God bless you!

I realize that there are deep, ponderable theological issues that can be discovered in this passage. However, that is not my thought today. I was simply struck with the realization (again!) of just how many struggles Paul went through for the sake of the Gospel. We seem to forget – at least I know that I do – that nothing was easy for Paul. Nothing was easy for any of the Apostles. In fact, nothing was easy for our Lord! Everything that He did for us, He did through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is, He used the same source that we have access to in order to accomplish His mission. We have access – as born-again Christians – to that same source!

I know that life is not easy, and for the active Christian it is even more difficult since we are facing an enemy. Those that are not saved do not have to face their enemy. He is still the enemy, but he doesn’t care about them, so life is easier. A bit. Sorta. The long-term result is MAJOR AWFUL, however. I would MUCH RATHER go through the trials associated with doing the work of God and battling the enemy. The end result is AWESOME!

So. Keep your eyes on the goal, my friends. Do not lose heart. We all have struggles. Paul had struggles. He won. We can win. Go win!!

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

This is the reason that we use the term “born again.” It was stated by Jesus Himself! HE is the One that made that commandment. The explanation of that term is found in the famous 3:16 verse that nearly everyone in the country, at one time, could quote:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The joy found as a “Born-again” Christian is unparalleled! The steps are simple:

1. Recognize your sin, you are a sinner!
2. Believe in your heart that Jesus died to pay the penalty for that sin, and rose again from the dead,
3. Repent to God for is, that is ask His forgiveness and help to never sin that way again, and
4. Surrender the control of your life over to Jesus! He is so much wiser that you are, that all His decisions for your life are perfect! He knows what is best for you, and wants that best for your life!

Surrender to Jesus today!

For more, read these scriptures: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-10

¹¹ … At that moment, the LORD passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard [it], he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. 1 Kings 19:11-13 HCSB

Much has been said on this passage about listening to God. We love to equate God’s voice to us as huge, loud, monumental, etc. when in fact He usually speaks to us in a still, small voice. We have to learn to hear God’s voice. A new Christian stuggles with this, because it is not something he or she is familiar with – listening to God. So we have to learn to do so.

Elijah had just fasted for 40 days, during which time he made a very arduous journey. He went into the cave and waited for God’s voice. The great and mighty wind blew, but God was not in the wind. Elijah knew this. The earthquake shook, but God was not in the earthquake. Elijah knew this also. The fire raged, but God was not in the fire. Elijah also knew this. When the soft whisper came, Elijah recognized God’s Voice, and we out of the cave to listen to Him.

The lesson here is that there are many voices coming our way, through our life. Our job is to get to know the Lord so well that we cannot mistake any one of these voices for His Voice! We must learn to listen and be able to discern our Master’s Voice, so that we follow the correct path and not get led astray.

³⁴ “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. ³⁵ For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  Luke 21:34-36 NKJV

Jesus had been prophesying about the end times and what to expect. Then He gives this warning to us. One of the dangers is carousing – similar to partying. This is a lifestyle choice that is more prevalent today than at any other time in history, except maybe just before the flood when God wiped out all of mankind except for Noah and his family. This is a very serious problem, and Jesus said that it was so bad it would make us unworthy of the escape, and we would not be ready for His return! We would be left behind!

Another problem he stated was drunkenness. I think alcohol is very dangerous and should obviously be avoided. However, I also believe that Jesus was, again, talking about a state of mind that affects a person’s lifestyle. Over-indulgence in the things of life that change your thinking. Drugs, alcohol, etc., there is many ways that we can lose our minds. When we do, we also loose our hearts, and we are again unprepared for Jesus’ return!

The third thing Jesus warned us against was the ‘cares of this life.’ This is probably the most dangerous of all – especially to those that are Christians! We tend to ignore the fact that being too busy, and too caught-up with our lives is bad! In fact, we will put aside church events for our life schedules in a heart-beat without a second thought. If we make it to church once a month, we feel we are doing well! My friends, going to church is a mandate from God! But it is only one part of how we should live our lives. Our schedules should revolve around Jesus, and His Great Commission to us all – to go into all the world and preach the gospel, teach the people, and bring them into saving relationship with Him! If we are not doing this, we are ALSO in danger of missing His return! OUR relationship may be a sham!

GO to GOD TODAY! Make SURE you are ready for Jesus’ return!

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you;  He is
just and having salvation,  Lowly and riding on a donkey,  A
colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zechariah 9:9 NKJV

About 500 years before Christ was born, when the Israelites returned to Israel from the captivity of Persia, Zechariah was the Lord’s prophet to His people Israel. This prophecy was fullfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. We call it the “triumphal entry.” However, Jesus was not fooled at all. He was fully aware that this was not a triumph, but a precursor to agony.

The ride into Jerusalem gave the Israelites the opportunity to proclaim Jesus as their king and messiah! God does this sort of thing all the time. He allows us the opportunity to do right. When we do not, as He knows our nature and what we will choose, He then makes provision for the fallout of our actions. Even so, as He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey and all the people were shouting hosanna, Jesus knew that they would shortly raise their voices in opposition to Him calling for His death by crucifixion.

Jesus knew this ahead of time. He went anyway. He knew they would crucify Him. He went anyway. He knew that He was going to suffer untold agony for our sins on the cross instead of being installed as the Messiah and King. He went anyway.

Why? Because He loves you and me! If you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, do so TODAY!

¹ He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not become discouraged: ² “There was a judge in one town who didn’t fear God or respect man.  ³ And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’ ” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [to help] them? ⁸ I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that [kind of] faith on earth?” Luke 18:1-8 HCSB

Have you ever prayed to God, asking Him for something? Did you get the answer you expected? Often we do not. Also, when we do not get the answer we expect, we usually say something like: “Well, God must have said no!” Then, we go our way thinking to ourselves that we are expressing faith in God through that kind of attitude.

Jesus told us, in this passage, that persistent prayer is the model we should emulate. We should determine exactly what we want from God (through other passages in the Bible we know that we MUST ask in accordance with God’s Will) and then set down to ask Him for it. Every day. Every week. Every month. Year after year. Without ceasing. Never stopping.

Get the picture? 

My dad prayed for the salvation of his family all of his saved life – which was about 80+ years of living as a Christian. He died not knowing for sure how God answered his prayer, but was convinced that God did. He never stopped praying. He never stopped asking God for the salvation of his family.

Get the picture?

BE PERSISTENT!!  If you are going to go to the trouble of asking God for something, at least do so until He answers! After all, that was His clear direction for us!

³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. ³⁶ Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” Luke 17:34-36 NKJV

Not enough can be said of the importance of remember our Savior’s return. The apathy that exists in our nation feeds the the blindness to the reality of the prophecy that Jesus said of Himself – one Day He will return! His return will be “like a thief in the night” and will be selective. Only those people that are ready, looking, anxious about, remembering, and living for Him the way HE wants us to will be taken by Him into Glory! Only those that have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord AND are living in a way that expects His imminent return will actually go with Him!

Those of us that meet that criteria know that the time approaches quickly. There was an old song years ago: “It Won’t Be Long” that I used to love. I haven’t heard it in a long time, and I suspect that it has been forgotten just like the truth about Jesus has been forgotten. But it is alive in my heart, and I am ready for my Lord’s return.

Are you?

So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15:20

Every one of us, at one time or another, have failed our parents. We all had rules to live by – the rules were different (sometimes drastically different) from household to household, but they were rules nonetheless. We have all been disobedient to those rules and had to face the consequences. I remember being in that very situation. My siblings had it much harder than I did, but I still had my consequences to deal with. I remember being afraid of getting dad angry, for fear of what he would do. Facing that situation is not desirable, and tends to guide our actions to avoid getting in those situations. Sometimes, we choose the wrong means to do just that.

The young man in this parable did exactly that – he went against all of his country’s customs, his family’s honor, and his dad’s heart to waste a bunch of money in a distant land. When he was broke, working at the worst job possible, and starving he decided to go home and face his dad. He did not have great expectations from the encounter. He was hoping to get hired on as a worker, figuring that he was already disowned.

His dad’s reaction was shocking! He showed unmistakable love, compassion, mercy, and joy at his son’s return. His son did not deserve any of that, but got it anyways! That is true compassion! That is exactly what God wants to do for us, if we only let Him!

“Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions [Or does not renounce or leave] cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:31-33 HCSB

We all read this portion of Scripture and immediately discount the severity of its content, and “tone it down” in our minds – and as a result our lives are not what they should be before the Lord. I cannot count the number of times that I’ve heard preachers say from the pulpit that we are not expected to actually give up everything that we own for the Lord. That, my friends, is a direct contradiction to the Bible.

I am not saying that I like this, nor that I have been able to actually do this. But God expects it of us. We should count this as a cost, and weigh it against the ramifications of serving God! What is the rate of return? Heaven! No contest, then.

⁸ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. ⁹ “So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:8-9

When we go to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ in prayer asking Him for something, often we wait a few days and assume that His answer is “no.” Well Jesus, in this passage, spells out clearly the method He setup for a successful answered prayer. My suggestion is for you to read the entire passage to get the whole story. The point Jesus is making is all about persistence in prayer. If we petition Him for something once and stop, then we are not serious about needing the answer. You may want to argue with me about that statement, but the Word is clear! God answers persistent prayer! Yes, our hearts need to be right with God for answered prayer! Yes, we need to already be born-again for answered prayer! Yes, we need to have a mind that is in accord with God’s way of thinking for answered prayer. BUT — if we REALLY want to move heaven, we must never give up in our prayer life!

Don’t stop praying! Pray THROUGH!

⁴⁶ Then an argument started among them about who would be the greatest of them. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and had him stand next to Him. ⁴⁸ He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. For whoever is least among you—this one is great.” Luke 9:46-48 HCSB

Isn’t it just like us to argue over who is the best? Don’t we always push our own rights in a situation? Isn’t it easy to blame the other guy for the mistake? Don’t we rail on the other drivers for being so wrong? Isn’t our ideas of how to do things better than everyone else’s? This entire notion of just who is the best, the greatest, the most correct, etc. etc. is rampant human nature – i.e. SIN! It is nothing less than selfishness. It is the exact same sin that brought Lucifer’s downfall and Satan emerged! When we behave that way, we are emulating satan’s notions of appropriate behavior!

We should listen to our Lord when He tells us to be the least! We should embrace the priorities of others ahead of ourselves! We should acknowledge their rights over our own! Let the other person win! Take the lowest, most humble seat without display. Strive to be anonymous and forgotten in our pursuits of obedience to God’s Will and commands for our lives! Then, we can enjoy God’s true favor!

²³ Then He said to [them] all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. ²⁵ What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?  Luke 9:23-25 HCSB

Jesus is talking here to His disciples. They had just answered His question about His identity, confirming that they knew He is the Messiah of Israel foretold in the Scriptures.  He then proceeded to explain His death, burial, and resurrection.  Since He was going through all the necessary pain and anguish to save the souls of all who call upon Him, He was explaining His expectations upon them subsequent to that surrender to Him as Savior and Lord (or Master).

