Be Still and Hear Him

Be Still and Hear Him

Oh that I might understand
God within, and so expand
Across the nations to every land
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

God, He speaks inside your soul
His word is present and takes control
Go within and you’ll be whole
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

Too many times we search without
And hear the preacher who loves to shout
But this is not what God’s about
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

Heaven’s not so far away
When you invite the Lord to stay
From within, He’ll hear you pray
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

Go within and shut the door
Meet him there, He’ll not ignore
Your hope, your Joy, He will restore
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

Oh the sweetness of His voice
And to know that you’re His choice
He will make your heart rejoice
Be still! Be still! and hear Him!

Written by Elizabeth A. Van Cleve

Read Full Post »

Danger in Centering Your Devotion on Fear and/or Anger

 

One must be careful that their religious devotions does not come from a place of anger and/or fear. When that happens- wood, hay and stubble will be built into ones life. There is also a danger when one’s devotions to a certain creed or doctrine is centered wrong and out of balance. Many times it manifests itself in the way they are raising their own children. That fear and anger will be mirrored onto those precious little souls and will damage their perceptions of God and the world he has placed them in. They often times will be expected to be the “saved and sanctified” little examples of the family, not having matured nor developed enough to gain a true witness and relationship of their own with Christ. They often are beaten for small infractions and many harsh rules are laid on them that makes them feel different and unaccepted in general society. The one that holds their belief system from a center of fear and/or anger will preach the message to them from this center and therefore the children will grow to fear an angry God and will, in most cases, either subject themselves to all kinds of harsh religious forms to avoid his wrath or become discouraged and completely rebel. A belief in God and a true relationship with him and service to him should be centered on, in saturated in, LOVE! Just as Christ loved us, willing even to lay down his very life, that we might understand the true love of the Father.

Read Full Post »

Christ is Our Only Mediator

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus”
1 Timothy 2:4

One of the most saddest and frustrating things I see in the religious world today, is religion taking advantage of the good and sensitive souls that just want to please God. The Bible is so clear- CHRIST ALONE is our mediator. We can go to HIM ALONE!!! We need not go to ANY MAN- NO MAN!!!! Yet, so many, looking for a closer walk with God, naturally turn to “church” and assume that the people there in a religious setting must understand God better than themselves and slowly their freedom in Christ is stripped from them and replaced by the dogma and fear of men’s ideas of God- which, so many times, is no more than an ugly dictatorship.

Here is a documentary that chronicles such a teaching. Cultish teachings range from mild to extreme but they all have very common signs. If you read about them and study them, you can begin to recognize their tactics. If you are being held inside the grip of one, Christ wants to set you free. The ultimate message they use against people is they will not go to heaven, they will not be “good enough” if they leave, if they don’t do whatever they are being told to do. “FEAR FACTOR”- becomes their source of CONTROL.  They represent themselves to be the “mouth piece of God.”

Did you know that the gospel means, “GOOD NEWS”? The good news is that CHRIST is right beside you this very moment, and is listening  for your prayer. He alone  is the mediator- the one who connects us with God. You need not go into any building or to any man. You simply need to turn to, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to HIM ALONE! Watch this video and be amazed…

Lifting the Veil of Polygamy

 

Also see my post:  19 Cult Characteristics

Read Full Post »

For Christ’s Sake

Matthew 18:

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.  He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

I have written in my Bible, next to this passage of scripture: “WARNING: DO NOT HOLD GRUDGES – YOU WON’T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN!”

In the “Vines Complete Expository Dictionary” forgiveness is defined as to release, to completely cancel, remission of the punishment due to sinful conduct, complete removal of the cause of offense.

Forgiveness is a hot topic of debate- how and when  and under what conditions it should be applied. But one thing is for certain. Forgiveness is the single most powerful action that if applied in its purest form can change the world. Forgiveness has the power not only to absolve someone of guilt and punishment, forgiveness can renew lives, tender hardened hearts, rebuild shattered relationships and bring hope back into hopeless situations. Forgiveness sets people free. Not just the people who are guilty, but the ones who carry the hurt and animosity.

However, forgiveness, like any other precious treasures, does not always come easy. Our human heart that has been injured, sometimes severely, does not always just pick up and go on. And depending upon how deep and severe the injury, sometimes a person has to work through the hurt.

