Psalm 57: 2, 3b
I cry out to God Most High (El Elyon), to God Who will fulfill His purpose for me ... My God will send forth His unfailing love and faithfulness.
O my Father, I pray for Your leading and guidance this coming week. Please strengthen me to put a guard on my mouth. Let my words be a healing balm, not a sharp sword. Give me Your thoughts and attitudes, Father, not my own.
May your will be accomplished in and through me this coming week, may Your plans succeed, not mine. Teach me to stay in Your presence, moment by moment; in Your strength, discernment, words, attitudes, thoughts, Your Truth.
Teach me integrity, that there be no discrepancy between my words and my actions, and what clearly stands before me in reality.
And may everything that transpires this coming week bring glory and honor to You, my God and my Lord.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
The Lord Will Answer
Psalm 4: 3
You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for Himself. The Lord will answer when I call to Him.
Our Lord God wants to answer all our prayers. That's one reason why He gave us His Word, so we can know His ways and pray according to His will. He will always answer when we ask Him for what He wants to give us.
I cannot count all the prayers He has answered for me. Even when I've asked Him where a lost item is, a small bauble or a misplaced key or phone, or whatever, He has answered by leading me to look where it is. I believe He has even moved an item to where we could see it, to find it! He is just as attentive to our small details as He is to the great and grand events of our lives.
He is the God of the glorious and the mundane, the minuscule and and the overwhelming. He is Lord of all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for Himself. The Lord will answer when I call to Him.
Our Lord God wants to answer all our prayers. That's one reason why He gave us His Word, so we can know His ways and pray according to His will. He will always answer when we ask Him for what He wants to give us.
I cannot count all the prayers He has answered for me. Even when I've asked Him where a lost item is, a small bauble or a misplaced key or phone, or whatever, He has answered by leading me to look where it is. I believe He has even moved an item to where we could see it, to find it! He is just as attentive to our small details as He is to the great and grand events of our lives.
He is the God of the glorious and the mundane, the minuscule and and the overwhelming. He is Lord of all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
I Lift My Eyes
Psalm 123: 1-2
I lift my eyes to You, O God, enthroned in Heaven. We keep looking to the Lord our God for His mercy. ... As a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
O my Father, my Lord and my God, I lift my eyes to You, I open my mind and heart to hear Your still, small voice amid the clamor of this World.
I thank You and I praise You for Your greatness, Your power and Your wisdom; for Your great mercy and grace to us, to me, and all the wonderful blessings You have poured out upon me.
I pray, Father, that You would hide me in the cleft of the Rock and cover me with Your hand, so that others would not see my flesh (don't let my flesh break out!), but would see You, and be drawn to You.
Receive all the credit, all the honor, and all the glory for everything You are doing, for only You deserve it all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I lift my eyes to You, O God, enthroned in Heaven. We keep looking to the Lord our God for His mercy. ... As a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
O my Father, my Lord and my God, I lift my eyes to You, I open my mind and heart to hear Your still, small voice amid the clamor of this World.
I thank You and I praise You for Your greatness, Your power and Your wisdom; for Your great mercy and grace to us, to me, and all the wonderful blessings You have poured out upon me.
I pray, Father, that You would hide me in the cleft of the Rock and cover me with Your hand, so that others would not see my flesh (don't let my flesh break out!), but would see You, and be drawn to You.
Receive all the credit, all the honor, and all the glory for everything You are doing, for only You deserve it all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, August 28, 2017
Who Has Faith?
Luke 18: 8
. . . But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the Earth who have faith?
This sounds like there won't be very many. Jesus also said, "The love of many will grow cold."
Matthew 24: 9-14
(See vs. 4-8 for the beginnings of the birth pains toward the New Earth.)
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all Nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole World as a testimony to all Nations, and then the end will come.
Christians in the Middle East are today being handed over to be persecuted, tortured and put to death. The Nation Israel is in a very precarious position politically, with her huge neighbors still proclaiming their desire to obliterate her from the face of the Earth.
I know in America, that many, maybe most, people who think that they are Christians have only a religion, not that vital relationship with God, and will not be able to stand. These are they that will fall away, betray, and hate God's people. And already many churches are preaching a different gospel, not the Good News that Jesus fulfilled that personal sacrifice that Leviticus records first, for each of us, paying in full our debt to God. These preachers are false prophets, and they are deceiving many, having large followings.
Only those with true faith in our true God, and Jesus our Lord and King, will be able to stand under and against the onslaught of the enemy at this time. And many of these will be martyred before the end, so there may be only a few left compared to the masses, when Jesus returns.
So the bad is getting worse, and the good is getting better, with the true Gospel of the Kingdom being preached over the whole World, in every Nation, among every tribe and family, and everyone will hear. So everyone will be accountable for either accepting or rejecting the Truth they will hear.
We all need to regard the gaining of Worldly goods and standing to be only temporary, and our souls and spirits which will last forever to be our focus, knowing that we will either suffer eternally in rejection of God's gracious Gift, or to enjoy His Light and His Love forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
. . . But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the Earth who have faith?
This sounds like there won't be very many. Jesus also said, "The love of many will grow cold."
Matthew 24: 9-14
(See vs. 4-8 for the beginnings of the birth pains toward the New Earth.)
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all Nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole World as a testimony to all Nations, and then the end will come.
Christians in the Middle East are today being handed over to be persecuted, tortured and put to death. The Nation Israel is in a very precarious position politically, with her huge neighbors still proclaiming their desire to obliterate her from the face of the Earth.
I know in America, that many, maybe most, people who think that they are Christians have only a religion, not that vital relationship with God, and will not be able to stand. These are they that will fall away, betray, and hate God's people. And already many churches are preaching a different gospel, not the Good News that Jesus fulfilled that personal sacrifice that Leviticus records first, for each of us, paying in full our debt to God. These preachers are false prophets, and they are deceiving many, having large followings.
Only those with true faith in our true God, and Jesus our Lord and King, will be able to stand under and against the onslaught of the enemy at this time. And many of these will be martyred before the end, so there may be only a few left compared to the masses, when Jesus returns.
So the bad is getting worse, and the good is getting better, with the true Gospel of the Kingdom being preached over the whole World, in every Nation, among every tribe and family, and everyone will hear. So everyone will be accountable for either accepting or rejecting the Truth they will hear.
We all need to regard the gaining of Worldly goods and standing to be only temporary, and our souls and spirits which will last forever to be our focus, knowing that we will either suffer eternally in rejection of God's gracious Gift, or to enjoy His Light and His Love forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Count The Cost
Luke 14: 28-30, 33
But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first counting the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, "There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!"
So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Luke 17: 33
If you cling to your life, you will lose it; and if you let your life go, you will save it.
Everything I own includes my own life, too.
What am I willing to give up to follow Jesus? My house? My car? My attitude that I deserve good things? I think my Lord looks at my heart, my mind, my attitudes toward the things I have. Do I depend on my things to meet my needs, or am I willing to forgo these "things" and depend on Him for my sustenance?
What if He has provided for me these "things" I have left from "downsizing" my lifestyle these last few years in order to meet my needs now? But if I depend on these "things" and cling to them as necessities, am I willing for Him to take them, too?
If I say, "How will I then live?" am I looking at this World and the things of this World instead of looking to my Father, Who has promised to meet my needs?
I am preparing to turn a blind corner in my life, and I want to be habitually depending on my Lord for sustenance, and to lead and guide me to where He is working, so I can work with Him. I don't expect it to be easy, but I don't want to have any expectations at all, though I suspect I may have some, that I have imagined.
O my Father, You have done so much for me! Thank You for being my Great God. Thank You for being my Provider and Sustainer. Thank You for Your dear Son, to have paid my debt in full and to have saved me from the power of sin and redeemed my self from destruction into glory. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, Who has come to live in my human spirit and made it alive, which enables me to communicate directly with You, my Father.
Teach me now, Father, to clearly hear Your still, small voice, tuning out all the clamor around me. Teach me how to follow in Your footsteps, going to where You are working. Show me whatever work You have designed my hands to do, to be Your hands. Put Your Words in my mouth to speak Your Truth. I am Yours, Father, do with me whatever is Your will for me. Let others see You in me, not my flesh. Fill my heart with Your love, to overflow onto others You have put in my life.
Remove from my heart and mind all the stony places that still remain, forgive my sins and cleanse me, renewing my thoughts and feelings. Break my heart with what breaks Your heart, and allow me to bring Your comfort to those who are suffering, and Your Light to those in darkness.
Use me, my King, to further Your Kingdom, and to prepare the Way for You. Send me into Your fields, so ripe and ready to be harvested. Allow me to bring into the Fold some of Your lost sheep who are still wandering.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first counting the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, "There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!"
So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Luke 17: 33
If you cling to your life, you will lose it; and if you let your life go, you will save it.
Everything I own includes my own life, too.
