July 19 217

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: 
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, 
upon them the light has shined. 
For You have broken the yoke of his burden, 
and the staff of his shoulder, 
the rod of his oppressor, 
as in the day of Midian." 
Isaiah 9:2, 4 

There are dates in each of our lives that are significant and special.
We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries;
there also are dates of remembrance that stand out for a variety of reasons.
July 19 is just such a date for me.
It was a day when the Lord shattered the chains that bound me,
a day when I was awakened from a spiritual coma.
It was a day that came so suddenly, delivering me from slavery and darkness,
without expectation, with such power that even years later I find it difficult to illucidate.
Isn't that just like our God?
Never early, never late, His timing is perfection, 11:59 is always the right time.
I feel a great responsibility to treat others the same way my Father treated me even in a degenerate prodigal state...that He never stopped loving me, even at my worst.
He saw Kingdom promises in me, calling things that were not as they would become in a renewed state.
We have all been forgiven huge debts and loved unconditionally by my Father and ultimately my Bridegroom?
Much is required, beloved, of those whom much has been forgiven-US.

Paradigm Shifts

"I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ...the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."
Luke 15:19, 20, 22-24

"His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me."
Song of Solomon 2:6

"God is love."

 Many people see God as a cruel taskmaster, overbearing, watching and waiting for them to trip up, to punish them. They believe incorrectly that God is impersonal and exacting, following their every move with a magnifying glass, rule book, and a whip, and their behaviors are managed by fear and shame, not by the beautiful, majestic reality of who He really is, and many spend their entire lives deeply longing for fulfillment. In the deepest places of our souls Jesus asks us, "Who do you say that I am?" He desires that each of us receive the revelation of Him not only as a loving, proactive Father, but our Bridegroom, one who is so close, embracing us tightly, eye to eye and able to feel the rhythm of one another's heartbeat. He desires that His love for us would be realized and fulfilled, not left unrequited. His desire is for a deep-calling-unto-deepest, to be touched and to touch His heart, involved in the most intimate relationship possible...we are able to love Him like this because He loved us first. This is contentment and satisfaction.

Battle Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. 
Isaiah 54:17

 There are no coincidences.
 God's timing is perfect and everything that was intended by the enemy to harm, discourage, thwart, steal, and destroy is refuted and turned around by the Lord in His perfect timing. Yesterday we were driving in our van to a service in Kansas City and traffic had come to a near standstill, and then suddenly we were slammed from behind by another car! As we pulled off the roadway I walked behind the van and looked at the vehicle that hit us. The front was smashed, radiator was ruptured, windshield was broken and the airbags had deployed...the young man driving had only recently arrived to attend an internship at IHOP. As I asked him about his condition I could see he was shaking, but seemed physically okay and after asking him his name, the Lord spoke to me directing me to lay hands on him, pray over him, and minister to him. I saw in this young man great things as he pursues the things over the Lord... and the devil and demonic realm recognized them, too, and sought to wreck these plans using a traffic accident, and other devices. But the Lord used them to introduce us, starting another divine Kingdom connection. I know that God turned this "accident" into another divine appointment. I have met another brother, and as an older more mature brother in the Lord, I have an opportunity to pour into his life, even bringing prophetic encouragement to him. Today beloved, thank the Lord in all things, especially when seemingly bad situations happen to you, and wait with certain expectation as the Master turns it around for His good purposes!

Aliens

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16 Disciples of the Lord Jesus, of which I count myself one, are truly strangers, aliens, in a strange land, made for another age. We live and move and have our being, our identity, purposes, and the Hope of our calling, wrapped up in the revelation of who Jesus is - Lord, Master, Bridegroom, Fountainhead of streams of living water, the Living Stone, Advocate, Shepherd, Lamb of God who takes away our filth, warrior King and much more in a world that is lost, and daily we called to be ambassadors to a dying world. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Answer, the Solution, to every problem, and we can know that when we pray in His Name with His Holy Spirit directing our thoughts, our heart, that He hears us. We are strengthened and enabled, and Jesus is our power source and as we hunger and thirst for righteousness in meekness (meaning we harbor no spirit of offense that flows from selfish fleshly desires)... Today beloved, remember that you are a living stone...do not be diluted or polluted, you are the salt and light..bring Jesus' message of love, mercy, and salvation to those in your world. There are divine appointments awaiting each of us today.

The Transformer ( From Filthy Rags to Finest Linens)

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6 Secular humanism has become the equivalent of a false religion where those who hate religion tout the triumph of humanity, declaring man's innate goodness, ingenuity, and abilities...but the word of God tells us the "the heart of man is deceitful", and if we are honest with ourselves we know that in our "natural man" we are drawn to darkness and sin. Without Jesus laundering us, transforming us, salvaging us from the wreckage of our own humanity, we would be without hope...we cannot save ourselves from ourselves. But God has made the way for us. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14 God, in His lovingkindness, has taken us who were like filthy, torn, tattered, and soiled rags, and transformed us like the finest, whitest of linens, making us clean, bright and shining, inside and out, He has given us the rights to the Kingdom.