Christ offers forgiveness to all, but that forgiveness does have some conditions upon it. The conditions are confession and repentance. (Matt, 18:15-17) Why would Christ expect us to uphold a higher standard than himself? We can have a ready heart to forgive someone for an offense, and even go to that person as Christ admonished us to do, but if they will not own up to their wrong and repent- be sorry for the harm they have done to us, what are we to do with our forgiveness?

I recall that when Christ was on the cross, there were with him two criminals, but only to one of them was forgiven of sins and admission into heaven promised. It was to the contrite thief.  The one who railed on him lost out. Yet Christ did not retaliate. He left the judgement in God’s hands.

But then too, I also recall that as he hung there, completely and humiliatingly naked . . .

as he writhed in suffering and agony while men gaped upon him and mocked at him with no sense of pity or compassion for his very life being unjustly stripped from him, he cried out these words, “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”

So the other day as I was struggling with forgiveness for a certain individual who has done much harm to me and has cause me life-long emotional pain and scars, I was praying and asking God to help me with forgiveness within my heart. I think I have this forgiveness thing settled and then the memories come up or the offense is there and the unacknowledged wrongs done to me are still there. My mind then began to turn to this individuals own life and I began to sympathize and feel sorry for this individual; this is the pattern I often turn to in my mind to “help me forgive.” But this time God stopped me. This time God spoke to me and said, “Liz, the only way you can do this is to set your eyes on JESUS! You must LOOK at the CROSS of CHRIST And when you forgive, forgive not because you feel sorry for what the individual has gone through. That is like trying to find a reason that they deserve forgiveness. You don’t need a reason. Forgive for CHRIST’S sake. Look upon HIM who loved YOU and gave HIMSELF for YOU! And for HIS SAKE!  forgive!.”

And suddenly, GRACE! AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, PEACEFUL, WONDERFUL, HEARTFELT, GRACE! Came pouring into my soul and filled me with all the love and forgiveness I could ever need or want or hold and it was not anything from myself. It was all because of CHRIST. The beautiful sacrifice of Calvary. The glorious, victorious, Lord and savior of the world.

Christ taught us to forgive seventy times seven in just one day. Sometimes the offenses can come at us just that many times. Especially when whole groups of people are raised up against you as they were in the case of Christ and Stephen. And sometimes you can be misjudged by the multitudes and nothing you do or say is right in their eyes and seventy times seven times a day thoughts of these misjudgments come to rankle within your heart and pierce your heart like a million knives being stabbed into you. And you wrestle against the tide of bitterness that wants to overwhelm your soul and the enemy is ever watching your every move so he can have occasion to accuse you and say, “AHA!”

And so God says, “turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.  (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Read Full Post »

Famous Quotes From Dictators

Sometimes its good to study the tactics of the enemy- his greatest weapon to bring people into bondage is FEAR! But God does not want us to be entangled with the yoke of bondage. He wants us to cast out fear. Fear has torment.  God wants us to be FREE in him. Listen to what Christ said to his disciples:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Matthew17: 24-26

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Galatians 4:30-31

Famous Dictator Quotes:
I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.~Adolf Hitler

“The oppressed peoples can liberate themselves only through struggle. This is a simple and clear truth confirmed by history.” – Kim Il-Sung

“Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

“Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship.” ― Bruce Coville

“Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted. By that point he loses steam; in result, he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner.” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

“When we’re afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators’ repression.”
― Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

“The true essence of a dictatorship is in fact not its regularity but its unpredictability and caprice; those who live under it must never be able to relax, must never be quite sure if they have followed the rules correctly or not.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

“The lesson we are indebted to Egypt for, our future generations learned that in the face of oppression silence is never golden.”
― Aysha Taryam,

“Dictatorship, by whatever name, is founded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only one that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the state.”
― Harry S. Truman

Read Full Post »

From Strength to Strength

. . .[M]y heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. . . .Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;. . .They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. . .For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. Psalms 84

“From strength to strength” -not from strength to weakness. But How, when I feel so weak? How, when I feel I cannot go on another day? How, when my heart hurts? How, when my body is wracked with pain? How, when sorrow engulfs me? Where is my strength?

