation with him and his descendants. Why did God “choose the Jews?”…God wanted three things to be done by these special and privileged people: He wanted them to (1) write and preserve the Scripture, (2) to be a testimony to Him and His goodness, (3)to be a :pure” people through whom He could bring the Redeemer. The balance of the OT, records God dealing with His people, the Jews. The last book of the OT, Malachi concludes his dealings with the exception of a seven year period, which we will discuss in another lesson. For the next 400 years, God is silent. During this silent period, some of the Jewish traditions came into being. The Pharisees, Sadducees and Sanhedrin came into existence, they were the “ruling body” of the Jews in Jesus day, the group He most criticized.

                       TO BE CONTINUED………………………

FAILURE…AN EVENT, NOT A CONDITION

2009-12-04T15:02:00.001-05:00

Have you ever faced something really tough and felt all alone? I guess most of us have. The Apostle Paul did many times. He had ministered to many, many people and yet in a lot of instances he had to face extreme difficulty all alone. We all tend to make excuses for our friends and family, sometimes they even make excuses for themselves, but bottom line…alone is alone. To me, this is one of the most glaring examples of a good reason to stay very close to the Lord on a day to day basis. Devotionally, study time, prayer and even extended prayer time, memorization…all are extremely important to “build up” our inner man in order to handle life’s most difficult times. Particularly if we have to face them alone.

My family suffers from a depressive disorder, nothing needing medication but serious enough to disrupt contentment. It is a miserable “feeling”…I have found memorization to be the best tool I can use. I look for portions of the Word that challenge my memory, but as I have grown older, the challenge has become greater and greater. However, it works…time consuming but worth it, definitely. Part of my teaching at the prison emphasizes the need for meditation and memorization. The act of concentration seems to break the negative hold the problem has on my mind, plus I gain a sense of God’s presence with me that is comforting. One thing I prize, contentment…and when it is missing, I know it!!! And, will do anything to get it back. Living alone makes it more difficult, no noise in the house.

But, back to failure…another thing I have learned over the years, most of God’s great servants have suffered from a sense of aloneness and depression both of which seem to build in us a feeling of failure. I think we that serve the Lord fulltime think we are superpersons! Nothing should get to us, we should be able to handle anything and everything, no exceptions. That in reality, that is way too hi bar to set for ourselves! Then we can add to our own expectations of ourselves the expectations of others. THEY think we are superpersons who can handle anything!!!!! Spiritual giants whose faith can stand up under anything, anything at all!

So, the bottom line becomes what we ourselves hold to be true and realistic. We may indeed have a faith that moves mountains, knowing for sure and from experience that God will always take care of us, is always there for us, our provision is sure. we need human touch, words of encouragement, to have someone tell us we are loved by THEM, and at times, for them to just BE THERE. There are two kinds of friends…runners and standers. At the first sign of trouble, the runners will bolt and abandon you to whatever trouble you are facing. The stander however will stick with you no matter the circumstances. We also need to think about which of these WE are???? Back to the example of Paul…at the end of his life he tells us of the many who deserted him. But, he also tells us of one human who stood…Luke…which must have greatly comforted Paul.

Proverbs tells us that a friend loves at all times. We all need friends we can count on, especially when adversity and aloneness strikes. But equally important, we need to BE that kind of friend. Are you?????

LISTENERS…ARE YOU ONE?

2009-12-02T15:57:00.001-05:00

Many years ago, I think about 1980, I vividly remember the Lord making it clear to me that I was a poor listener…I was a fairly new Christian, still had my business in Pitman, people in and out all the time…many of them needy and wanting someone to show some interest in what was on their mind. The store had a small “sitting “ area, two comfortable chairs, coffee table, it was a warm and inviting area. I found people coming into the store to talk…sharing problems with me, and not always looking for me to miraculously give them an answer. Sometimes I could give them “something to go on”…from Scripture. Most of the time, they only needed someone to listen. God made that abundantly clear to me, as well as making it clear I was to “learn” to listen. It took some doing, but I did it. Amazing how the Holy Spirit can signal to you in your inner man,…”shut up Lynne, just listen!” At times I just felt a “check”…and kept quiet. That learning experience served me well as I began prison ministry, mainly doing counseling. Listening to prisoners stories many times defied any kind of answer I could come up with! Then I realized, I didn’t need to have an answer, just listen and point them to the Scripture after I had made sure they had a relationship with the Lord…couldn’t have them reading someone else’s mail! Most of their stories were incredible, and they weren’t looking for answers, just some understanding and even more important, forgiveness. If I didn’t actually listen, there is no way I could really hear their cry for mercy and forgiveness. And, as God’s worker, that was right up my alley. I knew the One who could meet those needs, and could help us make sense of this man’s life. In reality, most answers are in the Scripture, but it is necessary to KNOW the book, as well as the Author.