The problem is that He expects us to “take up his cross daily” and then to also “follow Me.” We seldom do either one of these. First of all, if we are not born-again, then we cannot do either one. If we are born-again, then we are expected to do both and are given the power to do so through the Holy Spirit of God that abides within those that are saved. This involves two things:

1. To take up his cross daily means to embrace your death. That is, you are no longer in charge – you are ‘dead’ to your own will, desires, etc. – and you embrace God’s leading. No matter what God asks of you, that is what you do. Hard? Actually, it is impossible. But God gives each of us the power and strength to do that, if we are truly surrendered to Him. This embracing must be complete, however. That is, an absolute willingness to go as far as He did for us – physical, emotional, and spiritual torture to the point of physical death. Few are asked to go through that these days, but the willingness must be there.
2. To follow Me means that once we have denied ourselves, then we must actively participate in His plan for us. Not only must we study, pray, read, etc. to find out what His plan is – we must then organize our life in such a way as to actually do the things He asks. Not just understand the need for evangelism (for instance), but actually go out and evangelize. Not just understand the need for worship (for another instance), but actually spend time daily worshipping Him. Not just knowing that we must read the Bible and pray daily (for instance, again), but to change our schedule so as to actually read a few chapters every day in the Bible, and actually spend time (1/2 hour, for example) daily in direct communication with Him.

It sounds like a lot – and it is! But remember what He gave for us! This is our “reasonable service’ that Paul wrote of in Romans 12:1.

Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered; He will thunder in the heavens against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.  He will give power to His king;He will lift up the horn of His anointed. (1 Samuel 2:10 HCSB)

I would not want to be on the receiving end of the LORD’s judgment! Earlier verses in the passage clearly spell out the Sovereignty of God! God humbles or exalts, raises or lowers, brings poverty or wealth – depending upon HIS Will. I love the Lord Jesus, and serve Him. He is my Savior, my Friend, my Helper .. but He also is Almighty! He is Sovereign! The Bible clearly states that God “.. is not a man that He should lie..” meaning that whatever HE states WILL happen and be! So, if there are stated consequences to opposing Him, I know that those consequences are real! I want no part of them! So a certain amount of respect is demanded! I will fear the Lord, in that my respect for Him and Who He is dictates concern on my part to be obedient.

It is possible that many of you have no clue how to do this. Well, my advice is to talk to God and ask Him to show you. HE will! Believe me.

³⁴ And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ” Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, ” My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? “ Mark 15: 34

It breaks my heart.

To realize that the Lord of the Universe – God Almighty – deliberately put Himself through the agony described here is sometime more than I can handle. Wow.

It just breaks my heart. Does it break yours?

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming–in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning– lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
(Mark 13:32-37 NKJV)

Such a comforting passage of scripture this is! We KNOW that sometime (soon, I believe) Jesus our Savior, Lord, Master, and Best Friend will come back here to this old earth and bring us up bodily into the air. He will be there to meet us, and He will take us to our new home – bodily and alive! Our bodies will become just like His, and we will not hurt anymore! What a glorious promise this is! The best thing is: it will actually happen, and soon!

This parable tells us that we do not know when this will happen. We must, however, be expectant of it’s imminent occurrence and live our lives in such a way as to reflect that truth! Our lives must show others as well as Jesus Himself that we expect His return and live that way! Do we behave in a holy manner? Do we put Jesus first before all other aspects of our lives? Do we spend our free time doing something that brings Jesus Christ glory? Do we ask Him for the privilege of sharing this truth with others that may not know Him yet?

Let’s live for Jesus the way HE wants us to! And then we can say with all honesty “even so come, Lord Jesus!”

²⁰ “When the LORD your God enlarges your territory as He has promised you, ^(J) and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want. ²¹ If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want. ²² Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it. ²³ But don’t eat the blood, since the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. Deuteronomy 12:20-23

There are two things about this passage that hit home with me. One is (obviously) that the Bible clearly teaches that you can eat meat. Not the blood that is in the meat, but the meat anytime you want meat. Since the Bible also says that God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” then God obviously never changes. So if meat was good for them then, meat is good for us now.

The other thing is the deal of the blood. We are not to eat blood. This is no problem for me since I have practiced this from childhood. However, some folks do not properly prepare their meat. Especially venison! I have found that sometimes I need to soak venison for a day or so in iced-water (thanks Shaun for that tip!) to get all the blood out. When I do that, it makes a distinct difference in the meat – SO much better! Isn’t it wonderful how the Bible is ALWAYS right about stuff?

Praise the Lord, and pass the meat!

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. Mark 9:47-48

It is well known that whenever the Bible wants to emphasize something important, it is repeated. Well, this phrase is repeated 3 times! So, I realize that God deems it VERY important! The phrase “their worm does not die” refers to a fact that the individual continues to exist. The phrase “the fire is not quenched” means that the individual is continually on fire. So the message here is that those individuals that go to hell experience all the misery of being on fire, but it never ends! They never burn up, they just continually burn! The experience has every indication of complete sensory awareness – that is, those individuals in hell will FEEL EVERYTHING, and do so forever!

Make sure of your salvation today!

¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told Him. ²⁰ “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?” “Seven,” they said. Mark 8:19-20

So many times preachers use this passage, but remind us that God’s blessings are often spiritual and His provision is for the soul. Well, those are true statements alright, but they do not encompass the entirety of the matter. In fact, these people that Jesus provided the miracles of fish and bread for were blessed physically! They had their “social” needs (if you will) met quite satisfactorily!

When we pray for needs that we have, do we not expect an answer? If the need is for money, do we not desire a monetary solution? Is God no longer capable of multiplying the physical, like the bread or fish that he multiplied on these occasions? Must we continue to weary God by not have faith that He can answer the physical need through miraculous means?

I realize that God often answers the monetary (for example) by providing work. I know that He will sometimes provide food through churches or food pantries, etc. However, I do not believe that God has somehow become incapable of answering through the miraculous! Jesus could have thought ahead, formed a coalition, purchased food and drink, acquired transportation, and provided for all the people at this meeting without using the miraculous. He chose not to do that. He chose to use the miraculous.

We need to consider if we are failing God by our disbelief in this area. If so, we should repent. For “whatever is not of faith, is sin.”

¹⁸ Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! ¹⁹ God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:18-19

Balaam was hired by Balak (who was king of the Moabites, an enemy of Israel) to put a curse on Israel. King Balak was afraid of Israel, since they had just conquered King Arad of the Canaanites and took his land, King Sihon of the Amorites and took his land, and King Og of Bashan and took his land! So the Israelites were numerous and defeating all their enemies that they ran across. It is no wonder that King Balak was afraid!

It is interesting to me that Balaam was a prophet known to be accurate. This means that he actually did speak to God! His actions proved that he had the tendency to obey God most of the time, since he insisted on going to God for answers first before he did any actions. It is also interesting that Balaam was not an Israelite. This tells me that God has always had His people – people that served Him, even if we are not aware of it. There have evidently always been gentile believers somewhere in this world.

Finally, Balaam was told to explain to King Balak that God does not change His mind! When God proclaims a thing, it is set! God told Balaam NOT to curse Israel, and even when King Balak changed locations that command from God was still in effect.  God was not about to change His Mind about His People. That gives me MUCH consolation, MUCH peace, and MUCH comfort! I am just a human as the next guy, and I make as many mistakes as you – possibly more! However, God has promised to love me through it all! This passage comforts me, because it reminds me that God is never going to have His Mind changed by anyone or anything else – He said He loves me and will take care of me, and that IS what will happen! Praise the Lord for that!

¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”  ¹³ But Moses replied to the LORD, … ¹⁹ Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.” Numbers 14:11-13, 19

Moses was just threatened by the entire Israelite camp – they were about to stone him and Aaron! The spies had gone through the land of Canaan and discovered the fruitfulness of it as well as size and fierceness of the inhabitants. They came back and told the people that they would surely be destroyed if they tried to go into the land. Of course, Caleb and Joshua disagreed due to their faith in God. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Israelite assembly to plead with them not to lose faith in God. However, the Israelites responded by threatening to stone them to death!

The amazing part is what happens next. God tells Moses that He is angry with the Israelites, and is going to destroy them all and raise up a new nation from Moses’ descendants. Now stop and think, for a moment. The Israelites tried to kill him, and God wants to kill them and make him like Abraham is to the Israelites – the father of the nation! What do you think you would do if God told you that? Something like “Thank you Lord!” or “Praise God” or “What an answer to prayer, my enemies will be defeated” or some such like response? When we are in the midst of a life-storm and ask God for solutions, do we turn them down when they come? NO! Of COURSE not! How ridiculous!

Well, Moses interceded with God on the Israelites’ behalf. Moses pleaded with God NOT to destroy them! God listened, and that is why they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness until all the men 20 years old and upward died (except for Caleb and Joshua). Their wanderings was a reprieve from God – a blessing, if you will! If Moses had NOT interceded with God, but instead had accepted God’s decision, he would have lost the test! If God had set any one of us up with a choice like that, would WE have PASSED the test? Honestly, how would YOU respond to such a scenario?

The only reason Moses passed was due to the length of time he spent with God. The only way we will pass our tests is if we spend MORE time with God! Our challenge today: Figure out when we can spend more time daily with God, and start doing so!

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:16-18 NKJV)

The Holy Spirit becomes a part of our lives as soon as we surrender to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord! At that moment we are also adopted into the Family of God! We are no longer the people we were, we are now someone new! “old things are passed away, and behold all things become new” the Bible says. So what’s with the suffering? One of the main goals of God for all of His adopted children is fashion them so as to reflect His Son in our lives (see Romans 8:29).

The task of changing this old sinful worthless man into something that reflects the glory of God is an impossible task! However, God is the God of the impossible, and has promised that He WILL accomplish it! Therefore, it is fully understandable that we will experience some pain and suffering in the process. There is an entire transformation necessary, and will experience every bit of it!

However, the Apostle Paul explains to us that the glory that is going to be revealed in us surpasses our sufferings to such as extent that the attempt to compare them is of no worth! I remember when I was a “short-timer” in the military. We had a saying “I can do 2 weeks standing on my head!” Meaning, of course, that the reward of what I will receive after 2 weeks (the last 2 weeks of my enlistment) was so great that I was willing to put up with any duty – good or bad – happily! In the same way, Paul is saying that our sufferings during this life are SSSOOOOOOO insignificant compared to the glory that we WILL have, that we can endure anything with joy to receive that reward!

Therefore the title of this little thought: “The incomprehensible glory of suffering” becomes clear! It is not the suffering itself that is glorious, but the end result makes it worthwhile! Our challenge today: Praise audibly the Lord Jesus Christ for something He allows us to experience that is unpleasant, until we actually mean it!

Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:21-23 NKJV)

We that are Christians (that is, having accepted the payment Jesus Christ made for our sins and surrendered to Him and His subsequent Lordship over our lives) are expected to “shine our lights” to those that are lost (i.e. have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord). We have been told this truth many times, and sometimes even obey! We all have many excuses as to why we only “shine” at certain times, why our “witnessing” is sporadic and inconsistent, and why we seem to be reluctant to tell the wonderful news of Jesus’ Salvation to others. However, most of those excuses are simply lame.

Sometimes we run into serious opposition to the truth of Jesus Christ. There are those that seem to be better at arguing than we are. We might be afraid of losing, and so we back off. Well, we are not to “win” arguments – we are to expose the truth! The “winning” is the job of the Holy Spirit! WE NEVER SAVE anyone! WE NEVER WIN an argument, or convince a person’s mind. It is ALWAYS the Holy Spirit that accomplishes that task. So, all we EVER have to do is to witness — tell the truth, share our story, know the Bible and share that!

Remember, the truth, the hidden, the secret — all will be revelated someday to all! There will come a time in which all will be understood. The truth, eventually, will be shinning forth in all of God’s Glory to all persons everywhere! What will happen to those that reject the gospel? They will ultimately find out that they were wrong, and pay that price themselves eternally in the punishment of hell! What a sad case for them! Our hearts should break on their behalf!

Our challenge for today: witness to someone about Jesus!

⁴ “The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. … ¹⁷ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸ “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰ The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die. Leviticus 4

The Kohathites were a clan of Levites assigned by God  to carry the items in the Tabernacle, and in the “Most Holy Place” of the Tabernacle, whenever they were required to move. God was concerned enough to detail to Aaron just how they were to do it. God even placed a burden on Aaron and his sons to make sure that the Kohathites were not killed in the process. You see, they were not allowed to go into the Most Holy Place. There were not even allowed to see the items in the Most Holy Place that they were to carry! God assigned the task of carrying the objects to them, but Aaron and his sons were to go into the Most Holy Place and prepare all the objects, and deliver them – ready to carry – to the assigned member of the Kohathiite clan for that particular task. If they disobeyed in any way, God will kill that individual.

Wow. Talk about serious! Obeying God’s commands was serious business for the Israelites. They did not have a lot of latitude in their service. How about us? How about today? How about those of us who consider ourselves Christians, serving Jesus in His Church? Do we obey Him to the letter? Do we place His instructions first in our lives? Do we take the time to find out how He wants us to do things? I think we often feel good about ourselves if we can just figure out what He wants us to do. I think we often neglect to find out how He wants us to do things – or when!

God is into details. He is in charge, and likes to be obeyed fully. HE wants us to do His Will His Way and in His Time! Our challenge today is to start finding out how and when He wants us to serve HIm!

³ “If you follow My statutes and faithfully observe My commands, ⁴ I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land.  ⁶ I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten [you]. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.  ⁷ You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you will pursue 100, and 100 of you will pursue 10,000; your enemies will fall before you by the sword.  Leviticus 26

It is, as usual, exceedingly simple. For some reason we go to great lengths to make things difficult for ourselves. We either choose to ignore the reality that we are in a battle on a constant basis, or we convince ourselves that the answer to personal victory lies in some “hidden secret truth” that we have not yet discovered. Many “cults” have formed over this idea of a “hidden secret truth” – and all of them will die and go to hell if they do not accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

There is NO “hidden secret truth,” the Bible makes the answers to our questions very simple. So simple, in fact, that all we have to do is read and obey the Word of God and we will find the answers to our life-questions! In this passage the secret to a victorious Christian life is spelled out very simply. If we, as born-again followers of Jesus Christ, will 1) follow HIS statutes and 2) faithfully observe HIS commands — the result is astounding victory! HE is the ONE that brings this victory about! And that victory is amazing! The blessings that He will bring will absolutely astound you – as well as undoubtedly perplex those around you that are not saved! His blessings run on a very different value system than the devil’s does (i.e. the world’s standards – same thing.) But they are astounding, VERY real, and tangible!

BUT, the qualification is stated at the first. HE is first, not us. HE decides our path, not us. HE sets the standard, not us. HE plans our life, not us. Having problems with this? Then I suggest you surrender your life to Him today! HE IS, after all, the ONLY way!

⁴⁶ At about three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni? “ that is, ” My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? ” Matthew 27:46 HCSB

At this point Jesus was separated from the Father. At this moment, the Father abandoned the Son. It was the first and only time this happened. It was, however, extremely necessary. 

However, I do not believe that Jesus only felt the judgment of one man – He felt the judgment of multiple billions of people! This is because He was paying the price for our sins! Our actions, thoughts, deeds, etc. of rebellion to God’s standard of perfection results in our being worthy of eternal judgment. Jesus paid the price of that judgment for us – all we need to do is to accept that price and the consequences. That is, realize that

1. Jesus actually paid our debt that we owe,
   
2. Ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins,
3. Ask Jesus to come into our hearts and lives as our Savior, and
   
4. Ask Jesus to be our Lord and Master of our life, directing our steps in righteous living!

I am thankful for Jesus’ gift to me of salvation! I am thankful for His gift to me of suffering in my place. I deserve eternal horror, but through the gift of Jesus I am spared that misery. I praise Him for that!

I am so unworthy.

⁶ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.  ⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:6-9

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! Everyone is gearing up to express his or her love to their special someone! Red flowers, red balloons, red hearts filled with candy, red clothes — everything to express the heart felt sentiments to a special person! Many will enjoy a special dinner, a special outing, or a special function at a church in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Actually, it is a shame that we only do this once a year! We really should express our love to our loved ones all year long! If we really love someone, we want them to know it! I love my wife, and have no problem expressing that to her! I enjoy doing so! If I didn’t, then there would be something wrong with our relationship!

In the same way, if we are born-again then we have a love-relationship with Jesus Christ! The Bible says that we are ‘espoused’ to Him — that is, He is our ‘husband’ – or our ’special someone’ that we have declared our love for! One day we will have a special dinner that the Bible calls the “marriage supper of the Lamb” and we will actually sit down and eat with our beloved Jesus Christ! What a wonderful dinner that will be! But, we only get to go by special invitation! That invitation is the same one that He gives to all – “please accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord of your life!”

Have you accepted that invitation? Are you born-again? If so, we will enjoy the Marriage Supper of the Lamb together! If not, you must do so TODAY!

² For six days work is to be done, but on the seventh day you are to have a holy day, a Sabbath ^(B) of complete rest to the LORD. Anyone who does work on it must be executed.  Exodus 35:2 HCSB

Wow. God was serious about His Sabbath Day of Rest! If you did NOT observe the Sabbath properly, you were to be EXECUTED! Imagine today in the USA if we were to enforce that law! We’d lose most of our people on the first weekend! We explain it away saying things like “that’s the Old Testament” and we don’t need to heed it, or “we are not under law, but under grace” as an excuse.

Think about it, for a moment. Do you think that God has changed His mind? Has God become someone else? When Jesus died and rose again presenting the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to the Father in heaven, do you think that God said, “Ok! Now, I am going to change the way I think! I will be a different God. I don’t care about the Sabbath anymore! I don’t care about the 10 commandments anymore! Holiness and obedience are not longer my WAY of doing things!”

I don’t think so.

God is the “same, yesterday, today, and forever” the Bible says. I suspect that His Grace is keeping us alive, not His preferences. I suspect that we should be a LOT DIFFERENT in the way that we behave towards His laws and commands for us. I suspect that we should reconsider our doctrine and subsequent actions about the Sabbath, as Christians! You better believe that Jesus observed the Sabbath when HE was on the earth!  Maybe we should too!

Ok, this may not be a very “spiritual” comment, but THAT’S DISGUSTING! God is giving His blessing on eating locust, katydid, crickets and grasshoppers. Yuk! I suppose that it’s a cultural thing, but I would much rather have a burger, thank you! I think that it is awesome that God has enabled me to live in a culture that allows me not to have to eat bugs! I suspect that He knew ahead of time that I just would not be able to deal with that well.

Don’t get me wrong, with all the experiences (most of which I would just as soon forget) that i’ve gone through in my life, I doubt that eatings bugs would cause me to lose my cookies. However, I don’t like the idea, and will gladly forfeit the experience as long as is possible. I know that I have an “iron stomach” and would be able to deal with it. I just don’t want to. Ever. Yuk.

If God ever asks me to, however, I will. Period. He is God, after all.

Would you?

Some years ago I had the opportunity to speak before a convention of pastors. I present the point that God is involved with every detailed aspect of our lives. Everything that we do, eat, wear, watch, spend our time on, etc. was important to God and should be under His direction. I was appalled at the response from these preachers: they laughed, they joked, and they made fun of the issue! Was I wrong?

Here in Leviticus God is telling Moses how to present a particular sacrifice: the fellowship offering. There were many sacrifices, offerings, and laws for the children of Israel to follow. In fact, if you study the book of Leviticus, you will find that God directed every aspect of how the tabernacle was designed, built, who built it, what the priests would wear, how their clothes were designed, when they would change clothes, etc. etc. Their every action was detailed.

So, that was Old Testament stuff – not important, huh? Well, I could argue against that all day, but that would take too much time and you would not read it anyways. However, consider this: the Old Testament was (among other things) a revelation of the nature of God. Just because we are under the era of Grace doesn’t mean that God changes – He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” the Bible says. So if He was that interested in the details of their lives during the days of Moses, I suspect that He is just as interested in the details of our lives today!

I think it would be wise to consider how we should dress today, what we should eat today, what we should do to pass our time today, how we should spend our efforts at work, at home, or in entertainment today – all in the light of what God’s opinion is of each of those activities. We need to be much more involved in present Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives than we ever have been!

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.“   Matthew 23:27-28

Our Lord was railing against the religious leaders of the day about their lives. These leaders were very religious – but they were far from God. They were the same ones that knowingly rejected our Savior and Lord as their Messiah. They recognized Him, but they didn’t want their lives to change. They were slaves to Rome, but they had gotten used to their situation and even got to like it. In fact their entire livelihood was because of Rome and the relationship that they had. So they didn’t want to become free – they would lose all they had worked for!

Our challenge for today: Quite being just “good looking” and start “looking good” on the inside for Jesus Christ!

²¹ “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”  ²² When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. Matthew 19:21-22

A lady went to a special evening service at church one Sunday. There was an evangelist/musician featured who performed a number of songs in which the congregation was truly blessed. After the service, the lady spoke to him expressing her appreciation for the service. She said “I really enjoyed that music of yours! I wish I could play like that!“

“No you don’t!” he said with conviction.

“Yes, I do!” she responded with slight irritation in her voice.

“No, you really don’t,” he continued, “for if you really did you would have spent the time to learn!“

That lady was just like the young man in Matthew that spoke with Jesus! That young man who spoke to Jesus wanted to have eternal life, but he didn’t want it bad enough to change his own life for it. You see, he was a rich young man. All that wealth was important to him – so much so that he was unwilling to give it up. The real sad thing is that he is right now in hell, writhing in misery and abject horror due to his decision to spend a couple more years with the wealth that he had. Now the wealth is gone forever – and he will pay for eternity his rejection of Jesus Christ as his messiah.

