Withdrawn From His Power

We don't seek His kingdom and His righteousness first.  We don't accept His gift of a willing heart.

Why?

Unbelief, which brings about distrust
Lack of faith, which undermines confidence
Misunderstanding of the Gospel, which causes us to misunderstand our position in Christ and buy into the thinking of the world.

We distrust His promise to complete His work in other believers and ourselves.
We shrink back because we don't have confidence.
We think of ourselves as hopelessly terminal in our failings until we get to heaven. 

In our minds, the power of the fullness of the Godhead has become considerably less than the power of the enemy, the world, our own flesh and the waves that buffet us.

Why?

We have withdrawn ourselves from His power.

What Are You Serving?

Sandwich A

 

Sandwich B

 

When you come alongside your brother or sister in the Lord to encourage and help, which sandwich do you serve them?

Which would you rather eat?

Distrust, (whether it's distrust of the person or distrust of God's ability to work in that person), is very bitter, isn't it?

Peace is very sweet, soothing and nutritional.

On the Fly

In light of the Lord's present dealings with us and our children and thinking back on my own history, I am reminded that we have standards that we want to meet.  There are standards that we would like to see met by our children.  My history testifies that I certainly didn't meet those standards when I was their age. 

However, my Father-God worked what was needed in me - on the fly. 

He continues to do so. 

Having to get taken aside to "reboot" or forced through some dramatic process isn't always His way.  Mercifully, He can move us along without always having to turn us upside down, as He faithfully completes His work in us.

We don't have to jump through certain hoops.  It's always so simple.  It's always His love for us and our love for Him.  Fast or slow, it's just His simple work in us in His time. 

Guard Your Joy

 

We keep hearing the saying, "Satan is trying to rob me of my joy."  Well, if that's the case we'd better guard our joy.

I'm not sure that Satan himself is always personally available to do that, but his forces of darkness in this world and his minions certainly are capable and are waiting to steal joy away from us.

How do we guard our joy?

"But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life."  Luke 21:34 Amp

"For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."  Hebrews 12:3

"Taking heed" and "considering" do require self-effort, just as Peter couldn't continue walking on the water as long as he gave up the effort of looking at and trusting in the Lord Jesus.

Reality Check

 

It seems that a reality check is often needed.  When you feel the weight of sin and darkness closing in on you, remember:

"...while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

The world and even our own brethren will tell us there is no lasting solution for people with our problems. We're just going to fail again and again.

We know we are not to supposed to buy into that - but, we do.

"...they tell us we're all terminal

But I don't believe a thing they say, they're only words

Science and technology to help us numb the pain

But far beyond any science there is one thing I am sure of

A virgin had a Son, and a stone was rolled away

So how can we be terminal, because He lives today"   (John Elefante, from "This is How the Story Goes.")

Yes - it's impossible for us to do well. It's impossible for us to make the right decisions all the time. We should be terminal.

HOWEVER, we serve the God of the impossible. The One who calls what is dead, "alive". The One who has already proved Himself to be the One Who operates in the realm of impossibility.

Take courage, dear ones. Don't stand still in terror. Choose not to walk the dark path of the world today. Your Master and personal Super Hero is not limited by what people think.

Rest Easy, (Working While You Sleep II)

It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil—for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.  Psalm 127:2 Amp

So, engaging in the driven lifestyle that is respected and glamorized by the rich and famous isn't what is taught by our Creator; Who knows us best.

Get your proper rest and make sure not to fall into the, "what have you done for me lately," anxious, self-destructive mindset.  That's not the way the Master of the Universe works.

Assuming the Worst

How many times do our fears get disappointed when we assume the worst?

Assuming the worst seems to be connected to our culture of stress.  Sometimes the worst happens, but that's not the rule.  We assume that things have gone, or will go, horribly wrong so easily that we become easily manipulated by a whole gamut of people from a salesman to a powerful politician. Besides that, we shorten our own lives and ruin our health by living under the stress of these self-generated fears.

Beware of giving an opening to those who would take advantage of you, including your enemy(ies). Beware of the self destruction that you are taking upon yourself.

“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”

"What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?   All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest."

 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Food Enzymes

Digesting His Word:  Taking it in with understanding; being able to break down the meaning and take in the nutrients of it so that we actually use the Word as our food for living in REALITY.  Then, we can be victorious the in way that He intends.  We can overcome the world by faith.

Consider the way we could overcome if we would digest and take in the nutrients of these verses:

“Blessed is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity…”

“In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength.”

