"The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes."
Psalm 118:22, 23
"Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.
But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone," and,
"A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for."
1 Peter 2:7, 8
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles"
1 Corinthians 1:18, 20-23
When I was a 28-29 year old nominally Jewish-liberal-atheist, everything Christian offended me.
I said I was tolerant and accepting of others, but the Bible, Christian people, and their beliefs (whatever they were, which I wasn't exactly sure of), churches(even though I hadn't been in one since I was a small child), and to a very high degree the name of Jesus, really agitated and offended me. I was even offended by a popular Christian bumper sticker of the mid 80's: "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven." I knew deep down inside what the truth was, even if I couldnt't articulate it, or entertain possibly admitting it-that I was as good as dead in that state.
I was adrift, lost, desperate, and I had stumbled over the Cornerstone.
So, it's not "religion" that brings offense, is it? It is the result of the confrontation that happens when Jesus, the Light and Savior of the World, is face to face with each of us in our own darkness, and we see ourselves under that "Light", just as I had experienced...the revelation of what we are, in and of ourselves, without Him. Like "sheep gone astray, each to his own way, nothing but filty rags", and we are offended because Jesus overturns our "tables".
Jesus said that He would bring confrontation (Luke 12:53), without confrontation resolution cannot come. To every person who is unsettled, agitated, and offended by Jesus, feeling like I did at 28-29, I would say to you that Jesus is asking you the question:
"Who do you say that I am?"
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Rescued
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:1-3
Do you know the kind of day where you feel depressed, oppressed, downtrodden, poor in spirit?
Well, this morning was one of those days for me. It was almost as if I was trapped in quicksand, unable to get underway.
Since nothing else was happening, I decided to do exactly what the Psamist writes here.
To wait for Him, looking up for Him, with my arms stretched to Him, just like a little child reaches upwards for their father to pick them up.
The Lord is the One who pulls us out of our situational, spiritual, financial, and every other type of quicksand. The rock He sets us on is the Rock...Himself, standing me on His lap just like I did as a father with my children.
I am weak, and in me there is no good thing. But I know my Father's strength, and the inverse heavenly principles that are at work. I know that ultimately my life, along with all my cares, concerns, and challenges are hidden in Him.
He is my hiding place.
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:1-3
Do you know the kind of day where you feel depressed, oppressed, downtrodden, poor in spirit?
Well, this morning was one of those days for me. It was almost as if I was trapped in quicksand, unable to get underway.
Since nothing else was happening, I decided to do exactly what the Psamist writes here.
To wait for Him, looking up for Him, with my arms stretched to Him, just like a little child reaches upwards for their father to pick them up.
The Lord is the One who pulls us out of our situational, spiritual, financial, and every other type of quicksand. The rock He sets us on is the Rock...Himself, standing me on His lap just like I did as a father with my children.
I am weak, and in me there is no good thing. But I know my Father's strength, and the inverse heavenly principles that are at work. I know that ultimately my life, along with all my cares, concerns, and challenges are hidden in Him.
He is my hiding place.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Expectations
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
"Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
"For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
"For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
"HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
"He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
"He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
"HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
"He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
Luke 1:26-55
In these passages, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, unveiling what is about to happen, and Mary accepts the angels's words without a hint of doubt or question (unlike Zechariah). But why did she go to see Elizabeth, was it just for a visit or was she so full of expectation that she just had to get there as quick as possible? Elizabeth and Mary were cousins, but Elizabeth was quite a bit older, they probably hardly knew each other, but Mary was compelled to travel to Elizabeth as fast as she could get there, wondering, hoping, but nonetheless, believing.
The Holy Spirit, revealed the miracle to the pregnant Elizabeth, and to the unborn John(!), v.45 records the confirmation:
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
Believing- the act of actual belief, the realization, fruition of prophetic utterance, and God's promises. Would Jesus have been carried in the womb of an unbelieving or doubting mother? Absolutely not. Mary had been preselected to carry the Savior of mankind because of her faith, her pure and believing heart, not primarily because of lineage, etc..
The eyes of the Lord have never ceased looking for those who are pure in heart, those who believe His promises, who are pregnant with faith, hope, and love, bearing that same spirit that dwelt in an expectant Mary.
Today beloved, let us be found believing and expectant...we have good reason to!
And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
"Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
"For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
"For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
"HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
"He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
"He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
"HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
"He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
Luke 1:26-55
In these passages, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, unveiling what is about to happen, and Mary accepts the angels's words without a hint of doubt or question (unlike Zechariah). But why did she go to see Elizabeth, was it just for a visit or was she so full of expectation that she just had to get there as quick as possible? Elizabeth and Mary were cousins, but Elizabeth was quite a bit older, they probably hardly knew each other, but Mary was compelled to travel to Elizabeth as fast as she could get there, wondering, hoping, but nonetheless, believing.
The Holy Spirit, revealed the miracle to the pregnant Elizabeth, and to the unborn John(!), v.45 records the confirmation:
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
Believing- the act of actual belief, the realization, fruition of prophetic utterance, and God's promises. Would Jesus have been carried in the womb of an unbelieving or doubting mother? Absolutely not. Mary had been preselected to carry the Savior of mankind because of her faith, her pure and believing heart, not primarily because of lineage, etc..
The eyes of the Lord have never ceased looking for those who are pure in heart, those who believe His promises, who are pregnant with faith, hope, and love, bearing that same spirit that dwelt in an expectant Mary.
Today beloved, let us be found believing and expectant...we have good reason to!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
What's Love Got To Do With It?
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:2-9, 12-17
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. "
Galatians 5:18-26
"And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
This is the great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:37-40
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one who loves is begotten of God, and knows God. He who loves knows God; for God is love."
1 John 4:7-8
Jesus came to redeem us, and to enable us to overcome everything that hinders love.
But what is it exactly that holds us back, and chains us down?
Pogo, Walt Kelly's comic strip character, said, "we have met the enemy, and it is us."
It is self-preservation, self-desire, the desires of the flesh that produce the acts of the sinful nature.
These acts have nothing to do with love, just producing sin that entangles and condemns us.
The narrow way, the way of the cross-real Christian life-is paved by the laying down of our self interests and the crucifixion of ourselves.
Love unhindered, flowing freely, unbound and released from self interests... adoration and devotion that flows vertically to the One we were made to love first, and all that love is-reaching out, stretching us, connecting outwardly with others we are also to love, all of whom need to receive and give that which is desperately sought after- LOVE.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:2-9, 12-17
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. "
Galatians 5:18-26
"And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
This is the great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:37-40
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one who loves is begotten of God, and knows God. He who loves knows God; for God is love."
1 John 4:7-8
Jesus came to redeem us, and to enable us to overcome everything that hinders love.
But what is it exactly that holds us back, and chains us down?
Pogo, Walt Kelly's comic strip character, said, "we have met the enemy, and it is us."
It is self-preservation, self-desire, the desires of the flesh that produce the acts of the sinful nature.
These acts have nothing to do with love, just producing sin that entangles and condemns us.
The narrow way, the way of the cross-real Christian life-is paved by the laying down of our self interests and the crucifixion of ourselves.
