Thursday, September 29, 2016

In That Day...It Shall Come to Pass

Isaiah 10:12 - Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work...

So many prophecies, so many truths, so many promises. Just in a couple chapters of Isaiah (10-11) we are told just what will happen in that day. What day? When God reveals His glory to the world. When all His work is finally performed. When He is about to reign in righteousness for all to see. When vengeance is His. When the righteous will be avenged. When arrogance will be punished. When remnant believers will be returned to the LORD to live finally in peace and reign with Him on earth. When burdens will be removed. When all the earth will praise the LORD and call upon His name. 

Those who remain faithful to God will undergo troubles in this world for their testimonies and belief in Him. They will be persecuted for their beliefs. Those who believe what the Word says and take it to heart. Look at the long line of martyrs for the Word of God. Those killed for calling themselves Christians in non-Christian countries, and maybe even here some day. Look at those who have been scoffed, thrown into prison, killed. Hmmm, didn't Jesus go through that? Didn't He say that would happen? Remember the word that I said to you ... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. ... (‭‭John‬ ‭15:20‬)

Those who remain faithful to the end will receive the prize, scripture tells us. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (‭‭2Timothy‬ ‭4:7-8‬)  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians‬ ‭3:14‬)

Believe me, there is only one way to life in this world. It is through Jesus Christ. No one else. No good works without Him first. One way, truth and life. A church, denomination, pastor or priest, family member (including Jesus' mother), or anyone given special status by earthly men. One way, as Jesus Himself has said. And it's never too late to learn of and accept the truth. 

Just before these verses in Isaiah, there is the greatest of all truths: that For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 5:25, 9:12,17,21, 10:4, to name a few)  This means there's still time. Still time to know the Lord, admit our weaknesses. Still time to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Still time to set aside arrogance and pride in believing we can go it alone without Jesus. Still time to realize believing our own goodness, which we do not have, will secure our salvation without relying on God's grace. 

Still time! Because as God says, has prophesied, has promised: In that day...it shall come to pass. It will come to pass! Today is a good day to present yourself humbly before the Lord, ask for forgiveness for all unrighteousness. He says come, by faith, not seeing, and If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John‬ ‭1:9‬)

John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Monday, September 26, 2016

Standards

Proverbs 4:7 - Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

Lots of division in the world today. If you think about it, it centers around one's beliefs and what is perceived as truth. There are opposing opinions about everything. It might make life interesting but in some cases lack of truth is just dangerous. Appropriate for today with an election about to take place. What are each of the candidate's stand on truth? What's their truth? Do they know God's truth? I'm thankful for God's wisdom and His truth. No matter what happens with this election, He is who I rely on.

Reading about wisdom in the Proverbs solidifies this belief. Of course there are other books that talk of wisdom. In fact...the word is mentioned about 220 times.

With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. (Job 12:13)

How can anyone cause someone else to lay hold of this wisdom? We can't without the Holy Spirit. 

There is also great division in the world about God. This is sad because some day the truth will be known and it will be too late for some. One will either be on the side of right, having wisdom, or wrong and lacking wisdom. And even this statement will cause division as one could say, what makes you think you are right?

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)

People might react to this word from God, calling Him intolerant and unloving. But He is neither. God is love...and His patience (longsuffering--a very good word I might add) are incredible. But He has standards. He has shown them to us. He has His Commandments. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10Guilty of all...

God's standards are high...and we have no hope of being able to perfectly keep them. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts not like ours. Never will be, even with some of His wisdom!

So if we cannot attain perfection on our own, nor do all He requires, some might consider abandoning God altogether. What's the point? Why not live as best I can and be happy in this life? 

His hard word tells us to enter the kingdom of heaven we must keep His commands. Oh, but how if we cannot on our own? Are we all doomed? Are we all going to feel as hopeless as Paul when he bemoaned:
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:19-20,24)

There's that division again, within our own selves. Wanting to do what is right in our own will but not able to perfectly keep God's commands, which ends in death. But who can work hard enough, strive on their own to adhere to each command, daily? We can't. We hold on to this sinful flesh. Nothing we can do alone will meet God's high standards. His ways are not our ways. He is perfect; He expects perfection. He has His standards.

