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Saturday, July 11, 2020

Community of Faith



Over the last several months with all that is going on in this world around us, I’ve been studying the letters that Paul and James and John and Jude and Peter sent out to the early believers.

I keep seeing the same themes repeated in each letter. That in the end days there would be scoffers, false teachers, even believers that would follow the deceits and lead others into deceit with them. That the only way to avoid being deceived, was to stay true to the word of God that had been delivered to them.

They did not have printed Bibles.

They only had word-of-mouth. They had no other method of sharing God‘s word except person to person, through conversations one on one and in groups.

Think about how easily false doctrine could be spread, when the only way to spread God‘s word was verbally! And so the writers of each of the letters to all of the churches warned them not to fall prey to false teaching and fully expected they would be able to tell the difference between truth and deceit.

How is it possible that these men of God, giants of the faith, men who had literally walked with Jesus (except Paul and perhaps Jude), expected the believers would be able to discern between truth and lies when (until the letters were delivered!) they didn't have a written record to follow?

The answer is the same for us as it was for them; having been born again and filled with the spirit of the living God, we, like they, would be led by the Spirit into all truth! (John 16:13) We are to try every spirit against what we know to be God’s truth! (1 John 4:1) We are to trust the inner voice of the Lord himself by His Holy Spirit in us to guide us and keep us on the path of truth! (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18)

Learning to know and trust the leading of the Spirit unfortunately isn’t taught very well or very often in many of the churches.  We are too often by actions and sermons, led to trust and follow whoever happens to have the microphone and a title without question.

And again too often, even though the Bible tells us not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds to God‘s truth, that truth only gets lip service, and is swept away by false doctrine that we need to be “like” the world to “compete” with the world for people’s attention.  (Romans 12:2) Programs and classes and special meetings take the place of God’s word  leaving the idea that in and of itself God's truth and Gift of Salvation is not enough to attract and hold peoples attention.  We must have the latest in creature comforts, technology, music, seating and lighting with deep concern with people's comfort, putting extreme effort into not stepping on or offending opinions while offering the latest upgrade to the ladies room and the latest technology for the youth group.

What is actually being trumpeted is in fact conformity to the world couched in language to make us feel like we’re still doing the work of the Lord. This false doctrine or false ideology goes something like this; “if we behave like the world then the world will come to us and then we will suddenly change from being like the world and have opportunity to teach them about Christ."

However, it seldom if ever works that way!  We get - we ARE - quite comfortable with the worldly way of compromise and soon, it feels right and natural to us so we stay that way.  Before we know it we are defending it by saying "this is the way we've done it for a hundred years!" and no one remembers or cares how it was supposed to be, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide His church.  Besides, the world has changed, right?  And we need to keep up, right?  Except Jesus is the SAME, yesterday, today and forever.  Which strikes me as saying that if HE, our Head and Lord hasn't changed, why would He want His Body to change???  WHEW!! It gets exhausting, but following Jesus wasn't ever intended to be easy.

Take up your cross to follow me, Jesus told those disciples.  Take up your cross and follow ME, He is telling us today.  (Luke 9:23; consider that Jesus said this PRIOR to His crucifixion!)

And it is HARD!  My past is a MESS of sin and error and I have to LET THAT GO in order to follow Him and it is hard, especially with all the many souls who don't mind reminding me what a mess I was!! And the devil has a lot of fun reminding me and accusing me, too!  I have to forget what was and press on just like Paul had to do in his day. (Philippians 3: 12-21) Just like you have to do if you really want to follow Jesus.

Only by carefully following the precepts Jesus taught his disciples and his disciples taught their disciples and so on and so on, can there be no straying from the path. They were not to follow what some man said, which Paul brought out so clearly when he told them they were not of Apollos, they were not of Paul- they were to be imitators of God as the men of God imitated God himself. (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; 4:6)

Replicating not human behavior or beliefs but replicating spiritual truths taught one on one on one on one.... and the way that they kept each other from going down paths of deception was not by just gathering for a sermon and a few songs occasionally; but by "full sharing" - FELLOWSHIPPING with each other regularly - literally by living in community with one another.

All that brings me to a fine point here.  As I've prayed and contemplated and meditated on the letters the Holy Spirit inspired the early church elders to write to the groups of believers, I am convinced we as the Body of Christ aren't thinking according to the Word of God.  It isn't that we shouldn't be attending church services, NO! Quite the opposite! I am convinced that we are to be more fully, more completely in community with one another on a regular, daily, lifestyle way of life.

Particularly with the signs of the end times we are seeing occur right before our eyes, I find myself in need of daily encouragement in fellowship with likeminded believers.  I find I need to be surrounded more often by those who pray and worship the same God as I do!

I'm even wondering when the "mark" finally happens, how will we eat or meet our needs?  I'm wondering if the time is NOW to make provision as a community?  We know that wolves like to separate a sheep from the herd for easy pickings for their dinner.  I wonder if that concept should be taken further.  I"m wondering if we should be spending more of our lives together, not less!

Maybe the fellowship of believers should be plowing up church lands and planting food against the day we can't purchase it anymore?  Maybe we should be raising chickens, cultivating a community storage system and learning to operate more fully as a family of God instead of individuals who spend an hour on Sunday and another on Wednesday evenings together?

