Beyond Understanding 177

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ NIV

"Trust in The Lord with all your heart, 
and lean not on your own understanding."
Proverbs 3:5,6

Grace Center Pastor Jeff Dollar spoke about the dichotomy that exists in our thinking and understanding of Scripture. He cited Proverbs 3:5-6 and brought up a simple, but profound point:
There are going to be many times in life when we have no real choices but to trust our Heavenly Father, when nothing that we have learned experientially makes any sense!
The "debris" may have hit the proverbial fan, our comfortable rationale for life
(especially as citizens of a generally comfortable American/Western lifestyle) may have been blown to smithereens, and suddenly we are faced with a towering question mark.  Our minds may be reeling, grasping for something, anything that makes sense...in other words some sort of an explanation to help us to understand, but the understanding at that moment may very well not be there. That of course is the whole point, isnt it? The Word reads: "...Lean not on your own understanding", meaning we are not supposed to understand, what we are supposed to do is trust Him!
Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, Redding CA said:
"In order to have peace that surpasses understanding we have to give up the right to understand."

Beloved, when you are tired, afraid, and shaken,
if you feel like you are between a "rock" and a hard place,
that rock is in actuality THE Rock.
Don't exhaust yourself further, trying in vain to understand the "whys",
instead heed the advice that's in our Owner's Manual, the Bible:
"Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you."

Discoveries 173

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
1Corintians 13:7

We can love, because God loved us first- inspite of ourselves.

After many months of trying to arrange a visit to our house with the express purpose of helping us with painting and renovating the exterior of our house, my sister and brother in law finally were able to come. We were so looking forward to it, but I must confess that there was a certain degree of apprehension, and at the risk of speaking for them, the apprehension was unanimous.
I was the youngest of my siblings, and my sister Jodi was able to "escape" the nest, getting married (that's another story altogether) when she was 18, and I was 9.
There was a half of a generation between us, and we barely knew each other.
Of course, we knew the facts about each other and our spouses, but really didn't know one another. There is familial love, the kind that people have for their relatives, because it's family,  but I'm not sure that we could say we "liked" each other. There is not a great deal that we had in common... especially regarding the unmentionable paradigms (politics and religion).
Lisa and I are quite a bit different from Jodi and my brother in law, Kurt.
Light years apart in fact.
Although unspoken, we determined, and I felt they did also, not to allow these different paradigms and philosophies to keep us strangers. We would be together under one roof for 3 days (Kurt's 3 day rule, not to overstay a welcome or allow stress to arise).
I desired to have the kind of love Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 13 govern and nurture our time together. I didnt want our individual opinions to get in the way of relationship. Opinions can act as wedges that split relationships, becoming nooses that choke off life, preventing love and acceptance from flourishing
There was quite a laundry list of things we needed done, and because of my disabilities, I was not able to help. Kurt started some days before 6am, and persevered, sweating it out in the summer Tennessee heat, Jodi and Lisa, and even 10-year-old daughter Elli was painting and helping as things progressed. There was time to get to know each other in greater depths, and to love and appreciate one another. Kurt is a writer/blogger, and an excellent storyteller; we got to gather around and listen to a few of his great stories.
Kurt ending up breaking his 3-day rule. When they finally departed we had enjoyed each other for 6 days, and we have finally kindled a meaningful relationship. It was the longest we had ever been together, just us, and we all really enjoyed each other.
This is how love operates.
It covers a multitude of differences, providing a rich "soil" for relationship and respect to thrive, in spite of differences.
God is love, and real life is found in loving Him, and loving other people the same way Jesus did.
We hope to have a chance to visit again soon with Jodi and Kurt, not a perfunctory "have-to' visit, but an opportunity to share life together.  

Simplicity #79

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them."
Psalm 34:4-7 ESV

I've been listening to podcast sermons of Bethel's Kris Valloton's..."Valley of Dry Bones", "How Revival Ends", among others. Thank you Kris...