So what's the answer? What do we do? Paul later answers it himself: I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! ... (Romans 7:25

God provided the way. His name is Jesus. Roman's 8:1-2 finishes Paul's statement. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 

We confess Him as Lord and Savior of our life. We are filled with His Spirit. We believe all He has spoken. We serve Him. We live our lives to glorify Him...because of all He did for us 2,000 years ago. He came down from His rightful place in heaven to do His Father's will on earth...so that all His human creation, who were never meant to be separated from Him, might be reconciled to the Father through His work on the cross. Oh, what a Savior!

So, back to wisdom. It's something we receive when we receive Christ. We can be smart on our own, in that flesh Paul bemoaned about. But in the Spirit we have better wisdom! Even this is difficult to understand, without Christ. It's why we need Him. Nothing is better in life than to have Christ, His truth which we receive from the wisdom His Spirit imparts.


Proverbs 3:13-14 - Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.


Friday, September 23, 2016

Grateful

Ephesians‬ ‭5:8,14‬ - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light... Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

I am beginning another Bible study. It's on the Book of John. As with any other book of the Bible, it points us to the one thing that matters...Jesus Christ. 

I haven't always been interested in Jesus or the Bible. I was, as stated above, once in darkness. We are all in darkness until we know exactly who the Light of the world is. This light only comes from one source, the One who created all things. Remember this; it was just the beginning: The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” ‭‭(Genesis‬ ‭1:2-5‬)

The light was good. It was separated from the darkness. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ‭‭(1John‬ ‭1:5‬) The Light of Christ is separated from us until we choose to know Him.

Jesus is the Light. If we are in Christ, that light is with us. There may be darkness in the world, but if we have that Light we see more clearly. That Light will shine before us. He is a lamp to our feet and lights our path. He guides us. This all may sound odd. We may question how, but He does. He has illuminated our lives and shown us the light of His truth. When we know His truth we know about Him. And we have faith in Him... Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” ‭‭(John‬ ‭8:12‬)

I am so grateful this Light shines in my life. It seems to be getting harder to express this in words. It's more like a deep knowing. I see the world changing around us, the darkness growing. There might be a reason for it. Maybe it's God's way of pointing us toward the true Light. He does not want anyone to perish, although there will be many who do. There's a narrow road and a wide one. Jesus walks the narrow one. I want only to follow Him. After all, He created all things, knows all things, and we do not! I'd much rather be guided by Him than follow a fallible human or society choosing to live apart from Him.

His light shines in this world. According to scripture the world could not comprehend it and still does not. He was in the beginning at creation. All things were made through Him, including you and me. It is not His desire that we live in this darkness, not comprehending Him, the Light of the world. “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

He calls. He longs to give life. He longs to be the light of all. There is never a bad time to respond to His call. It's an amazing thing, this Light of the world, this Truth, this new life. From Genesis to Revelation God calls out to know this Light. I pray His light shines through me. 

Isaiah‬ ‭60:1-2 - Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

No Middle of the Road

Galatians 1:6-7 - I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

The sermon Sunday was called Enemies of the Cross. This can refer to a couple things. There are some clergymen who, like the scripture above says, pervert the Gospel. They preach half a message...that of the grace, mercy and love of God without mentioning that He is also a God who will one day judge. (We can avoid that judgment by receiving Christ.)

Some of these men might suggest that saying a "sinner's prayer" is all one needs to do to be saved and granted eternal life. They don't take it a step further and mention that you need to turn away from sin. Oh, heavens, don't talk about sin! You'll lose members of your church. They might tell you being a better person and doing good works is all that is needed. This is an enemy of the cross. They do not tell the whole truth. 

I'm going to take a different route based on words our pastor used. But let me share a handful of his words: If you don't serve God, you serve the devil. There is no middle ground. There's no gray area. It's all or nothing.