I suppose you might say I'm being extreme, but the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, without warning, and the Word of God does say that we are to WATCH and PRAY and be prepared in fellowship with one another. Even if the DAY doesn't come in our lifetime, what perfect preparation for the generations coming after us!  Drawing deeper into a lifestyle of fellowship with God and each other instead of being separate except on "occasion".

That is a HARD concept for the American mind in particular to grasp, with our fierce independent spirit and rugged individualism.  Yet, for myself, the more I study the "early church" the more I see this kind of lifestyle.  The more I consider what is happening in the world around us, the more I think community for a believer should mean so much more than Sunday and Wednesday.

I used to see the words of the scripture concerning the "end times" as something far off into the future.  Now?  I'm not so sure!  Now I wonder if that future is NOW!

1Peter 4:7-11 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, July 4, 2020



Have you ever wondered why God delivered and rescued one person but left others to “suffer their fate”?

I remember reading about the story of Daniel in the Lions den, first as a child in my Sunday school class and then later with a little greater maturity under my belt. 

In the course of studying history and in particular the history of the Christian church I considered myself part of, I discovered that first century Christians were regularly “thrown to the Lions” in arenas as entertainment. I also learned of many other gruesome and horrific actions taken against and upon the persons of those who professed Christ including being burned alive and even being crucified just as Christ himself had been crucified. 

In meditating upon the word of God and thinking in my deepest soul about what the Bible stories revealed to me about the attributes and character of the God I was aligning myself with, I found myself wondering why Daniel was rescued from the Lions but those later Christians weren’t? 

I wondered why some people were delivered, like Shadrach Meshack and Abednego but not the Christians in Sudan or Nigeria today?


Did God only reach out his hand of power when there was a story to be told? Is it simply a matter of faith or lack of faith? Didn't the Bible teach us that God was not a respecter of persons, but a respecter of conditions? Was it about dedication or lack of dedication on the part of the believer or unbeliever? What about these stories could I discover about God himself and the people of God who believe and trust him? 

This one thought continually highlighted and pressed itself upon my heart; God has an eternal perspective that we in our limited humanity cannot even begin to grasp. 

Then I found myself wondering if that is the answer, is it an acceptable answer? Which actually leads me to a further question! Who am I or any other created being to question the one who created us? 

Which led me to think of Job. When he went through the devastation and the horrific loss along with his wife, of their 10 loved children and everything else in their lives, and he asked God about it, the answer he got is astounding and marvelous all at the same time; 

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?” God asked back.

And that led me to what I felt was a simple answer. 

I am not God. You are not God. 

We do not know all of the many many mysteries of the universe and of the supernatural and the spirit and of God himself!  We simply don’t know what we don’t know!

Only God knows these mysteries, precisely because he alone is God! And we are left with a simple choice. 

Trust him and receive the many benefits that come from that, even while we suffer the effects of our sinful nature and this sinful fallen world we live in, or don’t trust him and accept the consequences of that choice whatever they may be.

Friday, July 3, 2020


Heavenly father, there is a deep darkness that has spread across the USA, that has been building for many years. You alone can bring calm to the emotional storms. You only can comfort the depth of hurt, despair and discouragement in the hearts of so many! 

Lord I pray you would blow a life giving breath of supernatural peace across our land, into the hearts of those choosing wickedness.  

I ask you Lord to cast down the darkness and bring their wicked plans to nothing. Lord, blow peace and comfort into the hearts of those grieving, those hurt and desperate for understanding!

I hear the word of the Lord calling his people to repentance! 

“Turn to me and seek me with all your heart” declares the Lord God! “There is a recompense coming to the world; watch and pray! Prepare yourselves, for a sword is coming that will devour all that will not bow to the majesty of the Lord God!”

Oh Lord - in Jesus name and for the sake of His sacrifice, sweep across this darkened world with the fresh breath of your healing and delivering, life giving truth! 

Father, hear the cries of your people and deliver us from the pestilence and chaos of the world for your names sake! Amen


Monday, June 29, 2020

The Day Has Come!



OH LORD!  Bring about AWAKENING of Your people and great REVIVAL among the lost and wandering!

Lord, bring forth Your word spoken through Joel:

Wake up people of God!
Cry out to the Lord!

"LORD - deliver us from our grieving!  The Day of the Lord is at hand!  Pour out Your Spirit upon Your sons and Your daughters, to declare the Day of the Lord is at hand!  As Your Ambassadors, let us sound the alarm and declare with boldness that we must must turn to the Lord, Who is gracious and compassionate!  There must be a repentance of our sins and a seeking after the righteousness and holiness of God our Creator, Master of all heaven and all earth!  Let the days be filled with proclamations of God's goodness and mercy!  Pray that many will turn from wickedness and be filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God!"

As I woke this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this very freeing and most glorious thought filling my mind and heart:

It really doesn't matter what is going on in the world AROUND me; it matters only what is going on WITHIN me!

When it isn't about WHAT we trust, but about WHO we put our trust in, and our trust is in the Everlasting God, our minds are filled with peace and our hearts hold right attitude that keeps us joyful and hopeful, in all things and through all things!

If we base our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors on the conditions and actions of the world around us it is no wonder at all that we would be fearful and terribly discouraged!  The god of this world, the devil, has only one mission:  DECEIVE PEOPLE SO THEY WON'T  WORSHIP THE ONE TRUE GOD OR TRUST IN THE SAVIOR, JESUS!