Psalm 94:12, 13 and Isaiah 30:15

Read your Bible, pray.  Meditate on what you read.  Meditation comes naturally if you seriously read His Word.  Food enzymes.

Fire Under Us

 

We have to face it; we really don't perform our best unless there is pressure, born of necessity, being exerted on us.  Necessity, competition, disciplinary pressure and those in the arena of life that are looking on, press us to perform better.  The hopelessness of the circumstances of daily life press on us in an unrelenting way.

Without these pressures, our pride takes over and we are not driven to dependence on HIM.

It's fear of the fire under us all that drove me to into His arms.

Gateway to Life (2)

The movie theater shooting in Colorado is now a world famous event.  A title to a later news article states, "His Gun Jammed".  There's Psalm 76:10 again.  This time, the restrain aspect of the verse jumps out.  The testimony of the Lord's own has been manifesting itself in the aftermath of the shooting to again prove that even this is another gateway to life.

Again, we wring our hands over the evil behavior of man while the Lord already knew what would happen and has restrained it, girded and armed Himself with it.

"Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall You restrain and gird and arm Yourself with it."  Psalm 76:10 Amp

Restoring

Many of us have a built-in desire to restore; to fix it, and leave it better than it was before:  Maybe, adding some creative touches of our own.

God is the Master of this art.  We might have His program installed in us to restore, but He is the One who will - and does - make all things new.

He Owns the Night

"The day is Yours, the night also is Yours..."  Psalm 74:16

Yes, He made the day and He made the night.  Between the hours of 12 noon and 3 pm, there was night-darkness over the land while He "muscled up" under the load of sin and our sins - as well as God's holy judgement.  Only He could triumph in this and He did.

"He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." John 19:30

 ...They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born—that He has done it [that it is finished]! Psalm 22:31

“I will sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!"
“Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces."  Exodus 15, (The Song of Moses)

As you walk through the darkness of night or the darkness that you see in broad daylight in this world-turned-evil, you can be thrilled to know that He owns the night.

Exploring Karma

Being confronted by a rating system based on (Good) or (Bad) "Karma", I'm forced to think about what this means and how it affects others.  The conclusion quickly becomes apparent:  Karma is someone else's opinion on how good or bad you are.

In a world where "good" is beginning to mean the loss of liberty, and "good" means using perverse sexual activity as a basis for marriage, etc., it's difficult to see how a Karma rating system can be valid; unless the word "karma" is used as a symbolic label.

In fact, the only way to have a meaningful concept of karma, there must be a judge who is pure, unaffected by change and societal whims.  This judge must be aloof from the blowing winds of cultural opinion and must know true goodness and, I daresay, true holiness.

Such an One exists.  How is your "karma" with Him?

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Col. 2:8

The Culture of Stress

 

We are trained, from our youth, to be in a certain mode of operation; the mode of always working our way up from insufficiency, coming from behind, fighting back from past failure or about to fall into it.  It usually starts in school and flourishes in the business world.  It even becomes an undercurrent in our gatherings as believers.

Why do we buy into that?  That's quite different from the REALITY that we are in the middle of God's plan and are walking with Him right where He would have us.  He is always working with us and in us and He doesn't fail at His work.

Why do we teach our kids the same thing?  Deep down inside, the kids know better.  Deep down inside, we forgot.

What do we think it means when God's Word says, "I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

and

"[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves]..."

 

The culture of stress is ever present and always seeking to shoulder in to our lives.  We don't have to participate and we don't have to teach it or share it with others.

Cannot Fail This School

 

"No believer in Christ enters God's school and comes out a failure."

We can keep this in mind as an encouragement; despite how we, and others, fail at various small and large things in life.  We WON'T fail the most important thing.  HE won't let us.

How to Become Significant

 "Come close to God and He will come close to you. Recognize that you are sinners, get your soiled hands clean; realize that you have been disloyal wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts of your spiritual adultery.

As you draw near to God be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep over your disloyalty. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame for your sins.

Humble yourselves feeling very insignificant in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. He will lift you up and make your lives significant."

God's Word, Amplified.

How We are Atheists

 

 

We have a world full of gods from Allah to Zeus.  We love to define gods with our own ideas of who our god should be. However, we are quite small-minded, so we make limited gods for ourselves.

There is a God who is limitless.  That's why He is the true God, because a true god cannot be limited.  That's why references to Him in this blog entry are capitalized.  Why believe in a god who has limits?  That is the recipe for failure.