As is my custom, transparency is the best policy so here it goes.

Life has a lot of challenges. Seriously. So many things in the natural that can cause fear, cause us to be overwhelmed. We have bills to pay, jobs to do, children to raise and sometimes worry about. The news brings us mostly bad reports, locally, nationally, and globally.  People we have looked up to have fallen, distrust and mistrust seem to be everywhere.

I have been dealing with illness and pain, fear, and a sense of overwhelming. 
My quiet time has sometimes been elusive, things popping up and stealing the precious time I had planned on spending with my Abba. Joy has been hard to find and harder to keep. 
There is a direct correlation between what I've been dealing with, and what I've fixed my attention on- problems or the Problem Solver?

Where can we-I- turn, who can we trust, and who will deliver us-me, both now and in the future?
The answer is simple, and it is always before us, just as His Presence is always as close as our hearts' tenderness -or hardness.
The Lord- He alone is God.
The answer is found in Him alone.

Jesus said, "Come to me...all of you who are worn out ...come as simple children, all of you, every one of you, all who are overwhelmed, afraid, exhausted of your own strength. 
Cast all your cares on Me because I love you and care for you. 
I am bigger than all of your fears and anxieties, much bigger than every storm that swirls around you.
Seize the Joy that I am serving up to you, on a platter of praise and thansgiving. 
My Peace that passes all understanding means just that- Peace I give you, without wasting time and energy on understanding things bigger than your mind., and it is more than enough."

The Boat #80

"And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep." 
Matthew 8:23, 24 ESV

Lately my thoughts have been drawn towards suffering. No one likes to suffer, and the reasons and causes for the tremendous scope of suffering we might endure are vast. So why suffering?
I was talking with a brother in the Lord a couple days ago who is really ill, and dealing with all the suffering that goes along with serious illnesses. I remarked to my brother, "We are in the same boat..." talking about my experiences with illness and suffering .
The words I spoke set something off in my spirit that has been reverberating since then.
Jesus' disciples had followed Him onto the boat, expecting a pleasant time, not such a frightful storm! They had listened to his incredible teaching, watched Him perform miracles, but they were not prepared yet for actually being thrust into a tempest -because they followed Him! I believe that later on, after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, that this experience came to their minds. I believe that it was a metaphor that Jesus used to show His followers- all of us who have proclaimed Jesus as our King- of the storms and trouble that would come, sooner or later, with varying intensities and manifestations.
Aren't we the same ?
We are all in the same boat, trouble will come, and perhaps even now has.
This is not His last word though:
"And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm."
Matthew 8:26 ESV
Suffering-all of it- regardless of intensity and scope- is producing in us an "eternal weight of glory" that we who endure and hold fast to Jesus will soon taste.
Below is a quote from a Chinese brother, Zhang Rongliang, who has endured great suffering:
"Suffering challenges so many people in the world. Without suffering how is it possible to taste the depths of the goodness of the Lord? After tasting it how then can one be obsessed with worldly desires?"

Meadows and Minefields

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; 
You make my lot secure. 
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
Surely I have a delightful inheritance." 
Psalm 16:5, 6 NIV

This is not our home; we are only passing through this world sojourning through this race we call "life" towards the finish line.

Some days and seasons are like a pleasant walk through a country meadow on a spring day.
Imagine 70 degrees, and in this meadow there are fragrant flowers blanketing its entirety.
You can walk with surety, just knowing that there are no holes to fall into and twist your ankle, nor rocks to stumble over.

But there are other days and seasons that feel like we are passing through minefields.
The path is difficult and treacherous, and there is the smell of battle and cordite (an explosive) that our spirits are sensing. There may be smoke so thick that we may not be able to see other brothers-in-arms, nor our Leader, and yet we must know deep in our hearts that we are not alone.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 
John 16:33 NIV

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3 NIV

Beloved, through meadows and minefields let us fix our gaze on Him alone, listen only to His voice, following Him,  believing with joy the report of the Lord! We will triumph ;our real reward lies on the other side of eternity and we shall be there sooner than we may realize!
Maranatha!