He does this by working through PEOPLE!  He works through religious people to deceive even Gods elect if possible.  John 10:10 tells us the works of religious leaders who have given themselves completely over to the deceit and have set themselves up as something to be adored and worshipped by their foolish pride!  They kill, steal and destroy! They keep the very people God intended them to serve, enslaved to their whims and selfish human desires!

 In Jesus' day, the religious leaders set themselves against the very Savior they claimed they were seeking diligently for, waiting for and hoping for!  When He came, they were so enamored of their own high status and financial prosperity, they continued to "use" the name of God to legitimize their actions, but they no longer worshipped or served God or God's people!  They served themselves - just like their father the devil! (See John 8:44)

Because of this, they were blinded to the truth, even when He stood right in front of them and declared He was the One they had been seeking and waiting for!  Instead of rejoicing, they were afraid of Him, set themselves against Him and ultimately caused His arrest and imprisonment that led to His crucifixion!

Religion can lead you far from the Lord and cannot set you free!  Church attendance, while helpful to your growth (if truth is taught!) cannot set you free! Head knowledge about the Lord cannot and will not set you free from doubts, worries and fears.

There is only ONE who sets truly FREE INDEED and that is Christ the Savior!

In the words of our Savior I implore you today:  REPENT, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!  Ask and receive forgiveness of your sin through the sacrifice Jesus made of His life on the cross to pay every penalty for you!  Trust His work and believe that God raised Him from the dead and you SHALL BE SAVED!  Let today be the last day you face the concerns and evils of this world alone.

BEHOLD NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME, BEHOLD NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!

We'd love to pray with you; fill out the prayer request form in the upper left of the screen.  Go to a local church and talk to them about your decision to walk with Christ on your side and living in your heart.

NEVER WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN FEAR AGAIN!

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Revival, Awakening, RENEWAL!



Oh Lord God I lift my voice in supplication before your throne of grace and seek your help and your strength and your guidance for this day! Father I come before you humbled by your mercy toward us and exceedingly grateful that we are clothed in your righteousness, having been washed by the blood of the Savior and cleansed by your love!

Lord I lift my voice with confident trust that you not only hear my prayers but that you have already made provision for the answers to be received! The voices of wickedness are raised in violence against your truth! The sound of them pounds in our ears and causes palpitation in our hearts, yet I bow in full confidence before you, knowing that the shield of faith will indeed extinguish every fiery dart of my enemy! The shield of faith will quiet every violent noise!

The helmet of salvation, firm upon my head, assures me of my everlasting life with Christ! My feet are shod with the gospel of peace, the precious word of truth surrounding me, assuring me that the promises of God are mine and will indeed come to pass! I praise you Lord for your truth that binds me in hope of deliverance now and eternal life!

Let my eyes stay fixed on the joy of my salvation in Christ Jesus, but I will find strength in all my places of weakness! Keep my heart bathed in the word of truth but lifts me up and holds me steady through every storm! Secure my trust in the steadfast righteousness, holiness and love of God my creator! Let all the world fall to the deceit and destruction of the enemy, but let the heart and soul and mind of the followers of Christ be held steady and firm and hopeful in the everlasting life to come! Let those that will hear and receive the truth of the Lord be saved from the wicked darkness of this world! Let all who cry on the name of Jesus find peace and solace and help and strength and wisdom and guidance and hope in Him!

No matter the plans of the enemy to trip us up and cause us to fall, thank you God that your hand steadies us and your truth holds us firm and your supernatural power delivers us from all the traps and schemes and deceits of the enemy of our souls!

Help us to put aside the sinful desire of our flesh and to put on the mind of Christ and to be obedient to the truth you have given to us and to boldly share that truth with others, that salvation and awakening and true revival would sweep our world with a cleansing breath of deliverance and healing and fresh hope in the God of all creation and in the sacrifice if His Son Jesus that redeems!

Awaken your people to rise up in your name and be witnesses to Christ and ambassadors of your reconciliation to this world! Revive the dead in sin to new life in Christ Jesus! Cleanse the body of Christ of all spot and blemish to your glory and honor! I thank you father for the power of the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work of supernatural blessing on this earth now in this time of need, drawing souls to salvation and strengthening the people of God to awaken to your glory and majesty and power and might! I ask and pray your miracles, your signs and your wonders be renewed and refreshed on this earth in Jesus name, amen.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Heavenly Minded - No Earthly Good?



Here’s what’s on my mind today: we look around at everything going on in our world and we think about how we should respond, we think that we need to respond all of it.

That we, as Christians, need to respond to the social issues that are being debated in the public forums. We need to respond to the political issues, especially as we are in an election year and we are, after all, citizens of the United States and directly affected by who holds office, and the ideology that will drive which laws they will pass and which laws they will do away with.

And we are most definitely affected by the culture; the culture we ourselves grew up in that speaks to our thinking and our emotional responses, as well as the cultures that we see around us; how they differ from us, or how they are the same, and how that affects us in our daily lives at work and at home.

As Christians we wrestle with the idea of getting involved in the world around us, believing that it is our responsibility to be involved with the world around us because after all, how can we carry out the Great Commission if we are not engaged in the world around us?