A limitless God doesn't need our assistance to accomplish His purpose.  Without limit means without limit.  That means that nothing exists or even moves without His full awareness, neither is anything moving or acting in a way that is not already included in His careful design; since ALL things are held together by the Word of His Power. Take a moment to think of all the destruction the human race has done as they have "assisted" their god by thinking they are a fill-in for his limitations.  Murdering, treachery, deceit and tyranny... 

We busy ourselves assuming that something that looks bad to us undermines Him.  Some say a true god shouldn't die a shameful death or humble himself at all - as if that undermines being a god, (of their invention).

I serve a limitless God.  Don't waste your time believing in any other, or even serving the elements and formulas of His vast creation. 

You've Lost That Guilty Feeling

 

A famous celebrity says he's a leftist because of "Irish Catholic Guilt".  Guilt certainly drives one toward unreasonable thoughts and fears.  If you ever wonder why someone is driven toward self-destructive thoughts and actions as well as unreasonable political ideals, internalized guilt is a driving factor.

Thank the Lord, He provides THE WAY to complete freedom from guilt.  The God who sent His Son to die for us, so we could receive honor, (as opposed to killing us for His own honor - as some guilt-ridden religions teach), is waiting for us with open arms, despite anything the we have done; despite any guilty feelings onto which we like to cling.

Read below to see guilt wiped out completely!

"For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.  He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]"  John 3:17, 18 Amp

 

All Your Ways

In all your ways acknowledge Him.
In ALL your ways acknowledge Him.

Going astray from this is easy:  Thinking, "today will be an easy day.  I only have to do ------."  Or, "This car repair will be easy.  It's not like I have to take the whole engine apart, I only have to change the oil."

Have the wheels ever come off on your day when  only something simple was supposed to occur in your day or someone else's? 

In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge Him.

Bad News, (Confidence - again)

Psalm 112:7
"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting (leaning on and being confident) in the Lord."

This one is quite difficult.  Bad news is available every day.  It's so easy to "swallow" it and become afraid and lose confidence in the Lord.

We don't have to stop listening to news:  It might actually be good training.  We need to have confidence in Him.

 

Not his Doing

Tim Tebow and his team "Go to the Playoffs, But Not His Doing", says the title of the article.

Another says, "his journey is a lesson is self belief..."

Both statements come from a lack of the acknowledgement of God and who He is.  However, unknown to the writer, the first title is TRUE.  There's only One that gets us anywhere, and it's not our own doing.  Your best bet is to believe in Him rather than yourself; like Tim Tebow.

 

Enhancement

Have you noticed that children have the power to enhance and elevate their parents?  A well-behaved and virtuous child causes people to look at their parents with respect and admiration.  Sometimes a parent would go unnoticed until the good character of a child turns attention to the parent out of curiosity coupled with respect.

We have that power to magnify Christ and His, (our), Father in this short time that we have here in this world's realm.  Our display of His good character and His virtues will cause those who do not know Him to turn toward our Father with a newly found curiosity and respect.

This opportunity for powerful testimony is in your hands.  Are you showing the virtues of your Father instead of promoting yourself?

 

Unsettled

 

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

Today's church is riddled with unsettled souls who became impatient with God's eternal paths and set off to walk in a new way:  Maybe to please themselves, maybe to please their children or a spouse...

It could be that the good, old way is the Gospel and many are tending to believe more in themselves and not in the fullness of His all-sufficiency to remove sin and make us all in spotless right-standing as sons of God.

Fearing Yourself

 

Fearing your own evil inclinations is a good policy.  It should drive you to continually judge yourself and pray for mercy from your Creator to help you keep your feet on the right path.

Not all of us have the ready resource of a steady, godly parent or a circle of Christ-loving friends who are looking for His return and His kingdom.  Those of us who do still have the vulnerability of being human and the surroundings of temptation that pull the flesh in us toward self destruction.

Fear and pray, but don't despair.  Understand that this is something from which we will be delivered from with much joy.  The Master of Creation will show us how this element of our existence did fit into His plan with loving brilliance.

The Wonder of Gratefulness (Death of a Hero)

 

My warrior-hero is on his deathbed.  His body has a mortal wound and is wracked with pain.  This dark world has finally taken its’ toll on him.  He is the one who peacefully fought for truth and integrity for as long as I have existed.  He paid a personal price more than once because he stood for what was right.  He has always been my swift, sure defender.  Why would the Lord allow this dear man to go through torture just before he passes into paradise?

