RETURN TO MAKER

2 Corinthians 5: 18 - 21

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  

Today we come before you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who died on a cross to make available deliverance, forgiveness and freedom from sin so that we might have eternal life through him. 

Often it seems that what God made simple and straightforward, man has complicated.

Jesus the Savior, the son of God, God Himself come in the flesh, stood silent before his accusers next to Pontius Pilot and let those around him hurl their false accusations at him.  He made no effort to defend or excuse himself.

• He stood silent while they accused him of being a blasphemer, though he knew he was the way the truth and the life the word incarnate. 

• He stood silent while they accused him of stirring up riots, while he knew that it was he who had come to bring them a peace that passes all understanding. 

• He stood silent while they accused him and desired him to be put to death, while he knew it was he himself who had breathed their first breath of life into each of them and that it was through him that each might find eternal life. 

This Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings who came to the earth he created as a human child, born in a lowly manger so that we would see - if we would choose to have eyes to see, that our deliverer desired to understand us, to relate to our human condition and circumstances, and to show compassion for our hurts and our troubles and our sorrows and then show us the way to joy and rejoicing and victory! 

In the name of Jesus we who trust and believe in him call out to those who may not yet have turned their eyes to him, who may not yet have turned their hearts in hope toward him in order that they might receive his gift of salvation and be bathed in his redeeming grace; we call out his mercy before others that they would have opportunity to see and opportunity to experience the saving grace of the God who made formed and created each one of us, knit us together particularly and specifically within our mothers womb's and brought us forth for his purpose, for his pleasure for no reason that rests in us, but only because, not just that he loves us, but that he is love.

• The Lord your God, (for he is yours as well as ours, even before we ever acknowledge that truth), he  desires not only that you know the Way, but that you abide in the way and allow it to transform the manner in which you live your life. 

• The Lord your God desires not only that you have life and life eternal but that you live it in abundance with joy and rejoicing. 

• The Lord your God (who made formed and created you), desires not simply that you know of him, that you know about him, but that you know HIM with a deep and abiding knowledge concerning him and his truth which is our truth. 

• That in the beginning before ever you or I were HE IS. And that in that beginning because his very character is love, he held you and I within his heart right from the beginning, and in his perfect timing has brought each one of us into being, and written our names in the lambs book of life, all those who would both hear his truth and trust and believe his truth. 

And his truth is not a concept, it is not an idea, it is not a theology or an ideology.

He himself is the truth, who came to earth as man, to deliver his creation, each one of us, from the wickedness, darkness and evil schemes of the devil we know as satan. 

He himself is the way! The way to what you might ask? The way to the purpose for which God created you. To eternally live in harmony in His presence!

 He himself is life! Both the source of and the giver of life.  He provides life that is eternal, abundant, productive, and worthwhile.

 He is the truth! Truth is Jesus!

Truth is not a religion, it is not a denomination, it is not man-made nor is it subject to man’s approval, mans validation or mans reasoning. 

Truth is a man, the man Jesus, the son of God, God incarnate.  The full expression of everything that God is, is Jesus! 

It is perfectly expressed in his willingness to give everything for others to have everything they could ever need or want. Not only the material wealth of this world, but eternal life in an eternal state of joy and peace and abundance and happiness and fulfillment. 

And his promise is an uncomplicated extraordinary promise. That those who seek first his kingdom and his righteousness shall receive all the abundance both of his kingdom that is spiritual and of his creation, this world which is physical.

In return for him giving his life, his very being - everything that he is, breath and life and purpose and love and forgiveness of sins and being washed clean of all unrighteousness and being made right with him, the ruler of the universe, having given his every thing to pay the penalty for our debt, in return for all of this he asks one thing and one thing only from us. 

Our heart.

The seat and center of all and everything that we are with all of our faults and flaws and issues and problems and sorrow’s; that we give all of that to Him and receive in return for trusting him who created it all - made it all - formed it all - planned at all and is executing it all and keeping it all going - we receive instead eternal life, abundant life, and joy unspeakable!

That is the entirety of the reason Christ, the Messiah, the Savior the Son of God, JESUS! - that is why He came - to make available to each one of us RECONCILIATION to our Creator, God Almighty.

Everything else - the behavior we display, the choices we make, the actions we take and the words we speak are an external expression of the internal truth of being born-again, filled with Holy Spirit and overflowing with the Love of God through Jesus!