In God! Our strength is found when our heart and flesh cry out for the living God- when we continue to trust God, placing our cares in his hands, enduring hardness as a good soldier, doing what is right inspite of how we feel. Our battle is won in our secret closet of prayer. Our battle is won in God.

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

The days are evil. Darkness surrounds us. But did not the Lord Jesus Christ warn us of this? Can we not take courage that Christ has told us, “be of good courage; I have overcome the world.” Don’t lay down your armour dear soldier. Do not go AWAL. Hang in there. The Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. Get on your knees and gather strength from God. Be a proper representative of Christ in this present world. Press the battle on!

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalms 27:13-14

From strength to strength, we sometimes go;

Then again, we’re sinking low

In the shadow, of a mountian

looming high above our head.

We need not fear, what lies ahead;

For the word has clearly said,

That our faith, would be sufficient

to make the mountains disappear.

Speak to the mountain,

You’ll not triumph over me;

Be thou removed from here to yonder

disappear into the sea

Speak to the mountain

Speak with authority

and the mountain must move

and you shall claim victory!

In the midst, of the battle

When the foe is gaining ground

Look up!!! and see the MIGHTY

hand of GOD, reaching down

Speak Gods name, Satan trembles;

Speak God’s word and watch him flee.

Once again, our GOD delivers

The mountains crumble at our feet!

Author Unknown

Read Full Post »

He Loved Me with a Cross

We cannot learn without pain.

~Aristotle

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;~Hebrews 5:8

Many times we go through severe trials and testings that cause us deep distress. We may ask, “Why?” and, “Will this ever end?” We may grow weary at times of even life itself. It is at those most distressing moments in my walk with the Lord, that my eyes become riveted upon the sufferings of Christ, and I am once again amazed how the very suffering I am experiencing, is just a small sip of what Christ went through for us. And I am reminded:

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 1Peter 2:21-24

Suffering is not easy to go through, otherwise, it would not be suffering. Sometimes we need to be reminded that Christ taught us very plainly:

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

One of the most difficult forms of suffering a person will ever have to face is persecution from non-believers and even from close relations who may even call themselves a believer. I’ve been meditating on a certain scripture lately in relation to some of the trials I am dealing with:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Luke 6:22-23

Christ told us to “rejoice” when others treat us with disdain because of our stand we take for His names sake. I think he knew how difficult it was going to be in our humanity and so he wanted to drive it home- “Leap for JOY!” When I read this, I feel a little bewildered for I certainly do not feel like leaping for joy, but rather crying for sorrow of heart. Yet, the words are a balm for my sorrow. They encourage me that it is going to be okay, because I am living right. And when I am falsely accused, or called names, I remember that so was Christ. They could not find any fault or reason to keep Christ a prisoner, yet they condemned him to death. Christ went before us and goes before us in all our tribulations. He suffered first. He was accused of having a devil spirit:

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. Matthew 12:24
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? John 8:48

They called him a deceiver:

And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. John 7:12

No matter what good Christ did, or what miracles he performed, they were not pleased. They sought to destroy him:

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. Mark 3:1-6

“The herodians” were not even believers in the Jews God.  Herod the Great was responsible for the murder of thousands of little babies in an attempt to destroy Christ in infanthood. And Herod’s son, Herod Antipas, was responsible for beheading John the Babtist. The enemies of Christ will rally anyone they can find to destroy the Spirit of Christ which dwells in His people.

Their motive? They believe deep down inside, that by destroying the people of God, they can still the voice of conviction against their sins. Little do they understand that the seed that dies only multiplies.

In order to destroy Christ they had to lie about him and rally uncouth people to back them up. They had a mob mentality. And they were not content to just put him to death- but they chose the most brutal punishment they had in those days, reserved for the basest of criminals.

A sinner, who is not honest, who has no desire to be free from their sin, will never be a reasonable person to deal with. Unfortunately, these types of sinners many times are cloaked in religious garb. They have a church affiliation, claim to pray and be a child of God- yet the fruit of their lives is not of the Holy Spirit, but rather of the flesh.  They are no different in their living than any other common sinner.  These are they that turn the would-be repentant sinner away from the truth by their hypocritical living, and are filled with unreasonable madness at anyone that would dare to challenge their position before God.