We still have time! We can choose Jesus today! Please, surrender to Jesus Christ today!

⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:44-47

It is not a formula, it is not a list of rules, it is not a specified set of steps to follow – it is all about the heart. The woman in this story loved much, Jesus said. I think one of the problems with the “so-called christians” of today (that is, those that claim the Name of Jesus as Savior, but live for the devil) is that there is no love for the Savior in their hearts. You cannot be truly a born-again Christian without love. God IS love, and without God true love CANNOT be found or expressed. Therefore, if there is no love in your heart, there is probably no Savior in your heart either.

Concerned about eternity? Go to Jesus! Having issues with your marriage? Go to Jesus! Struggling with your attitudes? Go to Jesus! Having relationship problems? Go to Jesus! HE is the only one that can put love back into your life, and save – not only your soul, but your marriage, your relational issues, and your attitude problems! HE is the Way!

Today’s challenge: Go to Jesus and ask Him for love in your heart!

 ⁷ “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7-8

The power of persistence is clearly spelled out to us in the Bible. Here Jesus clearly underscores the effectiveness of persistent prayer.  This particular translation (The Holman Christian Standard Bible) brings out the meaning of the words as they appear in the original text. We are to ask, and keep asking. We are to search and keep searching! We are to knock and keep knocking! The persistent prayer warrior will receive the blessing, whereas those that give up will not receive any blessing. The answer comes to those that are persistent.

Our challenge today: Know God’s Will, then pray for it without ceasing till He clearly answers prayer!

I find it amazing that the Israelite nobels saw the God of Israel right along with Moses, and yet built an idol a few days later and forsook Him! They were not harmed by God, in fact they ate and drank with Him (vers 11)! How soon they forgot God! How quickly they fell away! They literally had a mountain-top experience with God, and then they fell deep into sin.

It is a warning to us all. We can experience the truth of God for a moment, and then ignore Him and go right into sin! He reveals Himself to us in various ways – ways that each of us will understand – and then we are responsible before Him to follow His ways! He meets us where we are so that we can truly comprehend the truth. He is the best teacher! He is able to reach each of us in our understanding wherever we are. But we must be careful not to forget, not to fall away, not to let down our guard!

Our challenge today: Remember God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to follow Him!

²⁹ So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, ³⁰ who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30

I find this passage very fascinating. I also think that our response to it is fascinating. Most of us that are born-again Christians probably wonder why we do not see the hundredfold blessing promised here. We look around at out lives and the lives of our friends and neighbors and realize that nobody is getting wealthy who is living for the Lord. So where is the promised wealth?

We also know that God’s idea of wealth and blessings is quite different from ours. So we reason that we miss the blessings because that are spiritual blessings, not physical ones. He is drawing us closer to Him and making our relationship with Him more real. Our time in heaven will be that much more glorious due to these blessings He is providing for us.

And we leave it at that.

How sad. The problem is that we completely ignore the qualifications for the blessings: “no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s” — that is the qualification. Who has done that? We strive to keep hold of our family, our reputation, our houses and lands, our bank account, our children’s future education, etc. We are not giving up our things for the gospel’s sake! We seldom leave everything, travel to a foreign land, and spend all our waking moments trying to reach people for Jesus! There are a few that do, and believe me they will certainly be blessed for it! They will receive sufficient for their temporal needs, as well as abundant friendships and joys abounding through their lives! These blessings actually do happen to people that meet these qualifications! The problem is, most of us do not begin to match that recipe for God’s hundredfold blessing.

God’s challenge today: consider HIM! He is worth ACTUALLY leaving everything for!

³² “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay everything that was owed. ³⁵ So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.”  Matthew 18:32-35

I wonder how often we remember the importance that Jesus placed on forgiveness? He obviously has forgiven those that have accepted Him as Savior and Lord of their lives – and His forgiveness encompasses much more fault than we will ever experience at the hand of all other people against us, combined! Yet, we harbor resentment, irritation, anger, hurt, negative attitudes against our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those that do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives!

People, we need to wake up! We need to start implementing the Fruit of the Spirit of Christ in our lives! We need to start acting like Jesus for a change! We MUST start forgiving one another! Start today!

⁵ Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”  Genesis 37:5-7

When Joseph dreamed about becoming the ruler over his brothers, sisters, and parents – they all were offended. They all disliked what Joseph dreamed, and evidently didn’t believe him. I know that most of us have never experienced anything quite like that – God generally doesn’t tell us in a dream what is going to happen. Usually, God speaks to us through the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit, or through the Bible – God’s Holy Word. However, I am sure that many of us have become convicted of a truth, and shared it with others – only to be rejected by those that we are trying to share it with.

Maybe some of you reading this are among those that choose not to agree with the Bible, or the plan of salvation, or some aspect of Jesus Christ. Well friend, I am sorry that you feel that way, but it will not make any difference in the plan that God implements. You cannot change God’s mind simply by “believing” something else. In our current society it is generally accepted that as long as we believe something we are ok. Well, God says, it doesn’t matter if you don’t like it, HIS TRUTH is the ONLY WAY. Don’t like it? Tough. He is not going to change it.

Christian, you are in the same boat. You cannot pick and choose your doctrine. You cannot pick and choose your gifts from God. You cannot pick and choose what service you are going to do for Him. You cannot pick and choose how God wants to use you. You are “not your own. You are bought with a price” – so it doesn’t matter if you don’t like it. God is in charge, not you or me.

It is high time we humbled ourselves before God Almighty, and recognized that HE IS THE LORD! Ask HIM what to do, then DO IT!

¹¹ Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ¹²The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11-12

God is telling us to “wake up” and “get ready to fight” because HE is COMING VERY SOON! I love this passage of scripture! It is so encouraging in this world of pain, sorrow, frustration, dispair, agony, worry, uncertainty, illness, etc. to know that even though we must brush off our battle armor and prepare for war, HE IS COMING SOON! And even sooner than when we first believed!

It is almost over, folks! Soon the entire world will be very different! Our lives will be entirely changed! We are living in the end-times, my friends, and it is exciting! I trust you are all ready for the battle, because it is coming – like it or not! Praise the LORD!!!!

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.”  Matthew 16:24-25

Deny myself. Hmmmm. Doesn’t that go absolutely against the very fabric of the paradigm of our current culture? We are taught by the media, the schools, our families and friends, even some of our churches that we need to provide for ourselves! It is a “me” generation! The thought of denying ourselves is VERY foreign to us! If we want a particular food – we go get it! If we want to see a movie – off we go! When we look for work, we try to pick and choose what we’ll do based upon our preferences. We spend our money on our current living expenses first, then save up for our retirement! If there is money left over (which there almost NEVER is) then we use some of THAT for our tithes and offerings!

I know that many of you, if not all, will violently disagree with me and provide a plethera of disagreements on this. It is possible, also, that I am overstating this for effect. This is because we never seriously considering making this a practical part of our lives! We are all about ourselves, not about Jesus! We need to consider – for a change – denying ourselves for Him!

²⁹ Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there, ³⁰ and large crowds came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at His feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the deformed restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they gave glory to the God of Israel.  Matthew 15:29-31

Jesus healed the physical deformities, the physical sicknesses, as well as the heart of those around Him. Why? Because HE wanted to! And He still does today! HE LOVE US ALL! Go to HIM today for you needs! One way or another, HE will take care of you if you only put your trust and life in Him!

² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”  ³ He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?  Matthew 15:2-3

I find this passage very fascinating. The Pharisees and scribes were the religious leaders of the day. The tradition of the elders that the disciples were ‘breaking’ were not from the scriptures, but from the religious leaders over the years that had been passed down through the generations. This is similar to our church situations today. We each are comfortable with a church service-style, a church worship-style, and various church practices that we have participated in through the years. In and of themselves, these ‘traditions’ of ours are not wrong. In fact, most of them grew through necessity of the times we were in.

In the same way, we must be very careful not to be so content with our traditions that we become ineffective and – even worse – sinful in our habits and practices! Beloved, we must not hold to traditions – we must hold to Jesus! Let JESUS guide and direct our services, our worship time, and our various church practices. Then, we will ALWAYS be effective in our evangelism and discipleship programs!

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. ¹⁵ From His mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it He might strike the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS – Revelation 19:11-16

Anyone who has surrendered to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord truly reads this passage with hope, expectation, and longing! How wonderful it will be to be sitting on that white horse with our Savior at the head charging forth to victory over evil! He is truly magnificent! He is awesome and wonderful! The time is coming quickly, and (for all those ‘nay-sayers’ out there:) IT WILL COME! It will actually happen! Life as we know it will change drastically. The separation between ‘life on earth’ and ‘life after death’ will be blurred for all those that are truly saved! The lost will spend eternity in the lake of fire continually and forever being tormented for their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. But WE will be in His Presence, and will reign with Him in real time and space over people, places and things!

One of the most awesome thoughts I have, as I sit and contemplate these things, is that I will be there. I am aware of my many faults. I am cognizant of my failures. I know how weak and ineffectual I am. I am a sinner saved by grace, and only held and kept through His power and His grace! This passage comforts me to no end, knowing that I WILL BE THERE! GOD has PROMISED that I will ride the horse! Praise His Name!

In spite of the many things in Job that we can differ about, there is certainly one thing that is very clear from this passage. This is God talking to Job. God is asking Job questions to make him realize just how puny he is in comparison to God. I think that we all need that, on a regular basis. We that have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord often forget that HE is in charge, not us! HE is the Master of our lives, not us! We need to let HIM be in charge, and quit running our lives. After all, before we surrendered to HIM, we were all making a mess of things!

Do you look around your life and see a mess? Often, whether you are saved or not, it is because of sin in your life and mine. Our rebellion takes many forms, but always leads to the same place: disaster! If you have not surrendered to Jesus Christ today, do so now! If you have, but you have been living for your self and disgracing HIS glorious Name, then surrender afresh today and start walking in obedience to HIM again!

⁴⁰ “The one who welcomes you welcomes Me, and the one who welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me.  ⁴¹ Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward.  ⁴² And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple — I assure you: He will never lose his reward!” Matthew 10:40-42

What a stark contrast between these two ideas: giving a cup of cold water to someone who follows Jesus Christ versus calling us ’satan’ (see vs 25) because we are part of the Lord Jesus’ family! He explained earlier in this passage that the time will come when people will think we are of the devil because of our beliefs. Well, the ‘popular’ notion in today’s society is that Christians are hateful, unloving, and deserving of death. We seem to be in a society that considers Christianity as the enemy of truth.