Toppling 183

"Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." 
Deuteronomy 6:14, 15 

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 
1 Samuel 5:1-4 NIV84


  In 2005 I began to think about buying a motorcycle, a BMW K1200LT. It was sleek, powerful, advanced, sexy, and expensive. We were planning a move, and although I had owned motorcycles in my youth, I had not ridden one in decades, but I had begun to desire this thing.
I owed it to myself, I deserved it, I told myself.
I thought about it often, had the image as a screen saver on my computer,
the brochure placed prominently on my office desk, and not so coincidentally, this consuming preoccupation came at a time when my affections towards the Lover of my soul had been waning.
 I was less than lukewarm, no, I had grown cold, had taken my eyes off the Perfecter of my faith. I was dissatisfied and in the winter of my discontentment.
 I was sure this bike would fix all of that, and so I pursued acquiring it.
 Within the year we had sold our home and relocated, and within the week of settling into our new home I bought this thing that I thought would be the answer.
But unknown to me at the time I had made this bike an idol; the Lord's jealousy and burning anger was about to be demonstrated. Although I had previously owned five motorcycles, and had never dropped a single one, not even one single time, the very first time I got on the BMW I made it to the end of the driveway, and as I came to a stop before entering the roadway my foot inexplicably slipped in some loose gravel. There in the presence of my wife, daughters, and a jealous God it leaned over just a little bit too far.  Suddenly and shockingly I realized that I could not prevent it from toppling over!
It cost $600 to fix the damage, my pride, and a back injury that still plagues me.
That motorcycle never bought me a moment of real satisfaction.
 I sold it a year later, taking a huge loss in depreciation as well.
 It took me years to see the spiritual implications, but it was clearly an event that contributed to my repentance and true awakening as God graciously revealed Himself to a broken and humbled man.
God detests every idol, every one.
Small or large, whatever the thing is, if it supplants affections that are intended for and deserved by our Master/Father/ Bridegroom, they will be toppled.
Sometimes it happens sooner, sometimes later, but it will come down, just as the idol of Dagon was toppled and destroyed in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.
Do you have any idols in your life beloved?
What is hiding in the corners of your heart?
 We cannot walk in our intended fullness until they are toppled.
So trash every idol, every one!
 Don't try to hide any, nothing is hidden from the eye of the Almighty.
 He wants 100% of our hearts, not just 99%;
He will search out and pursue us until that last 1% belongs to Him.

The Catalyst

"We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:19


Tonight I came home to my girls watching a documentary on 20/20 about the existence of God, Heaven, and Hell. Barbara Walters was interviewing people of different faiths, cults, denominations, scientists, and atheists.
The thing that stood out to me most was two-fold: just how many people are dead men and women walking, and the realization that we are surrounded by lost people, and secondly, the primary reason that there are so many walking dead: a twisted and false view of the very nature of God, and all that entails. The Psalmist wrote twice: "The fool says in his heart: there is no God". 
I felt such sadness to hear some of the interviewed.
I was one of them. Until April 21, 1987, I was an atheist. 
The existence of Heaven, Hell, and my heavenly Father, were no less real, but I was blind, deaf, and dumb to the supernatural spiritual until I was slammed with God's perfect love for ME, demonstrated by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus choosing to bear my punishment and death. It wasn't fear, condemnation, a sense of wrong doing, or anything else that led me to Him, other than me finally being impacted by the furious love of the Father for me demonstrated by Him paying the tremendous price of making a way for my salvation-Yeshua's very life.
Jesus said, " In my Father's house there are many rooms (mansions) ...I go to prepare a place for you...if it were not so I would've told you.."
John 14:2


Jesus' words, and the words of the Lord in the Scriptures are trustworthy and true. His furious love for me-for us-burns with a lover's  jealousy, burning with a white hot intensity like phosphorus... the single use Hebrew term "Shalhevet Yah" comes to mind..it cannot be extinguished.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord...

Passing The Baton/Finding Us Faithful

On this 236th birthday of the United States of America, a country that was founded by a devout people in search of freedom of faith and religion, not freedom from religion, I ponder the question:

Will those who come behind us find us faithful?
^"32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[a] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Heb. 11:32-12:2

This great country is now in a period that I liken to the days of the Judges in ancient Israel.
Ruled by godless people pleasers who pay more attention to polls and people rather than God Almighty, idolatry and immotrality abounds, the blood of the innocents who are being slaughtered daily  by the thousands cries out from the ground...
I wonder and ask the Lord , "How long can you allow this?"
We are the remnant, there is a generation arising behind us, and we must be found faithful. There is no room for pragmatism, no gray areas. There is no more time for shrinking back, shirking our duties as disciples, no more than Esther could at that defining moment in her life.
We are responsible to those behind us, we must be found faithful. There is a cost, the right choices and decisions, large and small, must be made, there is no room for staying in a complacent comfort zone...the younger and less mature are watching us, words and deeds making a mark one way or another.
I don't know what lies ahead, only our Father does, but this I know; He is looking for the faithful, who will raise up more faithful behind them.
Beloved, let us choose wisely, and be found faithful...it is our sacred charge.

Breakthrough

Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.
³² Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 
³³ Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 


What does  "breakthrough" mean to you? 
To me "breakthrough" meaning tearing through the thing that is holding me back, slicing through the curtain that separates me from the place I need to get to, the place I belong.

That place has only one entry point, and there is a barrier, sometimes many barriers, and just like the angels with flashing swords barred Adam and Eve from Eden, my thoughts, and deeds tainted by worldliness, or lack of focus can put on on the wrong side of the veil
Just like Adam caused his own separation , the barrier preventing my breakthrough is most often myself- my selfishness, my discontent, my fleshly thought and desires...