But here is the question I’m not hearing asked; did Jesus directly address politics, culture or social justice when He walked this earth?  This is the main question, because we are NOT CALLED to follow Apostle Peter, or Apostle Paul or Pastor This or Reverend That or Evangelist SoandSo or Prophet Whoever. Luke 9:23

WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW JESUS.

NO ONE WAS MORE aware, and in a far deeper and far more intimate fashion than we ever could be, because he is in fact God and knows all things, than Jesus. And yet he managed to preach his gospel, the truth for all the ages,  without being political, socially "relevant" or cultural, declaring that he himself is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the father but through him.

When it came to politics his answer was always direct, simple and left no room for debate; in fact, once he spoke the truth he never said another word about it.  Think about his statements such as "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s."   He didn't waste time with argument or conjecture.  He just spoke the truth and left everyone to deal with it according to their own thoughts.  "In this world you will have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world." He knew that they would either accept or reject the truth and no debate was necessary, because he knew people. Matthew 22:21  John 16:32-33

The same should be for us as Christians. We live in the United States, so we obey the laws and we  pay our taxes, just as Jesus did when he walked the earth.   Matthew 17:24-27   As citizens, we exercise the privilege of voting. But none of that overshadows the truth that we actually live by which is that this world is not our home that we are citizens of heaven.  Philippians 3:20

We should have our minds on spiritual matters and we should preach the gospel. Jesus did not say preach politics, preach social justice, preach culturally, he said preach the gospel.  Colossians 3:2

His story. 

Nothing more; nothing less. It is not for us to twist the bible to fit our narrative or tell our story or a denominations story.  It is not to be used for our own devices or make a political statement, a social statement or a cultural statement.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the ultimate universal message.  John 3:16-17

That we have ALL sinned and come short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23  That we have ALL been made, formed and created by God.  Genesis 1:27  Psalm 139:13  That we are ALL loved by God.   That He sent his son Jesus to die for every single solitary person whoever was, ever will be and is now, because it is His will that all should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth.   1 Timothy 2:3-4

Jesus addressed the world  issues only in so far as they impacted individual lives in relation to them accepting the gospel message of salvation. He only addressed that which was personal, tangible and eternal so that people could receive his gift. Matthew 5

Think about Jesus' conversation with the woman of Samaria at the well in John chapter 4. When she spoke of worldly, social and cultural matters relating to her understanding of spiritual and eternal issues, Jesus left all that aside; about whether Jerusalem was where they should worship or whether Samaria was where they should worship or whether the temple was where they should worship or whether there was some other place they could worship. He didn’t go into some long winded explanation, he didn’t go point by point by point to prove anything to her. He simply spoke the truth clearly and concisely; God looks for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24

He gave her the truth and left it for her to either receive the truth and apply it or not.

This is how we Christians should be responding to everything going on in this world. We should not address specifically matters that are actually worldly. We should only address that which is eternal, which is salvation through Christ or an eternity in darkness.  2 Corinthians 5:18

That is the only truth that truly matters and that is the only gospel that should concern a Christian walking with Christ.

I don’t care who you are, where are you were born, how you were raised, what your skin looks like, what color your hair is, what language you speak, there is one gospel and it is for everyone equally.

We are all sinners, we are all in need of a Savior, we all must repent of our sin and declare with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and have eternal life through him or eternity apart from him.

Until we have that straight, that our ETERNITY must be settled before we can settle anything else, nothing else we say or do will matter for anyone.

ROMANS 10: 9-10   ...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation

ONCE THAT IS SETTLED THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL LEAD EACH BELIEVER INTO THE SPECIFIC MINISTRY THEY ARE ANOINTED BY GOD TO FULFILL.  UNTIL THEN, SALVATION IS THE ONLY MATTER THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND SETTLED.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

PRAYERS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE



Lord we need your peace! Only in the place of your peace Lord can we receive all that we have need of, all that You desire for us. 

I pray today Lord, your peace would quiet the minds of your people, your peace quiet the hearts of your people. Lord that in the place of your supernatural peace over us, we are able to hear the voice of our God, we are able to know Your powerful presence with us, that in your peace we would hear and understand your counsel and guidance, that by your peace quieting us, we are able to understand and act on your words of truth!

Father,  today I ask that your peace would flow in and over and around and under and completely surround the hearts and minds of your people, that we would come into a peaceful fellowship with you, your truth, and realize our place in the body of Christ. 

I pray Lord that your peace would keep us, your peace would strengthen us, your peace in us would allow your Holy Spirit to lead us in boldness today to do the will of God, to receive your blessings and the joy of our salvation, in Jesus name, amen!

Friday, June 12, 2020

FRIDAY PRAYERS


Lord, you alone know the end from the beginning and you alone understand all the pains and all the sorrows experienced by the hearts of all the people that you’ve created.

You alone are the answer to every question, every concern and every fear that we have or will ever have. We cry out to you, Holy Spirit, cover our hearts, quiet our minds! Bring order to the chaos of our thoughts and our feelings! Hold your people steady on the Rock of our salvation, and let the joy of that salvation rise up and give us strength!

Gracious God, release your peace, that Your peace will guard our hearts and our minds and keep them from spiraling down into dark fear and doubts! 

Lord God, you have called your people to be the beacons of light that will shine into the darkness, that will light a path to lead others to your grace and to your hope for their today’s and their tomorrow’s! 

