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!

ISIS, The Crusades, Inquisitions, The Promised Land and Egyptian Horrors

Imagine you live several thousand years ago, except they had Global Newspapers available.  The headlines and news stories might read something like this:

Pharoah orders death to all male Hebrew infants.

Annihilation begins today and will continue until Pharoah issues new proclamation.  

Mothers shriek helplessly as their infants are torn from their breasts and casually

thrown in the Nile right in front of

their eyes. While most drown, some could be heard wailing as crocodiles feasted on the helpless babies. 

Israelites surge into Canaan and take no prisoners.  

Men, women, children and all livestock left dead in the wake of their hostile takeover.  
The stench of death hovers over every city and blood runs like rivers in the streets of the villages once occupied by peaceful Canaanites.



"Religious Crusaders burn thousands alive for daring to express their faith in God differently than approved by the Pope.  Others escape the fire, as they are struck down even while they cry out to Jesus for deliverance."

Some simply cried for mercy while others chose to change their confession of faith; but  too late to save their lives as Inquisition torturers ferret out those practicing forbidden acts of religious piety.

We would be horrified to read such accounts, wouldn't we?  

As I was horrified and grieved to read the recent reports about ISIS crucifying children and burying them alive.   I experienced such a deep, sorrowful hurt in my heart while I struggled mightily to understand how could this be happening in this enlightened day and time?  Why were such barbarous acts occurring?  Why didn't someone STOP them?  Why were they behaving so horrendously?  Particularly toward innocent children?

How EVIL man is!  What evil man renders upon his fellow man!  What could possibly justify such atrocity, even in their own hearts, of such murderous action?

I try to remind myself that I live in a fallen, sinful world.  That the acts of sin committed by others quite often negatively impacts those we might consider innocent.  Then I reminded myself that there are no truly innocent.  All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

I have wrestled mightily with the concepts of salvation, grace, mercy and the Love of God that I am far more familiar with than His wrath.  The grace that is continually stressed far more than His merciless Justice is ever taught.

I reminded myself that He alone is God.  Creator, originator and OWNER of the whole earth and all that is in it.  ALL.  Them, us, everyone and everything.  It's His.  He can do or allow or save or ignore or fix or step in or choose not to interfere or.....do whatever He decides and we have no say.  

I've struggled with the truth that His decisions are ALWAYS righteous, even when I in my little pea brain and selfish heart cannot agree or do not understand or simply cannot grasp it.

Everything God does is right.  Everything God does is PERFECT.

He made the earth, he gave free will to mankind, His own creation, knowing the sin we would commit.  He created satan, who turned traitor.   He knew he would and still made him the angel of Light.  

I have never understood why God commanded the Israelites to kill everyone in the Promised Land.  Or why those murders were righteous, although He had only just commanded them in the Wilderness:
Thou shalt NOT kill

I have had to reconcile myself to the only TRUTH I can grasp - He is God and knows more than I do.  You may consider me naive or simple minded or blinded or whatever.  It won't matter.  Because in all of this, I've also seen MIRACLES.

Healings, total life changes, blessings too great to render into mere words,  joy too profound that defies description.  

I have never thought the burning folks alive was righteous or sanctioned by God.    Anymore than feeding folks to lions as sport just because they confessed Jesus as Lord was ever righteous.  Or cutting off peoples heads for thinking differently than others, or praying differently or worshiping differently. 

I've spent the last 49 of my 55 years trying to understand, trust God, pray through, share truth with others, trust God, grow and become a better Christian, read the Bible, understand how to apply it to my life, help others understand how to apply the principles to their lives, trust God, renew my mind to His word, pray through, be gracious, be kind, forgive others, forgive myself, trust God, study the Bible, let go of my past, repent of my sins, help others transform their lives, trust God, acknowledge Him in all my ways, grow and mature in Christianity, trust God, pray for my enemies, pray for my country, trust God, pray, trust God, pray, trust God, trust God, trust God..........

I don't understand a great many things.  Gods ways are higher than my ways.  Gods thoughts are greater than my thoughts.  My prayer is often reduced to asking the Creator for wisdom to accept that there are so many things I cannot understand; that His will be done in all things.

That the Holy Spirit would help me to TRUST GOD WITH ALL MY HEART.  