Indeed, the  Lord Jesus Christ had to humble himself to go to the cross. If anyone had a sound defense against the onslaught of ridiculous accusations placed against him, it was Jesus. Yet, he humbled himself.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:3-8

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-4

Why did Christ suffer and endure such contradiction of sinners? Why? For their salvation. For my salvation. The truth of the matter is, Jesus Christ loved them, and he loved you and he loved even me,  with a cross.

Christ loved us with a cross- inspite of all He had to endure because of our sins. Cannot I, by the grace of Almighty God, endure the little I must sip of the cup of Christ?  Yes, Aristotle was right when he said, that we cannot learn without pain.

The great lesson of the hour? Love! -Love that transcends the agony of the cross.

The refrain from a popular choir sings:

He loved me with a cross

He loved me with a cross

In answer to the call of life

He loved me with a cross

Though I could not imagine what

Loving me would cost

Jesus went to Calvary

And he loved me with a cross

See the Youtube video: WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD

Read Full Post »

A Place Prepared For Us

We are living in a world where the word of God is being challenged, twisted and disregarded on every hand. The disrespect shown for God is having an effect on every soul. Just as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah vexed the righteous soul of Lot everyday by their ungodly ways and blatant opposition to the principles of God, so are we vexed by the spirit that is in the world. But we must battle. We are called to be soldiers in the army of Jesus Christ. We fight a spiritual battle against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

To fight and win we must be on our knees before God often. Daniel openly prayed three times a day while in captivity in a heathen land. Christ prayed often before his disciples and alone. He prayed before his greatest trial- the crucifixion,  with such earnestness that great drops of blood fell like sweat from his brow. (Luke 22:44)

Shortly after this prayer, he was taken captive and led away by a band of soldiers. All of his close friends, the disciples, forsook him. Only Peter was brave enough to follow afar off. But when recognized as one of his disciples, fear took hold and faith gave way and he denied that he even knew Christ, cursing as he did.

Yet Christ warned all of his disciples afore time. In the garden before he went off to pray he told them, “Pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” (Luke 22:40)

Christ could not have endured the cross, if he had forsaken those hours of prayer. The disciples may have stood in his defense if they had listened to the commandment of Christ and prayed earnestly with him.

Immediately following his prayer in Gethsemane, Christ was led away by soldiers and taken and mocked, ridiculed and severley abused. They smote him, laughed at him, spit upon him. All of his closest friends left him alone to deal with is all. What a horrible trial to face. But as I read this morning of this account in Luke 22, I am struck by some of the first words Christ gives in answer to their mockings:

“And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.“ (Luke 22:66-69)

Christ was completely alone and multitudes were against him, even Kings and religious authorities. Yet His faith did not fail him. He knew that he had a place prepared of His Father for Him, and no matter what all the world accused Him of, He did not back down on who He was nor the authority He held. He fought the battle on His knees in Gethsemane and won! Now it was just a matter of going through.

Sometimes it is easy to just read through the scriptures and gather a little comfort from years passed. But lets bring this home- today.

How the world is mocking the people of God. Religious hypocrites abound and at times are the worse persecutors of a true Christian.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (1Peter 3:3-4)

Is not this just how it is today? People are mocking God and disregarding Christ as just another prophet of old, and they are challenging our faith and belief in Christ on every hand. This is the majority of the world around us. When we witness that we are a child of God, we hear such things as, “Well everyone is a child of God.” When we say that we have been saved from sin and changed to a saint we are told, “You think you are the only ones going to heaven. You think you are holier than anyone else.” No desire to understand and know Christ, but, instead, a mockery, trying to breakdown our faith.  These are “swine-spirits”, trampling our testimony under their feet and then turning again to tear us apart.  (Matt. 7:6)

And like Christ, our only desire for them, is that they would be saved and make heaven their home. That they would partake with us of the beautiful Lamb of God.