Lord we need your Holy Spirit power to steady are standing. Oh Lord let our faith rise up and bless us with the strength to stand firm, to shine brightly, to love without hypocrisy, to comfort those in need and speak the powerful everlasting words of life, words of salvation, so that all will hear and all would have opportunity, to choose everlasting life with the Lord God who saves!

Fill our mouth‘s Lord, fill the mouth’s of Your people with the gracious words of repentance leading to salvation that comes with the knowledge that Christ Jesus alone is Lord! 

How we need you God, we cry out to you Lord, let the Holy Spirit work be done in us, let the work of the Holy Spirit be done through us!  Lord you are our God, our deliverer, our Father of grace and mercy!

Shine through us that the darkness will be shattered and the world will see that you alone are LORD, and that you alone are the help and the answer that each one of us needs, we ask and pray in Jesus name, amen!

Sunday, June 7, 2020

SUNDAY PRAYERS


Lord God, I come before you in humble admiration of your perfection and your glory and your everlasting love. I petition you this morning Father on behalf of myself and my brothers and sisters in Christ, particularly today, as we think about the things of the Lord, as we contemplate the events of our world, and as we gather together, many of us, in fellowship to worship you, I ask today a mighty wind of your Holy Spirit blow through our hearts and our minds and guide us to a place of effective prayer before you, in humble submission to you, for opportunity to have our hearts cleansed of unrighteousness. We are eternally grateful that all our sin has been forgiven and washed away.

We pray the mighty power of the Holy Spirit work through us to share those glorious words of hope with others, that they would repent and declare Jesus as Lord and receive the washing of your word, a glorious harvest of born-again believers walking in harmony with your truth to honor your name and bless the body of Christ!

Today Lord, move Holy Spirit,  powerfully and swiftly and deliberately in the hearts of your people, raising up a compassion for the hurting and the lost and the wandering and those tangled in web of chaos in their lives.

Let our compassion move us to speak of your glorious healing and deliverance and restoration and wholeness and joy to their blessing, to your glory, in the powerful majestic name of Jesus Christ the King!

Friday, June 5, 2020

Priorities and Purpose in the Current Climate


Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we as Christians go about our daily lives?  Many churches are still closed down, some are minimally operating and others simply continued to function as usual with nary a missed step.

ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
Are we supposed to be "changing" things in our lives?

Here's what made me think along these lines; listen in and see what you think, or how the Holy Spirit may move in your heart about this.

ACCORDING to the Word of God my focus and priority is to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Matthew 6:33

          With reverence, respect, wisdom, fear and trembling, and AWE I am to seek the Lord through reading His word daily, praying, meditating on those things that are pure and true and noble....Philippians 4:8

THAT HASN'T CHANGED!



ACCORDING to the instructions to the Lords people found in Ephesians 4:10-16, I am to be purposeful and deliberate about sharing the Gospel to the end I am part of building the Body of Christ and equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.

THAT HASN'T CHANGED!


ACCORDING to Jesus' instructions to His disciples, of which I am one, His command is that we LOVE one another, just as He loves us, the Father loves Him and us, so we are to love one another.  John 13:35 and reiterated directly to the saints today in 1Peter 1:22.  

THAT HASN'T CHANGED!


The truth is that for the Christian who is endeavoring to walk with Christ and in obedience to His word, the constant turmoil, upheaval, chaos, insanity, politics, societal ills and cultural clashes of this WORLD are not to be the platform on which we stand nor the platform from which we speak.  

We are to STAND on the steadfast, immovable, unchangeable, strong and solid ROCK of Jesus Christ the Savior Who is the same yesterday, today and forever!

May the God of all Glory give you peace, strength, wisdom and the power through His Holy Spirit to stand firm in His truth today, tomorrow and every day, in Jesus name! 

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Morning Prayer

Father in heaven I cry out to you, the God who changes the hearts of man, the God who delivers our souls from eternal darkness and death into eternal life through Jesus Christ. Help me Lord, to walk in the light of your truth, help me Lord, to live my life in the light of your truth.

I am so very grateful to you Lord, that all my sin I have confessed to you, and all my sin you have forgiven me! The blood of Jesus covers me, and has washed me clean and delivered me from the consequence of my sin and has cleansed me of all unrighteousness, that I can walk in fellowship with my Creator!

Holy Spirit show me the way that is right in the sight of my God, for my feet to bring me into the fullness of the will of God, and into the blessings of walking in fellowship with Him, and into the covering of His Almighty grace that covers the multitude of my sin.

Keep my feet on the path of His love and mercy! Every day, Holy Spirit lead and guide me, that I will be the ambassador for Christ,  be that new creation in Christ, living out the life of a blood bought child of the living God!

As I walk through my day today father, I pray the precious words of eternal life would fall from my lips into the ears and the hearts of the lost and the wandering, that they would share in the joy and the fellowship of your children! That your desire, which is that all would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, would be fulfilled one soul at a time, through the words that I speak and the actions that I take, that the name of my God would be honored and glorified, in the name of Jesus the Son, alleluia and amen!


Monday, June 1, 2020

Prayer for Peace to Prevail

beautiful sunrise and cloudy sky

Heavenly father as we seek your face early this morning, we cry out for the leading and the guiding of your Holy Spirit to strengthen our hearts today, to bless us with wisdom and understanding as we go about our daily tasks today. 