It is in this culture that a person gets so blessed simply by showing kindness to a follow of Jesus Christ! Jesus knew that these days would come, and that they would be terribly difficult. However, in the midst of His discourse here, He gives us the promise that should life up our spirits! He says:

²⁶ “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹ Don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:26-31

What a tremendous promise! In the midst of such darkness and misery, He has promised that He sees all! He has promised that our enemies will NOT go unpunished! He is aware of every part of us, and considers us to be of great worth! However, He expects us to value Him the same way! We must put HIM FIRST!

³⁷ The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it. Matthew 10:37-39

Tell me, are you putting JESUS CHRIST FIRST in your life? Do so TODAY!

² Everything you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. ³ Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.  ⁴ But you coat [the truth] with lies; you are all worthless doctors.  ⁵ If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom! Job 13:2-5 HCSB

I had to chuckle at the way this was translated. Not that it was wrong, but that it is written in a way that speaks clearly to my heart and life. I did not expect that type of language from Job. I have always considered him to be the perfect gentleman in his speech. I never expected him to tell his friends: “If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom!” LOL! He has just gone through great detail in explaining to them that he is just as aware of their knowledge as they are.  He has also just told them that they are all “worthless doctors.” One thing about Job, you didn’t have to work at trying to figure out what he thought.

I wonder if people have that issue with any of us? Do we hide behind decorum and society being too polite to tell the truth? What did Jesus call the Scribes and Pharisees? Painted tombs, and snakes! Don’t get me wrong, I think that being polite is also a lost art on our current society, and should be practiced more by all of us. However, being polite and being truthful seems to sometimes be two different things. Beloved, this should not be.

A white lie is just as much a sin as an outrageous lie. How can we expect the unsaved to want salvation when we exhibit evidences of lies and half-truths? We should not only be people of the book, we need to also be people of our word!

²⁵ For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Job 3:25 HCSB

For all of Job’s righteousness and faith, he had harbored a fear. Job was a very wealthy man, he had much livestock and land. Job was also a family man, with many sons and daughters. He was the picture of prosperity, and regaled by his community and peers. Job was also a righteous man, and showed this with his daily sacrifices to the Lord God. His trust in God was evident and unmistakable.  Through the book of Job his friends give him advice which the Lord requires Job’s prayer for them to forgive. So their advice was wrong! Job WAS a righteous man, and this was NOT proof of sin in his life!

However, this verse tells us that Job had harbored a fear. This was admitted by Job after he lost his wealth, his family, his status, and his health. Before that, he was on top of the world. After his losses, he was at the bottom of his world. That is the point in which he admitted his fear. This fear is a sign of a lack of faith in God. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but we have recently discussed how God expects us to serve God by putting Him first, and not to serve money. Well, this is the same thing. Job was harboring a fear of the loss of his wealth, family, and health. This showed that he had not put God first and foremost in his life.

When God is most important, then the loss of anything else becomes minor. When our trust in God is true, then our fears are unfounded and subsequently disappear. If we truly trust God, then we have no reason to fear (or worry, if that word hits you better. Same idea.). We need to place our fears (worries, concerns, etc.) at the foot of the cross, laying them at Jesus’ feet, and start trusting Him today!

When Christ is in our life, we have no place for fear!

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:31-34

This passage actually starts with verse 24 where Jesus is telling us that we cannot serve both God and money. In verse 25 He says “therefore” to bridge the concept from the issue of who or what we serve, and our worry. We are not to worry about 3 specific things: food, drink, and clothing. He is aware of our needs, and has promised to supply them. The point here that is often missed is that we should not be focusing on financial issues, but on faith issues. We should not spend our life striving with all our might for financial prosperity, but instead should trust in God Who will supply all our needs in Christ Jesus. We are to seek the Kingdom of God, and the righteousness that is associated with Him before anything else – especially financial prosperity! God has promised that if we ’sell out’ to Him, then He will insure that we receive all that we need (not want, but need).

Then, at the last, He adds a summation: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow” – that is, live in the day. We are expected to plan for the future, but live for the day. I prefer the way the old King James Bible says it: “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” There is plenty enough problems for today – we do not need to spend the time of today worrying about what is coming up. Besides, God will often change the circumstances of tomorrow, so that our worries become unjustified.  And, even if our concerns come true, there is nothing we can do to change them by worrying about them. All that worrying does is take us away from dealing with the issues of today! How many times have we spent the day worrying about something, and then realize that at the end of the day we have accomplished absolutely nothing?  What a waste! If we had spent the day trusting God instead of worrying, then we would have had the time and energy to be productive! What a difference it makes to sit down in the evening with the satisfaction of a good productive day, and the presence of God in our lives telling us that HE WILL take care of us!

Worrying is expressing a lack of faith in God. Serving money is doing the same thing. Striving for financial gain is just plain sin. God seems to equate the two here. Beloved, we need to change our focus from our wants to our Lord!

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. (John 10:11-14 NKJV)

Pastor Jeff Paul made a poignant remark: “We are His (God’s) flock … God expects a return on His investment.” He was referring to a fact that we often forget: a flock of sheep has one main purpose, and that is to provide a return on the investment made in them. God’s investment in us through the precious blood of Jesus demands a return. We are expected to provide an investment stream back to God. No, not monetary, but in terms that He appreciates and values.  Many seem to think that living a Christian life is all about ourselves. No, it is SUPPOSED to be all about JESUS! We are SUPPOSED to be living FOR GOD! We SHOULD be conforming to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ! We OUGHT to be GLORIFYING to the SAVIOR! We are EXPECTED to be obedient children, doing the WILL of the FATHER!

Beloved, we need to start returning some of God’s Investment back to HIM! TODAY!

¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. (Genesis 14:14-15 NKJV)

The hebrew for ‘brother’ is undoubtedly better translated ‘relative’ since this is referring to Lot, who was Abram’s nephew. Lot had previously chosen the entire plain of Jordan for his herd, and left the hills and valleys to Abram. Granted, Abram had given Lot the choice, so Abram really couldn’t complain. But, how many times do we give someone else a choice, but expect them to make the choice that serves us best instead of themselves? When they choose to better themselves in the choice, do we not usually get upset with them? I know that it is not rational, but that is usually the way we react!

Abram found out that Lot was taken captive by the four kings that had just defeated the five kings. So Abram went to war against the four kings. Now, does that sound reasonable? Abram is taking on 4 kings that had just proven to the world of that time that they were stronger than five kings! So how does Abram think that he is going to defeat them by himself? Now, I realize that Abram was rich and had 318 trained men in his house – so it wasn’t just Abram alone against five armies! Still, that is quite a jump of faith.

It is also an expression of mercy. Abram was ‘dumped’ on by his nephew, but still he put all on the line to rescue him! Abram’s mercy-war was all about faith in God! Abram’s faith expressed his mercy that he obviously received from his relationship with God! Doesn’t this look just like what Jesus said in Matthew:

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

God is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” so His plan for us to be merciful was always His intention! He expects us to put aside our own sinful attitudes and exemplify His instead! Let us follow Abram’s example and make sure that all our wars are mercy-wars for someone else’s benefit, and not our own! Let’s exemplify the beatitudes that Jesus taught!

¹ Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,  From your family  And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. ² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  ⁴ So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  (Genesis 12:1-4 NKJV)

I am not yet as old as Abram was when God asked him to move to an unknown destination, but I know that i would find it difficult (at best) to be as evidently obedient as Abram was. I remember the summer of 1970 clearly since that was the year in which God asked a similar thing of my dad. Dad decided to pick up stakes, and move west. So dad, mom, me, and my brother John all packed up and headed west. Problem was, we had no clue as the destination.

Dad turned 64 in October of 1970, and was moving his family with no financial support, no prospect of a job, no real notion of where to go, and thus there was no destination. We didn’t have a lot of money – we never did! – so the entire trip was on faith. This is a picture of what God asked of Abram. Abram also had to move to an unknown place with only limited resources. He didn’t have an international mission board behind him, or a large well-funded church to support him. In fact, he probably didn’t have the full support of his family. The idolotry of his family and his culture undoubtedly didn’t promote much belief in what Abram was doing. I’m sure that dad faced the same issue.

The fun part of the story is the ending. Dad stopped for gas in central Nebraska at a little town called Maxwell. He asked the attendant there about a preached that dad had met many years ago. It turned out that this preacher had gone on to become the pastor of a large church in the area that also owned a large Bible Camp just 2 miles from Maxwell where we got gas. This man had been praying for a caretaker for the camp for that fall. Short version: we moved to the camp and spent the winter there! Talk about an answer to prayer!

Talk about a step of faith! Do we have that kind of faith today?

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 NKJV)

The aged Apostle John yearned for the Man, the best Friend, the One that he walked and talked with for years, the One that he served for years – the Lord Jesus Christ.  John’s relationship with Jesus was certainly unique – shared in some ways, but not entirely, by the other apostles. Pondering their relationship brings my thoughts around to my own relationship with Jesus. Do I yearn for His return? Do I groan in my spirit, impatient for that time when Jesus returns for me? Is my life centered around Jesus, or around something or someone else?

This last year is over, the new year is about to start, and I must change some of my ways. I must endeavor to behave differently. I must alter my schedules, and change my habits. If I am going to progress in my relationship with Jesus and be ready and yearning for His return, I must DO things!

My friends, we MUST GET BUSY!

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. ¹⁵ From His mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it He might strike the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written:

    KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS  (Revelation 19:11-16 HCSB, emphasis mine)

I never get tired of reading this passage, or considering this scene. The rider on the white horse is obviously our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ! How awesome to KNOW that one of these days, this WILL HAPPEN! How GLORIOUS it is going to be! He will return in power, defeat the enemy, and setup His earthly physical reign – an eternal kingdom! Praise the Lord!

We, of course, will be with Him! We are those on white horses wearing pure white linen! How glorious a moment that will be! I will be there! My parents will be there! My wife’s parents will be there! I will meet and know my grandparents, for they will be there! It will be a glorious reunion, and wonderful battle, and a precious time with our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!

The question is: “Will YOU be there?” also: “Will your family/friends be there?” We that know Jesus as Savior and Lord have this to look forward to. It helps us through the times of adversity that we all experience. However, if you do not know Jesus then you will not be there with Him, on His side, riding His white horses, and wearing His robes of righteousness! If you do not know Jesus – today is the day to accept Him! If you DO know Jesus – today is the day to witness about Him!

The time is short! We must GET BUSY!

³ God came from Teman,
      The Holy One from Mount Paran.  Selah  

      His glory covered the heavens,
      And the earth was full of His praise.
       ⁴ His brightness was like the light;
      He had rays flashing from His hand,
      And there His power was hidden. (Habakkuk 3:3-4 NKJV)   More…

It is an awesome description of the Lord God of the heavens! The passage continues on with an account of His judgment, as well as the authority over celestial bodies that He has! The entire passage uplifted me, realizing that God is so mighty! He is such an awesome God – and yet He came to die for my sins!

We celebrate His birthday tomorrow with festivities, presents, food, family, etc.  We should remember just Who He IS!!! I trust that He is YOUR SAVIOR and LORD!