It's like a rock vs. sand. A rock is stable. You can stand on it. You will sink in sand. You can stand firmly on the Words of God but you have to believe them first, then obey His commands. Stand firm in Christ. Without that firm foundation of Christ you will fall, sink. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock...But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand... (Matthew 7:24,26)

You either have Jesus or you do not. You believe and have faith with all your heart or you only believe with your mind and your faith is in something or someone else. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (1John 5:20)

You are either a friend of Jesus or you are His enemy. Enemy may seem like a strong word, but it's not my word. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)  An adulterer here means one who is faithless toward God or ungodly. The world represents those who do not live a life for Christ.

You either believe the truth of God's Word or you believe lies. No in between. No picking and choosing what we want to believe. We might fail due to misunderstanding of the Word. But to say it's nonsense and think that some things don't apply today is a lie the enemy wants us to hang on to. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. (John 8:45)

We either believe that it is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved or we believe our works will save us. The first part is accurate, not the second. Jesus did all that was needed when He died on the Cross. To think we can add to that is pride. We think we are good enough in our own abilities and do these works in our own determination. Won't work. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Grace and faith in Jesus only. 

The Bible tells us things that seem strange. It tells us we are to die now to receive life. The world thinks if they don't know if they are going to heaven, they might as well enjoy life today. (I used to think hell was life on earth...and then when I died came heaven!) The thing is...we can know if we are going to heaven today...if we believe, follow and trust in Christ. We give in to Him (which is not some horrible thing) and learn His truths, live them out, have His Spirit in us and be lead by Him. It's not torture! If we die now, we will have eternal life later. If we do not, we will not. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)  Believing in our heart, not in our mind.

We either have life now in Christ or we live our everyday lives in death. When we receive Christ we receive life. If we do not we are living in sin. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...  (Ephesians 2:4-5)

We either live in victory in Christ or we are living in defeat. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:56-57)

So, it's either Jesus or the devil. Black or white...no gray area. It's a hard word and one which I was rebellious about more than half my life. Then I received Christ, His Spirit filled me and I began to know Him and learn more about Him through reading and studying His Word. That Word brought life to me. That Word being Jesus and also His written Word. Submit to Him, acknowledge Him and He will teach you. He wants to. Doesn't matter where you are in life, your age, social status, nothing. He is there for all people who want to believe and know Him. 

Romans 10:8-11 - But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Can't Argue That

Mark‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭- ..."Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
‭‭
We touched on a lot of things in Sunday school this past week. I jotted a note here and there on a slip of paper. Of course by the time I got to looking at them a lot of the meaning of those notes had slipped my mind! But God...

One thing for sure did not slip my mind. I'm not sure how we got on this subject but, as one note said, "every word (of the Bible) inspired." Some might believe the Bible is not the inspired Word of God. They might look at it as a book of books written by men and miss the inspired part. The truth is, God worked through those men, gave them inspiration...His inspiration...that we might know.

Before those books were written, however, these men all had to have an encounter with God. (And now I see where some of the other thoughts fall into place! Praise God!) 

Another note said "can't argue my testimony." I have a testimony. I remember it like it was yesterday. I know many people who have testimonies. Our church is full of them. And it was brought up we should not be ashamed of that testimony. Some might not want to share how they were alcoholics, into drugs, prostitution or pornography, had anger issues, or liars or thieves. It's embarrassing. But that's what makes a testimony. It shows the power of God in our lives! Everyone will have a testimony, even if it's not so blatantly bad. And everyone has need of a Savior. Everyone.

The thing is, we, in our Sunday school and church, as well as others, all had an encounter with God. This took us onto the subject of blind faith. It was concluded Sunday there is no such thing as blind faith. Our faith comes from, and hangs on, the Word of God, those inspired words that He chose certain men to write...that we might know. A Book we have that we might know Him, His ways, commands, His character. I wrote about this recently, I'm sure. 

Along with blind faith someone brought up Psalm 131. It's all of three verses. (And oh, more notes make sense!) There are some things we read in God's Word which we just don't understand. And that's okay. We just believe it because it is in God's Word. His thoughts are higher than ours. The Psalm reads:
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever. 

We are to come to Christ as little children who just trust freely. He has nothing but good planned for us. As adults we think too much. As children, though, we just hear and believe, trust.