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

I realize that though I am anchored to my Lord Jesus Christ, my decision-making engine and so many other aspects of who I am are really anchored to my father.  He has been a steady, patient man.  Though a wise and observant young lady had to bring this to my attention, he has been the most patient person I have ever known.  Being a child who grew up with this father, that is a significant thing to say.  Could my children say that about me?  I cannot pinpoint his worst moment because he was profoundly even.  He is a far better man than I, though you would never get him to agree to that.

His pain is excruciating.  Yet, I get comfort by remembering the pain that he went through when mom died; knowing that emotionally, that time was far worse for him.  His heart-wrenching cry had stunned me as he expressed his depth of pain.  That was his worst moment of pain.  You can say this is his worst moment period.  There is no hint of anger, no shadow of cursing; just crying out, “Lord, help me...” 

Soon, they make him “comfortable” with pain killers.  Now he is medicated and unaware, but still groaning in tortured sleep.  This is agonizing to watch.  I cannot do or say anything to help.  As the day draws to a close and the wee hours of the next day start to tick by, I bury my feelings and keep watch.  It will be that much sweeter when he is released from his body.  The evening before, he was just marveling over his life, shaking his head with a look of wonder on his face; how he had been graciously kept and wonderfully gifted with good things from the Lord; good things that he knew he did not deserve.  I will never forget that.  He was ministering to me just as he was about to finish his race; still running, not slowing down for the finish line.  But what is it like to be him right now? 

“His Lord, his Savior is right there with him.  This isn’t torture.  This is what it is to triumph in Christ.”

The hospital staff asks me if I’m okay.  “Yes.  It’s all in the Lord’s hands”, I tell them.  They seem to understand. 

After going home to get a few hours of rest, we come back to the hospital and he has gone to his true home.  Not only is it a release from the nightmare, but it is exactly what he had been wanting.  Do not misunderstand and think he was suicidal.  He was determined to exercise and follow doctor’s instructions to the T.  He exercised for an hour every day – even the day he went into the hospital.  I conclude that his body had him trapped in these last few hours as I witnessed the struggle between his spirit wanting to go and the body fighting to stay alive.  Human-kind is a pure picture of conflict isn’t it?

Seeing Dad leave seems to be a lot harder than seeing Mom leave, and that was certainly not easy.  She left seven and one-third years ago.  Dad had been hoping to go home every day since then.  I was hoping the Lord would come first because I knew Dad was my anchor point.  Being older now, I am worried about how this will really hit me.  I stuffed all of this negativity into a box and closed the lid, knowing that although I can make an attempt to keep my eyes and heart on the One who is the Great Physician - the Great Shepherd - the Healer, there will be consequences to being exposed to this harsh reality.  After leaning on Him to pilot me through this day of death, I worry about the night to come.  Will that box of negativity stay shut?  Will the lid come off during my sleep?  Will the lid come off in public?  I cannot handle this on my own.  If Dad struggled with these types of things, I never knew it.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:”

 

If I had arrived two hours earlier the afternoon before, I could have told him to greet Mom for me.  Would that work?  Not only will he be blissfully occupied by His gracious Savior, but he will no longer have to exist in this dark world without his wife.  Not only is Mom there, but so is a miscarried grandchild that we never got to know.  I wonder if he will find that out rather quickly once he arrives.

“This world really is not dark when the Lord is immediately available with His swift, sure hand – ready to save.”

The Lord is so very good.  His timing on all of this was absolutely perfect.  I slept the sleep of the blessed the next night.  He kept the lid tightly fastened on that bad box.  He will keep it on as long as it is necessary and will temper the contents for His own glory.

READER, TAKE NOTE:  This unobtrusive, patient, thankful, quiet and humble man never promoted himself or his family.  He never would have thought to take a self-promotional picture of himself and put it on Facebook.  He wasn’t concerned with social networking or climbing ladders of personal achievement or wealth.  He had no friends waiting to see his status message.  He was concerned about preparing for and providing for the welfare of his family, from his own parents to the wife that he knew he did not deserve.  His concern also included attendance at the meetings with the Lord’s people – in the Lord’s presence - whenever possible. 

Dad constantly lived in the wonder of gratefulness instead of the bitterness of self promotion.  No matter what happened, he was getting better than he deserved.  There was no masterful use of the spoken word or emotionalism.  There was no eloquence of speech to convince me of some right way of living.  Example spoke louder than any words.  He has programmed me in a right way.  I need to stick with the program.  He lived out a heroic life showing the simplicity of Christ in a world full of the complications of treachery and darkness.

^“The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.”