Lord I pray that the power of your grace and mercy go out today to quiet the chattering of evil and wickedness. Shut up the voices that stir up storms today, in order that many would hear instead the opportunity of peace through Christ Jesus the Lord today. That the voice of reason, the voice of peace will be heard among above the clamor for violence and hatred and bitterness and anger! 

God I ask that there would be a calming peace pervading over America today, that those who will hear your words of love and mercy will have the opportunity to hear and receive into their hearts and be turned away from hardness and harshness and hatred and anger and violent behaviors. 

I pray that those whose hearts choose the way of wickedness and evil, that they will be shut down today, that they will be quieted today, that the peace of God will rise up today and allow those who would rather walk in light and life and love would have the opportunity to receive that, that the stirring up of wicked and evil would be overcome by your light, that your peace, your gracious love be highly favored, lifted and embraced so that mens hearts are quieted, in Jesus name!

Friday, April 17, 2020

One Result of the COVID19 Shutdown


These last few weeks being forced into self quarantine in my home, I found myself spending a lot more time on social media and browsing the internet far more than usual. Doing so has reinforced for me a truth that I’ve known but I am now ever more certain of, and that truth is that there is no honest to goodness absolute truth outside of God’s word.

That may sound like a no brainer on first reading, especially to fellow Christians, but I’m asking you to think more deeply about this than perhaps you have up to this point in your life.  We are all influenced (whether we fully recognize that influence or not) by the things we read, the things we see, the movies we watch. We bring those thoughts inspired by all those different stimuli, we bring all those attitudes and those experiences with us into our church services, into our Bible reading, and into our prayer times!

As a result, aware or unaware of it, we actually end up diluting the truth from God‘s word with all the things that we see and hear and experience in the world around us. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, God’s word tells us.(1Corinthians 5:6) And I have discovered over the course of the last couple of weeks in particular, just how true that truth truly is!

The bottom line of understanding that I’ve come to from this experience of Internet and social media overload?

The only way to truly walk WITH Christ is to walk IN Christ. And what I mean by that is not to allow myself to be diluted by others opinions and thoughts and lies and false truths that they put out there in the media, the news, the movies, the books, the entertainment, the opinion pieces, the editorials and the everything outside of God’s pure word.

At a certain point in my past, I had come to the realization that I needed to make a decision within my own heart to truly follow Christ and Him alone.  That led to a period of time (for me it was 3 full months) of shutting off the TV, shutting off the radio, shutting out the noise of the world (easier, as there wasn’t the World Wide Web available at the time!) and reading ONLY the Bible, Christian books and magazines and listening ONLY to Christian music.

It reminded me of when I first got saved. I had started reading the Bible at the age of six and I know that I got filled with the Holy Spirit at a very young age, outside any church experience. It was just me and God. Growing up in an abusive household, broken by multiple divorces, alcoholism and witchcraft practices, that time alone with God gave me protection and comfort that I don’t even have words to describe.  Then in my late teens, I left the church I’d been attending since the age of 3 and began a journey of seeking the God I had come to know through His Word.  I wasn’t finding it in the church I was at, and I didn’t find it in the churches  I began visiting. I often found myself at odds with what was being taught, but I was too young and immature, too naïve and uneducated to understand.

During the time that I spent attempting to follow church teachings, I have come to realize is the time that I became the most vulnerable and moved away from just following God, to integrating other peoples opinions, thoughts and ideas into my own thinking and actions in life. And I fell prey to the flesh, convinced that the actions of my childhood were at fault for my faulty thinking, were the reason for my poor decisions and basically for any and all sin that I committed. And I spent years paying the price for that idea that I wasn’t personally responsible. This allowed me to continue in sin and attempt to correct things in my flesh, rather than shedding them, as Gods Word tells us to do (Philippians 3:13), letting them go and confessing them as sin and being set free the way God‘s word tells me he wants me to be! Years of trying to reconcile the mess inside of me with the opinions of man that I was hearing inside and outside the church resulted in years of living confused, dazed, uncertain and unsure and vulnerable and …. sinful.

Before anyone starts to get the crazy and incorrect notion that I am trying to blame my sin on anything or anyone other than myself, let me be clear. I am responsible for how I responded to all of the information that I allowed into my life and to influence my thinking and therefore my actions. These are my sins and it is my need to go before my God and seek His forgiveness and be cleansed of all my unrighteousness by the precious blood of Jesus! Saying that leads right into one of the biggest truths that I have come to understand. That truth is that according to the Bible, each one of us is individually responsible for ourselves.

We are individually responsible to seek God and His righteousness with all our hearts FIRST and with diligence. We are individually accountable to God for the repentance of our sin and we are individually responsible to turn and follow Christ as a faithful disciple of His truth. We are INDIVIDUALS, not a collective, individually responsible before a God who created us, loves us, and cares for us but has set a standard of truth for us.

With all of that understood, we can then bring that into the body of Christ where we can encourage one another and love one another and lift one another up and build one another up and hold one another accountable and help one another to make whatever change needs to be made according to God‘s truth, not according to our opinion or any denominations doctrine or theology. We don’t wait to reach a “level” before being part of the Body, but within the Body, we are to be working toward that individual goal while collectively assisting and encouraging each other in that goal. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:13)

In doing it this way, working individually and collectively, we positively influence each other to seek out Gods truth for ourselves and for each other.  In this way we all grow and have something productive to offer to the both the Body of Christ and the world around us.  A reading of the Gospels is an example of this principle being lived out in the daily lives of those first and early church disciples.