Feasts, Holidays, & Testimonies

"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were bapized into Moses in the cloud and the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness."

1 Corintians 10:1-5

Israel's Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, is a couple days away. 
Its purpose is one of remembrance, as evidenced by the name of the annual event. I was reflecting today on the importance of remembrance as I talked with some friends. I commented on the shortness of my own memory when I amy be caught up in the throes of a hardship.  
When someone asks us about a particular event in our own lives, it is a most excellent time to give our own testimony. 
When this happens to me I am hit with an "ah ha moment" -the remembrance of just one of the so many times when God has shown up, and I find myself repenting for  worrying, complaining, or unbelief, or all of the above.

The children of Israel had their first borns spared fron the angel of death, passed through a parted Red Sea, watched as Phoroah's horses and riders were drowned as the sea crashed down on them, saw the shikinah glory on Moses' face, followed the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, enjoyed supernatural sustenance for 40 years, traveled in clothing and footware that never wore out, and when they obeyed God they triumphed over enemies...and yet they complained endlessly. That generation died in the desert, their children were those who entered the Land. Joshua and Caleb's names and actions are remembered, but the other 10 spies and their memory vanished as a result of their unbelief and disobedience, as did their families.

Communion was created especially to frequently spark our memories regarding what Jesus accomplished for us:

"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you,; do this in remembrance of me."
Luke 22:19

Every holiday, the Feasts, communion, Shabbat, as we listen to, or tell someone else our own histories (His-stories)- testimonies, let us remember and revere what, rather, Who we are focusing on: God in all His manifold greatness and lovingkindness.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Rev.12:11

Refreshment #81

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus." 
Acts 3:19, 20 NIV

Repentance, specifically the active and unending need for repentance, has been reverberating in my spirit so strongly as of late.

Oswald Chambers, writing in MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST on this very day:
"Co-Crucifixion. Have I made this decision about sin - that it must be killed right out in me? It takes a long time to come to a moral decision about sin, but it is the great moment in my life when I do decide that just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world, so sin must die out in me, not be curbed or suppressed or counteracted, but crucified."

Brother Yun, in the very first chapter of LIVING WATER, writes:
"You see, we are all called to run a race for Jesus, and repentance is the starting line of that race. It’s futile to try to run the race if you never made it to the starting line to begin with! This
is the problem with many believers today. They are trying to follow the Lord, but they have never truly repented and surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. The result of the false gospel so prevalent today can be seen in churches full of halfhearted Christians whose lives are still centered on selfishness and the principles of the world."

I heard this clearly, Holy Spirit to my spirit: "Hugh, repent and turn to Me...remember that there is nothing you have done that is unseen by Me, there is no such thing as a 'secret sin', for I see you in your entirety, when you walk uprightly and when you don't..."

Jesus' death on the cross and the finished work of that cross, and the grace lavished offered to us does not negate the need for repentance.

Brother Yun continues:
"Repentance is both the first step to walking in the kingdom of God and the key to continuing in a place of obedience and submission to the Lord. The very first message Jesus proclaimed in His ministry was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17). Without a deep experience of repentance in our lives, we will continually struggle with basic sin and never mature as believers."

I know this post has more content today from other men of God than myself, but their thoughts and great truths reflect this message that is burning in my heart and soul.

Beloved, let us repent, and keep repenting...so times of refreshing...grace ...may come.