 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 
Matthew 27:50b-51a

Jesus is the breakthrough to abundant life, for all those who earnestly and hungrily seek after Him...the revelation of the true knowledge of all that He is shatters prison walls, tears apart veils, opens blind eyes and deaf ears, He tears down every vain and empty thought we battle with, heals our wounds, and much more than can be written...
Beloved, seek after Him, advance forcefully, a breakthrough awaits!

Impulse and Consequence

"Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright." Genesis 25:29-34 Esau was the firstborn, he had his father's favor, and all the rights and blessings that went along with such a position. This was not to be taken lightly, or treated casually, but in a moment of weakness he succumbed to his fleshly desires and impulsively traded away his most significant assets. Surely he knew better, surely his heart and mind, the spirit the Lord placed inside him screamed out: "Don't do it!", but he did... One of the ways God is called is "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"... Jacob, and not Esau...his small moment of weakness had eternal consequences on him, and his descendants. "Make wise choices" is a phrase we say to children parents can identify with, and the rest of us have heard something like it from our own parents. It means to consider carefully as the outcome and consequences reach far beyond the moment, each choice adjusting and redefining our direction in life, moving forward on the narrow path Jesus calls us to follow Him on, or finding ourselves off course. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 As we go about life today, beloved, ask the Lord for wisdom and counsel, seek His purposes first not your own, do not succumb to impulsive rash decisions, don't be short sighted...make wise choices.

Margins and Balances

"Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8a I've been working long days lately. The requirements of my vocation bring with it tremendous pressure to "hit the numbers", and 12-14 hours away from home are not unusual. I find myself longing for the Lord's presence, missing my time with Him, and I find myself asking for His forgiveness, and saying in the spirit to the Lord: "How long Lord, will you tarry? Where can I go right now to meet with you?" There is a tightrope we walk, the struggle for balance in life. We have various responsibilities, but there must be an order, priorities... I find that I must make Him first, keep Him first, draw near to Him... it is not God who drifts away, no, it is me; because He never changes. Life without His nearness, His presence, and His voice speaking to me is like food without spices on it- bland, tasteless, pointless-it has been said that "life without God is like an unsharpened pencil...there is no point to it." So today, in spite of the rigors of life, and outside demands, I will call on His name, call to Him as deep calls unto deep, and petition His Holy Spirit to rise up on the inside of me, that the Well would spring up, that I would never lose being lovesick for Jesus, my First and Greatest Love. Only He can satisfy.

Mountains and Molehills

"The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth." Psalm 97:5 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 "For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 Perhaps today you are facing a situation, or multiples situations, obstacles and problems that loom mountainous before us. In our own minds we may find ourselves thinking that there is no way out, no deliverance...in our own small minds we see impossibilities. Read Psalm 97:5 again..."the mountains melt like wax before the Lord"...nothing is impossible for God, beloved. Seek Him earnestly, knowing, believing, and trusting in Him, stand still and watch as these mountains dissolve, impossibilities being overturned, as His glory shines through!

Insight

"But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
¹⁶ See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me."

Is.49:14-16

Lately I have a sense that so many of us are weary, beaten up, beaten down, dealing with issues both real and contrived...one day runs into the next as we deal with messes, tests, and trials....that desert experience. 

Awakening each day, unless we pause, reflect, and focus on the Author and Perfector, we can forget that His mercies, amazing grace, and incomprehensible joys are new every morning.

 I recently saw a poster online that read:" Only God can turn a MESS into a message, a TEST onto a testimony, a TRIAL into a triumph, and a VICTIM into a victory."

Amen, our plights are not unseen or forgotten.

Yeshua sent  us a helper, the Holy Spirit who is like our armor-bearer, energizer, enabler.

We serve a mighty God, who bears the name "ADONAI TZEVA'OT -Lord of the ARMIES- all around us are unseen armies of angelic armies, and our Father commands and dispatches them as He inclines His ear towards those who seek Him.

We are called overcomers, victors, more than conquerors and as we run towards the finish line there will be hurdles and more hurdles.

Stay the course, beloved, let's fix our eyes on Jesus and the finish line, let's keep on moving and as we do we realize just how light and momentary our trials and sufferings are.

Binding The Strongman

In high school, I was acquainted with an extremely strong wrestler whose nickname was "Manpower". He won every match, by his sheer strength. I recall asking him the secret of his success, and he replied, "I grab my opponent by the head, and the rest of the body follows." As we stand on the brink of revival and spiritual advances, a wind of offense blows through our ranks. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8 Our greatest battlefield in our struggles has always been the mind. "So as a man thinks, he becomes..." That strongman, the accuser of the brethren, that we must bind, seeks to take control of our "heads" and take us captive, because we are truly as good as chained if empty and vain thoughts rule over us, and our lives will be governed by whoever rules our minds and thought lives. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Freedom from the strongman, the purveyor of lies, offenses, unforgiveness, anger, fomented misunderstandings, jealousy, can only happen as we abide in the true Vine, governed by the mind of Christ dwelling in us. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 Today beloved, choose the Captivator of the heart. He stoops down to conquer, He is a great and benevolent King, and in Jesus alone dwells freedom.