Poor listeners range from the impatient type, (“that’s nothing, wait ‘til you hear what I’ve done), to the person who’s so absorbed in their own thoughts, they are not even aware somebody’s spoken. Learning to listen actively and constructively is as important as learning to speak, if your communication is to be effective.

Remember:

1. A gossip talks about others

2. A bore talks about himself

3. But…a wise man talks to you, about you, then listens to what you have to say

When you’re a good listener, not only will people seek you out, you’ll grow wiser and win friends too.

Thoughts on Colossians 1

2009-11-05T16:13:00.001-05:00

The theme of Colossians is “You are Complete In Him.”…there is always more to learn, and none of us can ever say, “we’ve arrived.” The trick is staying close to the Lord and being able to discern His will for us. Staying close is the hard part. I have dealt with inmates for more years than I want to remember, and it is very rare that one of them is able to so balance his life that staying close to the Lord is his main priority. Actually, it’s not that common in the church in general, but with deeply troubled people, it is even more difficult to get the concept across. I think there are many reasons for all of us to not keep our priorities straight. The more troubled people are, the closer they need to be to God, but it rarely happens that way. He is the only One that can keep us thinking straight and keep us in the Word. It is much easier to make excuses for NOT staying close,…job, meetings, family members that demand attention, many things vie for our attention, even “church.” Some churches have so many events and meetings for all of us, there is little time left over to sit quietly, read, study, and pray.

We often wonder what God’s will is for us…I like this, “for those whom God foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren, “ Romans 8:29. If we accept the fact that God desires us to be just like Jesus, then of course we must learn all about Him. Where do we learn these things? From the Word itself. by studying it, applying it, profiting from it…if we do these things, we cannot help but become like Him.

Selfishness comes into play here also, we usually want what we want, and we want it now. It’s referred to as immediate gratification and runs rampant in our society today. Why is credit card debt so prevalent? Because I must have my desire right now, not next week, or on pay day or when I’ve saved enough…NOW! I wonder if we want our Christian life like that…NOW! Instant maturity…I don’t think so…maturity takes along time and lots of applying hard things to our lives. But God is patient and will wait, teaching us along the way as we allow Him to.

Have you ever thought about the amount of time God takes in teaching and training us for His service. He really desires ALL of us to serve, most of us don’t at least not on a consistent basis. He takes His time, Joseph 13 years, Moses, 80 years, the disciples 3 years being taught by the Master Himself. Even Paul needed brushing up in the Arabian desert. Romans 12:1 & 2 tells us “it is our reasonable service”…letting Him conform us to Christ’s image and likeness and presenting ourselves to Him to serve. Just think what our world would be like if professing Christians became possessing Christians, serving with a full heart. What a world we would be living in.

More About Truth…

2009-11-01T18:53:00.001-05:00

I re-read a book by Dr John MacArthur entitled “The Truth War,” about exactly what you’d think…the battle going on for “true truth.” I teach a course at Southern entitled “Healing for Damaged Emotions,” from a book of the same name by Dr David Seamanns. I’ve been teaching it for 26 years. A number of years ago I met Dr Seamanns at his home in Wilmore, Kentucky. I told him I was teaching his material in a prison and asked if he would allow me to adapt his workbook to the needs and understanding of my men. He said I could do anything with it I wanted to. He was very happy about WHERE I was teaching it. It is wonderful material, very simplistic in the approach to self-esteem and why we think and act the way we do. Needless to say, in 26 years I have added to and subtracted from the pages, refined it but never changed the basis premise…”Thy Word is Truth.’ That…cannot be improved upon.

Timothy tells us that in the latter days, wrong will be considered right, and right wrong…sound familiar? Do you sometimes wonder “how” people can think the way they do? I wrote a few days ago about truth, but the subject keeps coming up in my face, the book I just re-read, and today at church, actually in Sunday School, we discussed truth, from John 14, a very lively discussion. As I have said in other blogs, I am a follower of politics and current events, as well as Bible prophecy. I believe If something is true today, it is true tomorrow, and the next day and so on. This truth of god is to be shared…we are to take what we know to be true and share it with others. And, if the time is short, we need to be about the Father’s business, now.