I pray for the President of the United States, because what the person in this office says and does impacts me and my family and all that I hold dear.

I pray for every living soul in all the world, because those who call Jesus Savior are treated so brutally and because those who don't know Jesus as Savior are facing an eternity filled with misery and darkness.  Hell is as awful as Heaven is wonderful; wish it on NO ONE!  

When I find myself gripped by all these terrors and unknowns and all I see and think and feel appears so very wicked and sinful and too awful to even try to comprehend, I reach for Psalm 73, and pray and did I mention that mostly I TRUST GOD?

Psalm 73:

1Truly God is good to Israel,

To such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge[a] with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
9 They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.

21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26 My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

ps
did I mention?  Trust God. We don't know.  We don't have to, because He does.

You Can't Handle the TRUTH!

We dress it down, cover it up, smooth it over and do whatever it takes to make it easier to swallow.

The truth is that we can't handle the raw, unvarnished, unimpeachable, immovable, immutable eternal truth.  Because truth isn't our version of a story, or how something is presented to us.  It most certainly isn't "relative" or personal to each individual.  It isn't what you think it is or what I think it is.

In fact, it isn't an "it" at all.  TRUTH is a PERSON.  That person is Jesus; the Christ, the Counselor, the Savior, the Deliverer, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Only Wise God, the Way, the Life

and He is the TRUTH.

No truth is found outside of Jesus.

We can deny the truth, but we can't change it.  You can ignore it but it exists eternally with or without your acknowledgement.  You can heap abuse on it but it stands proud and tall.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 

(John 1:1-5)

It seems so simple really.  And quite unbelievable.  Unbelievable because we - you and I - could never, would never give so freely and completely and unselfishly of ourselves as Jesus did for us.  We can't because we are sinful weak flesh.  He can and did because He is the Holy, Just, Righteous, Gracious, Merciful Creator of all heaven and all and everything in it.

We can argue that there are contradictions in the Bible - oh wait, no.  I won't argue with you, because I can see for myself that there are apparent contradictions.  I remember that the bible is a translation made by men who may or may not have rearranged a few words to suit their own theology.  You may even "disprove" the Bible or parts of the Bible.  Again, mans translations, what can you do?

BUT  YOU  CANNOT  EVER  TOUCH  THE  TRUTH

It remains unchanged, sometimes unfathomable but always faithful to those who will simply accept it.  God created.  We need Him.  Our need is so overwhelming and all pervasive that we cannot even see it sometimes.  He Loves Us.  So He came in the form of Man, Jesus, the Son of God, to redeem mankind from Sin.

You don't have to join a monastery, live in a cave give away everything you have or behave in any silly, undignified manner.

You just call on His Name:  JESUS

and He answers.  Look for Him, as He is the Answer, and you will be found.  That's His promise.

Every year at this time we encourage you to join with us and countless others around the world in consuming DAILY the Words of Life that will transform, inspire and uplift you.  Visit the Daily Reading page, print out your calendar and begin reading.  We eagerly await your tales of change and growth!  We know they will occur, because our lives have changed so drastically as a result and continue to change each day, each year.

MAY GOD HIMSELF BLESS AND KEEP YOU UNTIL THE DAY OF THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF HIS SON JESUS THE CHRIST TO GATHER HIS SAINTS. 

HAPPY  NEW  YEAR  FROM  OUR  HEARTS  TO  YOURS

2015 - LIGHT  IT  UP!

When I'm not sure what to do....

When I'm not sure what to do, I get on my knees and ask God for guidance.

I'd really love to tell you that He answers, immediately and decisively, and I get up off my knees and obediently and immediately do what He has answered and get on with life and everything is simple and straightforward and even, easy.

But....

That is very often NOT how that goes.

Most often, my emotions interfere with getting to the point where I get on my knees and ask God for guidance without an agenda already existing in my heart.  So I'm not on my knees asking, so much as I'm on my knees telling.  Telling God to do this or do that, or do it this way or within these boundaries....etc etc

My feelings have to be dealt with, so even if I've made it to my knees, having gotten beyond my selfish need to control the asking and outcome of why I'm there, when I get up I find I still have deal with how I feel, and push past that in order to CHOOSE obedience sometimes in spite of my feelings.

As I've said before, a great deal of prayer isn't that it changes the situations around us.
It's that it changes us!  Which causes us to treat the situations around us differently, which then changes those situations.