So one day Christ made Himself known to me and there was no way I could back away, no place to hide. I didn't even want to. He gained access to my heart, mind and soul. It became my testimony. I can't argue that! Even though at the time I didn't quite understand what was happening, I know that what happened, what I felt, was real.  In time I realized I was beginning to become a new creature. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2Corinthians‬ ‭5:17) ...we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (‭‭Acts‬ ‭4:20)

So God's Word is inspired. His Word becomes life to us after we have humbled ourselves before Him and allowed Him access to our hearts and minds. That change in me got me to understanding His Word. It's His Word that was probably annoyingly preached or heard that began the change. His Word does not return void. It is an amazing thing, His words. What's that old song? It just popped into my head: 
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me...

That old story is in His Book! The history of His-story. Inspired by God Himself. And those who know this story want to share. Like suggested in the opening scripture, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you." 

He is real. His Word is real. He is life, as is His Word. His desire is for us to have a testimony of how He saved us...that He may get all the glory, since we can do nothing on our own to achieve this salvation but to receive what He has to offer. Then we share our testimony...and Him...through His Word. As we are to do. I confess this God who caused a change in me and gave me my own testimony. Something I can't argue. 

Matthew‬ ‭10:32-33‬ ‭- “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Not One Thing is Missing

Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

Sometimes I think I can be very simplistic in my view of God. Yet there is a very deep understanding that wells up in my soul. 

It is hard for some to understand that all of creation was made by the Lord. Not by His hands but by His very voice. He commanded and it was so. It's something we just have to take at His word. The part of the beginning verse that stands out is: not one is missing. Nothing is missing. Can we comprehend that? Not one star, not one tree, flower, fish, etc. Not one.

Image result for galaxy imagesA friend came over one day and we took a walk. We talked about the immensity of God and His creation, the intricacy of it all. Every time either of us thinks deeply on this glorious creation we get to a point where we just have to stop...and just know that He is God. That He is greater than we can imagine. That He spoke and things came into existence.

Not one is missing. Not one of us is missing in His plan. We have all been created for something. Like the hosts of stars in the heavens. They were placed there and hung there by our God. He will keep them there as long as He chooses. Like us, He placed us here and we will be here as long as He chooses. 

If we cannot fathom God creating, it may be that we have missed this point...that all we have, all we are, all we will be given is because of Him. Nothing will be missing for us either, if we stay focused on Him, if we look up, instead of at eye level or even down, at our own daily circumstances. 

It is vital that we look beyond ourselves, our things, our own strengths and look up at Who is the Creator. We can do in our own strength but it is truly God who gives us what we really need. We may be missing out on many things in this life if we have not sought Him in all things.

Do we ask if this is what the Lord would want us to do? Is this the right decision to make? Is this the direction to go? Is this purchase the right one? Do we really need this? 

We can begin to understand God just by taking in all we see around us. Take a good hard look. Don't let another day go by without seriously contemplating just the things of nature. Oswald Chambers suggests we turn our imagination "aright:" If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign in the sky, in every blossoming and every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it.

Starved imagination. Wow. Have we come to a place where we have taken nature for granted? Do we look and think, ho hum, when we see something outside the living room window? Or do we become excited again at even the most common occurrence? Or has something else become more interesting than contemplating the God who created you and has a great plan for your life, one you cannot imagine? Can you quiet yourself at all during the day and think about Him and what He has done for you?

If this is you, Chambers suggests we may be caught up in ourselves. Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your conception of what a worker should be? ...when you are (finally) up against difficulties you have no power, you can only endure in darkness...do not look back to your own experience; it is God Whom you need.

I couldn't have said it better. Our lives should be consumed with thoughts of God. Where is He in this circumstance? Did He leave you or might you have left Him? When tragedy strikes where do you first turn? Do you call out to God for strength? Do you ask for His guidance, peace, comfort? Or do you call on help from family, friends, or even internalize and attempt to draw from your own so-called wisdom or strengths? God will provide what you need but you need to seek Him above all things.