What am I willing to give up to follow Jesus? My house? My car? My attitude that I deserve good things? I think my Lord looks at my heart, my mind, my attitudes toward the things I have. Do I depend on my things to meet my needs, or am I willing to forgo these "things" and depend on Him for my sustenance?
What if He has provided for me these "things" I have left from "downsizing" my lifestyle these last few years in order to meet my needs now? But if I depend on these "things" and cling to them as necessities, am I willing for Him to take them, too?
If I say, "How will I then live?" am I looking at this World and the things of this World instead of looking to my Father, Who has promised to meet my needs?
I am preparing to turn a blind corner in my life, and I want to be habitually depending on my Lord for sustenance, and to lead and guide me to where He is working, so I can work with Him. I don't expect it to be easy, but I don't want to have any expectations at all, though I suspect I may have some, that I have imagined.
O my Father, You have done so much for me! Thank You for being my Great God. Thank You for being my Provider and Sustainer. Thank You for Your dear Son, to have paid my debt in full and to have saved me from the power of sin and redeemed my self from destruction into glory. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, Who has come to live in my human spirit and made it alive, which enables me to communicate directly with You, my Father.
Teach me now, Father, to clearly hear Your still, small voice, tuning out all the clamor around me. Teach me how to follow in Your footsteps, going to where You are working. Show me whatever work You have designed my hands to do, to be Your hands. Put Your Words in my mouth to speak Your Truth. I am Yours, Father, do with me whatever is Your will for me. Let others see You in me, not my flesh. Fill my heart with Your love, to overflow onto others You have put in my life.
Remove from my heart and mind all the stony places that still remain, forgive my sins and cleanse me, renewing my thoughts and feelings. Break my heart with what breaks Your heart, and allow me to bring Your comfort to those who are suffering, and Your Light to those in darkness.
Use me, my King, to further Your Kingdom, and to prepare the Way for You. Send me into Your fields, so ripe and ready to be harvested. Allow me to bring into the Fold some of Your lost sheep who are still wandering.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, August 26, 2017
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
I Kings 12: 19
And to this day the Northern Tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the Prophets; how I long to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings; but you would not!" as Jesus exclaimed, as recorded by both Matthew (23:37) and Luke (13:34).
Even today, the people of Israel and Jews around the World for the most part still refuse to consider His claim upon them as the Descendant of David; the veil is still over their faces.
II Corinthians 3:15-16 says that, Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
So there is still hope even for Israelis in the Land and Israelites over the World where they have been dispersed.
I have friends who are missionaries in Israel, and they have labored faithfully there for decades, and have few to count as believers. But God does not demand numbers, He looks at faithfulness, and my friends will be rewarded abundantly for their unwavering loyalty to the Lord.
And I know some who are Jews today who have turned to the Lord, and have recognized His Salvation and Sovereignty over them as believers.
O my Father, I know that You will never abandon Your chosen people completely, but You will always reserve a remnant to Yourself; and that on that Day all Israel, everywhere in the World, will be saved, when they behold their Messiah coming in victory, and know that He is Jesus of Nazareth after all!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And to this day the Northern Tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the Prophets; how I long to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings; but you would not!" as Jesus exclaimed, as recorded by both Matthew (23:37) and Luke (13:34).
Even today, the people of Israel and Jews around the World for the most part still refuse to consider His claim upon them as the Descendant of David; the veil is still over their faces.
II Corinthians 3:15-16 says that, Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
So there is still hope even for Israelis in the Land and Israelites over the World where they have been dispersed.
I have friends who are missionaries in Israel, and they have labored faithfully there for decades, and have few to count as believers. But God does not demand numbers, He looks at faithfulness, and my friends will be rewarded abundantly for their unwavering loyalty to the Lord.
And I know some who are Jews today who have turned to the Lord, and have recognized His Salvation and Sovereignty over them as believers.
O my Father, I know that You will never abandon Your chosen people completely, but You will always reserve a remnant to Yourself; and that on that Day all Israel, everywhere in the World, will be saved, when they behold their Messiah coming in victory, and know that He is Jesus of Nazareth after all!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 25, 2017
"My Shameful Ways"
Psalm 119: 38-39a
Reassure me of Your promise, made to those who fear You. Help me abandon my shameful ways.
Sometimes my pride rears its ugly head and I find myself defending myself instead of humbly listening to the honest advice (criticism) that reveals my weakness.
Then I need to turn to the Lord in repentance, confessing my sin against His authority over me, and accept His forgiveness.
Then I will be able to go to the one who honored me with that insight, and make amends for how I dishonored them.
Any time, every time, I follow my own understanding instead of relying on the Lord, I get into trouble. I have found that when I am to "eat crow" it's much more palatable fresh, rather than stale; so I try not to procrastinate.
I always need God to grant me the strength and ability to "abandon my shameful ways" whenever He reveals another one to me. He is so gracious and gentle and tender with me, to bring them up one at a time, to not overwhelm me with my failures, but to show me His victory over it, every time. And it takes time, too, to form these new habits to fill the emptiness of abandoning the old habits.
O my Father, Thank You so much for Your goodness and faithfulness with me, for Your gentleness and tenderness to my sensibilities, even when I need You to "knock me in the head with a two by four"! Your kindnesses to me are beyond my human understanding, as You are working on me and in me continually every day, so that You will be able to work through me to accomplish my part in Your great Plan.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Reassure me of Your promise, made to those who fear You. Help me abandon my shameful ways.
Sometimes my pride rears its ugly head and I find myself defending myself instead of humbly listening to the honest advice (criticism) that reveals my weakness.
Then I need to turn to the Lord in repentance, confessing my sin against His authority over me, and accept His forgiveness.
Then I will be able to go to the one who honored me with that insight, and make amends for how I dishonored them.
Any time, every time, I follow my own understanding instead of relying on the Lord, I get into trouble. I have found that when I am to "eat crow" it's much more palatable fresh, rather than stale; so I try not to procrastinate.
I always need God to grant me the strength and ability to "abandon my shameful ways" whenever He reveals another one to me. He is so gracious and gentle and tender with me, to bring them up one at a time, to not overwhelm me with my failures, but to show me His victory over it, every time. And it takes time, too, to form these new habits to fill the emptiness of abandoning the old habits.
O my Father, Thank You so much for Your goodness and faithfulness with me, for Your gentleness and tenderness to my sensibilities, even when I need You to "knock me in the head with a two by four"! Your kindnesses to me are beyond my human understanding, as You are working on me and in me continually every day, so that You will be able to work through me to accomplish my part in Your great Plan.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Hallelu-Yah!
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all you Nations. Extol Him, all you peoples of the Earth. For He loves us with unfailing love; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
O my Father, I eagerly wait and anticipate the Day that every Nation, every tribe, every family will recognize Your greatness and goodness and kindness to all through every age of existence of all that You have created.
All will know how patient is Your longsuffering in your dealings with Mankind, not wanting any to perish, as we deserve, but extending Your great mercies upon all who will receive them, and graciously drawing them into Your own Family.
I long for that Day when all will be revealed, when every created being will see and understand who You are, and how You have gently and justly worked with all of us, in allowing all that has and is and will come into our lives, to experience Your strong deliverance. And how You have given every person time and opportunity to turn from their own ways of rebellion and isolation to Your waiting arms of compassion.
And all those who have refused Your kindnesses to them will suffer the consequences of their own choices, and acknowledge Your justice in Your judgments.
And all Creation, all the Universe, all the spirit beings, all the human persons You have made, along with all the stars and planets, all the galaxies and the aether around them filling the void that would otherwise ensue, will sing Your praises with tones and rhythms that started at the time of Your creation of this World.
And every sentient being will recognize Your greatness and Your wisdom and Your knowledge and Your faithfulness to have fully completed every detail of every part of Your great Plan of the Ages that You determined before any of it was made.
You alone deserve all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, and praise and thanks and admiration for succeeding and finishing and accomplishing everything!
Hallelu-Yah! All praise to Yahweh!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Praise the Lord, all you Nations. Extol Him, all you peoples of the Earth. For He loves us with unfailing love; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
O my Father, I eagerly wait and anticipate the Day that every Nation, every tribe, every family will recognize Your greatness and goodness and kindness to all through every age of existence of all that You have created.
All will know how patient is Your longsuffering in your dealings with Mankind, not wanting any to perish, as we deserve, but extending Your great mercies upon all who will receive them, and graciously drawing them into Your own Family.
I long for that Day when all will be revealed, when every created being will see and understand who You are, and how You have gently and justly worked with all of us, in allowing all that has and is and will come into our lives, to experience Your strong deliverance. And how You have given every person time and opportunity to turn from their own ways of rebellion and isolation to Your waiting arms of compassion.
And all those who have refused Your kindnesses to them will suffer the consequences of their own choices, and acknowledge Your justice in Your judgments.
And all Creation, all the Universe, all the spirit beings, all the human persons You have made, along with all the stars and planets, all the galaxies and the aether around them filling the void that would otherwise ensue, will sing Your praises with tones and rhythms that started at the time of Your creation of this World.
