Assurances and Fears/Amazing Grace

"You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 
You know when I sit and when I rise; 
You perceive my thoughts from afar. 
You discern my going out and my lying down; 
You are familiar with all my ways. 
Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 
Where can I go from your Spirit? 
Where can I flee from your presence? 
Psalm 139:1-4, 7 NIV

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling"
Philippians 2:12

The Holy Scriptures tell us that the Lord is omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, and all powerful, halleluyah! If you are like me, you find these considerations to be very reassuring...but I must confess that at the same time they can be quite frightening. This means that He sees all of our trials, every situation, tribulations and triumphs. This also means that everything that I have thought or will think about, every action, every holy or fleshly thought, is laid bare before Him.  His grace is more than sufficient, but the very thought of my unholiness being on display before my Most Holy Magnificent God...can be unnerving to say the least. Now don't get me wrong; my love for God and the realization that Jesus paid the highest price to redeem me from sin and death, and the fact that I live, move, and have my being in Him through the Holy Spirit are driving forces. I am acutely aware though that He sees every trace of leaven, every speck of darkness, and He desires that we just be honest and real with Him. It makes no more sense to try to hide anything from Him anymore than when Achan hid golden idols under the floor of his tent, or Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter  about holding back money. Let us be thankful for His amazing Grace that covers our mess-ups, and let us exercise this same grace abundantly with each other.

Striving and Resting 9

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; 
against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22, 23 NASB

I know of very few things that are more difficult for me to accomplish than waiting.
Waiting requires patience, and patience has not been a historically strong attribute of mine.
Waiting requires resting, the time and place when you can't do anything on your own.
I want things to happen my way, now.
My flesh often has already predetermined a desired outcome or decision,
and therefore I have crafted prayers in my heart that I want  to make happen, or so I think.
The trouble with that is rarely the outcome I have desired for past decisions the outcome that God had desired.
I can trace most of the problems I have brought on myself because I was unwilling to wait for the answer from my Father, and in so doing, I have created a striving.
In Galatians 5:22-23, notice that patience (NIV translation reads forbearance-) is sandwiched by the the other fruits of the Spirit. Patience places one in a position of waiting/rest...the balance of the fruits accompanying. Now consider replacing patience/rest with striving-the opposite position, and replace the other fruits with their opposites...you may well find yourself in an atmosphere where you are immersed in the bitter fruits of anger/hatred, unhappiness/depression, strife/quarrels, STRIVING, mean-spirited,  evil, unfaithfulness, harshness, reprobate mind/ selfish.  Ouch.
So, I find myself in a place of physical disability-unable to strive- where God has brought me, kicking and screaming, to a place of rest. Unable to force anything,  I hear Him say, "ssshhh", as a parent comforts a wailing infant,  as my spirit is quieted and I fall into His rest, knowing that whatever the situation, He's got it under control, and I am comforted by His inexhaustable grace, mercy, and love.
As the song goes: "He's got the whole world in His hands..."

Between Rocks and Hard Places/ Desolation 5

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 
II Corinthians 12:9-10

I am in a very difficult spot; between the proverbial "rock and a hard place". 
Allow me to explain: After enduring a life threatening, extended illness that kept me out of work for more than 6 months I returned to work for about 4 months. I was so happy to return to a relatively healthy state of being with all it's busy-ness. Then the unthinkable happened... I injured my back.
So with a great deal of pain, two trips to the ER including another 2 day hospital stay over the last 6 weeks, I find myself unemployed, all my benefits terminated, no financial resources, and in need of surgery. There are so many questions swirling about - my mind  just has a great big cerebral "?", like the big question mark on the pole that grocery chain Trader Joe's employees carry about the store -and honestly, many tears of anguish, physical pain from my spinal injury, loss, and the realization that a chapter of my life is ending. 
A rock and a hard place.
But I have choices of what I allow in that space between rocks and the hard places. I can allow desolation to be a place of hopelessness and negativity (which are not thoughts from God but from the devil), or  I can realize that the place between the rocks and hard places is my Mt. Horeb, where both Elijah and Moses found renewal as they were stripped of all but His presence. It was at this desolate place that they thanked, worshipped and dwelled with Him. They were prepared for their greatest revival and exploits. New beginnings. Double portions. The knowledge that God has not forsaken or abandoned me, but has brought me here for times of intimacy and "FaceTime", just me and Him. My problem with being busy is that although I desire to keep Him first, and give the first fruits of my time to The Lord, I have a hard time keeping this commitment, and He is Jealous.
So I will treat this new season as a gift from God...I have no idea where I am going, but I know that He is with me, leading and guiding me, and He is God over everything, especially over my circumstances.