I'm so thankful that God considers our hearts - He concerns Himself with our DESIRE to obey, not the often inability of our flesh to obey.  He works with us, challenges us to grow, and gives us opportunity to learn and get it right.  He never gives up on us.  He never walks away from us.  He never leaves us or forsakes us.
Every time we get on our knees before Him (or sit or stand or lay down or whatever position you are in for prayer) He is there, ready to meet us at our point of need and bring us up to His standard.

So go ahead.  Get on your knees.  As often as you need to until your heart and your flesh are both lined up with Gods perfect will.  He is infinitely patient.  And He isn't keeping score on how long it takes you or how many tries.  He just wants you to keep walking with Him and growing with Him and letting Him have His way in your heart and life.

Thank you Jesus!

Successful Journeying

Do you know why the Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea?  And do you know why it's dead?

The short answer is that although it has water flowing into it, there is no outflow - it arrives, but it never goes anywhere.  It is STANDING STILL and therefore stagnates.  Which is to go stale.  LIFE does not live in stale, stagnant water.

What about you?  Are you going somewhere?  Are you living a life that is full of adventure and learning and growth?

I was reading about the Israelites the other day, and how it was in their hearts and lives as they journeyed from Egypt.  In their hearts, there were some who never really left Egypt.  They were so fearful of every new experience they never fully embraced the journey God was taking them on.  They allowed fear to control their every action and as a result, they were paralyzed.  In essence, they became like the Dead Sea.

Stale, stagnant and without LIFE.  They were going nowhere.  Sure, their bodies were moving with the rest of the crowd, but because they were paralyzed in their hearts they had no JOY.  They weren't truly living the journey God had called them to.

There was more!  God had called them not only to begin a journey, but He had a plan and a purpose and a destination for those who would obey Him.

It is the same with us.  The Lord God has a plan, purpose and a destination for the journey of our lives.  It begins when we, like the Israelites He delivered from Egypt, choose to obey Him and CROSSOVER the Jordan River to the Promised Land.  Trusting God.  Choosing to follow where He would lead them and experience the fullness of joy and learning and growing and abundant life that He was offering.

When we confess our sin and repent and ask forgiveness, and invite Jesus to live in our hearts and be our Lord and Savior, we too CROSSOVER into a promise.  The promise of LIFE MORE ABUNDANT now (John 10:10) and the promise of ETERNAL LIFE.

But there is more than the first step of this journey.  Once the Israelites crossed over the Jordan into the promised land they were to CONQUER the land.  Simply crossing the Jordan was but one step of the journey!  The promise was for a life that was abundant with the blessing and joy of the Lord with HOPE for the future.

We too are to CONQUER temptation and through obedience to Gods commands, be transformed into the new creations in Christ He planned for us to be and LIVE abundant lives that glorify His name.

As we CONTINUE in obedience on a daily, often moment by moment basis, we discover that in Christ Jesus our victory is complete and we not only are blessed, but we are now a BLESSING to others as well.

CROSSOVER from sin bondage to freedom in Christ.  CONQUER your fear and failings through the JOY of the Lord that is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) CONTINUE in obedience to the Lord your God and receive victory of abundant life now and eternally.

The bible is full of the instruction necessary to make your journey one of success.  In our Daily Reading right now the Proverbs are highlighted.  The wisdom contained in this section of Gods Word is an excellent place to learn and gain insight,  It really doesn't matter where you are when you start.  What matters is that you are on the journey, moving forward and growing in the Lord.

Also part of the Daily Reading at this time is Deuteronomy.  It is helpful to us to see how God instructed the Israelites in the Old Testament, to gain wisdom and understanding for the spiritual aspect of our journey.  Though we are no longer under the law, we gain insight as we see how the physical obedience translates to what we experience spiritually.

The third section of Daily Reading at this time is found in Corinthians.  Here we get a first hand view of how the First Century Church struggled to walk in obedience.  I pray it will encourage you as it encourages me, to be reminded that every believer must learn to overcome the flesh, submit to God and the process of growth that is our journey for this life.

We, being born again of Gods spirit, have HOPE for now and for the future.  We are not lost, for God Himself has provided guidance.  We are not wandering aimlessly without purpose, for the Lord has provided purpose and leads us to our ETERNAL destination.