And every sentient being will recognize Your greatness and Your wisdom and Your knowledge and Your faithfulness to have fully completed every detail of every part of Your great Plan of the Ages that You determined before any of it was made.
You alone deserve all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, and praise and thanks and admiration for succeeding and finishing and accomplishing everything!
Hallelu-Yah! All praise to Yahweh!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Who Would Have Believed?
Lamentations 4: 12-13
Not a king in all the Earth--no one in all the World--would have believed that an enemy could march through the Gates of Jerusalem. Yet it happened because of the sins of her priests, who defiled the City by shedding innocent blood.
Jeremiah is lamenting the sad state of the City that God Himself set His Name upon. Who would have ever imagined that such a tragedy would happen in this place.
But it did happen, and he tells us why. He tells us that the innocent blood shed by the priests had defiled the city.
Innocent blood being shed is the reason for the destruction and conquering of the very place God choose to set His Name.
There are very specific causes that prompt God to allow enemies to destroy Nations, and shedding innocent blood is one of them. This term refers to causing the death of people who have not done anything to incur capital punishment. In other words, human sacrifice.
Is there anyone more innocent than someone who has done nothing in life yet at all, because they haven't even been born yet? And our Nation has declared that these tiny people are not "persons" before the laws. So we are "allowed" to take their lives indiscriminately, sacrifices to the gods of convenience and "choice." This is one of the things that prompts God to allow our enemies to conquer us. And our enemy has been working from within our Nation to perpetrate the very things that will destroy us from within, because we cannot be conquered from without.
Please, Father, I beseech You, grant us Leaders who are godly, who fear You, and are firm and strong in their convictions; to cast down all the idols and altars and shrines to the demons that have taken hold on our national life. Give us these godly men and women in our government to rule, to decide, and to judge us according to Your ways, Your true Righteousness and Judgment; to punish the evildoers and reward the honest and ethical and moral.
Continue to wake up Your children, Father, and expose those who are not Yours. Return us to Your Righteousness before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Not a king in all the Earth--no one in all the World--would have believed that an enemy could march through the Gates of Jerusalem. Yet it happened because of the sins of her priests, who defiled the City by shedding innocent blood.
Jeremiah is lamenting the sad state of the City that God Himself set His Name upon. Who would have ever imagined that such a tragedy would happen in this place.
But it did happen, and he tells us why. He tells us that the innocent blood shed by the priests had defiled the city.
Innocent blood being shed is the reason for the destruction and conquering of the very place God choose to set His Name.
There are very specific causes that prompt God to allow enemies to destroy Nations, and shedding innocent blood is one of them. This term refers to causing the death of people who have not done anything to incur capital punishment. In other words, human sacrifice.
Is there anyone more innocent than someone who has done nothing in life yet at all, because they haven't even been born yet? And our Nation has declared that these tiny people are not "persons" before the laws. So we are "allowed" to take their lives indiscriminately, sacrifices to the gods of convenience and "choice." This is one of the things that prompts God to allow our enemies to conquer us. And our enemy has been working from within our Nation to perpetrate the very things that will destroy us from within, because we cannot be conquered from without.
Please, Father, I beseech You, grant us Leaders who are godly, who fear You, and are firm and strong in their convictions; to cast down all the idols and altars and shrines to the demons that have taken hold on our national life. Give us these godly men and women in our government to rule, to decide, and to judge us according to Your ways, Your true Righteousness and Judgment; to punish the evildoers and reward the honest and ethical and moral.
Continue to wake up Your children, Father, and expose those who are not Yours. Return us to Your Righteousness before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Fellowship In The Light
I John 1: 7
But if we are living in the Light, as God is in the Light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the Blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
O my Father, thank You so much for choosing me, and cleansing me, and teaching me, taking me under Your wing. O Father, teach me how to have true, godly koinonia fellowship with my spiritual brothers and sisters.
Help me to be a benefit and a blessing to each one, and keep me mindful of their needs before I think of my own. And keep me humble, Lord, and open to correction, that they may speak to my weaknesses in order to strengthen me.
Draw us, each one of us, ever closer to Yourself, my Lord, as we seek Your face and allow You to work in us and on us to mold us into the very image of Christ.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But if we are living in the Light, as God is in the Light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the Blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
O my Father, thank You so much for choosing me, and cleansing me, and teaching me, taking me under Your wing. O Father, teach me how to have true, godly koinonia fellowship with my spiritual brothers and sisters.
Help me to be a benefit and a blessing to each one, and keep me mindful of their needs before I think of my own. And keep me humble, Lord, and open to correction, that they may speak to my weaknesses in order to strengthen me.
Draw us, each one of us, ever closer to Yourself, my Lord, as we seek Your face and allow You to work in us and on us to mold us into the very image of Christ.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, August 21, 2017
For Your People Bear Your Name
Daniel 9: 19
O Lord, hear. O Lord, listen and act! For Your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for Your people and your city bear Your Name.
O my Father, You know how the Nations of the World blaspheme Your Name in how this Nation, which is called by Your Name as Christian, has fallen from the high principles and standards it was founded upon. And having abandoned its very foundation, now finds itself adrift among the Nations and foundering.
Father, it is You Who sets up and puts down all authority, how much more are You concerned for the leadership of the Nations. Now You have granted us to have elected a President who is not a politician, but a businessman, and who I hear may even be a Christian.
I pray, dear Father, that You would lead him and guide him in his every choice, every decision he is to make, both in his personal life and for this Nation, to begin to lead us as a Nation back to those high moral standards with which we began.
And protect him from the attacks of the enemy, who has deceived his minions into believing that evil is good, and white is black; and is slandering his good character, and blocking the news of what his administration is already accomplishing to benefit all of us in this Nation.
Please surround our President with men and women who understand Your ways to support him in doing Your work from the very top of our government; and continue to wake up Your church to do Your work from the grassroots up.
And I implore You, almighty sovereign God over all, to block the machinations of the enemy in thwarting the good You desire for all of us, in Your great mercy and love for us all; that Your Name will be honored and respected publicly, that all people of this World will see Your beauty and goodness and bring all glory to You alone.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O Lord, hear. O Lord, listen and act! For Your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for Your people and your city bear Your Name.
O my Father, You know how the Nations of the World blaspheme Your Name in how this Nation, which is called by Your Name as Christian, has fallen from the high principles and standards it was founded upon. And having abandoned its very foundation, now finds itself adrift among the Nations and foundering.
Father, it is You Who sets up and puts down all authority, how much more are You concerned for the leadership of the Nations. Now You have granted us to have elected a President who is not a politician, but a businessman, and who I hear may even be a Christian.
I pray, dear Father, that You would lead him and guide him in his every choice, every decision he is to make, both in his personal life and for this Nation, to begin to lead us as a Nation back to those high moral standards with which we began.
And protect him from the attacks of the enemy, who has deceived his minions into believing that evil is good, and white is black; and is slandering his good character, and blocking the news of what his administration is already accomplishing to benefit all of us in this Nation.
Please surround our President with men and women who understand Your ways to support him in doing Your work from the very top of our government; and continue to wake up Your church to do Your work from the grassroots up.
And I implore You, almighty sovereign God over all, to block the machinations of the enemy in thwarting the good You desire for all of us, in Your great mercy and love for us all; that Your Name will be honored and respected publicly, that all people of this World will see Your beauty and goodness and bring all glory to You alone.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Gone Forever!
Revelation 21: 3-4
I heard a loud shout from the Throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His People! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever . . .
This is the Future God has planned for us. This is the End of the Story, our Story of living in this World. This World will not last forever, because it is cursed by our sin. So God is letting the Story play out, through all the ages of man, all the cycles of environmental changes, all the generations of the different variations of this Race of Man on all the continents of this Earth, and, maybe even, on other Planets of this Galaxy and Universe in which we live.
Because of our sin, times will get worse as we near the culmination of Time as we know it. The Good is getting better and the Evil is getting worse, with less and less middle ground in between. It's getting to be all Black-and-White, with no more grey; obvious who are God's and who are deceived by the enemy.
Then Jesus will return.
But after Earth's Golden Age, it will be finished. Everything we know, the whole World, the Earth itself, the whole Universe will be done away, having completed all the purposes for which it was all made. And there will be the New Heaven (Universe) and a New Earth (World to live in). And it will be perfect. A new story will begin.
And God will share it with us!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I heard a loud shout from the Throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His People! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever . . .
This is the Future God has planned for us. This is the End of the Story, our Story of living in this World. This World will not last forever, because it is cursed by our sin. So God is letting the Story play out, through all the ages of man, all the cycles of environmental changes, all the generations of the different variations of this Race of Man on all the continents of this Earth, and, maybe even, on other Planets of this Galaxy and Universe in which we live.