Hope and Faith

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

“Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. ”
― Charles Spurgeon

The definition of faith is things that are hoped for that are yet unseen. 
It is hope that drives what we call faith. We hope and believe for certain things and can rest in an assurance that is driven and given to us through God's Holy Spirit. 
Elijah was assured in the Spirit that rain would come even when he prayed under a hot and cloudless sky from atop Mt. Carmel, and as he prayed on in faith and hope the sky was filled with dark rain clouds, pregnant with promises.
Even when we don't yet see the fruit of His promises yet, we know that if He said it, we can believe it - there is hope and faith, working together.
We are strengthened. We are believers. God's Word is true.
Jesus said, "if it were not so, I would've told you so." John 14:2b
It is the devil who wants to rob us of hope and faith, leaving us sick and despondent, if we listen to his whispers of dark and doubtful things.
He incessantly tries to whisper to us, "did you really hear God say that to you?"
Do not listen to the lies of  the great liar, beloved!
Today, say YES and AMEN to God's promises...let faith and hope arise anew in each of us!

Reflections

"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." 
Genesis 2:7 

I began reflecting on why our Creator chose to fashion mankind in His glorious image from the dust of the earth. Why didn't He make us from something else, something precious and rare, perhaps gold or silver? No, He chose the most common, the dirtiest, the lowest stuff that is nothing more than cast-off material. He formed Adam and breathed His Ruach HaKadosh into him, and made mankind just a little lower than angels. But there was a Fall.
Without the Father's love, grace, mercy and the revelation of all that He is and has for us, that comes only with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, what are we really?  
Before Jesus apprehends us, we are walking dead, not knowing that we aren't  really alive, never knowing what real love is, never even knowing why we truly exist.  We are just empty vessels,  a valley of dry bones. We strive to find purpose and meaning to answer the questions:
Why am I here? What is my purpose?
We are just fancy arrangements of dust, until His Holy Spirit changes everything in us.
By  Him, and Him alone, our hearts are transformed from stone to flesh.
We can live, move, and have our being, and able-no,  more than able, to reflect God's glory in all that we do, not because of ourselves, but because Christ, the Hope of Glory, lives in us.

Rerouting

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand ,
Or whenever you turn to the left."
 Isaiah 30:21

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (
Proverbs 14:12, 16:25 

Most of us are familiar with GPS or navigation devices these days. When we go the wrong direction or make a wrong turn, the device will quickly let us know by proclaiming, " REROUTING", followed by the new directions to get us back on track headed to our destination. The most sophisticated systems take into account  where the heavy traffic is and avoid it, and can be tailored to avoid certain types of roads, or not, even picking the shortest distance, or the fastest time to arrive. Sometimes the path we are directed towards is unfamiliar to us and is contrary to the way we would've naturally chosen.
The Lord lays out the best path for us, and gives us his Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, who speaks to us softly, whispering to us: " This is my way, the way that you should go."  Sometimes that direction may seem like the wrong way, but as we move forward trusting the Lord with all our hearts, and not leaning on our own understanding, we eventually see a great outcome. Without the Holy Spirit GPS we would just pick another way that may seem right to us but actually leads to a dead end. Hearing His voice and following Him requires that we spend time before Him in prayer and meditation, "presenting our supplications" and "being still and knowing that He is God".
If you hear that still small voice staying REROUTING follow  it.
There is no plan that is as good as His.

Gatekeepers/ Fatherhood

Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Genesis 22:15-18

Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord : ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
II Samuel 12:9-12

This weekend I attended an Encounter Weekend workshop. In one of the sessions the speaker spotlighted Abraham's willingness and obedience to God  even to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the angel of the Lord stopping Abraham's hand as he began the downstroke to kill his beloved son, against King David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and subsequent murder of Uriah, and all the adversity, intrigue, rape, perversion, near overthrow of his kingdom by his son, Absalom, (who's very name meant "Father of Peace"), death, darkness and a kingdom ultimately divided and conquered.
Abraham's descendants were blessed because of his faithfulness, but David's descendants paid a heavy price because of his shortsightedness, even though David was forgiven.
I began to reflect on my (our) personal responsibility as a father(s) to be a gatekeeper and guardian both of my (our) current generation(s) and those to follow. My (our) sins would be visited on my (our) descendants to the third and fourth generations and possibly even to the tenth generation, but so will my (our)obedience..."obedience is better than sacrifice..." 1Sam 15:22.
In the light of such impact my actions are guided by viewing the big picture. choosing today to obey God and unleash supernatural long reaching blessings on our families, those who follow us, who in turn will be empowered to obey the Lord, becoming gatekeepers, and in turn, setting up a supernatural chain reaction of blessings not curses.