Warnings/ Encouragement #161

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "
Matthew 6:22, 23 NKJV

Jesus said it.
He warned us.
Our eyes are the windows into our souls, and the lamp of the body. We have to be vigilant, because what we allow to enter into us is brought in primarily through our eyes.
The Lord gave us eyes, which are truly remarkable in their design and engineering, as a blessing.
He intended us to be able to experience all the beauty of his creation, and to be used as part of the holy vessels - us- for holy purposes. He also gave us necks that can rotate (towards or away something), eyelids that protect our eyes from both environmental dangers, and spiritual dangers.
We live in a perverse and wicked generation; technology has given us instant access to so many excellent things- the Bible online, for example, but there is a great darkness, a terrible poisoning, that can be crouching just behind a few keystrokes of a smart phone.
I speak of pornography here.
Once the eyes of a man allow pornographic images into his mind and consequently his soul, there is more often than not an unholy hunger that is unleashed.
I know of what I speak.
Part of my testimony is that after many years as a believer,  I became addicted to pornography. My connection to the Holy Spirit was severely impaired, as He cannot dwell in an unrepentant vessel filled wth darkness.
I am not alone...it is estimated that over 70% of professing believers have pornography addictions/habits. Take a good look around at church .
That means 3 out of 4 men in the average congregation.
Great men of God are falling because of this, because the eye went unguarded.
There is no area of a man's life that remains undarkened by this habit. How he views his marriage or relationship with women, how he physically sees and or looks at women, lust is in itself adultery and furthermore blows open the door to adultery. "So as a man thinks, he becomes." A man overtaken by this addiction does not consider how this would affect those around him. I wrote a blog after having a vision of a field full of straight furrows, where the tractor or plowman had then gone off course and cut through the other furrows, damaging them. The Lord showed me that the plowman was a backslidden person had had turned to the left or right in sin, and his actions had damaged the lives  and the Walk (causing tremendous damage in their relationships with Jesus) of those who were in his sphere of influence.
 Be vigilant, and diligent, beloved.
Guard your eyes, and therefore your hearts.

"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil." (Proverbs 4:20, 22, 23, 25-27 NKJV)

Promises #82

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NKJV

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."
John 15:18 NKJV

Jesus promises to prepare a place for each of us in His/ our Father's house. A glorious eternity awaits every child of God, everyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior. He took the punishment of us all, paying the highest price for our sins, past, present, and future. He accepts us just the way we are, cleaning and transforming us with the Holy Spirit.
This is the Good News, the essence of the Gospel.
Christianity 101, right?

But there is another part we don't like to think about much less talk about, a part that is not often preached about in our American often sugar-coated warm and fuzzy Gospel ...that part we all hope will be avoided, or at least minimized.
It is the part of our lives as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ that takes us through the valleys, and the deserts ...
It is the way of suffering, through the refining fires and through pruning...
Jesus told His  disciples that they would indeed drink from the same cup (Matt.20:22).
To be sure, we, each of us, will go through fires of our own, we will not escape pain, trials and tribulations ....they are guaranteed.
Through it all He whispers to us..." peace... I'm with you ...don't worry about these things...don't fear a world who hates us...I have overcome the world!

Desperately 172

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
 I Corinthians 13:13 NKJV

In my perfect world we would love one another as He loves us...
There would be no offenses,
We'd love him so totally and desperately that the thought of hurting Him,
Doing despicable things would be driven from our hearts and minds...
And we would love one another,
Having freedom and license to help pull each other out of the pit.

There would be no guile, no secrets, no jealousy, no malice, no unholy anger, nor covetousness...
Only love- ruling as we fervently obey the two greatest commandments:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength;
Love your neighbor as yourself.

Following/Focused #162

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24 NKJV)


I spent 3 hours of last evening/early morning in the ER. I didn't really want to go, but I was confronted with a sensation (pain) in my chest as if a sumo wrestler was sitting on me, coupled with a sudden onset of a really nasty headache... I described it to the doctor that it felt like I was stabbed in the right eye with an icepick. The tests all came back normal, the chest pain probably due to an GI issue I am dealing with, but in the midst of all that pain I found it difficult to think about anything other than myself, where I should've been focusing on something (some One) else: Jesus, my Adonai Rophe', my healer.
Jesus said that we are to come after Him, to follow Him and nothing else.
To "follow" implies and requires that we set our sights, focusing on Him alone, not looking left or right where distractions can take us off our course. Race horses are fitted with blinders that prevent them from looking to the sides, allowing only forward vision. In each of our lives we must keep focused on Jesus alone, not difficult life circumstances such as job problems, finances, illnesses, nor blessings that can become idols (wealth & affluence, successful careers,etc).
As we stay focused on Jesus a moment at a time, beloved, we will someday (sooner than we think) arrive at the finish line, having run the good race, into the arms of Abba Father who declares over us: "Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into your rest."