 2 Corinthians 5: 18 - 21

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  

The Christmas season is one where many of us begin to think about this baby born in a manger.  We may wonder about this Creator who claims to care so much about us.  Especially if we are having a hard time, going through a deep sorrow and life hasn't worked out quite like we thought it would, like we thought it should.

This Christmas season, I pray sincerely, honestly and fervently that you will KNOW the love of God in tangible ways in your life and experience that love in practical application in your life. 

Need help? Want help? Have questions?  Contact us - it would be our joy and privilege to reach out to you on His behalf and reconcile you to His love!

WHO SAID THAT? The Easter Offering

The John 3:16 scripture is one of if not THE best known scripture in all the world.  Almost everyone can quote it if you just give them the first word or two.

Do you know who said these world famous words quoted in the Gospel of John?

If you or I were the one's who uttered these words, they might not carry much authority.  If they'd been spoken by someone who wasn't well known or well respected but spoke these exact words, no matter how true they might be, they still wouldn't carry a lot of authority either.

But these words do have authority.  GREAT AUTHORITY.

The reason?  They were spoken by the ONE PERSON who is well known, is well respected and was in the absolute best position to speak them with all authority.

JESUS spoke these words in John chapter three; and He was talking to one of the religious leaders of His time, Nicodemus.

Jesus was sharing with Nicodemus the Prophetic Truths that were already revealed in the Scriptures, that He knew that Nicodemus, as a religious man and especially as one in authority over others, should have known.

That Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah promised by God back in Genesis 3, when Adam sinned by disobeying Gods command not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The serpent, satan, deceived Eve into believing she could eat that fruit and instead of the bad consequence God had told Adam would occur, she would experience good consequence.  

Adam, knowing exactly what God had commanded, joined Eve in disobedience and SIN entered the heart and lives of the man and woman God had created in His own image.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

Our journey, each of our individual journeys from birth BACK to being in perfect harmony and agreement with God our Creator, started right there, right then, with Adam and Eve.

Jesus knew EXACTLY why He left His Heavenly Home and came to earth as a babe, born of a woman.  He knew EXACTLY what the entire purpose of His life was about.  He knew EXACTLY what was required to redeem His Creation, Mankind, and He was willing to do what it would take - DEATH - to accomplish that redemption.  He and the Father were one, they have always been one and they will always be one.

One in purpose and One in Spirit.  

"For God (the whole Godhead; Father, Son and Spirit) so LOVED the world (this world that They created, the earth and EVERYTHING in it - every blade of grass, every leaf on every tree every fish in the ocean, every micro-organism, every human being, every animal and bird) that He gave His Only Begotten Son (His very self in human form as Jesus) that whoever believes in Him (all of Him, Father, Son and Spirit; any person in any walk of life or any country anywhere at any time) should not perish but have everlasting life (what He originally intended for His Creation right from the beginning)."

Jesus spoke those words with complete AUTHORITY, because He was the author of those words.  Though fully man, He remained fully God, a spiritual mystery you and I can only accept even if we cannot comprehend the fullness of it.

The wages of sin are death.  The temporary redemption available through animal sacrifice was not enough to accomplish what God wanted to accomplish.  The redemption of all His created sons and daughters.

So He came Himself to accomplish redemption once and for all time for ALL PEOPLE.

The gift God gave the world He loves is ETERNAL LIFE.  What He intended from the beginning, what satan tried to destroy; what Jesus accomplished on the Cross at Calvary.

Your and my redemption from darkness, sin and eternal death.  This flesh is corrupt and will someday die.  On the Cross, Jesus restored the Eternal Spirit which lives forever.  When you receive the gift of salvation, you are "born again" as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3.  Listen in on this conversation and discover the Way to Salvation:

1There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 

2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus came from God!)

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (this is why we use the phrase "born again")

4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (This is the rebirth, a spiritual, eternal life!)

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (We can know we are born of the Spirit even though it cannot be physically explained)

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”  

We continue to ask that exact same question today.  How can these things be?  Man wants to control his environment and what happens in his life.

While we are blessed by God with free will, ultimately, God is Sovereign and this is His world, His Creation to rule and reign over. 

I'll say it again,  Jesus knew EXACTLY what His life was about.  Would you like to know what YOURS was created to be?

When we acknowledge that we have sinned (separated ourselves from God by disobedience to His commandments) and ask, God forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  We become NEW CREATIONS at that moment, born again of His Spirit as He originally intended.  (Take a look at II Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus comes into our hearts (Colossians 1:27) and transforms us from dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) to ALIVE ETERNALLY once more according to Gods perfect will.

