WAITING

Waiting is a tough thing to do.  I know I find it exceedingly difficult to  wait.  The way our current systems are set up we are encouraged to expect everything NOW! 

High speed internet = everything at our fingertips.  Instant messaging, texting, email all fast efficient communication methods, though they do lack some of the finer points of communication.  Fast food, and even that wasn’t quick enough so first they gave us the microwave and then they gave us the drive thru. (or maybe it was the other way around?)  Drive thru banking, pharmacies and even liquor stores in some areas of this country!

Is it any wonder we have such a hard time waiting on God?   Our desire for speedy results results in terrible decisions, which we then bemoan to the Lord and wonder why our lives aren’t the way we would like them to be?  Where is the peace? The Joy?  The time for quiet reflection and growth and planning?  In business and in our personal lives the push is on for now, now, NOW!

Our religious activities have taken on the same mentality.  Radio, television and the internet means we can “reach” millions of people all at once and evangelize the world NOW.  No time for discipleship, here’s a personal bible study online and good luck to you.

This just isn’t the way of the Lord.  Abrams friend took time to visit with him, eat with him and talk with him.  Moses’ Lord took 40 years to prepare him for ministry, was patient for 40 more years while disciplining and preparing the people.  David was anointed King and God worked with him for many, many years before he actually took the throne.  Saul spent about 17 years being prepared before he was released into his ministry as Paul the Apostle.  Jesus developed His disciples at close range 24/7 for 3 years – and there is no better teacher!

We don’t grow in the Spirit by consuming Bible classes and programs and ministry activity.

Not the growth God desires for us anyway.  We might get big and fat in head knowledge (puffed up the Bible calls it) but heart growth takes place at a God pace.  

Drop by drop, precept upon precept, word upon word, God opens wisdom and understanding in our hearts.  Daily.  We don’t run to church, get a “good word!” and BAM! We grow that week and don’t need to think about it again for awhile.

We get a step, a bit, a deepening grasp and growing wisdom jot by jot as the Lord directs our steps and leads us.  It isn’t in our great rushing movements we gain spiritual understanding.

"Be Still and know that I am the Lord."  Why must we be still?

It is when we are STILL and listening that the whispers of the Rock of Ages instills Eternal secrets in our souls.

Silently

Taking

In

LifeGiving

Love

WAIT upon the Lord, for His plans for you are designed by Him to last your whole lifetime through.  There is no hurry.  There is only eternity with our Creator, who holds all time in His Hands. 

Join in the Daily Bible Reading with Turn the Tide Ministry.  

Print out the schedules provided under the Daily Reading tab, enjoy growing in spiritual wisdom and understanding daily, consuming the words of LIFE that will transform your life.  

Then SHARE with us what God is doing in your lives, so we can all encourage one another as ONE BODY IN CHRIST.  

Those who have been sharing – THANK YOU!  Your words and stories encourage us GREATLY and we pray for you!

We welcome the Church in Kenya, affiliating with us for Gods Glory!  We will meet face to face - either here or in Eternity!

God bless your journey.

One God and Father of us all.....

The world keeps getting smaller.  it started out small.  it grew a bit.  and then we found a way to make it small once more.

Through radio and television and then the internet, reaching out to the masses of people hurting and deeply in need of and desirous of Gods words of truth and wisdom, like this ministry blog, is no more difficult than my typing out these words, then pressing one button and VOILA' - out over the internet for anyone and everyone to read and comment on.  

Or if I were to put it on video, which is also quite easily done with minimal expense involved, be seen by everyone and anyone who cares to stop by and watch and listen.

It struck me this week as I ministered to people and dealt with many thoughts and feelings and read Gods word and prayed.  Prayed for those in need, prayed for those I was ministering to and prayed for MYSELF - prayed for my thoughts and feelings and confusions and desires and belief and faith - prayed to God for wisdom and understanding - it struck me how our perspective of any thing causes us to believe certain things and we never really know if they are TRUE or not.  We just go along living our lives as if what we think and believe is indeed the truth.

For instance, we think our "world" is split into many different parts.  Europe, Asia, the America's.  Broken down further into separate countries.  