Now we may not always understand everything He tells us, not because the message is foggy but because something in our own lives is blocking our understanding and getting in the way of our hearing truth. Unforgiveness maybe? Fear, anxiety, doubt? Even prayerlessness can create spiritual “static” that clogs our ears or otherwise gets in the way of His truth. But usually, the biggest distraction is our own minds…the tendency to want to try and figure things out on our own. That attitude can create a wall between our ears and God’s voice. It’s a wall we must tear down. WE HAVE the means to do that…the Holy Spirit that indwells us and will make the Lord’s communication clear to us. Unbelievers have only their own human (even though educated) minds to use in seeking to gain understanding of and interpreting, God’s truth…not possible! Without Christ,Who is the truth, in our lives and minds, we cannot gain understanding of truth.

Surrender anxious thoughts to Him, let Him have control of your heart and mind. We are His emissaries, and emissaries get instruction from the boss..and so do we.

REFLECTIONS ON A FUNERAL

2009-10-30T15:32:00.000-04:00

I Went to a memorial service last evening, a friend of about 12 years. He was 57 years old, left an 18 year old son, who I am very fond of. When someone close, even a little close, goes Home, you have to give it some thought from many different angles. Glenn said more than once that he was ready…that close to death, I am compelled to believe him. And, better yet, his life showed love for and service to the Lord. I also have a brother, my natural brother, seriously ill and waiting for a liver transplant. Last year in May, one of my best friends went to Heaven and since then, two lady friends from Malaga also went home…I know I’m not young anymore, truly am ready to go whenever He says so, but I wonder how many people I run into every day could say the same thing???? Personally, I am hoping to be “caught up” in the rapture of the church! I truly believe this is the generation that will experience that event in the “alive and remain” condition, I Thess 4:15. Soooooooo…the question becomes, am I being a living witness to those I come in contact with and showing forth to others what a “filled with the Spirit” believer looks like? I trust so, it is becoming increasingly important to me as I grow older and more and more of my friends go Home.

In thinking this through I came up with a few thoughts, and here they are:

1. Scripture, in Psa 37 tells us not to ‘fret.” Fretting is an old word, but has great meaning. Fretting is fussing within your mind. We all do that from time to time and it is not a good thing. Worry and anxiety will be the undoing of this generation, so God tells us don’t! Another part of not fretting and aggravating yourself is to remember, if you are doing your best, that is all God requires. He accepts no less but expects no more.

2. Don’t hurry…take the time to do things right. It always takes more time to go back and undo, then redo…so take it easy, and completely.

3. In situations with other people, get all the facts before you draw a conclusion or form an opinion. There are a lot of people walking around with wounds you can’t see…and usually, their perception is twisted and they will react badly to a negative report. Best to give the benefit of the doubt initially, even if you have to back up later. Jesus told us to, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”…Lk 6:3.

4. Don’t look at a difficult task as impossible…try it first. If you are where the Lord wants you to be, doing His will for you, difficult tasks only give Him a bigger platform from which to work.

5. Keep your priorities straight…don’t go for the trivial or unimportant, keep the main thing, the main thing.

6. Don’t procrastinate…one of my greatest hangups, (sin, really). Are you known as a “doer” or do others consider you undependable????? Be honest, if you are undependable, quit it. My friend that we memorialized last night, …HE was dependable. He was always around to do for me whatever I asked him to do…and I will miss that quality as well as he himself.

In summing up my reflections on the passing of my friend, or friends if I go back a year, I think we Christians need to remember the words of James 2:18, that our faith in Christ shows itself in the things we do…how quickly, how completely, how fully and how happily we attack the task at hand. After all, Paul told us to “do all things as unto the Lord,” whether we want to or not…just do it! Time is short, we need to be about the Father’s business instead of our own, living out our profession, as best we know how.

MIND CLUTTER

2009-10-29T15:42:00.001-04:00

David McCullough, a biographer of John Adams who was one of our Founding Fathers and early Presidents said this: “John Adams was both a devout Christian and an independent thinker, and I saw no conflict in that.” How many people do you know that believe being a Christian and and a thinker are mutually exclusive? Apparently Mr. McCullough did. Kind of offends doesn’t it? That we are naive or not as bright as we should or could be…

Truth be know, the opposite is quite probably true of many of us. Many of us spend lots of time thinking, meditating, mulling and contemplating…especially on the truths of God’s Word. The book of Proverbs teaches us that wisdom is a gift of God. I’ve always considered wisdom knowledge applied…wisdom isn’t yours until you apply it and make it your own…then you are ready to share it. Lining up our thinking with the mind of Christ is quite a job, taking a lot of effort and dedication, since our nature wants us to exert our way over HIs, even in the thinking processes.