Because of our sin, times will get worse as we near the culmination of Time as we know it. The Good is getting better and the Evil is getting worse, with less and less middle ground in between. It's getting to be all Black-and-White, with no more grey; obvious who are God's and who are deceived by the enemy.
Then Jesus will return.
But after Earth's Golden Age, it will be finished. Everything we know, the whole World, the Earth itself, the whole Universe will be done away, having completed all the purposes for which it was all made. And there will be the New Heaven (Universe) and a New Earth (World to live in). And it will be perfect. A new story will begin.
And God will share it with us!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, August 19, 2017
He Watches
Psalm 66: 7
For by His great power He rules forever. He watches every movement of the Nations . . .
Our God is the Sovereign Lord over all Creation. He designed it, He planned it all out, He made it, He owns it, and He watches over every tiny bit of it, every molecule, all the time. He is in total control. Nothing ever escapes His notice.
He is watching the Nations of the World, assuring that they are all moving into the positions He has predetermined according to His Plan.
And He also keeps His eye on each one of us creatures of His. He knows who of us are His special ones, who will enjoy His presence throughout Eternity. He watches every king and ruler and elected or appointed official, and makes sure that they each are moving their dominions into position.
His Plan of the Ages that He has determined will work out exactly the way He planned it. He will win in the end, and He will share His winnings with His chosen ones.
All we need to do is to get to know Him, learn His ways, and live by them. Yeah, right. Like we can do all that on our own!
That's why He gives us the gift of faith to believe His Word is True, and He calls us into that intimate family relationship He wants for us, as His friend, His child, and His bride. He gives His Spirit to live inside each of us; to give us the knowledge and understanding of what we believe, to strengthen us to flee from temptation and resist the enemy, and to do His will for each of us. God is the Initiator of it all, every step of the way.
That's how much He values us, and loves us. He knows we are only dust, but He is working in each of us to transform us into His diamonds.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For by His great power He rules forever. He watches every movement of the Nations . . .
Our God is the Sovereign Lord over all Creation. He designed it, He planned it all out, He made it, He owns it, and He watches over every tiny bit of it, every molecule, all the time. He is in total control. Nothing ever escapes His notice.
He is watching the Nations of the World, assuring that they are all moving into the positions He has predetermined according to His Plan.
And He also keeps His eye on each one of us creatures of His. He knows who of us are His special ones, who will enjoy His presence throughout Eternity. He watches every king and ruler and elected or appointed official, and makes sure that they each are moving their dominions into position.
His Plan of the Ages that He has determined will work out exactly the way He planned it. He will win in the end, and He will share His winnings with His chosen ones.
All we need to do is to get to know Him, learn His ways, and live by them. Yeah, right. Like we can do all that on our own!
That's why He gives us the gift of faith to believe His Word is True, and He calls us into that intimate family relationship He wants for us, as His friend, His child, and His bride. He gives His Spirit to live inside each of us; to give us the knowledge and understanding of what we believe, to strengthen us to flee from temptation and resist the enemy, and to do His will for each of us. God is the Initiator of it all, every step of the way.
That's how much He values us, and loves us. He knows we are only dust, but He is working in each of us to transform us into His diamonds.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 18, 2017
What Gates? What Ancient Doors?
Psalm 24: 7-10
Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!
Who is the King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. Sela.
What gates are these, what ancient doors?
This is none other than the Kings Gate that faced East (I Chronicles 9:18), the gate that Ezekiel said, "was shut. And the Lord said to me, 'This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.'"(Ezekiel 44:1-2).
Now David's song says that it will be opened for the King of Glory!
When Jesus returns to this Earth with all His Saints and Angels, He will wage the Battle of Armageddon, and He will enter by that East Gate, in Victory!
Micah tells us about God's deliverance:
"I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.
"One Who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the Gate and go [in and] out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head." (2:12-13).
All Israel who are living at that time will be saved in that Day when they see their Messiah coming on the Clouds of Heaven, and know that He is Jesus of Nazareth, Who died in their place as their Sacrifice for sin (Romans 11:26).
This is just one detail in the saga of our Lord God, Jesus, the Christ, our King of Glory. This is when He comes back to this World to set up His Kingdom, to rule as the World-Wide King and Dictator for the thousand years of His Millennial Reign, Earth's Golden Age.
He is coming soon! Are you ready to meet Him, in the air or through death's door? I believe He will return in my lifetime (but Paul thought the same thing!).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!
Who is the King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. Sela.
What gates are these, what ancient doors?
This is none other than the Kings Gate that faced East (I Chronicles 9:18), the gate that Ezekiel said, "was shut. And the Lord said to me, 'This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it.'"(Ezekiel 44:1-2).
Now David's song says that it will be opened for the King of Glory!
When Jesus returns to this Earth with all His Saints and Angels, He will wage the Battle of Armageddon, and He will enter by that East Gate, in Victory!
Micah tells us about God's deliverance:
"I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.
"One Who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the Gate and go [in and] out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head." (2:12-13).
All Israel who are living at that time will be saved in that Day when they see their Messiah coming on the Clouds of Heaven, and know that He is Jesus of Nazareth, Who died in their place as their Sacrifice for sin (Romans 11:26).
This is just one detail in the saga of our Lord God, Jesus, the Christ, our King of Glory. This is when He comes back to this World to set up His Kingdom, to rule as the World-Wide King and Dictator for the thousand years of His Millennial Reign, Earth's Golden Age.
He is coming soon! Are you ready to meet Him, in the air or through death's door? I believe He will return in my lifetime (but Paul thought the same thing!).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 17, 2017
The "Last Page"
Revelation 22: 3-5
No longer will there be a curse upon anything.
The curse is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, that order degrades into chaos. This is the sin-curse that God placed on the Earth, and the Universe the Earth resides in; death. That's why nothing ever comes to stay, everything in this World comes to pass, and will one day, "die," or be no more as it was.
For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him.
This will be God's home, not the Heaven we know of now, for Heaven will have come down to the New Earth for God to dwell with us as our God. Those He has redeemed are His servants who will worship Him.
And they will see His face, and His Name will be written on their foreheads.
We will have received the full Redemption that Christ Jesus bought for us, we will be resurrected with the same Body Jesus displayed when He was resurrected, and we will glow and shine as bright as our sun does now. This is our "family resemblance," the Name of God on our foreheads, as God is Light. Then we will be able to look at God without harm, because we will be like Him.
And there will be no night there--no need for lamps or sun--for the Lord God will shine on them.
This new order of existence will not need any other kind of light, because God is Light and will be the light for this new world.
And they will reign forever and ever.
This new order is what God had planned all along, to remove everything that detracts from, or damages, or twists the Good that God is, and makes. Everything that would pretend, or be sexually aberrant, or take life, or value anything over God, or try to lie or deceive, are all excluded from this new order, banished from ever taking any part in God's good order of existence He made us for (Revelation 22:15).
Thank You, Father, for giving us this "last page" to read, to know that everything that is happening now is part of Your sovereign Plan of the Ages. Thank You for letting us know that You win, and You give us the victory with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
No longer will there be a curse upon anything.
The curse is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, that order degrades into chaos. This is the sin-curse that God placed on the Earth, and the Universe the Earth resides in; death. That's why nothing ever comes to stay, everything in this World comes to pass, and will one day, "die," or be no more as it was.
For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him.
This will be God's home, not the Heaven we know of now, for Heaven will have come down to the New Earth for God to dwell with us as our God. Those He has redeemed are His servants who will worship Him.
And they will see His face, and His Name will be written on their foreheads.
We will have received the full Redemption that Christ Jesus bought for us, we will be resurrected with the same Body Jesus displayed when He was resurrected, and we will glow and shine as bright as our sun does now. This is our "family resemblance," the Name of God on our foreheads, as God is Light. Then we will be able to look at God without harm, because we will be like Him.
And there will be no night there--no need for lamps or sun--for the Lord God will shine on them.
This new order of existence will not need any other kind of light, because God is Light and will be the light for this new world.
And they will reign forever and ever.
This new order is what God had planned all along, to remove everything that detracts from, or damages, or twists the Good that God is, and makes. Everything that would pretend, or be sexually aberrant, or take life, or value anything over God, or try to lie or deceive, are all excluded from this new order, banished from ever taking any part in God's good order of existence He made us for (Revelation 22:15).
Thank You, Father, for giving us this "last page" to read, to know that everything that is happening now is part of Your sovereign Plan of the Ages. Thank You for letting us know that You win, and You give us the victory with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Thrones
Revelation 20: 4
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God.
They had not worshiped the Beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands.
They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life?" (I Corinthians 6:3). So it will be the Christians that Jesus rescued who will be ruling on these thrones with righteousness and judgment. We are His princes and princesses now, and will be His kings and queens ruling with Him for a thousand years on this Earth. The Golden Age yet to come.
Even today God's people are being beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God. There are more martyrs today than at any other time in history, and more than all of history combined. And things will get worse before they get better; the beast, the man of sin, has not yet been revealed.