Keepers of our hearts

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.

What is it to keep our hearts?  Does it mean we close the heart off?  Do we never fully reveal ourselves, never fully allow others in?

What are the issues of life?  The daily mundane routines of life?  Our spiritual life? 

What is it then, to keep our hearts and how, if indeed we even can, do we control the issues that come out of it?

Grasping and understanding what God desires of us and for us can sometimes feel like an overwhelming and impossible task.

Create in me a CLEAN HEART O GOD! the Psalmist prayed. 

Is it true that only God can cleanse and wash our hearts?  God, Who knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts?  God, the One Who gives the desire of our heart?

If so, then the question is, how can we keep these hearts? 

By paying attention to what we allow to influence us, that’s one way.  By watching carefully what ideas, thoughts, visual pictures and sounds – words and music included – that we give our time and attention to.

The heart, the physical organ, is the unifying factor in the functioning of our bodies as a whole.  Every drop of blood passes through our heart and by that heart is pumped out into every cell of our bodies.  If the brain stops working, we are still alive.  If the heart stops pumping, we are no longer alive, life has left our body.

It is the same with this spiritual heart the Psalmist is talking about.  Thoughts come from our minds, influenced and affected by the things we've allowed into it. 

• ·        The conversations we have with other people
• ·        The movies or TV shows we watch
• ·        The books and magazines we read
• ·        Pictures we look at
• ·        Things we discover on the internet

Romans 12:2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The renewal of ourselves comes from the renewing of our minds to Gods truth.  Our five senses are continually taking in data from all around us, and then circulating that information and emotion through the spiritual heart on a constant basis just as every drop of our blood circulates through our physical heart.  Even when we are sleeping, our minds are churning, thinking, and the spiritual heart is sorting, organizing and deciding what it will keep, how the data will be processed and what will be discarded.

Keep our (spiritual) hearts with all diligence, the psalmist warns us, for it is with that self same heart that we will believe to receive righteousness, the peace of God that passes all understanding and trust in the Lord with all of that heart.

With all our hearts, we pray Gods merciful grace be bountiful toward you in all ways and your heart be created clean in His image.  When we confess our sin and receive the gift of Eternal Life through Christ Jesus, He gives us a brand new heart! 

2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

*F*R*E*E*

Free
Freedom

Heady words that conjure all kinds of thoughts, feelings, images and ACTIONS.

Deceived.  Deceit.  Lied to.  Led astray.  SIN

Also words which conjure all kinds of thoughts, feelings, images and ACTIONS.

There was Eve, in the garden of Eden.  There was Jesus, in the wilderness.  There is ... me...you.  Having stumbled.  AGAIN.  Having fallen to lusts of the flesh.  AGAIN.  Thinking we were FREE we made choices which we are now very sorry for.  AGAIN.  We hurt people we love.  AGAIN.  We hurt those we care about.  AGAIN.  WE HURT OURSELVES AGAIN.

How does that happen, over and over?  One day we've got it all happening for us, everything in our favor, we can't seem to make a wrong move.  We are praising the Lord, we feel lighthearted and FREE.

Then out of nowhere it seems, we stumble, we trip, we say things we wish we hadn't.  We do things we can't even believe we did!

One thing brought you down every time.  Deceit.  You were deceived into thinking a certain way which then caused wrong actions resulting in sin.

One thing delivers you every time.  TRUTH.

"I am the Way, THE TRUTH and the Life."  "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed."  "Having been set free from sin..."  "The FREE GIFT which came from many offenses resulted in JUSTIFICATION." 

JOHN 8:32 ~  And you shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall make you FREE."

God offers true freedom.  No gimmicks, no tricks, no hidden agenda's, no cost. 

 HE PAID ~ YOU RECEIVE.

God bless you today in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior and deliver!

This mess a SUCCESS?

Genesis 39:  Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Just prior to this verse, Joseph had been thrown into a pit by his brothers.  They were going to kill him, but Reuben talked them out of that.  He intended to rescue Joseph from the pit after the brothers had gone on their way.  However, Judah saw an opportunity for financial gain and convinced the rest of them to sell Joseph as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites.