We live in a world that is upside-down, right is wrong and wrong is right, and sin is a nasty word, not a condition of the soul and spirit. Left to ourselves, we would not be able to think our way out of a paper bag. But God didn’t leave us to ourselves, He came to us.

I’ve a few thoughts on keeping the mind clear so as to best hear from the Lord, principles I’ve incorporated into my own life. Give them some thought and use them if you like…

1. Don’t think you have to say “yes” to everything. Prioritize…especially if you are older. It’s better to do a few things well and completely than too many poorly.

2. Take time to re-charge your batteries. When you do that, you can sort out your thoughts and actions and determine which are valid and which are not.

3. Take time to enjoy what you have already accomplished. You’re allowed to relish the good things you’ve done and the people you’ve befriended.

4. Stay away from debt…and not just financial. We can easily get caught up in the “shoulds, oughts, and have-to’s.” Those debts of behavior we feel constrained to do, no matter what. They are usually unnecessary and use of energy and/or resources we really can’t spare. If it should be financial debt, get out of it or it will strangle you before you know what happened.

5. When your mind runs and if it’s cluttered, you frequently talk too much. There is nothing more annoying than a senior citizen running off at the mouth about something that happened 40 years ago! Too much talking evidences itself because of basic insecurity, and/or anxiety about the future, a need to control and a desire to impress people.

6. Last but not least, the why????? If we really think about it and are willing to be honest, we have a hard time trusting God to work things out, especially in a timely way. Our “talk” issue is really a “trust” issue…we just don’t trust God to handle “it.”

So…is your mind a clutter? Lots of us have junk stored up that we really would like to get rid of. God is willing to take it from you and relieve you of the burden, if you’ll let Him.

CONTENTMENT

2009-10-26T17:54:00.001-04:00

Recently I read this: “What you believe determines how you behave…” this simple statement makes a lot of sense to me, mainly because I see a lot of bad behavior that has resulted from either the lack of thinking or the inability to think/think something through. I see it every time I go to Southern to teach. I have yet to find any inmate that set out when he was young to spend some of the best years of his life in a prison, never gave it a thought. They just acted on what pleased them without thought, at the time.

How does contentment figure into this idea? First, what is the definition of contentment? it is to be self-sufficient, (as a Christian I believe it is to be God-sufficient) or satisfied, independent from external circumstances and supporting oneself with God’s provision, in and through Christ. OK, think…and expand on this thought. If we believe that the Word of God is indeed His God-breathed/inspired very thoughts and words, written for our edification and instruction, If He says He will provide ALL our needs, does He mean It? Of course, but…what He knows is in reality a need, may be different than what we perceive to be a need. In realty it may be a want…a want not in our best interest, consequently He does NOT give it…how do we react? Do we act like a brat, get angry and put God on “knock off?” For many of us the answer is yes, because we want what we want right now. God always sees the bigger picture, bigger view of our lives and the others involved in it with us. Can we learn to trust God enough to “allow” Him to really BE God in our lives and control the life and us????? Yes we can, but we have to spend lots of time with Him in His Word, in prayer, thinking and contemplating on the truths in the Word…thinking the very thoughts of God Himself as expressed in His Book. The Word says “Godliness with contentment is great gain”…1 Timothy 6:6. Matthew 6: 25-34 tells us some amazing (and true) things…worrying about our everyday needs is futile, God knows what we need to eat, wear, use and He loves us enough to supply what we NEED. With only one condition, seek Him and the kingdom first of all. What does that mean? It means prioritize your life so that quality time is spent with Him, following His lead, consulting Him about your life decisions, to stop coveting and charging, live within your means, save and buy when you have enough to do so and have God’s ok to proceed. These are just a few things we need to build into our lives. In Romans 12:1-2 God says, “ I beg you brothers, by God’s mercy, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God…IT IS YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE…and don’t be conformed (molded) to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may prove what is the good, perfect, and acceptable will of God.” If you do this, you will begin to experience contentment, that settled, comfy feeling that lets you know you are where God wants you to be…contented, in a place of service He calls you to…a beautiful, satisfying place. Try it, you’ll like it.

SHEEP

2009-10-24T19:00:00.001-04:00

How many times have you thought about being called a “sheep?” I’ve laughed to myself quite a few times about it, especially after I learned the facts about sheep and shepherds. It is no accident that God chose that word for us…sheep are the dumbest animals on the face of the earth!!! They seem to have no mind of their own, no ambition, goals, list of things to do, nothing. Just eat, wander and eat some more. They follow their shepherd, even if he were to lead them over a cliff…he wouldn’t, but if he did, they’d follow him. Not another shepherd, only their own because they know the sound of his voice. The sheep don’t have a care in the world, they just follow the shepherd.