That is how we will build the Body of Christ in love, as the book of Ephesians tells us to do, rather than tearing each other down by our opinions and our ideas of what theology and what doctrine should be followed or what  behaviors should be displayed or how we should dress and what our hair should look like and how we should talk and what ministry should be defined as and how it should look and how we should go about it!

In all of these things that I have discovered both in the many years of my walk with Christ and reinforced just lately, one of the biggest discoveries I have made is that our God is an infinitely creative God who treats everyone singularly and individually and has the creative power to bring a specific life work to every individual that He created!!

When we go to God‘s word, and we begin everything, including each single day, with God’s perfect and undiluted truth, then we change from glory to glory; then we are convicted but not condemned; convicted of sin leading us to repent before Him and He brings change as He brings the balm of forgiveness.

The very act of starting each new day with a refresher course of truth enab les us to put aside our flesh just as his Word exhorts us to do, and then we truly discover the freedom in Christ He sent His Son to deliver us to! True freedom! We discover what it really means to be led by the Holy Spirit rather than led by the group mentality of the people we hang out with, or their opinions of how we should behave, or the theology of church denominations and religious institutions.

Jesus’ own words in the bible tell us that if we are filled with the Holy Spirit (which is God himself!) then that Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth! (John 16:13) Not ‘some’ truth, not somebody else’s truth, not even our own truth, but THE TRUTH, and ALL of it! (1Corinthians 2:13)  And that we will need no teacher beyond God holy spirit, (1John 2:27) because then we will have all that we need.

That is what will make us, all of us, healthy believers participating in a healthy body of Christ as opposed to being members of an audience being entertained by a select few on a certain day of the week at a certain hour for a certain amount of time with an expectation that we will pay a certain amount of money for the privilege. (Do not misunderstand, I am not advocating against the gathering of the saints.  That is ordained by God and is GOOD for the growth of the individual and the Body as a whole.  What I am advocating is change; a change in the audience/performer format currently followed in almost every church which results in sleeping, uninvolved Christians!)

God has a plan for His creation. And that plan is not discovered from the mind or heart of man or any group of men and/or women. God‘s perfect plan isn’t even simply or fully contained in the writings we call the Bible (which is holy and it is perfect but it’s not everything God intends), for that Bible itself tells us that God will reveal… there are further revelations… that the Holy Spirit will lead us to ALL truth… which we wouldn’t need if all the truth was already contained in the book. (A book by the way, which is perfect and is Holy but did not exist for many many many generations upon generations. And for generation upon generation has been subject to the translation, mistranslation and opinions of those who do the translations of that book!)

Try to understand what I am trying to convey here; that the book is perfect, the book is holy, and the book is our starting point, however, the fullness and the greatness and the totality of God certainly cannot be contained by a single book, (John 21:25), which is why Colossians 1:27 tells us we have Christ in us, which is the Holy Spirit, which in the book of Romans God through the Apostle Paul reveals to us, will be the vehicle that brings us to all truth!

If God intended that the written Word, the Bible alone, would be what brings us to all truth, he would have said so. He did not say that. He said His Holy Spirit, which resides in the heart of each and every believer, (a believer being those who have confessed Jesus is Lord and believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead for their redemption from sin, those whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life), they will be led by the Holy Spirit of the living God in their individual daily lives!

We have become a culture and society plagued by what we call the ‘victim mentality’. I’m not responsible, I’m not accountable, I’m the victim of someone else’s behavior. I can see why Satan would push such a false narrative. With that mindset how easily he can then spread the lie that as long as you’re in church every time the doors are open you have a ticket to heaven and God will forgive any and all of your sins without you truly doing the work of repentance. And repentance is work! If you are sinning on a regular and daily basis, giving up that sin isn’t a fast and simple and easy thing. It’s like getting free of any addiction, there’s some hard work involved!

By promoting this “I am not responsible it is someone else’s responsibility” attitude and heart set even in the people of God who call Jesus their Lord, Satan has been able to steer people away from that personal accountability, away from that personal responsibility to seek first the kingdom of God which would truly set them free!

Instead we are given the false feeling that we have ‘done our duty’ before God, simply by sitting in the pew or chair in a building, singing a few songs along with the entertainment on the stage, and listening, unfortunately most of the time with half an ear and even less of our hearts, to somebody else preach or lecture us about some aspect or opinion or principal, hopefully even from the Bible, and then go home with nary a thought about what we’ve heard or how it would apply to our lives or any kind of discussion concerning it whatsoever!

This isn’t what the Bible teaches!

1Corinthians 14 indicates teaching is to be immediately followed by discussion among everyone there! Yet today, after we’ve “attended the service” we go about our lives, with the wrong notion but fully convinced in our hearts, that we’ve done what God requires of us since we put a few dollars in the offering plate and we sat through the service, that somehow that should please God and that God Almighty should give us a pass on anything else we do throughout the week! (This may not be your experience, but it is unfortunately the experience of far too many who name themselves Christians!)