Prisons/ The Emancipator #171

The definition of prison: a building for the confinement of persons held while awaiting trial, persons sentenced after conviction, etc.
Prisons can take on many forms that go way beyond a building that houses  inmates. 
Illnesses, anxiety, depression, and discouragement can also become prisons, confining and shackling souls, in ways that can be more devastating than a 6x6 cell with bars. 
Millions are in these "prisons"... Walking inmates. 
The enemy of our souls, the devil himself, is the jailer, 
he knows already what those held prisoner need also to know: 
The key to freedom and emancipation is in the hand already of the One who is the lover of our souls, the One who knocks at the door of our hearts: "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." 
Revelation 1:18 NKJV
Beloved, if you are finding yourself in a "prison", reach out and take hold, the Liberator is waiting to unshackle you.

Living By Faith, Not by Sight #169

"For we live by faith, not by sight."
2 Cor. 5:7

In 1815 the French Emperor, Napoleon, had conquered the whole of  Europe except Britain.
France fought against Britain in the Battle of Waterloo. If Napoleon won, the whole of Europe would have been enslaved to him. The man who stood between him and victory was General Wellington, the leader of the English troops. The whole of Britain waited anxiously to hear news of the outcome of the battle. Would they be free , or become slaves to Napoleon. To carry the news of outcome of  the battle to England, a ship used flags to signal a message to a man standing on a hill, and so on across the country. The first word, "Wellington",  was signaled...the next word was "defeated". Then a fog quickly descended  and the message was interrupted as they couldn't see what the man on the ship was signaling with his flags. Across England people openly wept over the message: "Wellington defeated". Then the fog lifted , and they could again see the signal pinafores on the ship.
The communication continued with two more words:"the enemy".
The whole message was WELLINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY!
The hearts of the British people were immediately changed from deep despair to celebrating victory!

Similarly, there was great sorrow when the body of Jesus was carried from the cross to the tomb.
The signal seemed to say that Jesus Christ was defeated, but three days later the "fog" lifted and the whole message was announced: JESUS CHRIST DEFEATED THE ENEMY!
Through Jesus we have complete victory over our enemeies of sin, death, and satan.
We have new life, a glorious hope, and the certainty of our own resurrection one day.
Let us not live by sight, for everything around us seems to say "Jesus has been defeated".
Let us live according to our spiritual sight , for only then will we be able to see the whole message:
"JESUS CHRIST HAS DEFEATED THE ENEMY!"

-Reprinted from Asia Harvest's guest editorial by Hammie and Alti, missionaries in remote and dangerous areas of Asia

Costly 301

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23 NKJV

Sin is a costly, deadly business.
I was reading Leviticus 4 this morning in which the Lord directed Moses and Israel how to atone for sin ( the sin offering) :
"He shall bring the bull to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the Lord. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting. The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting." (Leviticus 4:4-7 NKJV)

The business of paying for the high cost of sin was an ugly business. It was expensive (only perfect specimens were sacrificed), not to mention gory and bloody. The priests and the altar area were splattered with blood, and I imagine this rivaled any scene from a horror movie. From the time that the sacrificial system was set in place until the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave there was a steady increase in offerings. As sin increased so did the need for more and more sacrifices, blood splattering, butchering...death.
The sacrificial system is not practiced any longer, but this doesn't change the payment required for sin: someone has to pay with their life. This may seem like "Christianity 101", but we must-I must-remember (and never forget) the great payment that was made for us all.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, once and for all.
If you suffer from self- esteem issues think about this great truth:
God loves us ( present tense) so much that He sent his only Son to take the punishment we so deserve...ransoming and delivering us from eternal death to everlasting life.