Trials and Joy 186

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials"
James 1:2

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; 
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him."
Psalms 28:7

We all know James 1:2... When trials come that we are to count it all joy, right?
We all nod our heads affirming this.
We read it and say that we understand it, right up until that moment when the trial of trials sucker-punches us right in the face.  We struggle even to catch our next breath,
so devastated at that moment that tears and cries of anguish haven't  come yet.
Debilitating fear and the uncertainty of the future can immobilize,
if we do not acknowledge and activate a promise and great spiritual acknowledgement:
THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!
I know that Daniel laughed in the lion's den, Paul never ceased to rejoice in the Lord- ever!
Enduring stonings, shipwrecks, put on trials, scourged,
these men of God had caught the revelation of God's great love and power, and God's great promises.
Trials are meant to bring joy, and joy releases supernatural strength!
Remember this beloved, and as I write this,
I too invoke these principles of promise for supernatural strength in the face of  natural weakness.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Romans 8:28, 31, 32, 35-39 NKJV

Transitions/Moving Day 185

I wrote this from my hospital bed today.
It seems that some heavy lifting I did while trying to hoist a couple 50lb.bags of mulch from my wife's van caused a re-injury to previous  damage to my lower back.
Apparently I'm not 29, 39, or even 49 any more.
The plain facts of mortality.
The older I get, the more I grow in maturity in Jesus as I seek after Him.
It comes, though, with the realization that my body is aging, wearing out.
Everyday is a day closer to my  'moving day" when I will finally be "clothed in my heavenly habitation".
I must decrease so that He must increase...in every conceivable and inconceivable aspect,
in every facet of my earthly life.

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. "
II Corinthians 5:1-8

Someday in the future, at a predestined time known only to my Father, I will be present with the Lord. This of course means that I will be absent from my earthly body, just as all who have gone before me, and those who will have their own "moving days" after mine.
Not a morbid thoughts, rather glorious ones as we consider beholding Him in all His glory!
How exciting, beloved!
So the next time you are faced with sickness, aches, pains, & tears,
remember that we are headed to one Neighborhood, to mansions crafted for us by our Shepherd/Carpenter, where illness,anguish, tears, and fears are banished.
Joy and love are standing orders in this Place of Endless Worship.
Rejoice in The Lord!

The Quest 312

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" Psalms 42:1, 2 

My days are spent in one of two modes: either I am in the presence of  my almighty Father/Abba, or I am in search of Him. The difference in the modes? My heart. Am I striving in my own strength, or resting in His? Am I looking at my circumstances at the moment, or am I gazing into His face as I sit in His lap. Am I feeling the palpitations of my own stessed out heart beat, or feeling the steadiness, love, and power of His?
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me." Psalms 139:7-10 
So I choose the path that leads to the fullness of life. My quest is Jesus and all that He is.
The promise of abundant life-joy, a realization that He is right here with me, that His hands are holding me and guiding me. In the remotest parts of the earth and the remotest corners of my heart..."Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me." Shir HaShirim 2:6
Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27
Beloved, my prayer is that the greater the search, the more fervent the quest and hunger for Jesus, the greater the presence and in dwelling of His fullness in us all.

Head Over Heels/Compulsion 311

"... that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19

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

Recently I had an opportunity once again to share Jesus with a close relative.
The objections popped up over and over as my wife and I tried to explain why it is that we believe.
The usual questions arose: how can we know for sure there is a God?
How can God allow terrible things to happen to innocent people, what about aliens,
if there is a God how do you know we have the right "religion"?
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Corinthians 2:14 
I was compelled in our discussions to keep coming back to my testimony and the very thing that won my heart and soul: that God loved me and knew everything about me even when I thought of myself as a lost cause, with a love so furious that He sent His only Son to bear the penalty I (we) deserved, making a way for me (us) out of hell and into eternity in heaven.
I was aware of all his questions, all his issues, because I was in the very same place, BC- before Christ- but every pre-BC paradigm has been overturned- "for the love of Christ compels me" (2 Cor.5:14a). It is my prayer for him, and for every other "pre-believer",  that they would be seized by the revelation of God's love, falling head over heels in love with the Ultimate Lover, and be compelled, drawn and driven, receiving all that God has for them.
Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Church in Unlikely Places 192

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:20

I had a praise and worship session recently with a brother and sister in the Lord in an unlikely place: my showroom office. I am not at all unaccustomed to having"church" anywhere and everywhere, but how breathtaking when He chooses to just show up!
These friends came looking just for a car, or so they thought…it was a divine appointment.
There was laughter, testimony, praise, prayer, and tears as we fellowshipped about spiritual things, and testified about things the Lord is done, and is doing even now.
Jesus told his disciples: "For where two or three gather in my Name, there I am with them."
There is no better purpose or reason to gather together than under the banner of Jesus.
In Him we are meant to live, move, and have our being-living epistles, living stones…
each of us an important addition branching out from the Chief Cornerstone.
Take any and every opportunity to gather, beloved, exalting His Holy Name-
as there is no "inappropriate" place or time for events such as this.