God is real. He is powerful to those who seek Him. He is always there for any need. He may not always answer in the way you would want, but He knows what's best, what we need most. 

Even in the throes of illness we need to focus on what His will is. He can heal if He so chooses, but if the choice is death, He is in that as well. The illness did not come as a surprise to Him. It is our attitude during this time that might be God's test for us. Do we still draw His strength for the moment or the day? If we are His children and in right relationship with Him our greatest assurance that no matter what we endure, we are His.

Are our imaginations starved for God as Chambers asks? Take the time to ask Him directly to help you get a grip on who He is and of what benefit He might be to your life. He is more than willing to listen if you are truly interested in knowing Him. You may not realize it but I think we are all starved for God at some time in our lives. That's when He begins to show up in little things in our lives that don't make sense...yet. The people who are put in your path, the things you begin to hear and might even be annoyed about. It happened to me; it can happen to you.

When I came to Christ and began to know Him, His ways, I looked back and saw clearly times when, though yet a person in the throes of sin, He was protecting me. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

Let your imagination go and let it consider the truth of who He is. Start with taking the time to view nature. That's where He began before He created Man. Consider the intricacies of it all. Consider the depth of wisdom it took to create it (which is nearly impossible because of the enormity of it all) and then consider the intricacy of even your own creation, your birth. Not one thing is missing. Nothing was made by accident. Not even you. Rejoice in the fact that being here, today, in this lifetime, can give you the opportunity to know this incredibly awesome God. 

God's goal has always been for mankind to know Him. His creation happened that we would see His character and wisdom in all He has made...and for our pleasure...that we might contemplate His beauty and character. Even manmade creations are possible only through His creating individuals who knew, through knowledge imparted to them by this amazing God, how to make them. It takes some amount of humility to contemplate the greatness of our God compared to who we think we are! And that is just fine. I'm okay with my plainness in this life. It's not about me, or you, anyway. 


Isaiah 66:2 - "For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist," says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."

Not One Thing is Missing

Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

Sometimes I think I can be very simplistic in my view of God. Yet there is a very deep understanding that wells up in my soul. 

It is hard for some to understand that all of creation was made by the Lord. Not by His hands but by His very voice. He commanded and it was so. It's something we just have to take at His word. The part of the beginning verse that stands out is: not one is missing. Nothing is missing. Can we comprehend that? Not one star, not one tree, flower, fish, etc. Not one.

A friend came over the other day and we took a walk. We talked about the immensity of God and His creation, the intricacy of it all. Every time either of us thinks deeply on this glorious creation we get to a point where we just have to stop...and just know that He is God. That He is greater than we can imagine. That He spoke and things came into existence.

Not one is missing. Not one of us is missing in His plan. We have all been created for something. Like the hosts of stars in the heavens. They were placed there and hung there by our God. He will keep them there as long as He chooses. Like us, He placed us here and we will be here as long as He chooses. 

If we cannot fathom God creating, it may be that we have missed this point...that all we have, all we are, all we will be given is because of Him. Nothing will be missing for us either, if we stay focused on Him, if we look up instead of at eye level or even down at our own daily circumstances. 

It is vital that we look beyond ourselves, our things, our own strengths and look up at Who is the Creator. We can do in our own strength but it is truly God who gives us what we really need. We may be missing out on many things in this life if we have not sought Him in all things.

Do we ask if this is what the Lord would want us to do? Is this the right decision to make? Is this the direction to go? Is this purchase the right one? Do we really need this? 

We can begin to understand God just by taking in all we see around us. Take a good hard look. Don't let another day go by without seriously contemplating just the things of nature. Oswald Chambers suggests we turn our imagination "aright:" If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign in the sky, in every blossoming and every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it.

Starved imagination. Wow. Have we come to a place where we have taken nature for granted? Do we look and think, ho hum, when we see something outside the living room window? Or do we become excited again at even the most common occurrence? Or has that television become your god? Has that sports team become more interesting than contemplating the God who created you and has a great plan for your life, one you cannot imagine? Can you quiet yourself at all during the day and think about Him and what He has done for you?