Two Facets of Covenant Relationships 160

Last night I had the privilege of being in the audience at Grace Center with Bethel's Kris Valloton. I'm borrowing from his message, it was so striking. The message was about what real covenant looks like as rooted in the scripture, and there were two powerful take aways that stood out to me:

1) Vulnerability

"After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. "
1 Samuel 18:1-4 NIV

Jonathan and David had become one in spirit, knitted together, and Jonathan so trusted David that he gave David both his own armor and weaponry, in the process making himself transparent and vulnerable to David. Had David been malicious or evil he could've murdered Jonathan, since Jonathan had uncovered and unshielded himself. Jonathan was King Saul's son, more powerful than David, who came from a shepherd family, yet Jonathan renewed his covenant with David three times. Kris talked about "camaraderie being rooted in covenant, but covenants are not rooted in camaraderie" - camaraderie involves two or more parties united against a common foe. Covenant, however, removes the "us vs. them" mindset, and is laced through and through with grace- defined as the operational power of God.
Covenantal love that stands the challenges of life's seasons requires stepping out of our own emotional armor, being summed up by this quote:
"You can only love people to the depths that you will let them hurt you."

2) Covenant or Co-habitation?

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:12, 13 NIV

In covenant relationships those who have entered are prepared to even lay down their lives for the others, but where there is only cohabitation, those involved are only interested in what they can extract from this arrangement. I'm not just referring to marriage here but neither was Jesus- He was talking to his followers, his friends. Jesus is the incarnation and product of COVENANT,  His human ancestors were those who choose to enter into covenants: Abraham, Ruth, David.
We as followers of Jesus cannot benefit from His teachings unless we are willing to follow Him, as Lord. After all, He tells us that those who want to follow Him- in covenant- must deny themselves and pick up their crosses daily. Crucified on our own crosses are pride, arrogance, judgement, our "rights", our selves. I would submit to you that our self righteousness yanks the nails out of our own crosses and uses them to crucify those we should love and edify.

Kris also discussed the facts that we cannot take "suffering out of the Gospels" ( look at the life of Paul, who called himself an imitator of Christ), and 1 Cor.13:4 reminds us that "love suffers long and is kind", and once again, I was reminded that "grace is the operational power of God."

Climb Every Mountain 176

Mountain tops are exceptional places to be.
They are places where the atmosphere is clear and rarified,
and 360 degree views that extend for many miles are afforded to those who dwell there.
But there is a journey that must be undertaken to arrive there, and it is not an easy or comfortable one. The path is strewn with a variety of obstacles, and it is not for the faint hearted.
The higher  the climb, the greater the potential danger of falling.
Where we place our footing and  what we grasp must be carefully considered and tested.
So it is with our lives.
Often referred to as our "walk", but perhaps more aptly called our "climb"...
We will be stretched to our limits, perhaps even now you may be;
sometimes stumbling, sometimes discouraged,
sometimes exhausted, yes, and sometimes falling.
But climb we must, get up, we must...otherwise the "mountains" in our lives remain towering, confining monoliths that we are unable to see over or around.
Beloved, the climb can't be sustained without supernatural strength that comes from beyond ourselves, from God alone.
With it though, we can be confident as we climb.