Water and Stone

There are times in our lives where we find ourselves in a desert. 

We may feel parched, dry, covered with the dust of our toil and struggles. 

Weary and  exhausted, we find ourselves spiritually panting for the refreshment of "mayim chaim"- living water.  

The revival and restoration that only the Ruach HaKodesh, 

the Holy Spirit, can bring: 

"As the deer pants for streams of water,

    so my soul pants for you, my God.

² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.    
When can I go and meet with God?"
    
Psalm 42:1-2

It is times like these that we must go to the Rock:

"From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;    lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

The children of Israel sojourned in the desert and water poured from a rock as Moses followed the Lord's commands. To my spirit rock (stone) is a picture of strength, stability, and the basis of where renewal and revival emanates from.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31


Lean on the Rock today beloved, and be restored as you soak in the mayim chaim.

A Conversation with An Atheist 187

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"
1 Peter 3:15

"They overcame  by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. "
Revelation 12:11

Recently I had an opportunity to share my testimony with an Jewish atheist. Yes, there is such a thing...and in fact I was also one. When I think about what an atheist should "look" like  she did not fit that bill at all.  She was an older woman in her 70's, very cordial. She told me that she was a "rational and intelligent thinker", and was an epidemiologist. She only believed in what she could see, measure, and evaluate.
But there was something in life that is missing for her...
I didn't debate with her, instead the answer I gave her was what Yeshua had done in and is doing through me, my history. As I recounted  how I came to know this Yeshua/Jesus, the tremendous impact of reading the bible (Gospel of John) for the first time, the tears welled up in her eyes as they did mine, and I could see that her hardened heart was touched, that a seed had been planted.

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building."
1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Eric Liddell, the Scottish runner/missionary immortalized in the film, Chariots of Fire, said:
"We are all missionaries…wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ, or we repel them from Christ."

We never know how the things we say or do may influence those around us.
Sometimes it is not the "information" but what has been imparted that makes an impact.
Sometimes we plant, sometimes we water, and sometimes we harvest.
Those around us are watching and  listening.
Let's remember that the fields are ripe with the harvest,
and we are all called to tend those fields.

Deeper 228

"The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east).
The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep.
He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.
He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.
He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river.
When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.
He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea.
When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 
Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. 
There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.
Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.
But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 
Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.
Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail.
Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.
Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:1-12

The Lord has been speaking to me about the direct correlation in this scripture
between the distance travelled to the depths of the river of living water.
The distance travelled is our walk.
As we move forward seeking the things of the Spirit,
going farther, persevering and reaching forward to "apprehend
that which has apprehended us",
Jesus takes us deeper, and deeper still.
Standing 'still" leads us to a place of stagnation where we can become like swamps and marshes,
not able to receive the "living water" and the deeper things that the Lord desires us to experience and possess.
Today beloved, move forward, go deeper, fix your gaze on Jesus.
He is faithful to complete the good works He has begun in each of us!

Hearing Aids/The Voice

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."

John 10:27, 28 

Recently because of a 60% hearing loss stemming from a life threatening illness this year, I got hearing aids. They are technological marvels, and a great help ( I guess that's why they are called "aids"!). After using them from the last month I have realized something crucially important: they amplify all sound, background noise, etc., not just that which is my focus, and the greatest "aid" is my ability to focus my senses on the source, that which I strive to hear and understand.

In the world we live in we are surrounded by a cacophony of noise, from countless sources, spiritual perhaps even more so than environmental.These 'noises" attempt to distract us and obscure the most essential of voices: the Shepherd's. He is constantly but quietly calling us, leading and guiding us. The Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh is our "hearing aid" .
His voice quietly cuts through the "white noise"calling to us as we must use our hearts and all of our senses we hear Him: "This is my Way...walk in it." 
Beloved, tune in today, listen intently to the Voice and follow Him.