Love unhindered, flowing freely, unbound and released from self interests... adoration and devotion that flows vertically to the One we were made to love first, and all that love is-reaching out, stretching us, connecting outwardly with others we are also to love, all of whom need to receive and give that which is desperately sought after- LOVE.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Reminders
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "
Matthew 6:25-33
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you."
Philippians 3:1
It's back to the basics today. I am directed to the words of the Savior in Matthew 6 here...DO NOT WORRY. Everything in this life, in this natural world that we live in, is so fragile, so uncertain. It can be quite daunting not to fear, worry, and be anxious-that is, if you don't know the power of the Father God who loves us. We control very little, we are almost powerless in ourselves, but in Him all things are possible!
He quickens us, strengthens us, gives us joy, peace like a river flows through Christ alone.
Beloved, do not worry, remember where our help comes from!
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "
Matthew 6:25-33
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you."
Philippians 3:1
It's back to the basics today. I am directed to the words of the Savior in Matthew 6 here...DO NOT WORRY. Everything in this life, in this natural world that we live in, is so fragile, so uncertain. It can be quite daunting not to fear, worry, and be anxious-that is, if you don't know the power of the Father God who loves us. We control very little, we are almost powerless in ourselves, but in Him all things are possible!
He quickens us, strengthens us, gives us joy, peace like a river flows through Christ alone.
Beloved, do not worry, remember where our help comes from!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanks(Worthy)
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
"I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:2, 5, 7-9, 11
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. "
Malachi 3:6
Our true happiness is totally wrapped up in the Lord Jesus. Circumstances change, fortunes, health, and everything else in this life is dynamic and will change, except for Him! His lovingkindness endures forever, and He does not change.
Unshakeable, unchangeable, rock steady.
The "pursuit of happiness" our founding fathers envisioned and what the Puritans and Pilgrims, who desired to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and passionately, endured such trials for was the privilege of being able to seek the Lord freely with all their hearts ..."in His presence is fullness of joy".
Only Jesus can ever truly satisfy.
Let's be thankful today, looking up and giving thanks to our Father/Bridegroom/King.
He is More than worthy.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
"I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:2, 5, 7-9, 11
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. "
Malachi 3:6
Our true happiness is totally wrapped up in the Lord Jesus. Circumstances change, fortunes, health, and everything else in this life is dynamic and will change, except for Him! His lovingkindness endures forever, and He does not change.
Unshakeable, unchangeable, rock steady.
The "pursuit of happiness" our founding fathers envisioned and what the Puritans and Pilgrims, who desired to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and passionately, endured such trials for was the privilege of being able to seek the Lord freely with all their hearts ..."in His presence is fullness of joy".
Only Jesus can ever truly satisfy.
Let's be thankful today, looking up and giving thanks to our Father/Bridegroom/King.
He is More than worthy.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A New Perspective
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. "
Hebrews 12:2, 3
My daughter has a peculiar habit when she wants something from me.
She comes right up to me, really closely, facing me, and she stares up at me, concentrating her gaze, and she doesn't move. If I turn, she turns, she remains in front of me, her eyes fixed on me, until I hear her request and respond...
As she did this maneuver just last night, this well known scripture dropped into my inner man, and it was a different perspective, rhema, than my usual understanding of Hebrews 12:2, which was previously just to focus on Jesus, like a runner focuses on the goal or finish line.
But this was different. It reminded me how desperately I need my Father, how weak I am, and just how strong He is, and how He loves me. Every pair of trousers I have should be tattered where my knees are, in my my spirit I feel so unworthy of such extravagant attention and love...all I can do as I catch my breath is say, "Thank You, Lord."
Hebrews 12:2, 3
My daughter has a peculiar habit when she wants something from me.
She comes right up to me, really closely, facing me, and she stares up at me, concentrating her gaze, and she doesn't move. If I turn, she turns, she remains in front of me, her eyes fixed on me, until I hear her request and respond...
As she did this maneuver just last night, this well known scripture dropped into my inner man, and it was a different perspective, rhema, than my usual understanding of Hebrews 12:2, which was previously just to focus on Jesus, like a runner focuses on the goal or finish line.
But this was different. It reminded me how desperately I need my Father, how weak I am, and just how strong He is, and how He loves me. Every pair of trousers I have should be tattered where my knees are, in my my spirit I feel so unworthy of such extravagant attention and love...all I can do as I catch my breath is say, "Thank You, Lord."
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Making Everything Beautiful
"See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor."
Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus chose this Scripture at the synagogue in Nazareth because God the Father's plan is redemptive, filled with hope, beauty, gladness...to strengthen us, bringing us through the storms of troubles and trials, our roots going deep...that we, His Children, would be on display, examples of His goodness, splendor.
Crowns of beauty instead of ashes on our heads!
We will no longer be held captives of grief and mourning...He Himself has provided, sent us the Comforter, God embodied in the Holy Spirit, a stream in the wilderness.
He is our Redeemer, Deliverer, times of refreshing are coming, and even now, are here; can you not perceive them?
He is turning everything around!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor."
Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus chose this Scripture at the synagogue in Nazareth because God the Father's plan is redemptive, filled with hope, beauty, gladness...to strengthen us, bringing us through the storms of troubles and trials, our roots going deep...that we, His Children, would be on display, examples of His goodness, splendor.
Crowns of beauty instead of ashes on our heads!
We will no longer be held captives of grief and mourning...He Himself has provided, sent us the Comforter, God embodied in the Holy Spirit, a stream in the wilderness.
He is our Redeemer, Deliverer, times of refreshing are coming, and even now, are here; can you not perceive them?
He is turning everything around!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Restorations and Fulfillment
When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:1-6
"Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev. " ...
Having lived in Israel, and been to areas where there are dry river beds in the arid seasons, I understand this metaphor, and the power of this scripture. The authorities have signs in many places, warning travellers not to stand in these wadis in the wet season because one moment it's dry and in the next, the waters come cascading though with unimaginable abundance and power, sweeping away everything that had been there a moment before!
This is a staggering picture of the Lord's heavenly mechanics. Dry seasons, those desert experiences, can be swept away, adversity overcome and reversed suddenly.
Wherever you are, if you find yourself standing in a dry riverbed, do not despair.
Pray, trust and lean on Him, persevere...listen for it, the rain is coming!
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:1-6
"Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev. " ...
Having lived in Israel, and been to areas where there are dry river beds in the arid seasons, I understand this metaphor, and the power of this scripture. The authorities have signs in many places, warning travellers not to stand in these wadis in the wet season because one moment it's dry and in the next, the waters come cascading though with unimaginable abundance and power, sweeping away everything that had been there a moment before!
This is a staggering picture of the Lord's heavenly mechanics. Dry seasons, those desert experiences, can be swept away, adversity overcome and reversed suddenly.
Wherever you are, if you find yourself standing in a dry riverbed, do not despair.
Pray, trust and lean on Him, persevere...listen for it, the rain is coming!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Difficulties and Promises
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matt 5:4
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Jesus said; I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.
John 10:14; Isa. 40:11
I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.