"It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way." (Psalm 18:32, 33, 36 NIV)

Life and Light 98

As I got ready to turn in for the night, I turned off my ceiling lamp in the bedroom.
I noticed that there was still quite a bit of light in the room, so I looked around for the source of this light. I discovered it to be none other than the small clock on my bedside table. The clock does have a dimmer feature, so I lowered the intensity of the light. I contemplated how visible the illumination was in the darkness. I found myself reflecting on a spiritual truth:

 "In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4, 5 NIV)

In the darkness of this world and at times and seasons in each of our own lives, there is only one true light. It emanates from the "Son"- Jesus, the light of all mankind. Apart from Him and without His presence, we would find ourselves cast into utter darkness, a place of "weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth" (agony and distress), but in His presence (where He desires us all to be) is light, which translates into many facets. In Him is life- the peace beyond understanding, the joy that is our strength, the Rock to build this life on, provision and healing, a shelter from every storm.

The light of my clock has become a symbol for me.
Darkness may try to overcome us, but the Light of men-Jesus-cannot be overcome.

Hold Your Position! #137

"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." 
~1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC
in Battle of Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918

I was speaking to a sister in the Lord that I encountered today. When I asked her how things were, she didn't just throw the smily Christian - "I'm blessed!" - veneer at me. Instead she was honest. "Things are a mess right now, and I feel like I am coming apart at the seams..." 
I replied to her, "I totally relate, but God will give us the strength to occupy until He returns." 
I was reminded of the above quote from Lt. Cates, at the legendary WWI Battle of Belleau Wood. There are times that I feel like I'm in a foxhole with Lt. Cates and my sister and I'm sure so many others. The enemy's barrages are bombarding us, as we fend off wave after wave of attacks. 
We may be bloodied and wounded, our ammunition getting scarce. 
Let us not forget who we are in Jesus, just who it is we serve!
God, Adonai Tz'va-ot, (Lord of Armies, literally) tells us : "Hold your position, do not give way to the enemy. Do not be dismayed or discouraged, I am your strength, sword and shield, mighty tower. 
Beloved , so the Lord says : Hold your position! 
Greater is He that is with us than he who is in the world., and He will NEVER leave us or forsake us.
He promised!

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “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. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:12-14, 17, 20 NIV

Crossing the Jordan/Opposition

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” (Numbers 13:1, 2 NKJV)

Moses and the children of Israel had finally come through the wilderness after"taking the scenic route", and there they camped poised on the banks of the Jordan. God had already declared and reaffirmed to His Chosen People that He was giving them the Promised Land. In spite of God's promise, all but 2 of the spies who were sent returned with negative reports. Fear, doubt, discouragement, and anxiety were sown, but among some there was still hope and faith...after all, God had promised, and they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears too many miracles.
Moses had given Moses a message for each person and also for the entire company:

Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said. And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:1-8 NKJV)

Headed into this new year I understand what the children of Israel felt. Hope and faith are alive, but to be honest, discouragement and its unwelcome companions can sometimes take root.
These negative thoughts are tares sown by the enemy of our souls, the one who is the accuser and discourager.
It is his job to intimidate and immobilize us, and he does it exceedingly well.
But the Word of God tells us that God is love...Perfect love casts out all fear. He promised to go before us...and promises to be with us...even to the end of  age. We know the power of  God, trust trumps worry. Faith, hope, and courage overwhelm discouragement and anxiety...
Enemies vanquished...Land possessed... Promises fulfilled.

Rhetorical Questions/ The Navigator 191

"Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:4-9 NKJV

God asks Adam a rhetorical question here: Where are you?"
The Lord already knew where Adam was, since the Scriptures tell us that nothing is hidden from the King of the Universe. Not only did God know where Adam was located, but He also knew everything that had taken place, He knew Adam's every thought, and what was in Adam's heart.
In spite of Adam's fear he nonetheless fessed up.
He understood there was really no point in hiding from his Creator God.
When the voice of God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, and asks us the same question:
"WHERE ARE YOU?"  it is also not because we are hidden from Him.
It is an introspective call for us to search our hearts.
Our Father, the Lover of us all, is listening, wanting us to "come clean" and admit what He already knows.
God always makes a way for us; He is the ultimate Navigator.
His Word is the only sure lamp and light for us.

'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 NKJV