Foundations

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 As my wife and I prepare to send off our 18 year old daughter to start a new phase of life and learning on her own, I am reminded of this scripture! It is the promise of the Lord that our children will return, again and again, to the the foundations that have been laid inside them. Thy Word, Lord, is a lamp and a light, and the Lord is our Light and our Salvation. So even if she bumps into the "guard rail" a few times, and learns to walk on the narrow path, we know she is never alone, that Jesus is always with her, that the Holy Spirit is pursuing and guiding her. My prayer is for her to be attuned to that still small voice that whispers: "This is my way, walk in it." So we look forward to what the Lord is going to do. We know there will be scrapes and bruises, prunings, but triumphs, victories, as she picks up her own cross and carries it on the path her Father has laid out for her. His word is active, living, and powerful, and will accomplish what it was purpose for.

Chasing Wind

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6 We live in a culture where happiness and contentment are vainly pursued. All manner of activities are undertaken for the sake of happiness, the elusive acquisition of lasting contentment, but apart from abiding in Jesus, there is none! No place, no activity, no thing, will ever satisfy, yet such energy is expended with the same result that Solomon achieved- Chasing the wind. The greater the energy, the more frantic the search, the greater the hunger and thirst... but apart from relationship with our Father/Bridegroom, there is no last contentment and no real life, and from deep within the parched desert way down inside, the soul cries. "Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done. And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:10, 11 Where are you today, beloved? Have you found your one true love, or have you returned to Him? Cast aside everything that is a stumbling block, every idol, anything that diverts your time or attention from Him. Only He can ever satisfy the deepest longings of your heart...it's time to come home.

All I Can Do 218

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6, 7

During the Battle of Britain, one of the fiercest air battles ever waged that raged for months during 1940 over the English Channel and Britain. The resources of the Royal Air Force were so depleted, that the Royal Air marshall and the leadership of England feared that they would be vanquished by Hitler's Luftwaffe, the German Air Forces.
At this same time 100 intercessors led by Rees Howells were on their faces, day and night.
At the crucial time of this struggle, the Luftwaffe planes just turned away...and never returned.
The Battle of Britain had ended, a decisive victory claimed in prayer... one of many!

In times of high anxiety, stress, and situations when we are powerless to changes things ourselves,
we find the only thing we can do is to pray!
There is something about human nature where we always try to fix things ourselves,
leaving the most effective and powerful thing we can do-pray- as the last resort.
The Holy Scriptures tell us, that we are to use prayer in every situation, big and small,
the prayers of righteous men and women avail much.
Beloved, God is inclining His ear towards us, and He's waiting for us to ask...seek...and knock.

He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken.
Psalm 62.2

Searching

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:1, 2, 7-9, 11 We spend a great deal of our time searching. Inside of every one of us is the desire to find satisfaction and contentment, and so we misguidedly use entertainment and other activities that keep us busy, filling up and taking up the time of our lives. But In His presence is fullness of joy... there is no where else that we can go, nothing else we can do, though, that will ever satisfy the longing like being in the presence of the Lord, as we put everything aside, tune out every distraction, just Him and each of us. Created for relationship with our Father/Bridegroom, this is not optional if we are to find real joy we must spend time with Him. I would suggest that perhaps it is time to consider how our time is budgeted. We have 24 hours a day in our "time bank account", how is it spent? If the Lord God is our first love, does He get our first consideration, do you get into His presence first? I will also suggest that if we fail to do this, it simply won't happen, as we get swept away in the activities of our day....this is an observation from my own life, so today beloved, search for Him with all your heart... you will find Him. "In His Presence is fullness of joy."

Recharged

"He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak."
Is. 40:29

"As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God."
Ps. 42:1

As I go through my life, moment by moment, day by day,
I am reminded by my own weaknesses and inabilities...
that I am desperate for Jesus, thirsty for His Holy Spirit, and starved for my Father's love.
It is more important even than the air I breathe. 
I deserve nothing, but on this broken and flawed vessel 
He lavishes His mercy, grace, unmerited favor, and extravagant love.
Moments of pride, idolatry and unfaithfulness leave me stumbling parched, over the desert dunes,
but even as I croak out a cry for His mercy,
it comes-suddenly- waves of refreshment, 
His joy falls, cascading and washing my spirit...
His love billows over me, deep calls unto deep,
and I am renewed, recharged

 ¹⁵ For this is what the high and exalted One says—
    he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Is. 57:15

The Help 268

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,
and he will tell you what is yet to come.
He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
All that belongs to the Father is mine.
That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
John 16: 2-16

Jesus tells His grief stricken disciples that they can expect the Helper, referred to in this translation as the "Spirit of Truth", who will help embed in them what is currently bouncing off their hearts and minds. They can't begin to grasp all that Jesus wants to share and say to them. Jesus knew what lay ahead for them, the temporary disappointment, the shattering of messianic hopes, the brokenness and fear. He knew that only then would they be able to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and the vastness of what that will mean to them.
Once filled with the Holy Spirit these simple men went on to set the world on fire, filled with supernatural revelation and power. They loved the Lord with the same intensity that He loved them (and loves us), and they loved not their lives even unto death, understanding that in Yeshua/Jesus, physical death is just a gateway to eternal life.
A key difference between knowing about God and actually knowing Him, is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Christ in you...the Hope of glory...
He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
All that belongs to the Father is mine.
That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

To only know facts about Him without being filled with the Holy Spirit is like standing outside the palace window, looking in on the banquet taking place...you are there, but not participating.
Beloved, if today you recognize that the presence and habitation of the Holy Spirit is long overdue in your life, invite Him in.
Remember the words of our Lord:
 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,
and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13

Paying Attention

A feast for a special guest is underway, but the guest has been delayed in arriving. The noise of the gathering is loud; there is eating, drinking, and celebrating, and in fact the participants are so caught up that when the guest for whom the whole event was created for arrives and stands knocking on the door those inside cannot hear him.

Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Rev. 3:20

The table has been set, the guests invited.
Jesus is the special guest, He is the reason for everything, in Him belongs all preemininence...
 in our lives, purpose, and plans, and even now He knocks at the door of our hearts.
Do you hear Him, or is there too much noise?
Is our own selfishness screaming louder, or perhaps the noise of a very temporary world along with glittery but meaningless baubles, distracting us?
Today beloved, turn down the volume and listen, and answer...He is knocking.
Don't dare miss it.

Time is Money 220

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Proverbs 22:7

And Jacob said, "First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.
Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:33, 34

"You cannot serve both God and money"
-Jesus

This is a practical message.
There are many scriptures that mention how we are to deal with finances.
Why is it important that we pay for goods and services with actual money, not borrowing?
We live in the most indebted, debt shackled culture in the history of mankind, where people's propensity to borrow on credit and pay back is valued and tracked by those who lend, expressed as a credit score, and a new system of slavery has emerged.
In the "old" system, the system under which many of us, including me, was raised,
I was told by my father:
Buy something only when you have the money in hand to pay for it.
When things are purchased on credit, the borrower makes an oath to pay, and we are indenturing ourselves...the old maxim, time is money is absolutely true.
When we use a lender's money, we become slaves,
owing a piece of our lives,  willfully shackling ourselves for nothing more than the equivalent of a "bowl of stew".

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Gal. 5:1

Shades of Grace

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see. T'was Grace that taught... my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear... the hour I first believed. "

 This morning as we sang Amazing Grace in our worship, the power of the Lord's truly amazing grace hit home to me, again. This grace causes both a fear of Him...and a calming, a relief from other fears, that He will deliver me from, at the same time. This fear, and His ever lovingkindness, causes me to repent from wickedness...how dare I abuse such grace, that I would willfully pursue desperate or dark things! Knowing that He would forgive me, nonetheless...how dare I grieve my Father/ My Bridegroom, who has lavished His love, mercy-and this amazing grace-on me? Is this any way to treat the One who loves me so furiously? So I am mindful of Him, I desire to move forward, to apprehend the One who has apprehended me, I am thankful for His grace, which draws me to stay faithful, and not to take undue advantage of such a forgiving and loving Father. His hurricane-force furious love causes us to want to respond in kind, how could we not? Today beloved, dwell on this Grace, and don't take it for granted.

Finishing 294

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation– if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
Colossians 1:21-22
"If you continue in your faith..." There it is, brother and sisters.
 The choice.
Will we finish the race or not? It will not be finished for us, or without our participation, it's up to us; there are two choices set before us: the way of Life or the way of death. The Father, Son, and the Spirit all call to us, sometimes in whispers, sometimes shouting: COME!! Don't quit or lose heart! Keep at it! Be bold, be strong! Choose LIFE!
But They won't make us, won't drag us across that finish line, so we must grasp tightly to the hope of things we know are true that are yet unseen, for this is the very definition, the very essence of faith. Let us consider who, what, and where we were before He reconciled us, and presented us holy, and let us remember that this is not about us, it's all about a preeminent Jesus.
 He made a way for us, He will be faithful to complete what was begun in us...
Keep your faith, beloved, and finish what He began in you.

Diagnosis/Cure

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Isaiah 53:1 Recently my beautiful wife had been afflicted with a number of physical ailments: pain and swelling in her knee, a mysterious swelling in her wrist that manifested a huge painful lump, and other ailments that have attacked her. The doctors reports were negative (big surprise there... Not really!). A doctor even diagnosed her with a condition for which there is no cure. She said there was no reason for a blood test, but Lisa demanded it. Finally she determined that she was going to trust the Lord, who both created her, and is her great Physician, not believing the negative reports ... she started proclaiming her health and healing over these conditions, and just a short time later, these "conditions" are all but gone! That blood test came back negative...the doctor was wrong! There are many who have believed the Lord, not the negative reports; our loving Father has the whole world, every situation in His Hands. There are also many who sadly cling to the negative reports, believing men instead of God. There is a more excellent way though, and God's plan is always the best plan. Today beloved, stand on His Word that goes forth and never returns void...proclaim His goodness, grace, and mercy. Believe His report.

Hindrances

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

The "knowledge of God" spoken of here is love, and all that the holy concept of love entails.
The Word tells us that God Himself is love, and once again, I'm reminded, provoked, encouraged, and challenged to imitate the Ultimate Lover.
My greatest hurdles and hindrances to loving others as Yeshua loves me comes in the form of arguments, pretensions, suppositions, traps, that pop up if I'm not vigilant, right from my own cold heart, and a mind that can suffer from a lack of renewal, only the Holy Spirit and the Word can "melt me, and fan the flames."*

 "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self‑seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NIV84


*Thanks Misty Edwards/ What Only You Can Do

All Sufficient

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.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10

"My grace is sufficient for you...fear not...look up and focus...do not look to the left or right, lock your gaze on Me.."
There is not denying the obvious, that I am just human, flawed and broken, a mere mortal.
Day by day I find myself challenged by my own weaknesses, my own circumstances; through it all if I am listening as I should be, I hear the voice of the shepherd calling to me:
" My grace is more than sufficient for you..."
Thank you, my Father, for your amazing grace.
It's sufficiency, and the cascading revelations it brings to my spirit, is the sweetest sound I have ever heard.