This Easter season, take a break from the bunnies and chicks and spend time contemplating a lamb.

Gods perfect LAMB, whose blood was shed for YOU.  

Like all gifts should be, it is only expected that you will RECEIVE it, smile and say THANK YOU and then make the most of it :O)

Happy Easter everyone, have a joy filled holiday, from Turn the Tide Ministries.

All Aboard!

ALL ABOARD!

That's the "battle cry" of the missionary Turn the Tide Ministries.

ALL ABOARD!  This train is leaving the station!

Christ is coming - SOON!  No one knows the day or the hour, but we are called to be watching, praying and READY TO GO!

If you spend any time in a Bible believing church or hanging around Christians who take the word of God seriously, you are sure to hear about "The Great Commission".

The very last instruction, recorded in the Bible, that Jesus gave His disciples is found in Acts 1:8:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The call to action from the Lord Himself to all who claim Him as Lord and Savior is BE WITNESSES TO HIM.

A fast grammar lesson for those of us who haven't been in school for awhile :-)

to:  a preposition;  

=used to indicate the place, person or thing that someone or something moves toward

=used to indicate the place where someone participates in a particular activity

=used to indicate the direction of something

Then there is the preposition “of” which is often substituted for the word “to” as if they were completely compatibly interchangeable.

Of: a preposition;

=belong to, relating to or connected with someone or something

=used to indicate that someone or something belongs to a group of people or things

=living in or occurring in a specific country, city, town etc

I realize that every translation of the Holy Scriptures is just that, a translation.  I realize that we don't have the "original" theo pneustis (sp.?) that is  the original God-breathed word, but in delving deeper into the meanings of words even as they were translated, we gain greater insight and are then in a place to be led by the Holy Spirit into deeper, more perfect meaning in our manifesting of Gods Word.

In this instance, I love that if we were called to be witnesses "of" Christ, just being a Christian would suffice, for we do belong to and are connected with the Body of Christ simply by virtue of our being "saved" or "born again" or whatever vernacular you use to indicate your Christian state.

But to be witnesses "to" Christ requires ACTION on our part!  That Holy Spirit in you (Colossians 1:27) means you must DO SOMETHING about sharing the witness of Christ and His Salvation Gift with others.  You can't be content to simply know YOU are part of....instead we ought to foster a zealous energy and hold a deep compassion for the state of others that compels us to make this Salvation Gift known to them!

ALL ABOARD!  Time is short, and no one is promised a moments breath beyond the one they are currently inhaling.  Our time on this earth is but a blink of the eye, but ETERNITY?  Those who insist on reason and/or logic to consider Faith in Christ, reason and logic this; there is NO DOUBT every person ever born and who will ever be born will live a certain amount of time and then the body will die.  That is absolute.  The spirit of man was created by God to be an eternal entity.  The question is not "will you have Eternal Life"; you will.  The question that faith and faith alone can answer is:

Will you spend eternity in darkness and torment or -

will you spend Eternity in the Light, Love and Presence of the very One Who Created You in His Own Image?

We can sit still and claim we are witnesses "of" Christ by our belief in salvation or we can get cracking about being witnesses "TO" Christ by our deliberate, motivated actions to share the salvation message with others!

ALL ABOARD! Our dream is to share His Grace, Love and Hope with others.  You can join us.  Pray for this ministry - we need prayer for strength to stay the course until He calls us home.

Send us your prayer requests! (Form is upper left corner of the site)  It is our privilege to pray for you!

Get on board, Christ is coming soon!

Grace and the Rules that Conquer all

GRACE

RULES

They both have 5 letters.  They both contain the letters R and E.  You cannot get “rules” from “grace” and conversely, you cannot get “grace” from “rules”.

Yet, these two work TOGETHER, not against each other, to provide a stable, balanced walk for a believer of Jesus Christ.

We are SAVED by Grace, but the Bible says to be led by the Spirit, to walk by FAITH and not by sight.  There has been a lot of talk over the years about “grace” versus “law” and even more talk and books written about grace setting us "free" from a great many things, like our own consciousness of sin in some cases.

Let’s be clear about something.  GRACE, Gods wondrous favor is a gift we are given.  However, we are set FREE by Jesus. “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed” John 8:36 and the Son sets us free through TRUTH John 8:32 “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

Grace is not a New Testament action, discovery or circumstance that came about with the death and resurrection of our Lord.