Imagine how Joseph would be feeling about now.  How would YOU feel, having your own brothers, in a murderous rage, throw you in a pit, then fish you out only to sell you as something worthless to them, like  something of no more value than a used cart or mule, to perfect strangers who don't care about you at all?  How would you be feeling about now?  Depressed?  Angry?  Miserable?

In Egypt, the Ishmaelites sold Joseph as a slave.  It was obvious they also saw little to no worth in the dirty, beat up and unwanted boy they had purchased.  They didn't see the strong, handsome 17 year old young man he'd been just prior.  This leaves me with the impression they hadn't treated Joseph very kindly on the trip to Egypt.  By the time he arrived there, he probably looked no better than any other slave available for sale that day.

I am of the opinion that this is how most of us are viewed by others as well.  Of little to no worth.  Beat up and beat down by the worries and cares and concerns of this world.  Sadly, this is how most of us view ourselves as well.  Nothing in our countenance or posture indicates we are any different than the next guy who has been used and abused by the uncaring attitudes of this world.

BUT the man who purchased young Joseph saw something that set Joseph apart and made it clear that Joseph was no ordinary slave.  He did not see the circumstances that had brought Joseph to that auction block that day.  He saw the "state" that Joseph was in, but he saw something more, something deeper.  

In Joseph's face, in the way he held his head, the look in his eyes, the way he stood revealed that Joseph had something more, something far better than despair in his heart.  Whether he recognized that God was with Joseph or he just recognized the something different, he bought Joseph that day. 

Potiphar took Joseph into his home and gave him rule over all that was in his house, over all the slaves he already owned, who had been with him longer, some of whom may have even been born in his home. (In this culture, slaves, especially if born in your household, were considered members of your household.)  He gave Joseph a position of value befitting what he saw in Joseph.

Take another look at the verse in Genesis:  ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man;

This does not describe a beaten down, unwanted, abused, hungry, sad, confused and angry boy.  This description of Joseph doesn't show us a downcast, destitute and desperate man.   Not at all.  We are given a description of Joseph as seen through Gods eyes.

The Lord was with Joseph and he was a SUCCESSFUL MAN.  In Gods eyes, Joseph was already a successful man.  Not that he was going to be a successful man.  That would mean the opportunity afforded him by Potiphar would be the influential factor in his success.  Not that he was becoming successful, as if Joseph by his own actions and behaviors would make a success of himself eventually.

NO! God declares that the Lord is with Joseph and therefore Joseph IS - right now, this instant, while in the process of being sold as a slave, while poorly dressed and dirty and hungry - JOSEPH IS IN GODS EYES ALREADY A SUCCESSFUL MAN.  Why?  Because Joseph had a dream in his heart that God had given him, and he believed what God had given him would come to pass.

Because Joseph's success would never be about whatever "state" he was in.  It is and would always be about his "status".  WITH THE LORD, in agreement with God Almighty.  His faith guaranteed that the Lord would favor Joseph, and therefore, no matter what "state" he is in, in the eyes of God he is successful.

How much more are we, children of the Living God, born again of His Spirit, washed in the blood of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit and possessing CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY, "with" the Lord?   He has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us.  Is our faith firmly founded on that truth? 

Take your eyes off the state you are in.  Fix your eyes firmly on your STATUS as a son or daughter of the Most High God.  

Stand up straight, shoulders back, head held high, looking others right in the eye, with a smile of gracious love on your lips and let your STATUS speak for you.  

YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL.    If Christ is your Savior, then regardless of whatever state of sanctification you are in, in the eyes of God, you are already completely and totally SUCCESSFUL.  Whether you see it or not, others will see and respond accordingly. 

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean NOT to your own understanding.  In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.  Proverbs 3: 5-6

Be encouraged, brothers and sisters.  Our God is FOR us, and not against us!  Perhaps you haven't ever really given your status with God the Creator much thought.  God reveals Himself to each of us in ways He knows will speak to our hearts.  Answer that tug, that pull on your heart today.  Acknowledge you have sinned and been separate, out of the will of God.  Repent and ask God to forgive you.  Call on the name of Jesus, declare with your lips that He is the Lord.  Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to redeem YOU from the consequences of your sin AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED.

God is not concerned with the state you find yourself in.  He knows what you truly need is a change in STATUS.  

From wounded and worthless to LOVED and CHERISHED child, in Gods eyes a SUCCESS.