John 11:25, 26
Let not you hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:1-3
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
When the winds of adversity blow, and we are being buffeted, we must go to the promises we have in the Word of God. We must remember that God's Word is true, He is the Rock, our Father, our greatest Lover. In studying the Scriptures, we are aware that suffering, and bearing our own crosses is part of life as disciples. We are advised in the Scriptures that we should not be surprised when these things come, and it is leaning on our Father/Bridegroom, as the pruning and refining comes that makes us strong, and able to finish the race, receiving the crown, and hearing the Lord tell us: Well done.
Psalm 147:3
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matt 5:4
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Jesus said; I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.
John 10:14; Isa. 40:11
I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.
John 11:25, 26
Let not you hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:1-3
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
When the winds of adversity blow, and we are being buffeted, we must go to the promises we have in the Word of God. We must remember that God's Word is true, He is the Rock, our Father, our greatest Lover. In studying the Scriptures, we are aware that suffering, and bearing our own crosses is part of life as disciples. We are advised in the Scriptures that we should not be surprised when these things come, and it is leaning on our Father/Bridegroom, as the pruning and refining comes that makes us strong, and able to finish the race, receiving the crown, and hearing the Lord tell us: Well done.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Not Clichés
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain
But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
This hymn was written by Horatio Spafford, after two major traumas in Spafford’s life. The first was the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford’s daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Several weeks later, as Spafford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them on earth. (reprinted)
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39
I knew about Horatio Spafford's story. I marvel at the grace the Lord gave him, as he sailed across the Atlantic to join his wife, penning this famous hymn the night his ship crossed the spot where the wreck took place that took the lives of his four daughters, and 222 others. Mr. Spafford was a well known wealthy Chicago lawyer and businessman, a devout follower of our Lord, a huge supporter of DL Moody, yet he was faced with this crushing tragedy, and others: the Great Chicage fire wiped out most of his fortune, and the deaths of two other children, one before the shipwreck and one after. How could this happen?
When tragic things happen...when bad things happen to good people, we find ourselves asking the question: WHY? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? GOD, WHERE ARE YOU IN ALL OF THIS?
Paul repeatedly asked the Lord to take away the "thorn" that plagued him for years, and yet the Lord refused, telling Paul: MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. Paul did so many good works, led so many to the Lord even to this day, his work is still impacting us, but the Lord saw fit to cause him to suffer. The Scriptures tell us that we are co-inheritors of the kingdom and blessings of the Lord along with Jesus, but let us not forget, that in this life drinking from the cup of suffering may come, just as Jesus suffered.
God is sovereign, He is the boss, and trials, some small and some devastating, will come in this life.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6, and the hundreds of other scriptures directly us to trust Him with written under the inspiration of a God who loves us and who knew what was coming. He loved us some much that He didn't spare His only sone for our redemption. The Word is Life, Truth, and Power, not feel good clichés to medicate our suffering
How could we ever, for a moment, doubt Him, even while in the crucible of crushing grief and pain?
Jesus told us, "In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
Beloved, whatever you are dealing with! cast your cares on Him. He is with you, that is a matter of fact, not feeling...
Keep breathing...let praises and thanks come from your mouth...tears come at night, but as we fall into His arms, joy will come.
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain
But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
This hymn was written by Horatio Spafford, after two major traumas in Spafford’s life. The first was the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford’s daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Several weeks later, as Spafford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them on earth. (reprinted)
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39
I knew about Horatio Spafford's story. I marvel at the grace the Lord gave him, as he sailed across the Atlantic to join his wife, penning this famous hymn the night his ship crossed the spot where the wreck took place that took the lives of his four daughters, and 222 others. Mr. Spafford was a well known wealthy Chicago lawyer and businessman, a devout follower of our Lord, a huge supporter of DL Moody, yet he was faced with this crushing tragedy, and others: the Great Chicage fire wiped out most of his fortune, and the deaths of two other children, one before the shipwreck and one after. How could this happen?
When tragic things happen...when bad things happen to good people, we find ourselves asking the question: WHY? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? GOD, WHERE ARE YOU IN ALL OF THIS?
Paul repeatedly asked the Lord to take away the "thorn" that plagued him for years, and yet the Lord refused, telling Paul: MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. Paul did so many good works, led so many to the Lord even to this day, his work is still impacting us, but the Lord saw fit to cause him to suffer. The Scriptures tell us that we are co-inheritors of the kingdom and blessings of the Lord along with Jesus, but let us not forget, that in this life drinking from the cup of suffering may come, just as Jesus suffered.
God is sovereign, He is the boss, and trials, some small and some devastating, will come in this life.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6, and the hundreds of other scriptures directly us to trust Him with written under the inspiration of a God who loves us and who knew what was coming. He loved us some much that He didn't spare His only sone for our redemption. The Word is Life, Truth, and Power, not feel good clichés to medicate our suffering
How could we ever, for a moment, doubt Him, even while in the crucible of crushing grief and pain?
Jesus told us, "In this life you will have trouble, but take heart, because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
Beloved, whatever you are dealing with! cast your cares on Him. He is with you, that is a matter of fact, not feeling...
Keep breathing...let praises and thanks come from your mouth...tears come at night, but as we fall into His arms, joy will come.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Agendas (One Choice)
"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
Romans 7:14-25
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
Below is a fraction of text from the biographical, REES HOWELLS INTERCESSOR:
"From the first meeting, Howells was deeply moved. The realization dawned on him that the Holy Spirit was a person, and not an ‘influence.’ In his words:
He said to me, "As the Savior had a body, so I dwell in the cleansed temple of the believer. I am a Person. I am God, and I am come to ask you to give your body to Me that I may work through it. I need a body for my temple but it must belong to Me without reserve for two persons with different wills can never live in the same body. Will you give me yours? But if I come in, I come as God, and you must go out. I shall not mix Myself with your self."
This precipitated a five-day struggle in Mr. Howells. From the first, he realized it was an unconditional surrender, of which he said:
"I had received a sentence of death, as real as a prisoner in the dock. I had lived in my body for twenty-six years, and could I easily give it up....I wept for days. I lost seven pounds....Nothing is more real to me than the process I went through for that whole week. The Holy Spirit went on dealing with me, exposing the root of my nature which was self, and you can only get out of a thing what is in its root. Sin was canceled, and it wasn’t sin He was dealing with; it was self..." "
It seems that I am compelled to write repeatedly about this issue: self vs. spirit.
Who will occupy the Temple that is our body? It is a battle of sorts, but the outcome is totally up to the natural "landlord". The Hebrew term for a landlord is "בעל הבית״", Ba'al habayit"- literally -lord of the house- the Holy Spirit has the rights to the house, because we are bought and paid for by Jesus' taking our place on the cross, but the Holy Spirit will not wrestle or wrench it from us.
We must freely and willingly surrender ourselves to Him, and His purposes. We cannot surrender in word and just keep on pursuing our self interests...they must be discarded as part of the "surrender treaty" we accept. He replaces our interests with His purposes and His are far better than ours. On His path are many stops; mountaintops, and valleys, suffering, victories, difficulties that are not allayed, as we'll be refined and perfected by trials and through the fires.
Once we surrender there is no going back, no more than the Children of Israel could go back to Egypt.