If this isn’t you, then good for you! If you dig into God‘s word daily on your own seeking to know Him, seeking to understand His will for your life, seeking the foundational truth you need so that you can hear from the Holy Spirit daily and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading into all truth for your life, for the work of ministry God has called you individually to, then good for you!

But for the vast majority who call themselves Christians, that is simply not how this works.

In the last several weeks, I have come to understand to a far greater degree, the understanding God began to give me years and years ago but it has taken this long to truly take hold and build roots in my heart, that there is a slumbering sickness in the church of God across denominational lines and including every denomination and/or non-denominational gathering of Gods saints, for the most part. This is the prayer God has continually pressed on my heart year after year, that His Body would WAKE UP!!

Each of us needs to examine our own heart, as the Apostle Paul states clearly,(2Corinthians 13:5), but having examined our own heart, each of us is responsible to then move forward in the truth that the Holy Spirit reveals to us.

This then is me, moving forward in the truth the Holy Spirit has revealed to me. I have allowed myself to slip away from that individual accountability and responsibility, to die to myself in order that I might live to Christ, and to diligently and relentlessly seek to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow the leading of that Holy Spirit. If my journey can help one other soul make their own journey into truth, then it is well worth putting myself out there  as transparently as I can and allowing myself to be vulnerable. In fact, that very principle is one of the things God has clearly reiterated and reminded me of and made ever clearer to me in these last few weeks. Part of my joy as a Christian sister is ‘laying down my life’ for others!

It is not enough to just hear someone talk about God’s word. If we put the writings of Paul together, rather than set apart one sentence here or one sentence there, we discover that we do need to hear the word of God preached, but we also need to read and understand it for ourselves, discuss it with other like-minded believers so that each of us comes to a full and/or fuller understanding of how it relates to our lives as well as how we should be applying the principle from God‘s word, and how we can truly encourage one another to grow and change and be more productive as laborers in God’s field of harvest!

God has called us to be ambassadors for Christ, (2Corinthians 5:20), every single one of us is called to be an ambassador and a minister. Not a single one of us anywhere in the entire Bible is called to be an audience member.  Not a single one of us anywhere in God’s word is called to only to bankroll someone else’s ministry or ambassadorship! In fact Jesus himself laid out the very first and foundational principle, in Acts 1:8- when He declared to the disciples, “you will be witnesses to Me!”

These last few weeks in isolation, spent reading God‘s word, praying God‘s word, and with way too much time spent looking at what is going on in the hearts of others via their social media posts, I am more convinced than ever of several things.
the gathering of the saints is an absolute necessity for the strength and well-being of the  individual Christian and the Body of Christ as a whole.

  • the gathering of the saints must be interactive, with every member fully engaging. 
  • the gathering of the Church is to be as described in 2Timothy 3:16-17; All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.


This happens with discussion, by encouraging one another, confessing to one another so that the word can be shared more fully with each other.  In this way the gathering becomes a place of learning and strengthening for the real work of ministry.

  • the actual work of the ministry is to take place daily out in our regular daily lives, involving the people we see when we go shopping, the people that we work with, the people we live next to, the people we encounter at gas stations, the people we run into when we’re camping, when we’re fishing, when we’re simply living our lives!  We are equipped (Ephesians 4:12), we are ready ‘instant in season and out of season’ (2Timothy4:2) to share God’s truth. 


Too often all the saints of God share is come to my church, come listen to my pastor who is so smart. But we are all called to share the simple truth of gods word, God‘s salvation gift and God‘s everlasting love with a hurting, lost and terribly wounded world.  The gathering of the saints is to equip each and every one of us for this important work!  Not for us to sing a few songs and hear a great speech.  Not for us to have a social activity to attend.  But to prepare every single one of us as a witness and representative of the Lord God!

Not everyone will listen when we share and not everyone will receive it, but that isn’t our concern. Our concern is to share. The condition of the heart of that person who hears, is between that person and the Holy Spirit. Our only responsibility there after before and after sharing Gods TRUTH is to pray for people. Pray for the Holy Spirit work to occur, to enter the hearts of others and transform them from dead in trespasses and sins to alive for eternity through Christ Jesus the Lord!

1 Timothy 2:1-4
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Put aside the meme’s, the cliche’s, the niceties of false truth that God wants you to be “happy, healthy and wealthy” and grab hold of His Truth! Abundant life and true joy comes from obedience to Him.  Obedience to Him leads to others coming to know Him and His name being glorified.  His, not ours.

We say “HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED”  but is the way we live life proving that truth?  We fall so far short no matter how hard we try or how much we want to glorify His name!  I know I certainly do!  And once again, He and only He provides.  For even while we were sinners, He sent His son to save the world! (Romans 5:18)  By grace we are saved, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9) lest any of us should have anything to boast about.

Father, I sincerely ask in the mighty name of Jesus that these tiny little words might somehow make a difference in someone’s life, and lead them out of darkness and into the light of your warm and welcoming love! I am incredibly thankful to You, and more so as I get to know You better!  I pray that will be the experience of many others as well, as I humbly share Your message of salvation with any and all in the course of my life, as You give me opportunity.  Thank you so much for your love and care and leading in my life!  I am so grateful, and look forward to all You have for me!  I am listening for the trumpet sound and looking for Your Sons coming, and meanwhile I obediently will WATCH & PRAY as You instructed.  Thank You for saving me, thank You for working through me to reach others by being a witness for You, in Jesus name!