Back To Basics/ Garden Life

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God."
Psalm 42:1

In the busy hustle and bustle of life, I find that there are so many things that compete for my time and attention. Some days I find myself frankly so tired that my morning devotional time is lost to sheer fatigue, and I pay a heavy price for not having face time with my Father.
As I find myself missing that critical element, my soul becoming so parched,
I feel myself desperately searching for the one thing, desiring to go to the one place,
the only thing that restores in my soul... fellowship with God.
I find myself longing to sit at my Master/Bridegroom/Father's feet, casting myself on His great love, grace, and mercy, I  desperately seek to apprehend the One who has apprehended me.
The length, width, depth, and heighth of His love, and how it washes over in billows is incomprehensible, inexplicable, and vital.
Made for this "garden life", I find there is no substitute...
So it's back to basics, yet again, abiding in Yeshua alone.
Beloved, satisfy the inner longing, that hunger that only Jesus can satisfy,
get that vital one-on-one with Him today.

Intentions and Plans 223

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20

It's 1981...a young unmarried couple, involved  out of wedlock, discover that they are pregnant.
They are anxious, confused, without resources...Roe v. Wade is in force, abortion is legal, and they are considering doing again what they have already done before, in fact, twice before…
but this time is different, this time they make a decision to keep this baby, and in October, 1981,
became the proud parents of a healthy, beautiful baby girl.
The couple's marriage soon dissolved, but the girl flourished...

Recently my oldest  daughter, born in 1981,who resides in New York,
along with our son-in-law, and our two beautiful grand-daughters came to visit us.
This daughter is that baby girl... and a new legacy of life was begun.
In the classic movie, It's A Wonderful Life, a despondent George Bailey gets to see what his world would've looked like without the impact of his life...and I am moved to repeatedly consider the many lives that would've been impacted without this young lady, not to mention there would be no grand daughters...

When I look at them and take in all the blessings of these two generations, both now and the future,
I hear the voice of the Lord: ...for I know the plans I have for them, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future..."  Jer. 29:11
Beloved,  God's plans are crafted with eternity in His mind, and are far better than even the best laid intentions of men... Seek first His kingdom, surrender your intentions to Him.

Immanuel 221

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:21-23

Im-anu-El...is really three words, not one...the literal translation is : with-us-God.
This powerful declaration, proclaiming: GOD WITH US is all around us, our magnificent Master filling His creation with it, reminding us, reassuring us:
DO NOT FEAR!
DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!
I AM WITH YOU!
I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU!
Yesterday afternoon my gaze was drawn to the skies as my Father put on a display in the heavenlies,
I was awestruck, recording some pictures on instagram, His glory shouted to me:
"Look up, I am your Redeemer!
Is anything too hard for Me? Trust in me alone, I am...Immanuel."
Beloved, the Lord who loves us is with us!
Go out today, praising and rejoicing in Him.
Tell someone today- IMMANUEL

Mammon and the Heart

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:18-20 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:8-12 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24 Tithing: it's not about the money, folks, and never has been. There is a long standing debate about whether we should pay tithes on net or on everything, the gross income. It's not about God needing our money because He owns everything, including what you might think is yours. It's all about the condition of our hearts, and the level of real faith, the actual measure of who is really first in our hearts, and our lives. It's about learning to get ourselves out of the way, crucifying our selfish desires and making the Lord preeminent in all things. We can't serve two masters. We aren't fooling anyone, not ourselves, and especially not the Master/Father/ Creator by splitting hairs, by paying tithes on what's left after taxes, and payroll deductions, reasoning that "God understands because I have all these bills". I will tell you that everytime I've done this in my walk I could not escape the voice of the Holy Spirit, way down deep, letting me know I was robbing my God- and more than that-myself. We serve a mighty God who knows every situation, every needs, and meets them, always to a greater measure in accordance with our faith. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25 Beloved, He asks us the question, often, and in many different ways: "Do you love me?" Consider today what He has done for us, never short changing us, or throwing us leftovers. Our Bridegroom is an extravagant lover, who has withheld nothing from us, not even His only begotten Son. How can we do any less?

Voices 292

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is My way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

God has planted in each of us a heart that is capable of supernaturally both seeing and hearing.
In our heart there is a special area, created for God's dwelling place in us.
It is the helm from which His Holy Spirit speaks to us...His word to us is penned here in Isaiah 30:21:
"This is My way, walk in it."
Everyone who is absolutely honest will have to admit deep down inside that they hear and recognize this voice of guiding truth from our loving Master. When the voice is heard there are only two possible responses: to either obey the voice of the Uncreated Loving God who has our best interests in mind, or we listen to another voice, the illegitimate lying voice that comes from the one who comes to destroy, steal, and kill.
The voice of truth, the voice of the Good Shepherd is always heard first, and cannot be extinguished, but the heart can become calloused and desensitized. Just as a driver who ignores the instructional voice of a GPS navigation system, the ultimate destination of ignoring the Good Shepherd's call is a place of disastrous consequence.
But the voice of the Lord keeps calling, never relenting:
"Come back, this is My way for you, the way to My plan for your life, 
turn away from evil, and follow Me."
Beloved, make wise choices, incline your ear to Him, be still and listen to the voice of our Magnificent Obsession.