I don't always understand the way of the Master and some of the hardships we endure, but this I am sure of: His Ways are perfect and His plans are designed to make our roots go deep, our leaves will stay green, and the fruit will come in due season.
His love for us is everlasting and beyond our understanding.
Beloved, who holds the keys to your Temple?
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
Romans 7:14-25
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
Below is a fraction of text from the biographical, REES HOWELLS INTERCESSOR:
"From the first meeting, Howells was deeply moved. The realization dawned on him that the Holy Spirit was a person, and not an ‘influence.’ In his words:
He said to me, "As the Savior had a body, so I dwell in the cleansed temple of the believer. I am a Person. I am God, and I am come to ask you to give your body to Me that I may work through it. I need a body for my temple but it must belong to Me without reserve for two persons with different wills can never live in the same body. Will you give me yours? But if I come in, I come as God, and you must go out. I shall not mix Myself with your self."
This precipitated a five-day struggle in Mr. Howells. From the first, he realized it was an unconditional surrender, of which he said:
"I had received a sentence of death, as real as a prisoner in the dock. I had lived in my body for twenty-six years, and could I easily give it up....I wept for days. I lost seven pounds....Nothing is more real to me than the process I went through for that whole week. The Holy Spirit went on dealing with me, exposing the root of my nature which was self, and you can only get out of a thing what is in its root. Sin was canceled, and it wasn’t sin He was dealing with; it was self..." "
It seems that I am compelled to write repeatedly about this issue: self vs. spirit.
Who will occupy the Temple that is our body? It is a battle of sorts, but the outcome is totally up to the natural "landlord". The Hebrew term for a landlord is "בעל הבית״", Ba'al habayit"- literally -lord of the house- the Holy Spirit has the rights to the house, because we are bought and paid for by Jesus' taking our place on the cross, but the Holy Spirit will not wrestle or wrench it from us.
We must freely and willingly surrender ourselves to Him, and His purposes. We cannot surrender in word and just keep on pursuing our self interests...they must be discarded as part of the "surrender treaty" we accept. He replaces our interests with His purposes and His are far better than ours. On His path are many stops; mountaintops, and valleys, suffering, victories, difficulties that are not allayed, as we'll be refined and perfected by trials and through the fires.
Once we surrender there is no going back, no more than the Children of Israel could go back to Egypt.
I don't always understand the way of the Master and some of the hardships we endure, but this I am sure of: His Ways are perfect and His plans are designed to make our roots go deep, our leaves will stay green, and the fruit will come in due season.
His love for us is everlasting and beyond our understanding.
Beloved, who holds the keys to your Temple?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Pure Life
"After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" ( Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." Mark 7:14-23
"The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? "I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:9, 10
"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10
"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:9-11
Our hearts, when left to their own devices, are degenerate and desperately wicked. The heart be design craves be filled with something, and if it is not filled with the spirit of the light of men, then it will be filled with darkness, depravity, and evil.
The scriptures read, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word IS God..." (John 1:1-2)...the prescription for fullness comes in Psalm 119, as the writer declares, "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
It is Jesus Himself (embodied in the Word) that we need to fill our hearts with, it is only Jesus and God the Spirit, that creates the pure hearts we all desperately crave, desire and need.
The "fertilizer, water, and light" that is necessary to grow rooted and grounded to mature the fruits of the spirit, only comes through Him!
"The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? "I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:9, 10
"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10
"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:9-11
Our hearts, when left to their own devices, are degenerate and desperately wicked. The heart be design craves be filled with something, and if it is not filled with the spirit of the light of men, then it will be filled with darkness, depravity, and evil.
The scriptures read, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word IS God..." (John 1:1-2)...the prescription for fullness comes in Psalm 119, as the writer declares, "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
It is Jesus Himself (embodied in the Word) that we need to fill our hearts with, it is only Jesus and God the Spirit, that creates the pure hearts we all desperately crave, desire and need.
The "fertilizer, water, and light" that is necessary to grow rooted and grounded to mature the fruits of the spirit, only comes through Him!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
God's Economy
"Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink." As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die." Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'" So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah. "
1 Kings 17:8-16
"I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread. "
Psalm 37:25
I understand both the widow and Elijah: the widow (representing the natural) feeling anxious and hopeless, her cupboard empty, resources exhausted, and Elijah (representing the supernatural limitless power of God) and the Lord bringing the two together, overcoming impossibility, bringing provision from nothingness, beauty from ashes.
I just got paid and after taking care of our obligations, I am in the same spot as the widow, with a bank account that resembles the widow's flour and oil jars.
This is the place where the Lord takes us from classroom, from basic training to the battlefield.
We have relationships with forerunners, like Elijah, those in ministry who we are committed financially to and involved with, just as Elijah asked the widow to meet his needs first, and we are grateful to be involved with them.
God's economy is awesome and intriguing, and I marvel at its mechanics. I know that God is faithful. To worry is to doubt His limitless power, lovingkindness, and goodness.
So today, I determine that I will set my face as flint, to praise and thank Him, and I will look forward with joyful expectation and excitement to what He is going to do!
1 Kings 17:8-16
"I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread. "
Psalm 37:25
I understand both the widow and Elijah: the widow (representing the natural) feeling anxious and hopeless, her cupboard empty, resources exhausted, and Elijah (representing the supernatural limitless power of God) and the Lord bringing the two together, overcoming impossibility, bringing provision from nothingness, beauty from ashes.
I just got paid and after taking care of our obligations, I am in the same spot as the widow, with a bank account that resembles the widow's flour and oil jars.
This is the place where the Lord takes us from classroom, from basic training to the battlefield.
We have relationships with forerunners, like Elijah, those in ministry who we are committed financially to and involved with, just as Elijah asked the widow to meet his needs first, and we are grateful to be involved with them.
God's economy is awesome and intriguing, and I marvel at its mechanics. I know that God is faithful. To worry is to doubt His limitless power, lovingkindness, and goodness.
So today, I determine that I will set my face as flint, to praise and thank Him, and I will look forward with joyful expectation and excitement to what He is going to do!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Ultimate Resistance Movement
"6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
1 Peter 5:6-9
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you."
James 4:7-8a
Are you being tested, going through trials, being shaken?
You are probably on the right track then!
The devil, our enemy, is on the prowl, and on the other end, we are being shaken to get us free of junk that may be hanging on and dragging us down, impeding our walk.
How can we battle our ancient and vicious adversary?
The Bible says submit ourselves to God, and as to the devil - to resist him, and he will flee.
To submit ourselves to the Lord is to totally trust him, cast all our cares and anxiety on Him. Being alert and of sober mind is spiritual situational awareness- as soldiers armed with the weapons of spiritual warfare- an active prayer life, where we are communing with the Lord, listening to the Spirit, and feeding ourselves on the Word.
So don't fret or worry, you are not alone, PUSH ( Pray Until Something Happens), do not be double minded, resist the enemy.
Compared to our God, he can't touch us...our victory is assured!
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
1 Peter 5:6-9
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you."
James 4:7-8a
Are you being tested, going through trials, being shaken?
You are probably on the right track then!