But nothing ever comes in this World to stay, everything "comes to pass." And that thousand years will also pass. Then this World, this Earth, and the whole Universe will explode and implode and this "order" will be done away, being recreated and remade into a whole New Heaven and New Earth running according to a "new order."
Today's science, the Laws of Thermodynamics, will no longer apply. Things won't wind down, order will no longer degrade into chaos. What is done will last. And the increase of His Kingdom will never end. I cannot imagine what all worlds we will be a part of throughout all Eternity Future!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God.
They had not worshiped the Beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands.
They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life?" (I Corinthians 6:3). So it will be the Christians that Jesus rescued who will be ruling on these thrones with righteousness and judgment. We are His princes and princesses now, and will be His kings and queens ruling with Him for a thousand years on this Earth. The Golden Age yet to come.
Even today God's people are being beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the Word of God. There are more martyrs today than at any other time in history, and more than all of history combined. And things will get worse before they get better; the beast, the man of sin, has not yet been revealed.
But nothing ever comes in this World to stay, everything "comes to pass." And that thousand years will also pass. Then this World, this Earth, and the whole Universe will explode and implode and this "order" will be done away, being recreated and remade into a whole New Heaven and New Earth running according to a "new order."
Today's science, the Laws of Thermodynamics, will no longer apply. Things won't wind down, order will no longer degrade into chaos. What is done will last. And the increase of His Kingdom will never end. I cannot imagine what all worlds we will be a part of throughout all Eternity Future!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Forerunners
Luke 1:17
And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "To turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children," and the disobedient to the attitudes of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
God had sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Now He is raising up forerunners today, to go into all the world to prepare the people, His people, for the coming again of Christ Jesus! To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and to turn the disobedient around to the attitudes of the righteous!
Who are those who are going into all the World to prepare? Will you go? Shall I go?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "To turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children," and the disobedient to the attitudes of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
God had sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Now He is raising up forerunners today, to go into all the world to prepare the people, His people, for the coming again of Christ Jesus! To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and to turn the disobedient around to the attitudes of the righteous!
Who are those who are going into all the World to prepare? Will you go? Shall I go?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, August 14, 2017
A Slave With Rights?
Exodus 21: 7-10
If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.
If she does not please the master who has betrothed her to himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
If he has betrothed her to his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
If he marries her, then takes another wife also, he must not deprive the first wife of her food, clothing, and conjugal rights.
If he is not willing to provide her these three, then she is to go free without the payment of any money.
It is interesting that God would be concerned not only for the physical needs of a slave-wife of a master-husband, but also for her emotional welfare, in giving this rule to grant her these three specific rights.
The picture here is of a Hebrew girl, whose family has sold her to another Hebrew man to be his wife, with the payment of a dowry to her father. The law concerning the Year of Jubilee is to free the Hebrew slaves the seventh year, but not the female slaves. She is due the respect of a family member.
If the purchaser changes his mind and decides not to marry her after all, then her family can redeem her, and she can go back home.
If he marries her, but then marries another woman also, then he is not to reduce his care of his slave-wife, but still provide her the same food, clothing, and standing as his wife.
If her master marries her, then is not willing to retain her as his wife, then she is to go free without any payment at all being paid to the slave-owner, no ransom or redemption price at all. He is not allowed to sell her to anyone else to recoup his payment price, because he has broken faith with her.
If he doesn't marry her, but instead betroths her to his son, then he must give her the rights of a daughter. She is now his family.
This is in stark contrast to the nations surrounding Israel. Women had no rights at all, and were treated as property even in the family setting. God is showing us that His ways are not our ways, He considers all His people as worth respect and honor. He wants the women to be respected and honored and cared for, as their worth is no less than the men.
God even allowed the daughters to inherit property, and be property-owners, if they had no brothers.
If Israel had actually followed all the rules and regulations God gave them, their whole economy would have been revitalized every 50 years, Hebrew slaves would have been freed to go back home, and all the properties would have reverted back to the original families. Everyone would have had means of income; land, housing, food, clothing. There would have been no poor, as the poor people who had lost their property would have gotten it back, to start the cycle over again.
God loves us and wants us all to prosper. If He hasn't given us the means to prosper financially, then He has prospered us in other ways, and will provide all we need generously, out of His great abundance.
And He wants us all to love one another, as He has loved us. To have respect for each other person, whether they've earned it or not, because they are made in the image of our Creator, and thereby are worth respect inherently. God has made us with value, and when we value one another we will treat each other with compassion and consideration, not criticism or complaint.
O my Father, thank You for making me, making us all, with great worth. I know I will never deserve or be able to earn Your goodwill, but You have taken the initiative to show me how much You value me, that You consider me worth sending Your only Son to take my place in death, so that I can receive Your life. Now I am able to learn of You, to learn Your ways, and to have the strength to buck the trends of this World to live my life according to Your Plan for me.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, because it is Your Plan that is unfolding and progressing in all You have created, and Your purposes will be fulfilled in Your way, in Your time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.
If she does not please the master who has betrothed her to himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
If he has betrothed her to his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
If he marries her, then takes another wife also, he must not deprive the first wife of her food, clothing, and conjugal rights.
If he is not willing to provide her these three, then she is to go free without the payment of any money.
It is interesting that God would be concerned not only for the physical needs of a slave-wife of a master-husband, but also for her emotional welfare, in giving this rule to grant her these three specific rights.
The picture here is of a Hebrew girl, whose family has sold her to another Hebrew man to be his wife, with the payment of a dowry to her father. The law concerning the Year of Jubilee is to free the Hebrew slaves the seventh year, but not the female slaves. She is due the respect of a family member.
If the purchaser changes his mind and decides not to marry her after all, then her family can redeem her, and she can go back home.
If he marries her, but then marries another woman also, then he is not to reduce his care of his slave-wife, but still provide her the same food, clothing, and standing as his wife.
If he doesn't marry her, but instead betroths her to his son, then he must give her the rights of a daughter. She is now his family.
This is in stark contrast to the nations surrounding Israel. Women had no rights at all, and were treated as property even in the family setting. God is showing us that His ways are not our ways, He considers all His people as worth respect and honor. He wants the women to be respected and honored and cared for, as their worth is no less than the men.
God even allowed the daughters to inherit property, and be property-owners, if they had no brothers.
If Israel had actually followed all the rules and regulations God gave them, their whole economy would have been revitalized every 50 years, Hebrew slaves would have been freed to go back home, and all the properties would have reverted back to the original families. Everyone would have had means of income; land, housing, food, clothing. There would have been no poor, as the poor people who had lost their property would have gotten it back, to start the cycle over again.
God loves us and wants us all to prosper. If He hasn't given us the means to prosper financially, then He has prospered us in other ways, and will provide all we need generously, out of His great abundance.
And He wants us all to love one another, as He has loved us. To have respect for each other person, whether they've earned it or not, because they are made in the image of our Creator, and thereby are worth respect inherently. God has made us with value, and when we value one another we will treat each other with compassion and consideration, not criticism or complaint.
O my Father, thank You for making me, making us all, with great worth. I know I will never deserve or be able to earn Your goodwill, but You have taken the initiative to show me how much You value me, that You consider me worth sending Your only Son to take my place in death, so that I can receive Your life. Now I am able to learn of You, to learn Your ways, and to have the strength to buck the trends of this World to live my life according to Your Plan for me.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, because it is Your Plan that is unfolding and progressing in all You have created, and Your purposes will be fulfilled in Your way, in Your time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, August 13, 2017
The Bread Of Idleness
Proverbs 31: 27
She ... does not eat the bread of idleness.
O my Father, please help me, strengthen me with Your strength, for I have none. In the past I have wasted so many years, "eating the bread of idleness," and I ask that You would restore those years that "the locust has eaten."
Continue to teach me Your ways and Your purposes for me and my life; that what I do each day would promote Your character, Your Plan for this World. Father, continue to work on me and in me to mold and shape my character ever closer to the image of my Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank You for granting me the good physical health, and the emotional and spiritual health, so I will be more suitable to serve You.
Grant me victory, Father, over all my faults, my weaknesses, my sins. Forgive me and enable me to forsake these traits that work against myself and against You. Help me to be strong in Your power, Your wisdom, and Your discernment to make wise decisions and then carry them out.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for everything You are doing in me and in this World, to fulfill and complete Your great Plan of the Ages!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
She ... does not eat the bread of idleness.
O my Father, please help me, strengthen me with Your strength, for I have none. In the past I have wasted so many years, "eating the bread of idleness," and I ask that You would restore those years that "the locust has eaten."
Continue to teach me Your ways and Your purposes for me and my life; that what I do each day would promote Your character, Your Plan for this World. Father, continue to work on me and in me to mold and shape my character ever closer to the image of my Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank You for granting me the good physical health, and the emotional and spiritual health, so I will be more suitable to serve You.