25

 Place me like a seal over your heart,
   like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
   its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
   like a mighty flame


Today, April 21, 2012, is the 25th anniversary of my saying "YES" to Jesus, it's  my spiritual birthday, the day I made the decison that moved me from death and eternal damnation to life eternal.
Looking back there have been many trials, tribulations, this path has taken me through storms, valleys, and mountain tops.
I expect that prunings, and His blessings, will continue as He refines and polishes me, removing spot and wrinkle as He prepares a place for me at the Wedding Feast.
Moving forward through this journey I am assured and re-asssured that God is faithful, even when I am not.
He carries me and covers me, in all of my weaknesses and my flawed sinful humanity, on the wings of His faithfulness.
My confidence and dependence is in Him alone, and my goal is that I will decrease while He increases...
He is so faithful, graceful, merciful, so good to me who is so unworthy, and His love endures forever.

He Promises

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you are not just my own.
Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.
John 14:10-15

Sometimes faith becomes weak. Perhaps we only look at the natural empirical evidence of what the circumstances appear to be. We can be overtaken with worries and fear, where our response (to praise God, who is more than able to deliver!) is impeded.
In this place Jesus asks, as He had asked Peter: "Do you love me?
To which the response comes..."Lord, you know I love you...", and part of His response is the above passage.
He is the God of miracles.
He has all authority.
He has given it to us to glorify the Father.
Greater things than these are we able to do.
We have only to love Him, obey Him, keep our gazes locked on His, with faith like a child.
Beloved, Love Him, and take Him at His word.

Learning to Live/Dying 295

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
John 12:24-26

"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

In the desert the children of Israel wandered forty years on what could have been a two week journey, but there was this problem that had much to do with what is perhaps the greatest of stumbling blocks: unbelief, and along with it, a stubborn inclination to hang on to things and habits that are of no real value, and in fact, are usually detrimental to our maturation as believers. The Lord kept the children of Israel out there in the desert until the unbelievers, who couldn't see God past themselves, had died, and those remaining, who had seen God's mighty hand move so often, were ready to move forward as they trusted and praised the almighty magnificent God, not themselves.
Many of us, I daresay, all, have travelled through the desert...some are in that place even now.
At the beginning of the journey, we are heavily laden with "things" and plans of our own, with eyes focused on preserving control over this stuff, giving them idolatrous attention, rather than focusing on the Master and His plans, unable to see how He furiously and wonderfully He desires relationship with us.
The "Promised Land" lies on the 'other side of the Jordan", the place in our hearts where we leave behind our unbelief, fear, unforgiveness, and our other fleshly desires, when we die to ourselves.
When that seed falls to the ground, an incredible new bounty can sprout out of it, producing a life we may have never thought possible, because it runs counter to everything the natural mind considered. The proclamation has to be made by us: Not my will, Lord, but Yours.
Real life, the abundant life, only comes from really knowing Jesus, and that revelation knowledge and ability to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd that comes only as we surrender totally to Him, His perfect will, and His amazing plan for each of us.

All Things Possible (No Impossibilities) 219

For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 1:37

The children of Israel had fled Egypt, men, women, children, livestock, and everything that they owned, plus all the valuables that the Egyptians had given them for the asking. Pharaoh's heart had once again become hardened, and so the Jews raced towards the Red Sea, with Pharoah's army chasing after them, and they had no clue how they would be delivered from this situation, but they followed Moses, and they watched as God did the "impossible"- parting the Red Sea for them, but as the Egyptian Army gave chase the seas closed up on Phariah and his men, destroying Israel's enemies, while delivering His people Israel.

Against "impossible" odds, a huge lawsuit against my wife and I has been overturned,
forgiven and cancelled by the plaintiff!

In 2008, we were financially devastated as the result of a failed business that happened during the worst economic moment of modern history. We then became embroiled in a legal struggle with our would-be landlords from that business.

This loomed over us for more than a year and a half, overshadowing everything, driving us even to consider bankruptcy. We were told that those who were bringing the lawsuit were ruthless, heartless, caring only about business, with no regard for people. I was told by someone familiar with these businessmen, to prepare for the worst, wishing me "good luck" as we struggled. But my wife and I believed that deliverance would come, we knew that our God was bigger than our circumstances,
we just didn't know how or when. Our prayer was: God, touch the hearts of these men, give them hearts of flesh and compassion, instead of cold stone. We began to hear the spirit of the Lord instructing us to write the plaintiffs a letter, explaining our dire situation, and ultimately asking for them to exercise grace and mercy with us, asking them for a mitzvah (grant us a good deed, a blessing to them and us).
Our attorney told us that such a request was irregular and dangerous, but we still felt to write this letter, which we forwarded through legal channels. We heard nothing for weeks-but then suddenly on the last day of Pesach (Passover), we received an email from my attorney with a forwarded response  from the plaintiff, dismissing the lawsuit, with us taking care of a relatively small amount of legal fees!
Delivered on the last day of the celebration of deliverance from adversaries…
Another breath-taking blessing from our Father! His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours.
I am reminded of what faith is: things that are hoped for that are yet unseen,
and the Word tells us that without faith it is impossible to please the Lord.
I see this image in my spirit: my Father standing with His arms open, laughing, asking me the question: "Once again I say to you, is anything too difficult for Me? With Me nothing is impossible!"
Beloved, today whatever your situation is-Believe.
Our amazing God is in the business of exchanging beauty for ashes.
He makes everything beautiful...just in time.