⁶ But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ So let each one  give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  More …

Our greatest need, as a society, is salvation! However, we must not forget the temporal needs of the people around us. The church should be a bastion of hope, a center for care, as well as the spiritual light to our lives!

¹⁷ These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. (2 Peter 2:17 NKJV)

It is a shame when so-called Bible scholars treat the Word of God as untrue just because they do not understand it. This passage refers to the penalty of unrepentant sin to include the “blackness of darkness forever.” The so-called scholars point out that the eternal punishment will be in the Lake of Fire – which cannot possibly be darkness due to the light of fire. Well, I understand physics sufficiently to know that in my mind and experience this is probably true.

God is above us. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I am not God – I am just a man. These so-called Bible scholars are also just men, with only men’s puny minds. Fortunately, God is Omniscient! If God says the punishment will include both the lake of fire and eternal darkness forever – I must believe Him over these men!

I say, the Bible is true – always!

⁴ Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” (Revelation 10:4 NKJV)

Why did God show John something that was going to take place, and then tell him not to write it down? The curiosity of man is intentionally built into man by God Himself! God knows that we want to know! He is fully aware of it! Also, this revelation of the seven thunders was not done by accident! God did not suddenly realize that John saw too much, and had to improvise! No. God intended for us to know that there was something that we CANNOT know! It is NOT revealed to us – intentionally! We will NOT know the truth of the seven thunders until after it happens!

There are many applications to this that are possible. What struck me today, however, is simply the realization that with all my ‘getting of understanding’ I’ll never come close to fully knowing the truth. This can be humbling to all of us, if we let it! Each of us want to think that we know the truth! Each of us likes to believe that our understanding is better than our neighbor’s is. However, God wants us to know that we only know what HE REVEALS to us! There are things we WILL NOT KNOW until we get to heaven! And THEN, we will probably not know it all!

I praise the Lord that He reminds us: HE IS GOD! Man is NOT god, we will NEVER be god, and we are dependent upon GOD for all things – including our knowledge of the truth. I’m GLAD that I serve a God that is far above me in every conceivable way! Praise His Name!

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:  ¹¹ “ You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power;  For You created all things,  And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:9-11 NKJV)

How breathtaking is this scene! The description of God on the throne, the emerald reainbow, all the noise of the light show, the sea of glass, the flying creatures with all the eyes and wings … what a wonderful description! What an awesome scene! Whether or not you believe this is actual or allegorical, you must admit that it is a glorious picture! It would certainly be easy for me to get into my ideas of what all this means.

But much more importantly is verses 9-11: “… give glory .. to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever .. You are worthy, O Lord …” There have been times in my life when I experienced worship services that were truly tremendous! Some of them were so wonderful — the Spirit of God was so strong — that I was filled with emotion and praise for God, and I didn’t want to stop! I remember those times. I cherish those memories, and long for similar moments with God! I believe that this scene in Heaven, especially verse 9-11, describes such a moment.  How glorious for John to have experienced it – even for a moment! How wonderful it will be for us to be there for eternity!

In the midst of all the craziness of life, all of life’s sorrows and headaches, all of life’s turmoils and trials – it is wonderful to know how the story ends! It WILL BE GLORIOUS!!! Praise the LORD!  For HIM, I can do some time of trouble!!!

⁸ “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. (Revelation 3:8)

This church was rewarded and not rebuked. What was their shining accolade? They had a ‘little strength!” Being faithful doesn’t mean that you necessarily have much strength, or much power, or much effectiveness. You can be faithful in little things, as our Lord Jesus mentioned in His parable of the talents.  I praise the Lord that it is not necessary for me to become “all that” for the Lord. All I have to do is be faithful to whatever He asks of me. If it is very small and insignificant, so be it. That is unimportant. What is critical is being faithful to His Calling.

Praise the Lord for your faithfulness!

¹⁰ Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10 NKJV)

I wonder sometimes if we forget just who our enemy is. In this passage to the Persecuted Church at Smyrna we find the prophecy that some of them will be thrown into prison for testing and tribulation. Their charge from God is to be faithful in this, not to expect release from it. However, God is not the one throwing them into prison. It is the Devil! We sometimes get mad at God, or at least question Him, concerning our circumstances – especially when they are bad. Some of us get all bent our of shape, our attitudes suffer, our testimony withers, and God is ashamed of us. Some of us tend to think “oh, well, God is testing me and I should just endure it.” Well, yes and no. God may be allowing it, and expecting us to be faithful to Him through it all, even to the point of death. But we should realize that we also have an enemy that is a part of the equation. We are told by our Lord how to deal with our enemy. We are, at times, to flee him. We are also told to resist him. We are told to bind him.

So, when the going gets tough, we need to get busy! Our faith should not waver, our emotions should not rule, our endurance should shine, but we should also remember to fight! This is war! We need to go to battle!

Note: if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, then you need to do that First! Go here and read this!

¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; ¹⁵ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; ¹⁶ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Revelation 1:13-16 NKJV)

I get excited every time I read this part of the book. I get even MORE excited when I read this description of Jesus Christ! I know that there are many theological treasures in this passage that we need to glean from. I know that the times written about in prophecy are extraordinarily close to being fulfilled. I know that there is much curiosity over the meaning of this prophecy. I understand all that.

But I want to SEE JESUS! It is such an awesome description of my Lord. I will one day stand in His Presence and see Him with my own eyes! What an awesome moment that will be! I can not hardly wait! All the trials, struggles, painful learning experiences, etc. that I go through – that we all go through – are going to melt away as a snowflake on a raging fire when I stand in His presence in person and see HIM! Wow!

Too much emotion. I can’t hardly handle it. I can’t wait. Even so come, Lord Jesus!

 ²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25 NKJV)

These times we all live in – no matter what country it is we live in – are dangerous! We are faced with a great evil that is more intense than ever, and more determined to destroy us! Whether the attack is clear and open, or it is disguised and insidious – our enemy is raging against us stronger than ever. It appears that he is gaining in strength! He is apparently being increasingly victorious! It is no wonder that God says “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Revelation 12:12 NKJV)

In the midst of all of this trouble, God is still able! He is ABLE to keep us! He is ABLE to present us faultless! He is ABLE to glorify Himself through our lives! That tells me that we WILL be victorious, no matter what the circumstances look like! No matter how dark or dismal things appear at the moment, the Lord God Almighty is ABLE! We WILL be brought through to victory into the very presence of the Almighty! And, we will have exceeding joy! How awesome is that! Praise the Lord!

The thing is, our nation is on the brink of repeating this same historical situation, provided we do nothing. If we are to pray for our nation, our states, our local governments, and (most importantly) our friends and neighbors – we would do well to emulate Daniel’s prayer, his attitude, and his heart.

Read this please, putting our nation in place of Israel, and our states and cities in place of their tribes and cities:

⁴ And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ⁶ Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

¹³ “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”  (Daniel 9:4-19 NKJV)

Aside from the part in which the King (Darius) felt bad about the consequences of his decree (see vs 14), this sound much like the typical political climate that currently exists in the USA and has existed for several decades now. In fact, it would not surprise me if our country escalated the degradation of law in the very near future to reflect this very decree, in an unsettling mirror image. If that happens, how many of us will do what Daniel did? Daniel, if you notice, did not change his routine. That is, even though his worship of Almighty God suddenly became illegal, Daniel refused to alter his habits in that respect. He still went home three times a day. He still kept his windows open towards Jerusalem. He still prayed to God as he always had before.

Do we even have habits that could become illegal? If such a decree – or something similar – became law today, would we even be in danger of breaking it? Is our habitual lifestyle so reflective of Jesus Christ that someone would be offended by it? Do people that know us even know that we call ourselves Christians? When is the last time God spoke to you in such a way as to impact your lifestyle – that is, make you want to change your actions?

We need more Daniels in our world.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
 
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowes the word Christmas was nowhere to be found.
 
At K-Mart and Staples and Pennys and Sears
You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
 
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
 
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
 
So as you celebrate ‘Winter Break’ under your ‘Dream Tree’
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me!
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday.

Thanks for sending us that poem. Remember …

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10-14 NKJV)

… Jesus Christ is the reason for Christmas!

For those of us that truly know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, and therefore know the Father (Jesus said: “Because you have known me, you will also know my Father; from now on, you do know him — in fact, you have seen him” (John 14:7 CJB)) we have the priviledge of being called the children of God! This is truly an act of love by God the Father! To be brought into HIS family is an astounding concept, especially since what we are REALLY deserving of us eternal death in the lake of fire being punished forever and forever! However, since we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are spared that horror, and instead are brought into HIS family! Wow.

For those that do NOT know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your lives, the exact opposite is true: you are NOT a part of God’s family, you are NOT one of His children, you are NOT spared the horror of eternal punishment by God the Father for refusing to accept His Son Jesus Christ and the payment HE provided for your sins! Also, you probably do NOT understand any of this, since “Now the natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God – to him they are nonsense! Moreover, he is unable to grasp them, because they are evaluated through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14 CJB).

Praise the Lord, I KNOW and UNDERSTAND this gift of Love from God! If you do NOT, please accept Jesus as Savior and Lord today!

We are all familiar with the fact that our salvation is not something that we can earn. The faith we have to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior when we are initially saved is a gift from God. The understanding that we are all lost sinners on our way to hell, and we each need to surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior AND as Lord of our lives is a gift from God also. The payment for our sins – which should be eternal punishment and horror in hell for each of us, which is only what we deserve! – is a gift from God, freely provided by the agonizing payment of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His subsequent literal resurrection!

However. The aged apostle here tells us that if we are truly born-again, our actions will reflect that truth. It is an inescapable reality, that those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives have received His Eternal Indwelling Holy Spirit to live within us, empower us, guide us, and slowly change us into the image of Jesus Christ. How that happens exactly is a mystery. But God said it, and I believe it! Here, John reminds us of that truth when he tells us that if we claim to be born-again and do not walk like Jesus then we are liars! IF we are born again, we WILL walk like Jesus! Not perfectly, of course, but the presence of God will be unmistakable in our lives! If the stamp of God is not evident in our actions, then there is a good chance that we were never truly surrendered to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

Friends, we need to examine ourselves! Is our actions proclaiming Jesus’ presence in our lives? If not, we need to go to Him and ask Him to change us so that HE IS displayed by what we do – NOT just what we say!

Even so come Lord Jesus! I can hardly wait until this comes to pass! Until then, we need to PRAY for the peace of Jerusalem (as the Bible commands us to)! For those that desire further study, you might want to check this website out: http://www.sonstoglory.com/ThirdTempleEzekielsMillennialTemple.htm

God bless you!

I find it an interesting parallel to our country, and our churches. The people of Israel were dead and didn’t know it. They were idolaters, haters of God, rebellious, wicked, self-centered people that were dead to God and His righteousness!  Sounds like much of America, doesn’t it! Sad to say, I believe that our churches are closer to that reality than they would like to believe. Oh most of the churches that claim to be Christian don’t go around sacrificing their children in fire to satan, but their do sacrifice their families to materialism, to entertainment, to education for the sake of education, to money … the list is almost endless, and it boils down to one thing: spiritually dead.