It occurred to me that God doesn't see it that way at all.

We are one world.  One people, created by Him for His purpose.  He has one hope for us.  That we will return to Him the love He has firstly bestowed upon us.  That in that loving exchange, we will understand that there is ONE GOD.  That one God, Who is Spirit, thinks of each and every one of us as His beloved created child.  His desire is that we will fellowship with Him, accept His sovereignty over us, walk in obedience so we receive His blessing, and acknowledge Him by offering Him our Worship and Adoration.

He does not make distinctions according to our country of birth  He does not make religious distinctions of denomination or personally held doctrinal beliefs.  He does not make distinctions based on the color of our skin or language of communication we use.  These of no more consequence to his heart than the color of our eyes or color of our hair or shape of our nose.

He loves us.

He created us to pour His love out into our hearts.

He sacrificed everything He is to pay the debt to FREE us from enslaving SIN.

He allows us freedom of will, to choose Him or not to choose Him.

He LOVES us without conditions put on that love.

There IS ...  one body(His) and one Spirit (Him, What He is), just as we are called (by Him) in one Hope of our calling (that we will put our trust in Him).  There is ONE Lord (Master), ONE faith(the measure of which He gives to all of us), ONE baptism (that of joining by choice to His Body - without regard to the methodology employed in symbolizing that heart condition);

THERE  IS  ONE  GOD  AND  FATHER  OF  ALL,  WHO  IS  ABOVE  ALL  AND  THROUGH  ALL  AND  IN  US  ALL.

The unbeliever who rejects the very idea of God and never once raises his voice in worship or thanks - he surely misses out on the blessings of walking with the Creator, he surely misses out on the JOY of salvation and the POWER of the Holy Spirit, and he misses out on ETERNAL LIFE through Christ Jesus - BUT GOD  LOVES  HIM or HER regardless of whether they ever acknowledge Him or not!  

Think about this.  Believer or unbeliever.  Think about this.  Think about how this truth, His truth, the only TRUTH we cannot claim, for it existed before we ever did and will continue forever when we are gone; think about how the TRUTH  OF  LOVE  effects every life of every person ever born or who ever will be born.   We can argue about many things, but we cannot argue that LOVE exists and is more powerful than we.

GOD  IS  LOVE.  

Of Fools and Wise Witnesses

In our Daily Bible Reading this week, we came across Psalm 53 which opens with as clear a line of truth as any statement made anywhere by anyone at anytime.

The fool has said in his heart “There is no God”.

There are times when the command Jesus gave His disciples to “go into all the world” hits square up against the reality of those who choose NOT to believe.

Should we shake our heads and walk away?

Should we argue with them, point by point?

Should we regale them with stories of miracles until we have no breath left?

Should we tell them they are foolish?

YES!

and NO!

Speaking the truth in love comes in very handy right at this time. 

After making every mistake in this area, here’s what I’ve learned, and I hope it helps you when you run across a fool.

We are to LOVE as Jesus loves.  He wouldn’t argue.  He wouldn’t declare them a fool and walk away.  He wouldn’t waste his breath or time sharing truth endlessly, either.

He would TRUST that the TRUTH, spoken in LOVE and infused with the POWER of the Holy Spirit would work in the heart of the most hardened fool who says in his heart there is no God.

Share truth.  Share it lovingly, as an offering given in grace.  Share it as the Holy Spirit leads you to, with gentleness and all meekness.  Leave them with a blessing of some kind.  A smile, a kind word, a caring reminder that “it’s all food for thought, isn’t it?”

Then walk on, but not “away”.  Not away, because YOU know that the truth is if they don’t receive Christ as Savior, they will spend Eternity in Hell. 

So you pray for them.  Pray for their salvation.  Pray for their deliverance.  Pray for Gods goodness to draw them close to Him, to open their eyes to His love and mercy, to open their hearts to His salvation gift.

In this way, you are at peace, they are at peace and the Holy Spirit is free to move.  He is very good at His job – convicting hearts and leading souls to salvation.

With a little practice, we can get very good at our jobs – speaking the Truth in Love!