Now the shepherd is another story. He has full responsibility for however many sheep he is in charge of. He leads them out in the morning…in Bible times, in some larger areas, many flocks stayed together in the sheepfold at night. So in the morning, the shepherd would begin calling the sheep…and they would respond to his voice, and he would head for pastureland. Sometimes he had a dog to assist him. The dog would circle around the sheep, barking to keep them moving in a flock, moving forward, following the shepherd. When they would arrive at the place he wanted them to graze that day, and after he had determined there was water nearby, he would let them begin to eat. The classic picture of David the king as a shepherd boy, shows him sitting nearby the flock, playing a harp and perhaps singing, some of the psalms/songs he himself had composed. When it was time to go home, he’d call them together, and he and the dog would begin to move them toward the sheepfold. When they got there, he would count them to make sure none was missing, he would sit down and examine each one as they came toward him, examine them for cuts, bruises, scrapes, thorns, etc…things they may have picked up during the time they were grazing. He would remove or treat with oil the damage, and encourage the sheep to go on into the enclosure for the night. If the sheepfold were small and only one flock was secured, he would lay down for the night across the opening so none could get out and get lost. Then he would be ready for sleep. Those sheep were totally dependant on the shepherd. And he took the responsibility seriously.

How does this apply to us? Christ refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for His sheep…us! And, that’ exactly what He did. But, He also cared for us along the way, as the shepherd in our example did. He CARES for us, all the time!
He heals our hurts, calls to us from His Word with words of encouragement, He knows each of us by name, and we know Him, who He is, what He expects of us, and hopefully…we follow Him. It’s a beautiful story and example of God’s loving provision for us, even when we don’t know it. Our life and future are secure with Him no matter how young or old we are…He loves us and will care for us, until our time on earth is finished, then He will secure us in HIs heavenly sheepfold for eternity with Him! PTL.

MEMORY AND SUCH

2009-10-22T17:38:00.001-04:00

This morning, I was reading in the Daily Bread about our electronic devices doing all our remembering for us. It reminded me of years back being at Sandy Cove for a retreat featuring Dr John MacArthur, my very favorite Bible teacher. One of the sessions was on a similar topic, the fact that video/visuals were hampering young peoples thinking processes. There is also the matter of creative thinking and peripheral thinking. His premise was that “seeing” everything hampered the natural development of these skills and the ensuing knowledge that would be gleaned. I was in total agreement with what Dr MacArthur said, and also with what was in the Daily Bread. In agreement mainly because of my own personal observation over many years. Young people do not have the creativity and “outside the box” thinking capability the older generation has. And now, perhaps some memory retention will be interfered with because of lack of exercise. This bothers me a great deal. It seems to me, everything to do with our discovering God, retaining the Word, becoming more like Him, etc., etc. all hinge on thinking, remembering, putting together information for ourselves…all of this process could and may, be lost. And what will be left? Being spoon fed info and encouraged to swallow! Joseph Stalin said this, “Control the media, control the people.” The media either in print or TV, is where most people get their main information about most things. If we don’t or worse yet, can’t think…we are in deep trouble.Our schools are doing away with penmanship/cursive writing, memorization and oral recitation, just to name a few things. This is being reported in the New York Times, who commented that this will “produce a culture that does not enforce the development of memory skills.” This scares me, because at my age, some of my short term memory escapes me momentarily from time to time. I forget names, or in teaching, if I get off track, I have a hard time getting back to where I was. It comes back, but takes a minute or two. We call this moments, “senior moments.” If the same lack takes over the minds/memory of the young, what will they loose?????

Never before in history has the need been so great for we Christians to hid God’s Word in our hearts. The Scripture says to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Eph 4:23; “let your inward man be renewed, day by day,” 2 Cor 4:16; “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”; Phil 2:5; “but you have the mind of Christ,” I Cor 2:16. and finally, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength,” Mark 12:30. Without the ability to read and store, memorize, meditate, ponder, share…Scripture…how will we ever truly get to know our God as He would have us do. That’s why He had His mind written down, so that His people could get to know and understand Him, and grow to be like Him. This is serious…really serious. Our children and grandchildren will suffer. They are already suffering from being taught revisionist history…check out www.wallbuilders.com”… what they will show you will astonish you regarding the text books in our public schools. God tells us this in the Psalms, “Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.” May it ever be.