Ezekiel heard from God that He was going to put His Spirit into dead Israel, and cause them to live! It is only through His power that life can be created! And it is only through His power that our nation can be saved through new life from God! We have no one to blame but ourselves for this mess we are in. However, we cannot look to ourselves for the answer. We must look to God! He is the One that has the ability to save our nation and our culture. He is the One that has the power to save our families, our churches, our schools, our courts, our states … our souls!

Let’s put our faith in God, once again!

I know that this is a lengthy passage. I figured that some of you might not go look it up, so I copied the entire thought. The Lord GOD is charging Ezekiel with the responsibility of the Watchman of Israel. God explains in detail the full ramifications of this responsibility. In a nutshell, Ezekiel becomes responsible for the lives of the people unless he tells them the Word from the Lord GOD. So, having received a message from the Lord, Ezekiel then must tell the people so as to deliver his own soul.

Most of the time this passage is laid on the backs of the preachers called by God to proclaim the Word of God in the churches. This is true and right. Those that are called to preach by God are held to this standard. If they do not preach the truth to the people, the people will suffer their own recourses but the preacher will be held accountable for their blood by the Hand of God.  It is a huge responsibility to accept this position. Those people that are not called by God but try to be a preacher anyways have no clue the condemnation that they are bringing down upon their own head. I shudder to think of what some of them will pay throughout eternity for their proclamation of lies to vast numbers of unsuspecting people.

However, I believe that all of us need to pay attention to this passage. I think that anyone that receives truth from God is responsible to Him for that truth being proclaimed. I think that every Christian receives new light, new understanding, and new truth whenever that person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. This truth is then new to them, and freshly understood. This truth – while in reality being old as time itself – is freshly revealed and exciting to the newly saved! As that person grows in the Lord, new revelations of truth are constantly being provided by God to this soul. That soul is, in my humble opinion, responsible to the Lord for the sharing of that truth to others (see Matthew 28:18-20)! I believe that every one of us that refuses to share the gospel is not just being lazy, but rebellious! I believe that we will each be held accountable for the light that we have but don’t share!

Go tell the world about Jesus today!

Our minds often shut down at the phrase “.. at hand” since we define that as to be minutes or hours, not decades or centuries. Therefore, we discount (not in our theological mind, but in our practical mind or actions) the urgency and proceed out of complacency. This has much to do with the situation that Christians find themselves that are currently living  here in the U.S.A. However, a study of the lives of the Christians currently living in “closed” countries will reveal a very different reality. They approach the “end of all things” with the seriousness and watchfullness that shame us all.

A succinct list of attitudes and actions that we should be practicing now (since the “end of all things” has become much closer and more revealed than ever before) is: seriousness, watchfullness, prayers, fervent love (that is, not the level of luke-warm pseudo-love we currently practice), hospitality (without grumbling about it), practicing our God-given gifts (not decrying their presence, out of laziness), and most of all give GOD THE GLORY – do NOT take it ourselves!

We need to change, my friends.

Do not let the word “servants” throw you off. This IS for you and me, NOT just for someone else! God is clearly reminding us through the Apostle Peter that we need to endure grief with submission and patience. When (not if) someone in authority over us treats us wrongly while we are being good (that is, while we are acting like God-fearing, born-again, Spirit-led & filled sons and daughters of the Lord Jesus Christ) we cannot with all good conscience get upset, get angry, complain, speak harshly, etc. to anyone and expect God to reward us. The example is what Jesus did when He surrendered to the enormous injustice of the illegal trial, lies, and unjust hanging on the cross death that He endured for our salvation! When we look at the enormity of the wrong that He endured, and how He endured it, then we realize that we have no less of a mandate from God the Father in how we are to respond to situations that He allows to enter our own lives!

Remember today to “turn the other cheek” and do so with joy! Let us actually BE a Christian today!

How many times in our lives have we heard of people that claim their actions were caused by their upbringing? We are told by so-called ‘experts’ that our family life and the training we receive are the culprits in our moral demise, therefore we are not to blame. The courts, and the jails subsequently, are filled with people that have broken the laws, committed heinous crimes against people, and are convinced that they are not to blame!

God says differently. In the book of Ezekiel, in the 18th chapter, God goes through an elaborate discourse to explain to the people of Israel that each person is responsible for their own actions. If a man is a sinner by habit, he pays for it. If a man is brought up by a sinful man, but chooses to change his ways, then he is not responsible for his dad’s sins. If a man is brought up by a righteous man, but chooses sin then the habitual sinner pays for his own sin.

In the study of people’s backgrounds, home-life, and subsequently living patterns we find that most often the actions of the sons & daughters are a reflection of the training of their parents. So, there is credence to the notion that the family life bears a significant responsibility toward the actions of the children when they grow up and are on their own. However, God stills holds each person responsible for their own actions. Nobody has the right to claim that they had no choice. Every sin is a personal choice, and hold eternal personal consequences.

The only right choice is to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. He will then make you into a new person in Christ! If you haven’t done that, you need to surrender to Him today!

It struck me this morning that God loves beauty. I know, that is no amazing revelation. But it appears that many folks live as if God doesn’t care about beauty. God obviously loves order – you can see that in the amazing design of this planet! The eco-system that He set up is far beyond genius, it is nothing less than astounding!

But God also loves beauty – not JUST order, but order WITH beauty! Everything that He created was not only orderly, but completely beautiful as well! The beauty of God’s creation is unparalleled, and cannot ever be copied – let alone surpassed!

So, why do we sometimes live (talking to born-again Christians here) as slobs? Why do we not take care to insure that our homes, our bodies, our churches, our workplaces – all are the most orderly and beautiful that we can do (in God’s strength and wisdom)?  God obviously prefers it to disorderly chaotic ugliness, so why not do our best to please Him in this area also?

Let us start today glorifying God by taking the best care of all that He gives us!

God was upset at Israel, because they would deliberately setup idols (definition of idol: anything that we put before God, that is becomes a point of worship instead of God, or takes our hearts, minds, and time away from God) in their hearts instead of worshipping the True God! God called upon them to repent (that is, feel remorse, acknowledge the error, and actively change their actions) and turn away from the idols (that is, to quit having all their idols in their lives, in any capacity), and then turn their faces (that is, the focus of their lives – what they look at or toward, what they desire and concentrate on) away from their sin. God wanted them to turn to Him!

God wants the same thing for us today! No, we are not all Israelites. However, God is the “same, yesterday, today and forever” and He wants the same things from us as He did from the israelites. He wants us to be free from idols in our lives, and to live for Him. If we are born-again, we realize this. But we often do not live like we should. We are truly hurting ourselves in this case. We are, shooting ourselves in the foot! We cause our own pain because of our own sin.

Do we have idols in our lives? Anything we put before God, or more importance than God, is an idol. For some, there are ‘gross sins’ that many can easily see: drunkeness, pornography, violence, greed, power-hungry, etc. Other idols are less apparent, but just as devastating: envy, anger, irritation, lack of mercy (i.e. judgmental attitude), lack of love (i.e. ‘they deserve it’), etc.

There are even some things that are good, wholesome, necessary things that can become idols when they are given greater priorities in our lives than God has: ministry, family, money (i.e. the necessary provisioning of our families, not the lustful greed of monetary excesses), etc.

God is calling on us to repent of these idols in our lives, put them away from ourselves and our actions, and quit focusing on them. So (for instance) if our issue is a judgmental attitude, then we need to recognize that it is wrong, decide to not be judgmental, quit dwelling on the item or items that we feel is wrong, and instead start focusing that time on Jesus Christ (our Savior and Lord – this will not work for anyone that is not born-again!) and asking Him to give us the strength to really put aside that idol and quit it forever!

Whatever our idol is, let’s turn from it today! If God’s people would just turn from their wicked ways, He could still bless our lives and our land!

Enjoy perusing his site, as it holds many of his writings, poetry, and songs. His heart was given to the Lord Jesus 80 years prior to his passing on to glory. This site reflects that, as best as I can make it.

Thanks for looking.

Jesus prayed for us, that God would keep us from satan. He did not request that we be removed from the world. He told us that we should expect tribulation, trouble, opposition, hatred, etc. from the world. He warned us that life here would be hard. However, He also told us that He had overcome the world. Why is that so comforting? Because, He also gives us His power to do the same thing. He did it, now we can also!

But He is not removing us from the problem, just enabling us to get through it. The process brings us closer to Him, and He becomes so very precious to us as a result. Praise His Name!

It is a wonderful promise that we can depend upon God. There is nothing that man can do to us without the express permission of God. When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, then we are adopted into the Family of God. We become one of His children! As such, we are afforded the priviledge of His protection in our lives! There is nothing that man can do to us against the Will of God.

However, this verse is preceeded by a series of requirements. It is sad to say that we usually forget them. We like to claim the promises without recognizing the responsibilities that are associated with them. We don’t like to remember that we are expected to live holy, righteous lives that are examples before men of the power of God to transform us! We seldom like to admit that God is not held responsible for our lives when we are disobedient to His express commands!

We have difficult times coming up. We need to realize that in order for us to get through these times victoriously – that is, experiencing the promises coming alive in our lives – then we must make sure we live circumspectly!

The times we live in are increasingly frightening. We see major undesirable changes rapidly approaching our culture, and feel helpless about it. I believe that times will get very hard for True Believers in the USA soon. However, I take comfort from what our Lord has told us. He has told us “… do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.” That tells me that He is aware of what is going on, and has planned for it! He knows all about it, and has a path all figured out for us to follow! These things are not going to take Him by surprise, instead He will work through us to take the enemy by surprise!

Praise the Lord that God is Awesome!

I wonder how often I am guilty of this command: “speak evil of no one!” I know that when I drive down the street, I invariably run across people that are irritating to me. I sometimes rail at them, explaining to them how wrong they are. Of course no one hears it but me and the Lord (and any passengers that might be with me), but I am still speaking evil of that person. I know that I sometime go to the store, and find people in my way – causing me frustration. In my heart, I condemn them for their actions. They might not hear me, but the Lord knows and I know that it is wrong! Sometimes at church I get irritated at people that behave in ways that I do not approve. I sometimes explain these irritations to my dear wife, spouting off (in the privacy of our car, or home) about how wrong they are. This is disobedience to the clear Word of God!

Wrong or not, other people are not mine to judge, condemn, or discipline. That is up to the Lord. I remember one time many years ago praying for a certain individual to change their ways. The Lord clearly told me “that is my child. You mind your own business. Leave that child to me!” Wow, was i ashamed! Now, it seems, I have to learn that same thing over again.

When will we learn to act, think, and behave in love and not in judgement? If someone is wrong, that is not for me to speak to someone else about! If I have cause to go to that person and talk with him or her about it, that is another thing. But it is wrong for me to speak evil of that person to someone else – even if it is only myself! This only poisons my own heart.

