Childlike

"Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
-John 3:3 NIV

"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

-Mark 10:15 NIV

Moving through childhood, the teenage years and into adulthood is not the same thing as becoming mature. There are many positive experiences and teachable moments a person goes through that may help shape them, but there are also many experiences that wound and scar, bringing doubt, cynicism, fear, and mistrust. These experiences are the basis for the paradigm (an emotional operating system) that we come to process life through. This was the darkened lens that I saw life through; I trusted almost no one and "faith" was an unknown word to me. Cynicism and doubt were the signposts on the path I travelled on.

But when I finally saw the emptiness of atheism and my previous way of life, when I was "born-again", I truly became like a little child. As I feasted on the Word of God, faith sprung up in me. As I read my red letter bible (the words of Jesus) I knew in my heart, in my spirit, that these were the most important of life's truths. Maturity happens over time as we trust our heavenly Father, hearing and  obeying His voice. Trusting and obeying God doesn't always mean that I understand His purposes at that time. But I trust-I know- that  if He's watching over the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields, beloved, then He is holding us in the same palms of His hands on which our names are engraved.

The Discipline of Patience

"The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. 

Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran."

Gen.12:1-4
When the LORD  spoke to Abraham I wonder if Abraham realized how long he'd be waiting.

There are no objections, doubts, or questions from Abraham recorded in this passage.
God promised to make him a great nation-which meant that he and Sarah would be having children,and Abraham believed Him...ah, but patience. God never specified at this time when these things would happen; the wait would seem to stretch on endlessly. They seem to have persevered well for the first 12 years, but then Sarah buckled. Sometimes I wonder if Abraham's patience would've held out if Sarah hadn't doubted God's promise, instead proposing the not-so-bright idea of handing over Hagar to Abraham. This classic example of doubting God, giving into disobedience and impulsive hair-brained schemes is manifested today across the earth. To me it ranks as the worst sin against God right behind the Fall.  The outcome of this choice brought forth Ishmael. As Hagar was told by the Angel: "Ishmael and his descendants will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against his brothers forever." 

Sarah's patience ran out 12 years after God made His promise to Abraham, but it was 25 years before they saw the fruition of the promise with the birth of Isaac. 

Consider how long they waited. Would I even have been able to wait as long as Sarah did before doubting God, becoming discouraged and improvising a plan of my own making to "help" God? Honestly I doubt it; I have difficulty waiting on God for the answers. 

Patience is one of the most difficult disciplines to embrace, especially in this "instant" everything world we live in, and yet as believers it ranks among the most valuable and important. 

We must learn to be still and wait for his sometimes still-small-voice before we launch out in perhaps a totally wrong direction with possibly devastating consequences.

Beloved, if you are faced with difficult decisions, resist impulsive knee-jerk choices; 

be still, nix all distractions and listen. 

He sees every situation and need, including all of yours. 
Have faith, beloved, and trust that He is God.

Above

Are you living under your circumstances or above them?

This sounds so cliché, I know. You might say, "That's easy for you to say! You have no idea what I'm going through." Perhaps I might not know exactly what your particular trials may be, but I've had (have) plenty of my own.
One of the most important things I've come to know is this:

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 
If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

The "if" in this scripture is rhetorical; God is for us; because God is for us our mouths should be filled with continual thanksgiving and praise to Him. Grumbling and complaining is actually the same as speaking death instead of life. If our testimonies and the blood of the Lamb is the prescription for overcoming, then meditating on being under the circumstances and vocalizing such through grumbling and complaining are in fact anti-testimonies.
God is pleased when our faith is evident:

"May these words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

Beloved, you are made for life above your circumstances, whatever they may be, so be encouraged and convinced!

"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 8:37-39

The Enigma of Prayer Life

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray." James 5:13

"...pray continually." ! Thess.5:17

Over and over again in God's Word we are directed to pray.
More than 600 times we are encouraged and directed by the Prophets, Apostles, disciples, and by Jesus Himself, over and over again, 
about the need to pray, and the myriad reasons to pray. 

It is a direct line, a lifeline, to God Himself:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

But here is the crazy thing about so many who love the Lord with all their hearts but  yet have difficulty praying:
“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all." - Oswald Chambers

This debacle is one of my own personal challenges-my natural desire is to be a "Martha", busying myself with work. It is only through being intentional about prayer life that brings me to His feet like Mary, petitioning and listening for His voice, that I am able to overcome "Martha-itis"

Whatever the need-protection, provision, healing, salvation-every and any situation-prayer is the key. It does us no good as just a concept though-we must use it. 
So let us not make prayer the last resort, beloved, but rather the first order of business.