Pour a little LOVE on the next fool you meet, and then  let us know, so we can join with you in prayer for their salvation. 

Bear in mind the words of our Savior:

Matthew 18:19  “Again I say to you if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven.” ~ Jesus

...and Be Filled with the Holy Spirit...

You can choose to LISTEN or read for yourself!  WELCOME to Sunday Sermon with Turn the Tide Ministries!  May God bless you richly in wisdom and understanding as you receive His Word of Truth!

I've seen a lot of methodology be put into practice both as a lay person growing in the Lord and as Clergy encouraging others to grow in the Lord, so I've seen most if not all of the actions people take and the things they're willing to try in order to BE LIKE JESUS.  Don't get me wrong, that IS a goal we are instructed to work toward and a prize worth aspiring to, however, it is not something we will EVER attain in our flesh, by our own actions no matter how badly we want it or how hard we try.

What then is the answer to the puzzle of Gods word telling us to "be holy as I am holy, be ye perfect as I am perfect, the things that I do you shall do also and greater than these because I go the Father, and imitate God dear children, and...you get where I'm going with this, right?  How do we DO these things, like in all trials count it JOY, in all our tribulations be MORE THAN CONQUERORS?
(ps - all of the above are in the Bible - look them up and be blessed at what God thinks of His kids!)

Together, lets you and I take a look at Luke 3:21-22 and Luke 4:1 and Acts 1: 6-8 (I'll be reading the New King James Version and you follow along with whatever version you are most comfortable with)

When all the people were baptized it came to pass the Jesus also was baptized and while He prayed the Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily from like a dove upon Him and a voice came from heaven which said "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness...

Therefore when they had come together they asked Him saying "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"  And He said to them "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jersusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

Notice anything each of these scriptures has in common?  Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, while He operated as flesh on this earth had done no miracles before this time, needed to be  FILLED  WITH  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  The most the scripture says of Him before He was baptized in the Jordan was that He grew in stature and in wisdom and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)  But once He was baptized in the Holy Spirit things changed dramatically!  Suddenly He had the power as well as the wisdom of the Word of God to suffer 40 days of temptation by satan and  WIN !  Suddenly, filled with the Holy Spirit the scripture tells us, He begins to heal people and preach with authority like had never been seen before and perform miracles!

It is the same with us.  Until we  RECOGNIZE  that we cannot even under the very best of circumstances ever control our flesh with rules and laws (if it could have been done wouldn't the Israelites have done it?) accept Gods incredible grace and realize that only by yielding to the Holy Spirit, following the Holy Spirit, being LED by the Holy Spirit can we ever accomplish anything truly satisfying in life whether simply doing a great job at work, being a terrific parent or wonderful spouse, friend, sibling, daughter or son - only in surrender to the Holy Spirit will we ever begin to behave and talk and BE the victorious Christian we desire to be.  In the flesh it just cannot be accomplished!  Jesus told the disciples plainly, apart from Me you can do NOTHING!  Why why why why WHY do we keep putting ourselves in  BONDAGE  to sinful flesh, trying to force our flesh to behave though God has revealed to us that it cannot be done, which is why he did it for us?   But because we have Christ in us (Colossians 1:27) the hope of Glory, because the Holy Spirit is in charge, then we can do ALL  THINGS  THROUGH  CHRIST  WHO  STRENGTHENS  US  (Philippians 4:13)

God sent His only begotten Son to sacrifice Himself as the substitute for us, paying the penalty for our sin, so we could experience salvation.  Not  JUST  get a ticket into heaven, but to live a life of victory, joy and satisfaction RIGHT  NOW.  Simply because God created us and He loves us and He wants us to be happy and full of JOY.  Yes, we live in a fallen world full of sin and it affects us negatively routinely and regularly,  however, we are not stuck there, we have HOPE of much more, something much better.  Fellowship, right standing and full friendship with the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth.  We just say "THANK  YOU   FATHER" and receive it because we can never earn it or deserve it.  Thank you Lord for Your mercy, grace and kindness to forgive me, a sinner, and let me live according to your abundant riches in glory! Amen.