I must learn to think, talk, and act only in love.

Also:

“ ‘Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,’ says the LORD.” (Isaiah 66:17 NKJV)

It strikes me that the Lord is equating the eating of pig with abominations. What do you think?

The nation of Israel were rebellious against the Lord God many times. He subsequently judged them many times. Eventually, He had them carried away captive as slaves. Even though they returned, they eventually got the full brunt of His wrath for their sin. He eventually had their country decimated. Now, centuries later, they are reborn as a nation – not because of their surrender, but because of His Plan!

The United States was never the chosen people of God. However, we WERE originally established as a Christian nation for the purpose of obedience to and worship of Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord God Almighty! Now, after many years of continuous disobedience and rebellion, it appears to me that we are on the receiving end of God’s wrath and judgment – and rightly so! If God would not spare His chosen people due to their rebellion, how much more will He be willing to judge us who are so much more evil as a nation?

Where are the praying Christians?

Anyone who ever knew my mother has heard of this verse. She quoted it often – more so as the years weighed on her. It has become a favorite among many in our families. The culmination of this passage is perfectly highlighted in this promise. The promise, however, is often displayed without noticing the rest of the passage that it is built upon. This passage is describing God Almighty! The Creator of the Universe, the everlasting God, He sits above the circle of the earth – HE gives power, HE has understanding that is unsearchable, HE is the basis for this promise.

It is wonderful to know that we can run and not be weary, we can walk and not faint. This promise is dear to many, especially those that have more difficulty in those areas. But it is dependent upon waiting on the Lord! It is dependent upon God! It is up to Him when and how this verse is fulfilled. We must never lose sight the of fact that God is Soverign Lord! We don’t demand health, strength, wisdom, etc. from God. It is up to Him! And our wait is the right thing to do! It is always best for us to wait! When we are hurting, waiting is so hard. We sometimes think that God is wrong, that He has forgotten, or that we have been unrighteously abused by the delay. Not SO! The wait is ALWAYS THE BEST THING FOR US!

We wait up on the Lord! HE determines when and how this promise is fulfilled!

Sometimes when I pray about my problems, I become aware of the seemingly large disparity between them and eternity. I usually deal with things like my bills, my health, the repairs around the house, etc. However, in the grand scheme of things, they do not seem very important and I tend to feel somewhat ashamed (sometimes) when I talk to the Lord about them. Hebrews tells us of those heroes of the faith that endured such hardship that they were praised by God, and I complain about my little issues. The book “The Foxes Book of Martyrs” tells of story after story of people who died for Jesus, and I struggle with heating bills!

Then I ran across this passage in Isaiah 34 where God is giving us a prophecy of an event. During this discourse, I realized that God was also mentioning all the various creatures that He has created, and His plans for them. He insures each creature has sufficient food, shelter, warmth, prodigy, etc. for their life! He knows the path they should take, and causes them to go the right way. He leads each one of them. If He is that concerned about them, how much more He is concerned about me!

So, I will feel bad no more. I will confidently go to God for ALL my needs! Praise the Lord!

The Lord has told us clearly in Philippians that we should be focusing our minds, our attention, our thoughts – on things that are noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (all by God’s standards, by the way). This will cause us to grow up with habits and behaviorisms that reflect these attributes. In the next breath (so to speak) Paul tells us to emulate those Godly men and women that are in our lives. We need to model ourselves after people that best reflect Jesus and His character. Doing this is accomplished the same way: we focus our attention on them and their behaviorisms, their reactions, their attitudes – and we meditate on them to the extent that we begin to behave the same way.

The result is a life of peace. What a blessing! People, we need to change what we dwell on. We need to start dwelling on Jesus! We need to start dwelling on Love! We need to start dwelling on Righteousness! We need to start reflecting that to others, for them to dwell on!

However, that is not the way God intended for us to live. He did not ever promise to remove from us the situations that are stressful in our lives. However, He DID provide a means to effectively replace stress! His peace is placed in our lives instead of stress, IF our mind is stayed on Him! That, of course, is the key. We seldom keep our minds on the Lord on any kind of regular basis. Our minds on usually on our problems. If we meditated on the Lord instead of our problems, we would have peace and the problems would still be resolved!

For example, there was a time (years ago) when I was single, out of work, broke, and in debt. A creditor sent me an official notice that they were going to sue me for the money I owed them. I prayed and told the Lord that I wanted Him to open some way for me to pay this bill. I recognized my debt, and desired to pay it. However, there was no income source. Then, I left it in God’s Hands and went on with my life. I never heard from that creditor again until I got a job over a year later! Then, I was able to make negotiations and pay off the bill over time. What a wonderful God we serve! He provided an answer His way! And, it did NOT include stress!

Meditate on the Lord today! All day!

Taking up the armor of God is a multi-session study, not appropriate for here. Succinctly it requires effort, study, and consistency. It means embracing truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the helmet of salvation (particularly important), and the Word of God (maybe the most important, and requires study). But it also requires that we pray without ceasing – for what? We should pray for the brothers and sisters in Christ – those we know personally, and those we know of. All the time. Consistently. Without fail.

We are in a battle. Start waging war, people!

So having come to the personal conclusion that I am not filled with God like I should be, what is the direction that I should take to correct this? How do I get “filled with all the fullness of God?” Well, Paul was praying for several things to come true in the lives of those at the Ephesian church. He asked that God give them “comprehension” of His Love! The prerequisite for this was that they already were “rooted and grounded in love.” The purpose of this was to “know the love of Christ.”  There is obviously an inescapable connection between God’s Love and God’s Fullness!

So what to do? Pray! Ask God for His Love to be active in you! Then behave in a loving fashion instead of how you want to behave. The more you do this, the more of God you will be filled with!

This passage is one of those that I have heard literally all my life. However, verses 19 and 20 was never quoted much with it. I have heard many sermons preached on this passage, but they never included verses 19 and 20. God is talking to Israel, and explaining to them His Heart! He is tired of all the hollow empty sacrifices they offer Him! He wants to GIVE them (which is HIS PART) forgiveness and cleansing from sin! This is a gift! This has always been a gift. Mankind has never been able to earn this gift. Entrance into heaven has NEVER been by rituals, but ALWAYS by grace!

However there is verses 19 and 20 (which is OUR PART!). We are going to reap the results of our lives that we live – after forgiveness, after salvation, after HIS PART – here on earth. If we are obedient, we will be blessed! If we are disobedient, we will not be blessed! We are expected to do our part! There IS responsibility given to us! We CANNOT just do whatever we want! We MUST do whatever HE wants!

One of our problems, however, in all of this is our demented notions on the definitions of obedience and blessing! I seriously doubt that we truly understand (most of the time) just what God considers a blessing, and just what God considers obedience. We usually couch those terms in the paradigm of our societal experiences and not in the clear revelation of the Word of God. This must change, my friends!

What is the answer? “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth!“

Hardly. Remember what God said: “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:1-3) God is AGAINST those that are against Israel.

Remember that, Mr President.

I noticed, however, an unusual statement. ^2b“You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Now, God chose to put His Name in Jerusalem where the Jews were to worship. That is where His Presence dwelt between the cherubim. God’s Name is much more important than ours. However, He placed His Word above His own Name! I find that astounding. We have the Word of God available to us, and we neglect it. Yet, it is magnified above the very Name of God! How faithful are we to absorb His Word? How faithful are we to memorize His Word? How faithful are we to meditate on His Word? Do we put His Word deliberately into our schedule ahead of everything else?

We should.

His next phrase “I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; ” (verse 6) is a clear description of hell – at least in my own humble opinion! Did he go there, or did he almost go there, or did he see and feel that place, or was it a vision?  I think that he at least felt and experienced the horror of the place. I think that Jonah was going through an experience overall that was horrific, miserable, terrifying, and most of all life-changing! Can you imagine experiencing this? Makes me shudder!

However, there are a few things this passage tells me: 1) Hell is under the mountains,  2) it is permanent, 3) it actually exists, and 4) Nobody wants to be there! Remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus? So, whatever your stance is on Jonah’s experience, I believe that God is using this to tell us that hell is real!  I think that Jonah got a wake-up call here, and discovered the reality of God’s anger toward sin. I think that he found out the extent of the Wrath of God upon disobedience!

I think that we need this message too.

I know that I wait impatiently for the day in which I will be in heaven with our Lord for all of eternity! Sometimes I get frustrated at myself for succumbing to the weakness of the flesh and not walking continuously in the power of the Lord! I wonder often “When will I ever learn?” in exasperation and frustration. The problem is patience has not yet had its perfect work. When that time comes, and patience has its perfect work completed, my problems will literally be over!

THAT DAY WILL BE JOY! I can hardly wait (pardon the bad pun!)!

By the way, if you haven’t heard the story of how we got together, you should ask her sometime. It is truly a revelation of how God works His perfect Will in lives that are His!

However, it is nice to know that the Bible realizes the most desirable food involves meat! I’m all for that!

Oh wait … that couldn’t be talking about me, could it? Isn’t that the way we ALL are? The problem is always someone else, not ourselves! Hmmm….  So I suppose that I should search my heart and try to discover if i have problems with my speech. The previous verse talks about lying lips, slander, etc. So the warning is to all of US that have a tendency to talk ‘out of turn’ or (dare I say it?) GOSSIP!  So, if I have to check my heart, then I think it is only fair that you do so also! Let us ALL ask Jesus if we are guilty! Then, with His Grace, we can change our sinful ways!

Some would possibly say that if we gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom, then we can be more effective in gaining silver, gold, and rubies. However, that is not what this scripture is saying! The Bible clearly is saying that we are to choose wisdom INSTEAD of money! It all boils down to ‘who is in charge.’ The LORD is in charge – or should be, in any case. HE is the One that directs our steps. For us to gain wisdom, we must grow in our personal experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ! It is through HIM and HIM alone that we gain wisdom! It is the Fear of the LORD that enables us to become wise! The financial aspect of our lives is in His hands when we are letting Him be the LORD that He is! True wisdom will recognize that God will provide as He sees fit, and we should simply learn to increase in our understanding of the mind of Christ! Gain Wisdom, let Him worry about the rest!

Now, i realize that putting God first is a life-long endeavor that wars against one aspect of our very nature! It is a battle that we must fight continually if we are to win! However, God has promised that we WILL win! Therefore, as we learn to experience victory in our efforts to put God first we find that we know God’s path for us more intuitively and instinctively. The more we know Jesus personally and put into our actions His mind, the easier it is for us to realize what path He wants us to take. Look at our scripture: “trust”, “Lean” on His understanding, and “acknowledge Him” in all our ways (that is our paths or steps, our very actions). These actions are not so mysterious to us. We can do that! The end result, however, is that our paths WILL be directed by Him! How awesome! How easy is that! Just put Him first, and everything else will take care of itself!

Praise The Lord!