(Ungodly) Thoughts About God 4

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8, 9

We live in a performance based, conditional world. We are bombarded with media that worships perfection. The influences from worldly sources can factor into our own belief processing and form suppositions -incorrect and ungodly ones- that adversely affect our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Here are a few of them:

#1: "I am loved by God as long as I perform well."
Well, no! God loves us just the way we are, calling us with amazing love and grace. Diplomas, trophies, credentials, wealth, in and of themselves mean nothing.
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us." 1 John 4:16-19

#2: "God isn't interested in the small details of my life."
Wrong!   "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:30, 31
It is beyond comprehension for the natural mind to realize that the same God who hangs every celestial body in the heavens and created the universe also has each of us on His mind, and knows our most intimate thoughts. He desires for us to have the faith of children, climb up onto His lap in prayer, and confide in Him. No concern of ours is too small to give over to Him.

#3: "God uses suffering and sicknesses to teach me a lesson."
Wrong again! "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10  If God is the fountainhead of abundant life, than who is the one who brings illness, pain, lack, and suffering? That's right...the devil, who is a thief, accuser and deceiver. But I found that even in the midst of life threatening illness that God met me, took me to my future heavenly home for a quick tour, and sent seraphim to minister to me. In the depths and the heights I could feel God's love billowing over me.

#4: My life is mine to fix...I messed it up so I am the one who needs to fix it."
You can't. Broken can't repair broken.  But Jesus can, will, and does! He is the Restorer, hallelujah!
 "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

It is only when we cast all our cares on Jesus and totally surrender that such paradigms are overturned. Beloved,  remember that a steady diet of God's Word and getting frequent "facetime" with Him will give us a right perspective, and true knowledge of the Holy.

- Thanks to AJ Jones

Losses and Gains

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ"
Philippians 3:7, 8

The most important lesson that I have learned in the last 7 years is about losses and gains. When we arrived in Tennessee I had substantial finances, was going to build our dream home. My mind was centered on earthly things and material gains, not Jesus. I had turned aspirations and goals into idols. Thoughts about my messiah? Usually lasted  for about 2 hours on Sundays. But then came  trials, losses, and stripping away-of hundreds of thousands of dollars,  a business, 60% of my hearing, health for a season. It has been said , "You never know Christ is all you need, until He is all you have."  Having had all these things stripped away there is nothing now to keep me from the "surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord". Weighed on the scales of eternity that stuff I chased after was like dust, just garbage, compared to the richness of having been brought so near to my Saviour. In the grand scheme of things these have been small losses and great gains. I concentrate on He who is worthy to receive all glory, honor, power, and praise. Our needs continue to be met, and I am grateful to still have 40% of my hearing...everything emanates from Him. 

Beloved, dwell on Jesus, who is our greatest gain, and forget the losses.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Jim Elliot

The Source

The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. 
1 Kings 18:46 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. 
Habakkuk 3:19 

In 1Kings 18, we read that Elijah was a very busy prophet!
Over the course of a couple days on Mt. Carmel he faces off against 450 false prophets of Ba'al. Then he goes to the top of the mountain, praying relentlessly until the downpour begins. This all sounds so exhausting, and he probably was.
But the scriptures tell us that the power of the Lord came on Elijah and in the middle of the downpour he ran the 17 miles to Jezreel, outrunning Ahab! 
Standing on his chariot, as he grasped the reigns of his steeds, Ahab must've thought that he was really moving. Down the mountain pass, towards his home in Jezreel, he thundered...but then out of the corner of his eye he catches sight of something unbelievable, no-impossible! In my spirit I can see him wiping his eyes, wondering if his eyes playing tricks on him. Can you imagine the look on Ahab's face?
Elijah on foot, with his cloak tucked into his belt, blows past him, leaving him in the proverbial "dust".
Beloved, our own lives are often so busy, exhaustion and stress are so common in the world we live in. But don't ever forget or doubt, that the same spirit, the Holy Spirit, that raised Jesus from the dead, and supercharged Elijah is available to us!

Stone to Flesh/ Death to Life

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 
Ezekiel 36:26

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee Luke 24:2-6

This morning at our Resurrection Service (otherwise known as "Easter"), I had an revelation about, well, receiving revelation. Revelation comes from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is gentle. He doesn't come unwelcomed or uninvited. In ancient times the dead were interred in caves, with disc-like stones rolled across the entrance,  stone sealing the tomb in permanence-in death.  Just as the stone was rolled away at the Resurrection, bringing revival and newness of  life, when a heart of stone is "rolled away" and changed into a heart of flesh, revelation can come forth. As the Holy Spirit fills us, we move from knowledge/ information to impartation. Not only can it come, but I  say with assurance that it does come, as those awakened can testify to!

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19

Today is a new day, beloved.  Let us move forward, striving to apprehend that which has apprehended us.