Grant me victory, Father, over all my faults, my weaknesses, my sins. Forgive me and enable me to forsake these traits that work against myself and against You. Help me to be strong in Your power, Your wisdom, and Your discernment to make wise decisions and then carry them out.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for everything You are doing in me and in this World, to fulfill and complete Your great Plan of the Ages!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, August 12, 2017
A Little Slumber
Proverbs 6: 10
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest ...
How often have I told myself these very words! Not as often as I did before; I do hope I'm doing better at not collapsing on the couch the next day, but continuing to do what is before me to accomplish.
I am learning to take better care of this vessel, my body, and also my mind and my heart. And I am open, looking for what will be my next step in this journey on this road where God has placed my feet.
And my Father has given me this tool, this blog, to go into the World before me, spreading the seed of the Gospel.
May I not regress into making my couch my dwelling place, as I did in my deep grief. My Father has brought me through so much since then, and He gets all the credit for how He has worked in and on me, so that He could work through me.
And may He also draw you ever closer into that intimate friendship and marriage that He wants for each of us as His bride.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest ...
How often have I told myself these very words! Not as often as I did before; I do hope I'm doing better at not collapsing on the couch the next day, but continuing to do what is before me to accomplish.
I am learning to take better care of this vessel, my body, and also my mind and my heart. And I am open, looking for what will be my next step in this journey on this road where God has placed my feet.
And my Father has given me this tool, this blog, to go into the World before me, spreading the seed of the Gospel.
May I not regress into making my couch my dwelling place, as I did in my deep grief. My Father has brought me through so much since then, and He gets all the credit for how He has worked in and on me, so that He could work through me.
And may He also draw you ever closer into that intimate friendship and marriage that He wants for each of us as His bride.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 11, 2017
The Peace Of God
Philippians 4: 6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all our understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God's peace will guard our hearts and our minds. Our emotions and our thinking processes will not be upset with what is going on around us. Nothing this World can throw at us will disturb our hearts or befuddle our minds. How can we be this steady in the storms of life?
When we are resting in God, trusting Him to be Who He says He is and to do what He said He will do. When we know Him that well, that we have confidence in Him to act on our behalf, even working miracles for our benefit. To know that He can and He is able, whether He chooses to do so or not.
When we focus our attention on what is good, and true, and honorable. What is right and pure and lovely and beautiful. What is admirable and excellent and worthy of being praised. These will crowd out the negative and critical and worrisome thoughts that previously occupied our thoughts.
What we are looking at, focusing on, appears bigger in our sight and fills our vision, letting all the other things fade into the background. That's why our Father wants us to dwell on all the good, positive things in life, to lift our hearts and minds into the Heavenly realms even while we are still living on this Earth.
This peace God gives us runs deeper than we can even understand in our human thoughts, because God is so great, and so good. We are His creation, He is the One Who imagines us; and the imagination He gave us can also be realized in our reality, because He made us in His own Image.
God is Love. Everything He does comes from this basic foundation of being. That's why He wants us to love one another. When I love you, I want to see the good in you, I want to do what pleases you, and I want you to love me back. And because God has loved me with a Love beyond my understanding, I want to love Him back, and do what pleases Him.
So when I live my life focusing on what God is doing, instead of what other people are doing around me, then I will experience His peace. Then World events won't upset me. Then I won't get into arguments with family members and friends, and I will be a more pleasant person to be around.
Then I will be a Kingdom person, rather than a Worldly person. Then I will be so Heavenly-minded that I will be of great Earthly good!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all our understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God's peace will guard our hearts and our minds. Our emotions and our thinking processes will not be upset with what is going on around us. Nothing this World can throw at us will disturb our hearts or befuddle our minds. How can we be this steady in the storms of life?
When we are resting in God, trusting Him to be Who He says He is and to do what He said He will do. When we know Him that well, that we have confidence in Him to act on our behalf, even working miracles for our benefit. To know that He can and He is able, whether He chooses to do so or not.
When we focus our attention on what is good, and true, and honorable. What is right and pure and lovely and beautiful. What is admirable and excellent and worthy of being praised. These will crowd out the negative and critical and worrisome thoughts that previously occupied our thoughts.
What we are looking at, focusing on, appears bigger in our sight and fills our vision, letting all the other things fade into the background. That's why our Father wants us to dwell on all the good, positive things in life, to lift our hearts and minds into the Heavenly realms even while we are still living on this Earth.
This peace God gives us runs deeper than we can even understand in our human thoughts, because God is so great, and so good. We are His creation, He is the One Who imagines us; and the imagination He gave us can also be realized in our reality, because He made us in His own Image.
God is Love. Everything He does comes from this basic foundation of being. That's why He wants us to love one another. When I love you, I want to see the good in you, I want to do what pleases you, and I want you to love me back. And because God has loved me with a Love beyond my understanding, I want to love Him back, and do what pleases Him.
So when I live my life focusing on what God is doing, instead of what other people are doing around me, then I will experience His peace. Then World events won't upset me. Then I won't get into arguments with family members and friends, and I will be a more pleasant person to be around.
Then I will be a Kingdom person, rather than a Worldly person. Then I will be so Heavenly-minded that I will be of great Earthly good!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 10, 2017
The Father Of The Prodigal
Luke 15:20
... His father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son ...
This father is a picture of our Heavenly Father, and this is the only place in all of Scripture that shows Him running! And He is running toward the prodigal child who has wasted all the inheritance he's received. This child is stumbling down the road toward home, going over the speech he's prepared to tell his father, to ask him to come home as a servant. But the father cuts the speech short, calling for the servants to bring the new clothes, new shoes, and the "credit card" for the family business (the ring). He then has the fattened calf slaughtered and barbecued for the party to welcome him home.
This is God's attitude toward us when we admit that we don't deserve anything but death, and that Jesus took our death on the Cross.
Then He causes us to be born into His own family as His prince or princess, causes us to be clothed in His own righteousness, and places His Holy Spirit into our spirit, making it alive and granting us the right to run His "Family Business," His Kingdom. And all the Heavenly Angels celebrate.
Jesus is God the Son Who was born into our human family in order to be the Lamb of God, the sacrifice that would not just cover, but wash away our sins. He fulfilled all of the laws of sacrifice: the first, personal one for salvation; and the corporate one for the Nation, to purchase all of the World, for judgement.
That's how much God loves each one of us, to "run" to us with His arms wide open, nailed to that Cross! His love is amazing! He wants all of us to humbly realize our sinful state, recognize Who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us in our place, and turn around our attitudes toward God's ways. He saves us individually, one by one, but will otherwise have to judge us eternally. I cannot comprehend how deep and wide and long and concentrated and flowing and filling and embracing His love is for me! And also for you!!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... His father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son ...
This father is a picture of our Heavenly Father, and this is the only place in all of Scripture that shows Him running! And He is running toward the prodigal child who has wasted all the inheritance he's received. This child is stumbling down the road toward home, going over the speech he's prepared to tell his father, to ask him to come home as a servant. But the father cuts the speech short, calling for the servants to bring the new clothes, new shoes, and the "credit card" for the family business (the ring). He then has the fattened calf slaughtered and barbecued for the party to welcome him home.
This is God's attitude toward us when we admit that we don't deserve anything but death, and that Jesus took our death on the Cross.
Then He causes us to be born into His own family as His prince or princess, causes us to be clothed in His own righteousness, and places His Holy Spirit into our spirit, making it alive and granting us the right to run His "Family Business," His Kingdom. And all the Heavenly Angels celebrate.
Jesus is God the Son Who was born into our human family in order to be the Lamb of God, the sacrifice that would not just cover, but wash away our sins. He fulfilled all of the laws of sacrifice: the first, personal one for salvation; and the corporate one for the Nation, to purchase all of the World, for judgement.
That's how much God loves each one of us, to "run" to us with His arms wide open, nailed to that Cross! His love is amazing! He wants all of us to humbly realize our sinful state, recognize Who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us in our place, and turn around our attitudes toward God's ways. He saves us individually, one by one, but will otherwise have to judge us eternally. I cannot comprehend how deep and wide and long and concentrated and flowing and filling and embracing His love is for me! And also for you!!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Intimate Friendship
Exodus 33: 11
Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. ...
The Lord God Almighty is our great God, and no one can look upon His face and live! When God showed Moses His Goodness on the mountain, He put him in a cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand as He passed by, so Moses saw His back; and still, Moses' face shone, it glowed as it reflected God's Glory so brightly that he wore a veil when he addressed the people.
And yet, God spoke with Moses in the Tent of Meeting "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend"! God allowed Moses to have such an intimate friendship with Him, to befriend him so powerfully. And Moses was so meek, he knew he didn't deserve it.
O my dear Father, You put Moses' story in Your Word so that we could know that You offer that same, intimate friendship you had with him, to anyone who will give himself fully to Your purposes; to give You everything considered of value, to receive from You what is beyond worth.