The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. James 5:16b

Filters

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind."
John 1:1-4

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3

These words in the Gospel of John were the first words I read as a brand new baby believer, a "child" of God.
After I received and believed Yeshua (Jesus) as my Messiah and Master,
I asked God for the wisdom to understand the entirety of the Word, and I did.
The Word took root and was watered by the Holy Spirit. Receiving my Messiah though ahd taken 29 years. I wasn't born an atheist but I over time I developed  bad"filters"- layers of them: cynicism, anger, unbelief, scientific "enlightenment", and so many other things that put scales on my eyes, hardened my heart, and made me deaf to the voice of the Shepherd- keeping me from believing in and  knowing the God of the Universe, who just happened to be my Father (in Heaven) as well. When I confessed Yeshua as my Savior all of those bad filters fell away. As an "unfiltered child" I was able to see the fullness of all  Yeshua is - the Word made flesh, the embodiment of light and the Life of all men. There are good filters and bad filters, some "filters" need to be developed, principally those associated with maturing in our faith. However, there are some filters we need to guard against, the ones that allow doubt and cynicism to sprout like weeds;  we need to remain like little children. 

Are the wrong "filters" robbing you from experiencing the fullness of what God has for you right now, beloved?
Repent and ask God to "reset" your filters, bringing refreshment and renewal.

Staying At It

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." - James 1:2

Just a few days ago, resolutions were made, vows taken,
but already some of us may have slipped off the track.
Time has "gotten away" from us,
life in this hectic culture we are journeying through can just zip by...
suddenly the day is passed and as we climb into the momentary comfort of our beds
we realize with frustration and disappointment that we failed to fulfill
the day's installment of the whole-hearted commitment we just made.
My word for you friends is STAY AT IT!
Don't be discouraged or dismayed.
If God repeatedly had to cheer on the heroes of our faith (which He did) then
we are in great company.
The perseverance message-the call to STAY AT IT-
is the message woven throughout Hebrews 11,
the recounting of some experiences of those in the "great cloud of witnesses".
Don't be derailed by fear, doubt, and discouragement...
these insidious dynamics are hell-sent and hell-bent.
They smell like smoke.
Faith in the Lord, courage (He promises that He is with us,
never leaving or foresaking us),
and supernatural strength that increases
in the face of natural weakness
are the engines that will drive perseverance
in each of us as we draw near to Jesus constantly, abiding in Him.
See you at the finish line!

(My) Resolutions (Revised)

Well my friends, another year is upon us. Happy New Year!

With every new year seems to come a flurry of resolutions.
I define "resolution" as a well-meant wish, but lacking true "resolve", commitment.
This year I want things to be different...I feel it needs to be different, really changed up.
This life is not a game, and needs to be lived with a much greater level of  intentionality. 
Grace abounds thankfully, but when we stand before him we will be judged by the things we did-and the things we failed to do, which I personally believe affects where we actually reside in Heaven and what our "rank" will be.
God's Holy and very personal Word to us-is an owner's manual and love letter-and  has much to say to us, both individually and corporately.
Below I have listed some life verses of mine. I revised it to include repentance and every believer's responsibility to share the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah.
I hope they direct, correct, guide, teach, inspire, encourage, and cheer you onwards and upwards:

Love God above all else at all times, not just in word, but in deed: 
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind- Deut.:6:5a, Luke 10:27a, Matt. 27:37a, Mark 12:30a, 


Love others much:
"...and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
Deut 6:5b, Luke 10:27b, Matt27:37b, Mark 12:30b
(Personal note:Commandments 3-10 would not need to be stated if we all fully embraced the first two all the time!)

Keep Him lifted high and and preeminent( our utmost for His Highest) always:
"...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." Col. 1:18


Repentance:
"Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." Rev.2:5
"Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.  Acts 3:19

Have Faith:
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Romans 10:17
See also Matt.:17:20, Matt.:21:21, Hebrews 11:1-39, 1 Cor. 16:13

Forgive much as you yourself have been forgiven:
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Matt.: 6:14-15
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. " Mark 11:25

Be joyful at all times:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" Phil.:4:4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds

James 1:2
Also read Gal.:5:22, Proverbs 17:22, 1Peter 1:8

Be thankful:
Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1Thess.5:18
“giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph.5:20

Grace-receive it and freely extend it towards others:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2Cor.12:9

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 1Peter 4:10

Extend mercy:

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36

Seek wisdom:

"Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD and shun evil. Prov.3:7

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

Perseverance:
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12
"By standing firm you will gain life." Luke 21:19

Have courage:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deut.31:6

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:7

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

Walk in humility:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phil 2:3

Fulfill the Great Commission/Share the Good News:

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..." Matt.28:19

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." Romans 1:16

Beloved, this year and every year live intentionally with these words hidden deeply in our hearts, every moment remembering that we were redeemed and ransomed at great expense from death and eternal punishment-a punishment we fully deserved.

Have a truly God-blessed year!