The devil, our enemy, is on the prowl, and on the other end, we are being shaken to get us free of junk that may be hanging on and dragging us down, impeding our walk.
How can we battle our ancient and vicious adversary?
The Bible says submit ourselves to God, and as to the devil - to resist him, and he will flee.
To submit ourselves to the Lord is to totally trust him, cast all our cares and anxiety on Him. Being alert and of sober mind is spiritual situational awareness- as soldiers armed with the weapons of spiritual warfare- an active prayer life, where we are communing with the Lord, listening to the Spirit, and feeding ourselves on the Word.
So don't fret or worry, you are not alone, PUSH ( Pray Until Something Happens), do not be double minded, resist the enemy.
Compared to our God, he can't touch us...our victory is assured!
But (Taking God At His Word)
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”[c]
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy's father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”Mark 9:19-24
Have you ever been in a desperate situation, whether it be issues of health, safety, finances, job situation, etc., and the circumstances seem so grave in the natural view of things that your faith and belief in what God is able to do becomes weak, and almost non-existent? This is what the children of Israel,the father of the possessed boy in Mark 9, and so many others have dealt with.
Our Father is a God of miracles! He often allows conditions to develop, the "deck being stacked against us" that would be deemed "impossible" and "hopeless" except for a very important detail. Nothing is impossible for Him! We find ourselves in the place where we can do nothing except stand still and see His deliverance.
We must recognize...affirm...and BELIEVE (because it is absolutely true) that God is sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, and He loves us! He will do what He chooses, when He chooses, for His Glory! His timing is 11:59:59...stretching our faith, as we see His hand at work.
"Impossibilities" are simply an opportunity, so as difficult situations arise get excited, beloved!
Amazing things are about to happen!
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”[c]
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy's father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”Mark 9:19-24
Have you ever been in a desperate situation, whether it be issues of health, safety, finances, job situation, etc., and the circumstances seem so grave in the natural view of things that your faith and belief in what God is able to do becomes weak, and almost non-existent? This is what the children of Israel,the father of the possessed boy in Mark 9, and so many others have dealt with.
Our Father is a God of miracles! He often allows conditions to develop, the "deck being stacked against us" that would be deemed "impossible" and "hopeless" except for a very important detail. Nothing is impossible for Him! We find ourselves in the place where we can do nothing except stand still and see His deliverance.
We must recognize...affirm...and BELIEVE (because it is absolutely true) that God is sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, and He loves us! He will do what He chooses, when He chooses, for His Glory! His timing is 11:59:59...stretching our faith, as we see His hand at work.
"Impossibilities" are simply an opportunity, so as difficult situations arise get excited, beloved!
Amazing things are about to happen!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Why (Part 2)
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Colossians 1:15-19
I was talking to my 7 year old about my favorite person/topic/subject, Jesus, the other evening, recounting a few things about Him. I was struck (again) with the dichotomy between His Advent, how He chose to come in the world, in a manger, a seemingly lowly inconsequential birth, with few taking notice, vs. the reality of His being God, His making and maintaining all things, in Him dwells all fullness, power, glory, supremacy, just to name a few of His infinite attributes, and last but not least, how He loves us.
My little daughter asked me once, "why does Jesus love us?". My answer to her, for lack of a better one, was, "because He chose to... and in so saying to her what I know, believe, and live for hit me again, the deep calling unto deep, and my spirit was overcome as the revelation of Jesus washed over me...
He simply chose to. It makes no sense in the natural. The Word says that we can love because He loved us first. (1Jn.4:19) Everything that He did was with us in mind, because of His amazing love for us.
He simply chose to...
In the song "How He Love Us", the lyrics read:
"He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me"
He loves like a hurricane...furiously, sweeping away everything else, it's His incredible undeserved love that has apprehended me. His love draws us, calls us to repentance, makes all things new, brings us joy, faith, and hope, heals our brokenness, completes us.
Everything else is a distant second.
He loves us so!
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Colossians 1:15-19
I was talking to my 7 year old about my favorite person/topic/subject, Jesus, the other evening, recounting a few things about Him. I was struck (again) with the dichotomy between His Advent, how He chose to come in the world, in a manger, a seemingly lowly inconsequential birth, with few taking notice, vs. the reality of His being God, His making and maintaining all things, in Him dwells all fullness, power, glory, supremacy, just to name a few of His infinite attributes, and last but not least, how He loves us.
My little daughter asked me once, "why does Jesus love us?". My answer to her, for lack of a better one, was, "because He chose to... and in so saying to her what I know, believe, and live for hit me again, the deep calling unto deep, and my spirit was overcome as the revelation of Jesus washed over me...
He simply chose to. It makes no sense in the natural. The Word says that we can love because He loved us first. (1Jn.4:19) Everything that He did was with us in mind, because of His amazing love for us.
He simply chose to...
In the song "How He Love Us", the lyrics read:
"He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me"
He loves like a hurricane...furiously, sweeping away everything else, it's His incredible undeserved love that has apprehended me. His love draws us, calls us to repentance, makes all things new, brings us joy, faith, and hope, heals our brokenness, completes us.
Everything else is a distant second.
He loves us so!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fearlessly(Work to Do)
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth,
words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Ephesians 6:18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” "
Matthew 28:18-20
"And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."
1Cor.11:1
Paul had good reason to ask for these kinds of prayers, and plenty of reasons in the natural to be afraid! He was in prison, chained up, and for the sake of the gospel he had endured beatings, threats, stonings, angry mobs, riotous insurrection, shipwrecks, hunger and thirst, exhaustion, poisonous snake bites, and eventually was executed in Rome.
He was unstoppable, unbreakable, fueled by the Holy Spirit.
Remember who assigned him to his new career: He was commissioned by Jesus Himself, this commission planted in his heart never faded, until his last breath left his body.
Beloved, as followers of the Lord & Master, we also have been commissioned.
Compared to what Paul, Peter, John, and the others contended with, our tasks should be easy. Our obstacles are peer pressure, political correctness, concern for climbing out from cozy comfort zones, not wanting to "offend" anyone...perhaps some concern that we will not know what to say, won't have the verbiage to share the Gospel effectively. Guess what? These are all part of the ploy our enemy tries to use to suppress you, shut you up, keep you silent, while those around you are kept from hearing the truth.
But most of us have not had a drop of our blood spilled for the sake of the Gospel.
You, me, all of us as disciples, and imitators of Paul and Jesus-have jobs to do, to share the Gospel, to let our lives, our conduct, our love, be living letters, and as those around us are provoked, the opportunity to share comes, we open our mouths, and the words that the Lord gives us for that person at that kairos moment flow out from us in obedience.
Our own commissions are no less real and important than Paul's.
Today beloved, let us seriously consider this sacred charge and move forward fearlessly.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth,
words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Ephesians 6:18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” "
Matthew 28:18-20
"And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."
1Cor.11:1
Paul had good reason to ask for these kinds of prayers, and plenty of reasons in the natural to be afraid! He was in prison, chained up, and for the sake of the gospel he had endured beatings, threats, stonings, angry mobs, riotous insurrection, shipwrecks, hunger and thirst, exhaustion, poisonous snake bites, and eventually was executed in Rome.