Father, You want to do so many great things in this world, if only one person will give himself totally to You, as Moses did.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. ...
The Lord God Almighty is our great God, and no one can look upon His face and live! When God showed Moses His Goodness on the mountain, He put him in a cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand as He passed by, so Moses saw His back; and still, Moses' face shone, it glowed as it reflected God's Glory so brightly that he wore a veil when he addressed the people.
And yet, God spoke with Moses in the Tent of Meeting "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend"! God allowed Moses to have such an intimate friendship with Him, to befriend him so powerfully. And Moses was so meek, he knew he didn't deserve it.
O my dear Father, You put Moses' story in Your Word so that we could know that You offer that same, intimate friendship you had with him, to anyone who will give himself fully to Your purposes; to give You everything considered of value, to receive from You what is beyond worth.
Father, You want to do so many great things in this world, if only one person will give himself totally to You, as Moses did.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Search For Her
Proverbs 2: 1-5ff
... Wisdom ... understanding ... discernment ... Seek for her as for silver, search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God.
God's whole program for each of us is not about what we can do for Him, but our intimate personal relationship with Him. To seek for wisdom is to seek His face; to search for understanding is to search out Who He is; to cry out for discernment is to cry out for discerning God's character, Who He is!
As we spend time with God reading and studying His Word, communing with Him in prayer and learning to hear His voice in our spirit, we are drawing ever closer to our Father, and letting Him mold and shape us into His own Image.
O my Father, I have taken the first few feeble steps in Your direction, and I know I have many miles to go, for I am still so far from being the woman You created me to be. But I also know that it is You working in me, and that You will one Day finish this work that You started in me.
Keep me faithful in this journey, my Lord, following in Your own footsteps, not wandering off to the left or to the right, but straight on in that Narrow Way in which You have placed my feet.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... Wisdom ... understanding ... discernment ... Seek for her as for silver, search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God.
God's whole program for each of us is not about what we can do for Him, but our intimate personal relationship with Him. To seek for wisdom is to seek His face; to search for understanding is to search out Who He is; to cry out for discernment is to cry out for discerning God's character, Who He is!
As we spend time with God reading and studying His Word, communing with Him in prayer and learning to hear His voice in our spirit, we are drawing ever closer to our Father, and letting Him mold and shape us into His own Image.
O my Father, I have taken the first few feeble steps in Your direction, and I know I have many miles to go, for I am still so far from being the woman You created me to be. But I also know that it is You working in me, and that You will one Day finish this work that You started in me.
Keep me faithful in this journey, my Lord, following in Your own footsteps, not wandering off to the left or to the right, but straight on in that Narrow Way in which You have placed my feet.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, August 7, 2017
Lavished Love
Exodus 20: 6
But I lavish my love on those who love Me and obey My commands, even for a thousand generations.
I John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...
The Cambridge Dictionary defines "lavish" as, "spending, giving or using more than is necessary or reasonable; more than enough."
God "lavishes" His love on those who love Him, even calling them His own children. And He doesn't limit it at all, but is willing to "lavish" His love on even a thousand generations of people, if only they would all acknowledge Him and accept what He has done.
God is love. Love is the very Nature of God. Everything God does comes from His love; His love of the Father for His Son, and the Son for the Father, and the Spirit, too. Our God is a community of Love!
That's why He wants us to love Him back. When we do, then we will want to do what He wants for us, and obey His commands. And we will also love one another the way God loves us. This is what will show that we are His disciples, our love for one another.
"To live above with those we love,
Oh won't that be glory!
But to live below with those we know,
Now, that's a different story!"
God loves us unconditionally, His agape love; and that's how we are to love one another, continually giving the benefit of the doubt and forgiving one another; even as we also have received forgiveness from God.
This is impossible in our fleshly nature--we tend to hold grudges, and not even like some people who aggravate us or offend us. But love isn't liking, it's respecting and wanting the very best for the other, regardless of the cost to us. This we can only do in the power of God's Holy Spirit living in us.
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great love for me! Thank You so much for sending Your own dear Son to be my Lamb of God, my sacrifice for my sins, that not only covers but takes away my sins. Now I can receive Your love, Father, and love You back. And I can also love other people, too, as You love them.
So often I have heard the stories of how Your children have loved even their enemies, who have seen Your love in them, and been drawn to You, also, to receive that New Life that You give to all Your children, Father, when they are born-again into spiritual, eternal life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But I lavish my love on those who love Me and obey My commands, even for a thousand generations.
I John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...
The Cambridge Dictionary defines "lavish" as, "spending, giving or using more than is necessary or reasonable; more than enough."
God "lavishes" His love on those who love Him, even calling them His own children. And He doesn't limit it at all, but is willing to "lavish" His love on even a thousand generations of people, if only they would all acknowledge Him and accept what He has done.
God is love. Love is the very Nature of God. Everything God does comes from His love; His love of the Father for His Son, and the Son for the Father, and the Spirit, too. Our God is a community of Love!
That's why He wants us to love Him back. When we do, then we will want to do what He wants for us, and obey His commands. And we will also love one another the way God loves us. This is what will show that we are His disciples, our love for one another.
"To live above with those we love,
Oh won't that be glory!
But to live below with those we know,
Now, that's a different story!"
God loves us unconditionally, His agape love; and that's how we are to love one another, continually giving the benefit of the doubt and forgiving one another; even as we also have received forgiveness from God.
This is impossible in our fleshly nature--we tend to hold grudges, and not even like some people who aggravate us or offend us. But love isn't liking, it's respecting and wanting the very best for the other, regardless of the cost to us. This we can only do in the power of God's Holy Spirit living in us.
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great love for me! Thank You so much for sending Your own dear Son to be my Lamb of God, my sacrifice for my sins, that not only covers but takes away my sins. Now I can receive Your love, Father, and love You back. And I can also love other people, too, as You love them.
So often I have heard the stories of how Your children have loved even their enemies, who have seen Your love in them, and been drawn to You, also, to receive that New Life that You give to all Your children, Father, when they are born-again into spiritual, eternal life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Our Adult Children
Proverbs 23: 15-16
O my son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad; and my inmost being will rejoice, when your lips speak what is right.
Don't we rejoice when our children do what is right! But doesn't our heart break when they make foolish choices! Our hearts seem to be bound up in the lives of our children.
We cannot make our adult children do what's right, nor can we keep them from living lifestyles that bring harm to them. Sometimes we may be able to suggest to them a wiser road, but they will always make their own decisions.
Ultimately, what we can do is pray for them. Understand that God loves them even more than we do, and He is not willing that any should perish. They can push us away, but they can't push God away if He decides to draw them. And we don't want to get into God's way in dealing with them. Sometimes it's best to just stay out of their way, and faithfully lift them up to the Throne of Glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O my son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad; and my inmost being will rejoice, when your lips speak what is right.
Don't we rejoice when our children do what is right! But doesn't our heart break when they make foolish choices! Our hearts seem to be bound up in the lives of our children.
We cannot make our adult children do what's right, nor can we keep them from living lifestyles that bring harm to them. Sometimes we may be able to suggest to them a wiser road, but they will always make their own decisions.
Ultimately, what we can do is pray for them. Understand that God loves them even more than we do, and He is not willing that any should perish. They can push us away, but they can't push God away if He decides to draw them. And we don't want to get into God's way in dealing with them. Sometimes it's best to just stay out of their way, and faithfully lift them up to the Throne of Glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, August 5, 2017
All The Ends Of The Earth
Psalm 22: 27-28
All the ends of the Earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the Nations will worship before Thee. For the Kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the Nations.
God will receive worship from every part of this whole Earth; from those in every Nation and every family and every language! No one will be overlooked or missed of all God has determined are His.
There are still so many who have not yet even heard the Name of Jesus; pray that God would send His workers into these fields to gather in His harvest of souls, which are even now ripe to harvest, ready to hear.
Please, Father, I am here, send even me! Thank You that You have provided this writing, to go into all the World before me. Lead this to all who are eager to hear of You, guide me in saying what You want them to hear.
And then let me go also, into all this beautiful World filled with a myriad of colorful cultures, precious peoples, and delicious foods. Father, You love a diverse mixture, and You have spread Mankind all over this beautiful Earth to develop many and varied cultures and families.
Please send many workers into this wide World, to share Your precious Seed, the Gospel, so that all may hear and know that Jesus is our King and Lord over all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
All the ends of the Earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the Nations will worship before Thee. For the Kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the Nations.
God will receive worship from every part of this whole Earth; from those in every Nation and every family and every language! No one will be overlooked or missed of all God has determined are His.
There are still so many who have not yet even heard the Name of Jesus; pray that God would send His workers into these fields to gather in His harvest of souls, which are even now ripe to harvest, ready to hear.
Please, Father, I am here, send even me! Thank You that You have provided this writing, to go into all the World before me. Lead this to all who are eager to hear of You, guide me in saying what You want them to hear.