GRACE existed and was in operation in the Old Testament:

Genesis 6:8

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Exodus 34:9

Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

Ezra 9:8

And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.

Make no mistake about it, as Paul so aptly pointed out in Romans, GRACE is not an excuse for sin, but a reason to walk in humble obedience!

Romans 6:1-2  What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the SPIRIT.

The grace of God, like the LOVE of God and the mercy of God is extended to us by the Lord according to His will.  It is not an “entity” that stands on its own, nor can it support any of us on its own!

We must guard against falling into the trap of taking what God so freely gives and by the sinful flesh allowing it to be twisted into something it was never meant to be. It is NOT a “right” or a “privilege” of being born again!

The walk of a believing follower of Jesus is a walk of balance.  Though it is true that we are no longer under the law, we are do have structure.  We have the commands of the Lord Jesus which we hopefully will freely choose to obey, to LOVE one another!  God gives us the tools to succeed –

• the measure of FAITH
• His GRACE
• His LOVE
• The POWER of His Holy Spirit

All these together comprise the balanced, faithful, grace filled life of those SAVED and SANCTIFIED by Christ Jesus the Lord.   We cannot take one tool from the belt of this balanced life of a believer and build an entire religion around it. 

Think about it, meditate on this truth!  You are indeed saved by grace and not of works, it is the GIFT of God!  

Thankfully it is not the only gift our gracious Lord has given.  It is not even the most important gift He has given.  

All Gods gifts are great and powerful and all work together in the life of His obedient child.  He provides a full array of all we need to walk successfully before Him through Christ Jesus our Lord, where our strength resides, and without Whom, we can do NOTHING!

Now may the GRACE of God keep you according to His will, and may the mercy of God deliver you from all temptations, that you may walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called!  (Ephesians 4) 

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.

Love and Kisses

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.

Filling vessels without measure

WE HAVE FAITH WITHOUT MEASURE
BUT WE MUST OPERATE IN FAITH
WITHOUT MEASURE!

There's an interesting story in II Kings about the Prophet of God and an incident with a widow woman.  I've read it before, heard different viewpoints on what it illustrates and appreciated the lessons learned.

Last week in my private prayer time, the Holy Spirit led me to that story again, only this time, I read with different eyes, with a different heart, and saw something I hadn't seen before.

Don't you love when that happens to you?  Tutoring, straight from God the Father to you - could anything else be as exciting?

Take a look with me and let's share this lesson together:

II Kings 4: 1-7

 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

² So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

³ Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.⁴ And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. ⁶ Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. ⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

The first thing I saw was that Elisha, representing God, did not try to define her problem for her.  He asked her to define it and be specific about what she wanted from the Lord.

Secondly, God did not cause her debt to magically disappear.  He provided her a way to participate in the answer and settle her debt properly.

Thirdly, God met her need and went above and beyond her immediate request and provided for her ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT SHE ASKED.

Relationships, in order to truly be successful, require give and take be involved.  God, who created us, understands this principle and illustrates how perfectly it works in this 7 verse story.  He is the only One with the means to meet the need of this woman.  He is the only source and resource.  But this is her life, and God gave each of us FREE WILL.  So solutions and life decisions must include her participation in order that the relationship work properly.  She, choosing obedience and worship, God giving generously and according to His perfect will.

So she is responsible with her sons to go gather empty vessels.  God would fill as many as she gathered.  

BUT SHE DID NOT KNOW THIS BEFORE HAND.  SHE HAD TO OBEY IN FAITH, IGNORANT OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN OR HOW GOD WOULD MEET HER NEED.  SIMPLY ACTING IN FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE AND TRUSTING THAT HE WOULD.

They gathered all the vessels they could.  EMPTY VESSELS.  God doesn't "squeeze in" along with the rest of the stuff of our lives.  He won't come occupy a tiny corner or half a vessel.  God requires a whole, empty vessel, ready and willing to be filled by His Holy Spirit for His Holy purposes.  (For what fellowship has darkness with Light?)

Then God filled every single empty vessel to the absolute fullest.  Enough not just to pay her debt and keep her sons from being taken into slavery, which was her request, but more than enough, to keep them fed and cared for until the sons could begin to provide for themselves and their mother.  Abundance.

When we cry out to the Lord, He will fill as many vessels as we are willing to provide and empty in preparation of His abundant answers in our lives.