Busy 224

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Revelation 2:2-5, 7

We are busy.
Busy with school, busy with our careers, busy raising families, busy with children's activities, busy with social responsibilities, sports, busy being entertained, busy with church events, just plain downright busy.
Sometimes we are busy doing "God" things, His work, lots of good things in His name, which is all wonderful, but if we are not vigilant, if we are not careful we will find ourselves distant, estranged, from our First Love.
The Lord says: "Yet I have this against you."
Do you feel, or have you felt the sting of the Lord's rebuke? I know I have, because in those words lay a truth, a searing indictment that I really didn't want to own up to: in my heart He was no longer first, which was why so much time was spent doing other things, meaningless idolatrous things.
We can become so busy, our schedules so packed, that we can forget our beginnings, where we started and how it was in the "Garden", when we were first saved, our hearts and spirits so fresh and tender, when we were so in love with Jesus that all we wanted to do was be with Him, sit before Him, feast on His Word, listen to His voice as He whispered: "This is my way, walk in it."
Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, He was there at the beginning for us, and in the end it will be us and Him, and most of what we spent our time on will have absolutely zero eternal benefit.
Beloved, return to your First Love...only He can satisfy the deepest longings of your heart.

Rolling the Stone Away #167

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
John 19:30a

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Then they remembered his words.
Luke 24:1-8

Jesus had paid the paid for each of us in full. A horrible death on the cross, laid in the tomb for three days, just as He said, and He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, just as He had said, the huge disc-shaped stone was rolled away.
Yet in the hearts and minds of the disciples who had lived with Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, who had seen the miracles, heard His words, seen what real Love is, claiming to believe Him when things were going well, but now had fled from Him.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Luke 24:9-12

Their faith had been stolen from them momentarily, their natural minds not being able to move past His death and burial and was still locked up in tombs of their own, their stones not yest rolled back-until they saw Him in His resurrected body.
In each of us, the stone must be rolled away from our hearts by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, and His resurrection..."for it is by faith you have been saved, not of yourselves, but it's a gift of God, lest any man should boast.
Sin, shame, pain, sickness, anger, unforgiveness, vain and empty thoughts, dysfunction, every dark thing, death has been crucified for us when we walk in the newness of abundant life that has been provided for us all.
Today beloved, see Jesus for who He really is, in all His resurrected glory, in all His magnificence and majesty.
He is risen indeed!

A Good Kind Of Poverty

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1, 2

I need the Lord in my life desperately. Without His Holy Spirit is indwelling Me, rising up inside me, filling and refilling me, there is only emptiness, hunger, arid. I am desperately poor and I know it. My most important and essential activities that feed my soul: reading and meditating on the Word, spending time with my Abba, striving to be wrapped in a lover's embrace with a locked gaze on Jesus alone, are never enough. Only He can satisfy, His love is better than wine, and without His presence there is no real joy, no contentment. Those who are poor in spirit are acutely aware of their need and where the only real Life comes from, and they must pursue it, relentlessly persevering and reaching ahead to apprehend the fullness that comes from abiding in Him alone.

If 293

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 14:15-17, 22

"Peter, do you love me?"

Like Peter, I can hear the Lord saying to me: Do you love me?
Then get out of your comfort zone, follow my commandments,
obey my teachings, feed my sheep, love your brothers and sisters.
When we truly love the Lord, a rule book is not needed because heaven's laws are written on our hearts. Everything we do is directed out of love for the beloved, the object of our affection, and so it is with Jesus. We are to live directed by love, not fear of breaking rules. Jesus said that the total of all the Laws and the Prophets hangs on the commandments to love God and our neighbors furiously, the way He did-and still does.
There are many around us today who are dead in their sins even though they walk- dead men walking- we are to take advantage of these "Godincendences" and share His love and our testimonies with them, just as Jesus did, just as we did when we fell in love with our "First Love", when we couldn't stop talking about Him.
So today beloved, remember who you are, who your First Love is...pay attention to divine appointments...
How beautiful are the feet of those who share the Good News...

153/A Testimony 84

“I'm going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We'll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven't you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
John 21:3-11

"Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev..."

Paul had to make tents for a living, and I have a day job, too...
My vocation is a car salesman, let me add, a salesman who gets paid commission only, no salary, no hourly wage.
Like Peter, and the other fishermen colleagues of his, if there are no "fish", there is no income. On the 15th of this month, after toiling for 2 weeks, 10 hours per day, my "nets" were empty, I had only one car sold, and no real prospects, and I must confess that I had real pangs of worry, even though in 25 years, the Lord had never left me unprovided for, provision often coming at 11:59.
This area regarding our finances is my weakest link, the thing that I struggle the most is believing all of His promises as my Ultimate Provider.
Yet the Lord in all His mercy, met and meets our needs, giving me nine more sales, "out of the blue", just as He did for Peter and company on the Kinneret early that morning, provision coming swiftly and abundantly, suddenly, as they obeyed His direction, and just as He does for all those who trust on Him, even when things look bleak in the natural.


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? 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 6:26, 31-33

God is so faithful.