And then let me go also, into all this beautiful World filled with a myriad of colorful cultures, precious peoples, and delicious foods. Father, You love a diverse mixture, and You have spread Mankind all over this beautiful Earth to develop many and varied cultures and families.
Please send many workers into this wide World, to share Your precious Seed, the Gospel, so that all may hear and know that Jesus is our King and Lord over all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 4, 2017
Immediately
Mark 1
... Immediately ...
Mark says this 9 times in this one chapter: verses 10, 12, 18, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, and 42.
Jesus never put off anything for even a moment. He always did what He needed to do immediately, and He accomplished everything He needed to in only 3 1/2 years.
Many of us struggle with the procrastination that is acceptable in our society today, even knowing that it displeases our Father in Heaven.
Show me, Father, what You would have me do today, immediately, and not put off anything I can get done today. Please strengthen me in this weakness, and continue to work on me and in me to make me more like Jesus. Teach me Your ways, Father, as Your Son demonstrated by doing everything "immediately."
Keep me from wasting any more of the limited time You have granted me. I know my days are all numbered, so help me accomplish what You have planned for me before Time began. Restore the "years the locust has eaten," and help me to serve You wholeheartedly.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... Immediately ...
Mark says this 9 times in this one chapter: verses 10, 12, 18, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, and 42.
Jesus never put off anything for even a moment. He always did what He needed to do immediately, and He accomplished everything He needed to in only 3 1/2 years.
Many of us struggle with the procrastination that is acceptable in our society today, even knowing that it displeases our Father in Heaven.
Show me, Father, what You would have me do today, immediately, and not put off anything I can get done today. Please strengthen me in this weakness, and continue to work on me and in me to make me more like Jesus. Teach me Your ways, Father, as Your Son demonstrated by doing everything "immediately."
Keep me from wasting any more of the limited time You have granted me. I know my days are all numbered, so help me accomplish what You have planned for me before Time began. Restore the "years the locust has eaten," and help me to serve You wholeheartedly.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Supplies Or Spirit
Psalm 20: 7
Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the Name of the Lord, our God.
David was a very highly skilled military genius. Today, instead of chariots and horses, he would say tanks, bombers and submarines, or even atomic or biological weapons. The message he is giving us here is that no matter what our worldly provisions are, they are all worthless without the wisdom and power of our Lord God behind us (and before us, and above and below, and all around us).
Like David, I realize that in myself I have nothing that is strong, or righteous, or commendable. I can never win any battle in my own strength. I must turn to my Lord every time, for every battle. I cannot depend on how He delivered me the last time, even though the situation seems similar; He may have a different plan for this new battle. I must seek His face every time.
O my Father, please teach me Your abilities and capabilities, train me and equip me to be an acceptable servant to You, my Lord. Help me to know what You would have me do in all the areas of my life: relationships, possessions, actions, words; my own attitudes toward all these things.
Thank You for being with me, for upholding me, placing my feet on Your Rock which is Jesus.
Continue to work in me and on me, Father, and hold my hand tightly, not letting me wander or stray to the right or to the left, but walking straight.
Let this day and the things You accomplish this day bring You all the honor, credit and glory forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the Name of the Lord, our God.
David was a very highly skilled military genius. Today, instead of chariots and horses, he would say tanks, bombers and submarines, or even atomic or biological weapons. The message he is giving us here is that no matter what our worldly provisions are, they are all worthless without the wisdom and power of our Lord God behind us (and before us, and above and below, and all around us).
Like David, I realize that in myself I have nothing that is strong, or righteous, or commendable. I can never win any battle in my own strength. I must turn to my Lord every time, for every battle. I cannot depend on how He delivered me the last time, even though the situation seems similar; He may have a different plan for this new battle. I must seek His face every time.
O my Father, please teach me Your abilities and capabilities, train me and equip me to be an acceptable servant to You, my Lord. Help me to know what You would have me do in all the areas of my life: relationships, possessions, actions, words; my own attitudes toward all these things.
Thank You for being with me, for upholding me, placing my feet on Your Rock which is Jesus.
Continue to work in me and on me, Father, and hold my hand tightly, not letting me wander or stray to the right or to the left, but walking straight.
Let this day and the things You accomplish this day bring You all the honor, credit and glory forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Man's Steps
Proverbs 20: 24
Man's steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can a man understand his own way?
We all think we are thinking all our own thoughts and making all of our own decisions. But our freedom of will only extends to the boundaries our Creator has placed on us. Everything we can choose or decide is still within the "fenced yard" He has placed us in. So everything we can do is still within the Plans God has determined for each of us.
And, even so, have you ever done or said anything that you hadn't planned? That was God, Who has "ordained your steps." Aren't you glad that God did that for you? He probably saved you from a lot of trouble.
I remember one time on my way to my daughter's, I realized I was thinking very critically of her as I drove, so I prayed that my Father would put His words on my lips. While we were visiting, I "heard" myself telling her something very encouraging, just the opposite of what I had been thinking on the way! That was God! Thank You, Father! He surprised me that time!
Has He ever surprised you? He will always make sure that His Plans will succeed, and He uses the choices we make to move things along. Even when we choose to do or say something not positive, or even sinful, God can still use even those for His purposes. As a matter of fact, the "worse" the situation can be, the "best" God can bring out of it! Consider the worst thing that Mankind has ever done, executing the Lord God as a common criminal! Yet God used Jesus' death to pay our eternal debt, now He can forgive us and let us into His Heaven!
But don't ever do what you know is wrong because God can bring good from it. You will still bear the temporal consequences, and also damage your witness for Christ. You will never know the benefits God would bring out of your sinful action, if He chooses to do so at all.
This is a consolation only for the mistakes we make, not knowing the right yet. But we do need to learn to make better choices, by learning His ways, which are so far above our ways that we can never attain to them without His help and enabling.
Dear Father, please teach us more and more of Your ways and Your thinking processes. Draw us ever closer to Your side, to walk with you and commune with You every day. Continue to mold us and make us into the very image of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Man's steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can a man understand his own way?
We all think we are thinking all our own thoughts and making all of our own decisions. But our freedom of will only extends to the boundaries our Creator has placed on us. Everything we can choose or decide is still within the "fenced yard" He has placed us in. So everything we can do is still within the Plans God has determined for each of us.
And, even so, have you ever done or said anything that you hadn't planned? That was God, Who has "ordained your steps." Aren't you glad that God did that for you? He probably saved you from a lot of trouble.
I remember one time on my way to my daughter's, I realized I was thinking very critically of her as I drove, so I prayed that my Father would put His words on my lips. While we were visiting, I "heard" myself telling her something very encouraging, just the opposite of what I had been thinking on the way! That was God! Thank You, Father! He surprised me that time!
Has He ever surprised you? He will always make sure that His Plans will succeed, and He uses the choices we make to move things along. Even when we choose to do or say something not positive, or even sinful, God can still use even those for His purposes. As a matter of fact, the "worse" the situation can be, the "best" God can bring out of it! Consider the worst thing that Mankind has ever done, executing the Lord God as a common criminal! Yet God used Jesus' death to pay our eternal debt, now He can forgive us and let us into His Heaven!
But don't ever do what you know is wrong because God can bring good from it. You will still bear the temporal consequences, and also damage your witness for Christ. You will never know the benefits God would bring out of your sinful action, if He chooses to do so at all.
This is a consolation only for the mistakes we make, not knowing the right yet. But we do need to learn to make better choices, by learning His ways, which are so far above our ways that we can never attain to them without His help and enabling.
Dear Father, please teach us more and more of Your ways and Your thinking processes. Draw us ever closer to Your side, to walk with you and commune with You every day. Continue to mold us and make us into the very image of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
The King's Heart
Proverbs 21: 1
The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord, He turns it wherever He wishes.
We need to pray for all our elected and appointed government officials, so that God would lead them to make the right and best decisions for our Nation and our people.
Many Nations have ungodly leaders, or those who don't understand what would be best, so they need us to pray that God would lead them, as He said He would.
Please, O Father, lead our leaders to seek You for Your ways so they will bless us their populace with the good that You desire for Your people. Father, if they don't know you yet, please draw them to Yourself, and if they do know You, then draw them ever closer to Your side. Father, may all our leaders have Your wisdom, compassion and thought processes to align with Your purposes for each of us and all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord, He turns it wherever He wishes.
We need to pray for all our elected and appointed government officials, so that God would lead them to make the right and best decisions for our Nation and our people.
Many Nations have ungodly leaders, or those who don't understand what would be best, so they need us to pray that God would lead them, as He said He would.
Please, O Father, lead our leaders to seek You for Your ways so they will bless us their populace with the good that You desire for Your people. Father, if they don't know you yet, please draw them to Yourself, and if they do know You, then draw them ever closer to Your side. Father, may all our leaders have Your wisdom, compassion and thought processes to align with Your purposes for each of us and all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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