He was unstoppable, unbreakable, fueled by the Holy Spirit.
Remember who assigned him to his new career: He was commissioned by Jesus Himself, this commission planted in his heart never faded, until his last breath left his body.
Beloved, as followers of the Lord & Master, we also have been commissioned.
Compared to what Paul, Peter, John, and the others contended with, our tasks should be easy. Our obstacles are peer pressure, political correctness, concern for climbing out from cozy comfort zones, not wanting to "offend" anyone...perhaps some concern that we will not know what to say, won't have the verbiage to share the Gospel effectively. Guess what? These are all part of the ploy our enemy tries to use to suppress you, shut you up, keep you silent, while those around you are kept from hearing the truth.
But most of us have not had a drop of our blood spilled for the sake of the Gospel.
You, me, all of us as disciples, and imitators of Paul and Jesus-have jobs to do, to share the Gospel, to let our lives, our conduct, our love, be living letters, and as those around us are provoked, the opportunity to share comes, we open our mouths, and the words that the Lord gives us for that person at that kairos moment flow out from us in obedience.
Our own commissions are no less real and important than Paul's.
Today beloved, let us seriously consider this sacred charge and move forward fearlessly.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Desperation/ Revelation
"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13
"And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm I'm lost without you"Lyrics from Breathe, Michael W. Smith
Matthew 5:6
Revelation knowledge of the most Holy doesn't come as a response to being a casual observer. It comes from desperation, when you need the presence of the Lord as desperately as you need to breathe for life itself.
I had a conversation with a friend today. He didn't know my history, where I had come from...as I shared my testimony, especially the part when I returned to the Lord after a period of backsliding, when He "tore the veil" away, His response to my desperation and desire for Him, my seeking and finding Him, complete with the audible voice of the Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit being so heavy that I could barely breathe... but as I looked at my friend I could see that He didn't really understand the experience that I was trying to convey.
Revelation. God coming down. Being taken up in the spirit, as He answers desperate pleas, when the realization hits us that nothing this world has to offer will ever satisfy, when a broken heart gets mended and filled by the Holy Spirit... when rivers of living water suddenly cascade, crashing down through the dried out river bed of a parched inner man.
I know people that have grown up in the church, and I known people that have had little exposure to spiritual things, and in regards to the presence of the Holy Spirit they are in the same place. The Holy Spirit is a "Gentleman", He will not barge in, unannounced or uninvited, and there is no formula, no buttons to push, switches to pull, that He responds to.
He sees through facades, religiosity, and zeroes in on the hungry and thirsty hearts.
Have you had enough of routine life, tired of the same mundane existence, are you desperate yet?
Revelation knowledge of the most Holy doesn't come as a response to being a casual observer. It comes from desperation, when you need the presence of the Lord as desperately as you need to breathe for life itself.
I had a conversation with a friend today. He didn't know my history, where I had come from...as I shared my testimony, especially the part when I returned to the Lord after a period of backsliding, when He "tore the veil" away, His response to my desperation and desire for Him, my seeking and finding Him, complete with the audible voice of the Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit being so heavy that I could barely breathe... but as I looked at my friend I could see that He didn't really understand the experience that I was trying to convey.
Revelation. God coming down. Being taken up in the spirit, as He answers desperate pleas, when the realization hits us that nothing this world has to offer will ever satisfy, when a broken heart gets mended and filled by the Holy Spirit... when rivers of living water suddenly cascade, crashing down through the dried out river bed of a parched inner man.
I know people that have grown up in the church, and I known people that have had little exposure to spiritual things, and in regards to the presence of the Holy Spirit they are in the same place. The Holy Spirit is a "Gentleman", He will not barge in, unannounced or uninvited, and there is no formula, no buttons to push, switches to pull, that He responds to.
He sees through facades, religiosity, and zeroes in on the hungry and thirsty hearts.
Have you had enough of routine life, tired of the same mundane existence, are you desperate yet?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Gather and Declare/Committed
"Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Joel 2:15-17
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."
2Chronicles 16:9a
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."
Ephesians 6:11-13
The Call Detroit begins 11/11/11, and the timing couldn't be more appropriate.
There is a sense of urgency in the spiritual and natural realms. There are crisis at every turn, in every area of our existence, the alarms are being sounded.
Be quiet and listen; do you hear it?
It's time to gather, declare, and pray.
Now is the time when it is vitally important to have our priorities in order, and in order to arrange priorities we must to able to discern and understand the days we live in and the forces that are at work.
The eyes of the Lord are looking to strengthen those who are fully committed, all in, sold out, to Him. The battle cry of David, Gideon, Deborah, and all of the Lord's warriors- FOR THE LORD. He will give you strength you never knew you had-that you never did have, actually- because that is His nature, and we are His vessels.
So as many thousands, young and old, setting aside their daily lives, making sacrifices to go and gather in Detroit, fully committed to seeking the Lord, asking and knocking on the gates of Heaven, and tearing down all manners of strongholds, do likewise.
You don't have to wait for a special occassion!
The word says that "wherever two or more gather in my Name I am there in the midst of them", " one can chase away a hundred, two can chase away ten thousand".
There is no time like the present, beloved.
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Joel 2:15-17
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."
2Chronicles 16:9a
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."
Ephesians 6:11-13
The Call Detroit begins 11/11/11, and the timing couldn't be more appropriate.
There is a sense of urgency in the spiritual and natural realms. There are crisis at every turn, in every area of our existence, the alarms are being sounded.
Be quiet and listen; do you hear it?
It's time to gather, declare, and pray.
Now is the time when it is vitally important to have our priorities in order, and in order to arrange priorities we must to able to discern and understand the days we live in and the forces that are at work.
The eyes of the Lord are looking to strengthen those who are fully committed, all in, sold out, to Him. The battle cry of David, Gideon, Deborah, and all of the Lord's warriors- FOR THE LORD. He will give you strength you never knew you had-that you never did have, actually- because that is His nature, and we are His vessels.
So as many thousands, young and old, setting aside their daily lives, making sacrifices to go and gather in Detroit, fully committed to seeking the Lord, asking and knocking on the gates of Heaven, and tearing down all manners of strongholds, do likewise.
You don't have to wait for a special occassion!
The word says that "wherever two or more gather in my Name I am there in the midst of them", " one can chase away a hundred, two can chase away ten thousand".
There is no time like the present, beloved.
Monday, November 7, 2011
(Never Show Up) Empty Handed/Priorities #166
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations. "
Psalm 100:1-5
"Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed."
Deut.16:16
I was raised to never visit another's home without bringing something with you...never show up empty handed. You bring something pleasant with you, handing it to the Master of the house.
So it is when we go the Lord in prayer and worship. We don't show up empty handed, we bring with us the two things that our Father/ Creator God will accept: thanksgiving and praise.
I have learned that I must jettison all distractions, preoccupations, and self-issues and concerns if I am to be able to bring the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving before His throne. I am simply unable to bring both...
The scriptures tell us that "the Lord inhabits the praises of His people".
For years I wondered at the phrase-"sacrifice of praise"...what does that really mean?