How many vessels are you willing to gather, in FAITH, and empty in preparation of Gods filling them according to His will?

Practical application of Biblical principle will change your heart and life every time.  Our God is mysterious but the working of His principles in obedience are no mystery.  When we walk by faith and not by sight, we see His provision time and time again.  When we cry out and are obedient to Him, we reap mighty benefits.

Wherever you may be in life right now, saved, unsaved, growing with the Lord or just beginning to wonder if that is even a possibility - God has a plan and purpose of wonder for your life!  It isn't late, it isn't early. 

 IT IS JUST EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME.  NOW is the time for salvation, for no one is promised the next moment.  Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

For want of a Needle...

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

To be lost, to realize you are in a strange, unknown place without knowledge of where you are or how to get back to a familiar place is an alarming experience.  I know this for a certainty because my inner compass lacks a needle, leaving me directionally dysfunctional and vulnerable to getting lost on a fairly regular basis.  No matter that it happens often, each time leaves me upset.  One missed turn when I am in a place I am not familiar with easily leads me astray and if I cannot return to familiar territory immediately can quickly escalate to all out panic.  I have experienced times when I am so turned around and hopelessly confused the sense of failure and frustration has left me in tears of fright and helplessness.  Such strong overwhelming emotions- evoked simply because I am lost following a road, where I can easily stop, ask directions and get back on track to where I want to go. 

A compass isn't much good when you don't even
know which direction you SHOULD be heading!

Those who have the innate sense of direction I lack won’t understand the scariness of what I feel, nor will they empathize with frightening helpless feelings of not knowing which direction to turn, because they have not experienced it themselves and cannot relate sufficiently to have true compassion for my plight.

Can you imagine how intensified this helpless, frightening and frustrating feeling must be for those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Who are not born again and therefore are lacking the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit?  We call them “lost”, but do we truly recognize what this means for them?  Listen to just a few of the descriptions of the word LOST:

Gone astray

Missed the way

Not used to good purpose

Wasted opportunities

Being something that someone has failed to win

Failure to keep, maintain, preserve

Suffer defeat

To be without through theft or negligence

To wander away from and unable to return

Fail to sustain

Cause death or destruction

How much worse could it be?  What if you were eternally, hopelessly lost and you didn't even know it?  Wouldn't that be even worse?  Because if you don’t even know you are lost, you have even less hope, if such a thing is possible, then one who knows they are lost and are seeking the right way, seeking to get the most from opportunity, seeking victory, seeking to preserve, to sustain, to LIVE!  Jesus told us if we seek, we shall find, but if you don’t know you are lost what are the chances you’ll ever find truth? 

Slim to none, my friend if it weren't for the great unbounded grace of a loving God!

But thanks be to God (ICorinthians 15:57) who never leaves us wandering on our own, but offers us the missing needle for our compass that will point us in the righteous direction each and every time without fail.  The Holy Spirit is our guide, our needle in the compass, that brings us to truth every time we wander from it.

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

 But as it is written:

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Our map is the theo-pneustos, the God breathed word we find in the Bible.  The Holy Spirit is our compass.  And our destination?

Eternal life with Christ Jesus the Lord. (Romans 5:21)

Reading the word of God everyday will keep you firmly on the path, grounded in the truth of God.  Then you will be able to direct others who are lost.  To lead them to the truth which will guide their way, not just now, but eternally.  

There is more, so very much more!  Once God is directing the needle in your compass,(as you daily read His word)  you will have the Joy of helping others move from LOST to FOUND!  Start with the first steps and the Holy Spirit will guide you into places you never thought you'd go.

Do you have questions about what you read in the Bible?  Use the prayer request at the top left of the website and send us your questions.  Or better - ask them in the comment section, which is monitored daily.  We welcome the opportunity to dialog about the truth of Gods word and how it works effectively in the lives of believers!  God bless you this week!  

We post a weekly reading schedule which when followed, results in reading through the entire Bible once every two years.  Join us today and begin the adventure of a lifetime!

Do you feel lost or distant from the Lord?  You are not alone!  God, who created you, loves you and has a plan for your life!  Through Jesus, His Son, you have access to Gods ear and heart - he hears you when you cry out to Him!  Tell Him all that's in your heart, ask for His forgiveness for your sins, and receive the cleansing and forgiveness He desires you to have!  All who call upon the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED!  

Contact us, using the Prayer Request form, and we will gladly talk with you, answer questions, and pray with you.