If this is you, Chambers suggests we may be caught up in ourselves. Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your conception of what a worker should be? ...when you are (finally) up against difficulties you have no power, you can only endure in darkness...do not look back to your own experience; it is God Whom you need.

I couldn't have said it better. Our lives should be consumed with thoughts of God. Where is He in this circumstance? Did He leave you or might you have left Him? When tragedy strikes where do you first turn? Do you call out to God for strength? Do you ask for His guidance, peace, comfort? Or do you call on help from family, friends, or even internalize and attempt to draw from your own so-called wisdom or strengths? God will provide what you need but you need to seek Him above all things.

God is real. He is powerful to those who seek Him. He is always there for any need. He may not always answer in the way you would want, but He knows what's best, what we need most. 

Even in the throes of illness we need to focus on what His will is. He can heal if He so chooses, but if the choice is death, He is in that as well. The illness did not come as a surprise to Him. It is our attitude during this time that might be God's test for us. Do we still draw His strength for the moment or the day? If we are His children and in right relationship with Him our greatest assurance that no matter what we endure, we are His.

Are our imaginations starved for God as Chambers asks? Take the time to ask Him directly to help you get a grip on who He is and of what benefit He might be to your life. He is more than willing to listen if you are truly interested in knowing Him. You may not realize it but I think we are all starved for God at some time in our lives. That's when He begins to show up in little things in our lives that don't make sense...yet. The people who are put in your path, the things you begin to hear and might even be annoyed about. It happened to me; it can happen to you.

When I came to Christ and began to know Him, His ways, I looked back and saw clearly times when, though yet a person in the throes of sin, He was protecting me. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

Let your imagination go and let it consider the truth of who He is. Start with taking the time to view nature. That's where He began before He created Man. Consider the intricacies of it all. Consider the depth of wisdom it took to create it (which is nearly impossible because of the enormity of it all) and then consider the intricacy of even your own creation, your birth. Not one thing is missing. Nothing was made by accident. Not even you. Rejoice in the fact that being here, today, in this lifetime, can give you the opportunity to know this incredibly awesome God. 

God's goal has always been for mankind to know Him. His creation happened that we would see His character and wisdom in all He has made...and for our pleasure...that we might contemplate His beauty and character. Even manmade creations are possible only through His creating individuals who knew, through knowledge imparted to them by this amazing God, how to make them. It takes some amount of humility to contemplate the greatness of our God compared to who we think we are! And that is just fine. I'm okay with my plainness in this life. It's not about me, or you, anyway. 


Isaiah 66:2 - "For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist," says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."

Thursday, September 1, 2016

A Refuge and Fortress

Psalm 91:1-6,10-11 - He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” 
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. 
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 
No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
‭‭
That's a lot of promises just in a few verses. Oh, how many more there are all throughout God's Word. What comfort for those who trust in the Lord. Trials and illness still come, but our hope is still secure in Him. There should be no fear...for our future, for our provision, for even our death. He is our refuge, our fortress, rock, strong tower, shield, strength.

But...this all hinges on being in Him. It means believing all Jesus has claimed He is, what He has done, what He has told us throughout the Word. As I've posted before, probably more than a couple times, and no doubt will again because it is a very moving word about Jesus:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John‬ ‭1:1-5‬) And to add to this: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. ‭‭(Revelation‬ ‭22:13‬)

These truths become so real when we have been sought by God and we respond. It's a wonderful thing to respond. One cannot just determine to believe. It happens when one has been touched by God Himself. That way we know that we have not done a thing to come to Him but that we have been spiritually touched. 

My purpose in writing these blogs is to hope that someone will so desire to know this Jesus, this God, this Almighty Father, like I do. It's about Him and the truth of His Word. Knowing we can trust Him. Knowing He alone is our hope. Knowing Him is like nothing else. And perhaps if someone so desires this they might call on the Lord...and call some more...till He touches your spirit, heart. Sometimes we can try to run away from Him when we hear of Him. I did that. But one day I couldn't anymore. That was the best day of my life. Praise God!

Ephesians‬ ‭1:13-14‬ ‭- In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.


‭‭