What does this mean to you? Have you ever given it serious thought or has it always been just a term, snappy Christianese catch phrase, words in a song, perhaps?
A sacrifice means bringing, offering something valuable, something that cost you dearly.
To me, what a "sacrifice of praise" is not is sitting in the back of the church sanctuary during worship twittering, facebooking etc with my phone, reading the bulletin, glued to the pew/chair by a fear of man, or just warming the seat, as thoughts wander, thinking about where to go for lunch, who's playing in what sports event today- while we throw less than crumbs to our Father who has held nothing back from us, including the life of His only Son. He loves us so jealously, so furiously, and so many take Him so casually!
We should consider whose presence we are in quite soberly.
I want to leave the sanctuary hoarse from proclaiming praises, exclaiming my adoration for Him. If I am still hoarse on Monday, I will gladly say it is from WORSHIPPING THE LORD, not cheering a sports team!
Remember who He is, what He has done for us, and let's not treat His great grace, mercy, and love with familiarity or contempt.
Beloved, today consider what should be done for the One that you owe everything, even your very life, to.
He alone is worthy.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations. "
Psalm 100:1-5
"Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed."
Deut.16:16
I was raised to never visit another's home without bringing something with you...never show up empty handed. You bring something pleasant with you, handing it to the Master of the house.
So it is when we go the Lord in prayer and worship. We don't show up empty handed, we bring with us the two things that our Father/ Creator God will accept: thanksgiving and praise.
I have learned that I must jettison all distractions, preoccupations, and self-issues and concerns if I am to be able to bring the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving before His throne. I am simply unable to bring both...
The scriptures tell us that "the Lord inhabits the praises of His people".
For years I wondered at the phrase-"sacrifice of praise"...what does that really mean?
What does this mean to you? Have you ever given it serious thought or has it always been just a term, snappy Christianese catch phrase, words in a song, perhaps?
A sacrifice means bringing, offering something valuable, something that cost you dearly.
To me, what a "sacrifice of praise" is not is sitting in the back of the church sanctuary during worship twittering, facebooking etc with my phone, reading the bulletin, glued to the pew/chair by a fear of man, or just warming the seat, as thoughts wander, thinking about where to go for lunch, who's playing in what sports event today- while we throw less than crumbs to our Father who has held nothing back from us, including the life of His only Son. He loves us so jealously, so furiously, and so many take Him so casually!
We should consider whose presence we are in quite soberly.
I want to leave the sanctuary hoarse from proclaiming praises, exclaiming my adoration for Him. If I am still hoarse on Monday, I will gladly say it is from WORSHIPPING THE LORD, not cheering a sports team!
Remember who He is, what He has done for us, and let's not treat His great grace, mercy, and love with familiarity or contempt.
Beloved, today consider what should be done for the One that you owe everything, even your very life, to.
He alone is worthy.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Doers/ The Call for Mobilization
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:22-24,27
As believers, we are called to hear, understand, and then do.
You may be thinking: "I'm only one person, what can I do?"
The answer: Much more than you can imagine!
Hearing generally gives way to doing. Instruction and direction comes first, and then a course of action followed by action. Things are accomplished by doing, not by hearing alone.
Jesus said, " Greater things than these shall you...do... and He wasn't referring to lunch after church.
There is an old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Does not something as simple as a random act of kindness minister, speaking volumes, to a broken spirit?
There are many word pictures, metaphors in the Bible referring to those who are called (that's all of us by the way) to be actively involved: "members of the body", soldiers, warriors, ministers ... It means setting aside activities that are all about ourselves, forsaking that comfort zone, and doing unto the Lord (especially to the least of them) sowing our precious time carefully and consistently.
The only thing that we are not called to do is - nothing .
Let me say that again: The only thing that we are not called to do is nothing.
Beloved, be doers of the Word. Today, tomorrow, everyday.
Let's work together, while there is daylight.
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:22-24,27
As believers, we are called to hear, understand, and then do.
You may be thinking: "I'm only one person, what can I do?"
The answer: Much more than you can imagine!
Hearing generally gives way to doing. Instruction and direction comes first, and then a course of action followed by action. Things are accomplished by doing, not by hearing alone.
Jesus said, " Greater things than these shall you...do... and He wasn't referring to lunch after church.
There is an old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Does not something as simple as a random act of kindness minister, speaking volumes, to a broken spirit?
There are many word pictures, metaphors in the Bible referring to those who are called (that's all of us by the way) to be actively involved: "members of the body", soldiers, warriors, ministers ... It means setting aside activities that are all about ourselves, forsaking that comfort zone, and doing unto the Lord (especially to the least of them) sowing our precious time carefully and consistently.
The only thing that we are not called to do is - nothing .
Let me say that again: The only thing that we are not called to do is nothing.
Beloved, be doers of the Word. Today, tomorrow, everyday.
Let's work together, while there is daylight.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tick Tock/ Last Hours
"Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
James 4:13, 14
"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work."
John 9:4
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
You have just been told that you don't have long to live.
There is no treatment, nothing can be done to change the situation.
Your time on this earth will soon be up, and your life here will end.
You (we)are, in fact, dying, with each passing tick of the clock.
I'm not talking about a particular person with a terminal illness, I'm referring to us all.
We all have limited, even "borrowed" time, the Bible says that our lives are like a mist, just a vapor.
We are not guaranteed even the next breath.
In light of this undeniable, unchangeable fact, what will you do with the time remaining?
Would you be a better steward of whatever time you have here, being careful not to "kill" time? Can you feel the weight of eternity pressing in?
Do you feel the need to say some things, perhaps choose your words more carefully, impart some things, straighten things out, while you can?
Time is the most valuable gift and non-renewal resource that the Lord has given us.
Each moment that passes by can never be retrieved.
It is gone forever.
Don't waste it on frivolous endeavors, beloved. Your life, your time belongs to the Lord.
Invest it wisely, sow into eternal endeavors.
James 4:13, 14
"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work."
John 9:4
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
You have just been told that you don't have long to live.
There is no treatment, nothing can be done to change the situation.
Your time on this earth will soon be up, and your life here will end.
You (we)are, in fact, dying, with each passing tick of the clock.
I'm not talking about a particular person with a terminal illness, I'm referring to us all.
We all have limited, even "borrowed" time, the Bible says that our lives are like a mist, just a vapor.
We are not guaranteed even the next breath.
In light of this undeniable, unchangeable fact, what will you do with the time remaining?
Would you be a better steward of whatever time you have here, being careful not to "kill" time? Can you feel the weight of eternity pressing in?
Do you feel the need to say some things, perhaps choose your words more carefully, impart some things, straighten things out, while you can?
Time is the most valuable gift and non-renewal resource that the Lord has given us.
Each moment that passes by can never be retrieved.
It is gone forever.
Don't waste it on frivolous endeavors, beloved. Your life, your time belongs to the Lord.
Invest it wisely, sow into eternal endeavors.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Always Faithful/Trading Places
"The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.”
For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
Hosea 3:1-5
Imagine the Lord directing you to marry someone known to be unfaithful, and having to bear children with that person as they continue to be unfaithful! Imagine the sense of mistrust, betrayal, broken heartedness, as your life partner breaks covenant, over and over again!