In John 14 Christ has a very special message for us in these very unstable and troubling times;

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

He wanted us to know, as He also knew, that there is a place prepared for us, beyond this world. He wanted us to know, that he is going to prepare that place for us. It took Him dying on the cross to prepare a place for us. It took the cruel mockings, beatings and horrible torcher that He suffered on the cross, to prepare that place for us. And he was telling His disciples and all who follow Him, “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Isn’t that so precious? Christ has prepared a place for us. Let us lift up our voice to Him in praise. Let us see with our spiritual eyes, that wonderful home prepared for us by the LORD JESUS CHRIST himself, and let us pray always, that we would be kept from the hour of temptation. It is so needful that we keep this vision in view. This world is not our home. We are just passing through.

The battle is won on our knees. Christ was our perfect example of that. And He stood, confident, though forsaken by all, that he had a place prepared for him. We too, though forsaken by all, can stand confident in our position before God and that we have a place prepared with our personal name on it.  If we just keep praying, today and always, “Lord, not my will, but thine be done . . . keep me this day from all evil . . . let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight . . .”

May God bless you!

Read Full Post »

The Beauty and Wonder of Serving God

AT AGE 42 many things in my life are getting old; they are loosing their original luster. I am reminded of that fact when I first set out in the day. It is more difficult to get up and going in the morning. My reflection shows signs of fading youthfulness.

MY ONCE EXCITNGLY new van is now making strange noises and being put in the shop regularly for repairs.

OLD FRIENDSHIPS, though still highly valued,  are becoming more distant.

MY LITTLE CHILDREN are maturing,  sprouting their wings and getting ready to take flight;

YES, CHANGE IS in the air…

YET ONE THING that never has lost its luster, that has been as consistent as the sunrise, is the Beauty and Wonder of serving the true God of the universe in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  In fact, not only has this treasured relationship not lost its luster, but it has become more precious, beautiful and completely glorious, day by day.

GOD TRULY HAS been an ever present help in time of need; (Psalms 46)  His mercies have never failed to be renewed day by day. (Lamentations 3:22-23) His eye has never slept nor slumbered but He has kept a close watch over all my ways;  (Psalms 121)  He has been a Mighty God in my midst, a valiant warrior. (Zephaniah 3:17) He has supplied my every need and lavished me with special love-gifts from heaven. (Ezekiel 34:26) He has ravished my heart; my heart is fixed on Him (Psalms 108:1) He has placed his banner of love over my head. (Song 2:4) Yes, he has become brighter and brighter inside my soul with each passing year; (Proverbs 4:18) My God is an AWSOME God!

WHEN I OPENED my Bible and read from Psalms 96, my heart reflected, and magnified and rejoiced with the words, as if their source had come from my inner being:

“O SING UNTO THE LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

DECLARE HIS GLORY among the heathen, his wonders among all people.  For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

HONOUR AND MAJESTY are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

O WORSHIP THE LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD:

FOR HE COMETH, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”

Read Full Post »

God in Us- Earthen Vessels

Longing for human compassion and understanding, to be valued in someones eyes, I have always seen as a great weakness in myself. Many times I have prayed about this with tears of shame and frustration.

But recently the Lord has given me a new revelation concerning this “neediness”.  He reminded me that I am human and that humans have need of other humans and that he created us to be so.

He showed me that is part of the reason that he came to earth as a human being, so that other human beings could “see” God and not just have to “imagine” Him. As human beings, we needed this visual of God in something that we could relate to- another human being.

And so Christ came and took on the form of an earthen vessel and was subject to the same human frailties as we are- yet without sin.

He experienced every human suffering and temptation that we experience to one degree or another. But most of all he showed us God;

“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” John 14: 9

Jesus came as a man and he showed us God; He showed us His love, compassion, humility, humbleness, gentleness, mercy, care, concern, sympathy, and yes, even too, His anger, hurt, and jealousy. Men were now able to have a visual image of who God is and gain a greater faith in Him and love for Him.

And so Jesus passed the torch to His disciples and His disciples passed it to us;

“As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world, And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou loved me.” John 17: 18-23

And hence, we have the body of Christ, compacted, working together, caring for one another; having compassion and concern. When one rejoices, we rejoice with them and when one is hurting, we hurt with them- the love of God shown through earthen vessels. (see Ephesians 4:16 and 1 Corninthian 12:26)

So today, once again, the truth has set me free- free from false condemnation for feeling needy for the love and compassion of other human beings.

Jesus made us earthen vessels for His glory to shine through; I look to see God in others and I pray and work that others may see God in me!

Read Full Post »