How would you feel if you were Hosea, or more importantly, the Lord/ Bridegroom?
Yet this is what His Chosen People did...and sadly what His people are doing today! Not just Am Israel but so so many who are called to be His Bride. Who would be able to deal with such unfaithfulness and betrayal with such lovingkindness? I know what it feels like-I was married briefly right out of college, and had a Hosea experience.
But how He loves us! Taking us back over and over, He just keeps on loving us.
Hosea 3:3 declares a coming prophesy...that the Israelites-those of the natural branch, and those grafted in-will seek the Lord God and return to Him, trembling and seeking His blessings, just like a spouse who has realized what they have done.
How good and faithful God is, even when we have been evil, selfish, and faithless...
It truly is His lovingkindness that draws us to real and lasting repentance.
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.”
For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
Hosea 3:1-5
Imagine the Lord directing you to marry someone known to be unfaithful, and having to bear children with that person as they continue to be unfaithful! Imagine the sense of mistrust, betrayal, broken heartedness, as your life partner breaks covenant, over and over again!
How would you feel if you were Hosea, or more importantly, the Lord/ Bridegroom?
Yet this is what His Chosen People did...and sadly what His people are doing today! Not just Am Israel but so so many who are called to be His Bride. Who would be able to deal with such unfaithfulness and betrayal with such lovingkindness? I know what it feels like-I was married briefly right out of college, and had a Hosea experience.
But how He loves us! Taking us back over and over, He just keeps on loving us.
Hosea 3:3 declares a coming prophesy...that the Israelites-those of the natural branch, and those grafted in-will seek the Lord God and return to Him, trembling and seeking His blessings, just like a spouse who has realized what they have done.
How good and faithful God is, even when we have been evil, selfish, and faithless...
It truly is His lovingkindness that draws us to real and lasting repentance.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The End of Ordinary Living (The Beginning of the Extraordinary)
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah 6:1-5
"The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel 1:3-8, 24-28
When God shows up, when He injects His glory into otherwise ordinary mundane situations, life as we know it ends! The Word says that the Lord "makes all things new."
The dead are raised, droughts started and ended, men promoted from prison to palaces, water gushes from desert rocks to quench the thirst of millions, countryboy fishermen become "fishers of men", scraps feed thousands, hundreds defeat hundreds of thousands, empty jars never run dry, a man outruns a chariot, giant warriors vanquished, the sick are healed...ordinary, run-of-the-mill people who heard and saw the Lord, paid attention, walked away from life as they had known it, and obeyed a most extraordinary God. Life was never the same.
God is still in the business of ending ordinary lives, and replacing them with extraordinary ones! It is impossible to see such supernatural splendor, glory, power, mercy, and love and just continue down the ordinary road!
Where are you today? If you have embraced Him and are walking the narrow path with Him, just keep your eyes fixed on Him...worship, praise, love, adore, abide in Him.
If you have lost your way though, beloved, remember that we serve a risen Savior/Father/Master who loves you with an everlasting love, cares for you, and is watching and waiting for you to turn from a backslidden life and come home.
Cast off unbelief, walk away from the sin that ensnares so easily, trade the ordinary for the extraordinary.
It's never too late, and you are never too far away.
The decision is yours.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah 6:1-5
"The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel 1:3-8, 24-28
When God shows up, when He injects His glory into otherwise ordinary mundane situations, life as we know it ends! The Word says that the Lord "makes all things new."
The dead are raised, droughts started and ended, men promoted from prison to palaces, water gushes from desert rocks to quench the thirst of millions, countryboy fishermen become "fishers of men", scraps feed thousands, hundreds defeat hundreds of thousands, empty jars never run dry, a man outruns a chariot, giant warriors vanquished, the sick are healed...ordinary, run-of-the-mill people who heard and saw the Lord, paid attention, walked away from life as they had known it, and obeyed a most extraordinary God. Life was never the same.
God is still in the business of ending ordinary lives, and replacing them with extraordinary ones! It is impossible to see such supernatural splendor, glory, power, mercy, and love and just continue down the ordinary road!
Where are you today? If you have embraced Him and are walking the narrow path with Him, just keep your eyes fixed on Him...worship, praise, love, adore, abide in Him.
If you have lost your way though, beloved, remember that we serve a risen Savior/Father/Master who loves you with an everlasting love, cares for you, and is watching and waiting for you to turn from a backslidden life and come home.
Cast off unbelief, walk away from the sin that ensnares so easily, trade the ordinary for the extraordinary.
It's never too late, and you are never too far away.
The decision is yours.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Vanishing Point
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Luke 9:23-25
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness."
Philippians 2:5-7
"I must decrease, but He must increase."
John 3:30
To be hungering and thirsting, one has to be dry and empty. Jesus, the epitome of all fullness, emptied Himself out-because of His great love for us.
Take a few moments...take that in. He emptied Himself of...himself, pouring out human attributes such as self desire, self concern, selfishness, self everything .
The point where we end and are empty, where we are hungering for the Bread of Life and thirsting for streams of Living Water is what I call the "Vanishing Point". It is the moment we are so broken that only the Holy Spirit can reach us, when we realize nothing that this world offers can satisfy or fill us, when stone hearts are shattered, and we are emptied out of pride, unforgiveness, fear, jealousy, lust, greed, hatred, covetousness, anger, and selfishness. Self everything vanishes when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our blinded eyes are opened, deaf ears unlocked, our dead-because-of-sin lives are resurrected and we live for Jesus.
The world would have us believe that this means giving up everything, but we know that just as Paul said that he "counted it all loss for the sake of really knowing Jesus", the truth is that we are giving up nothing but garbage, trinkets, and gaining inexhaustible, incredible eternal wealth in exchange.
Today, beloved, if your "garbage can" is full, it's time to empty it out, and be filled with all the goodness that He has waiting for you.
Luke 9:23-25
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness."
Philippians 2:5-7
"I must decrease, but He must increase."
John 3:30
To be hungering and thirsting, one has to be dry and empty. Jesus, the epitome of all fullness, emptied Himself out-because of His great love for us.
Take a few moments...take that in. He emptied Himself of...himself, pouring out human attributes such as self desire, self concern, selfishness, self everything .
The point where we end and are empty, where we are hungering for the Bread of Life and thirsting for streams of Living Water is what I call the "Vanishing Point". It is the moment we are so broken that only the Holy Spirit can reach us, when we realize nothing that this world offers can satisfy or fill us, when stone hearts are shattered, and we are emptied out of pride, unforgiveness, fear, jealousy, lust, greed, hatred, covetousness, anger, and selfishness. Self everything vanishes when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our blinded eyes are opened, deaf ears unlocked, our dead-because-of-sin lives are resurrected and we live for Jesus.
The world would have us believe that this means giving up everything, but we know that just as Paul said that he "counted it all loss for the sake of really knowing Jesus", the truth is that we are giving up nothing but garbage, trinkets, and gaining inexhaustible, incredible eternal wealth in exchange.
Today, beloved, if your "garbage can" is full, it's time to empty it out, and be filled with all the goodness that He has waiting for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)