CHOICES!

This morning while reading scripture I found where the Apostle Paul was writing in Romans 7 about living under "law" and living "apart from the law".  JESUS CHRIST came to "complete" the law for mankind.  In John 19:30 it is recorded "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is FINISHED: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."  

The "Battle" over man's soul was completed at Calvary.   But, even though the war has been won, we have the choice of whether to join the winning side or live in defeat!  You can "choose" to wallow in selfish desires or you can "surrender" to LIVE in freedom and joy that can only be found in JESUS!  

The "choice" has to be made by everyone!  JESUS proclaimed in Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."   I CHOOSE CHRIST!!

OUCH!

From time to time my spine "gets out" and causes me considerable discomfort.   Yesterday was one of those days.  I drove almost 3 hours to see "MY" Chiropractor.   He is the only person I have found that knows how to "POP" me back into place.  

Today I am sore as can be!   Although he fixed my "spot", it still hurts where my back was out of line.  When we sin, we all want there to be no "pain" residuals.  We want to NOT have to say "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong" or anything that is uncomfortable for us.  But, in the book of Numbers 32:23 it says "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and BE SURE your sin WILL find you out."

I am thankful that Dr. Phillip Moore was able to see me yesterday on such short notice.  The pain that was evident will be gone soon.  I pray that I am just as willing to get my spiritual life "POPPED" back into shape when I stray!   

"FANATIC"!

"At the risk of being fanatical, you must obey GOD!  Oswald Chambers"

This was on my wall this morning.  It seems GOD causes me to "pause" on some posts because HE is wanting to speak to me through the post.   I have always been told than a fanatic was someone who loved JESUS more than I.   Or a fanatic who is a "FAN-AT-IT"!  

I decided to look the word up on dictionary.com and the is what I found.  

fanatic[ fuh-nat-ik ]

noun

1. a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.

How did that word "uncritical" get there?  Why does it seem I am always being challenged to correct faults?  Why can't I just be left alone to serve and praise GOD the way "I" choose?

Ephesians 5:1-2 says "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."  

LORD, cause me to have a "sweetsmelling" spirit and to avoid having a critical spirit.  My desire is to be used of YOU to impact the Kingdom in a positive manner!

MOLD ME!

I have played this OVER and OVER and I still listen to it today. "This is the way you win this battle.  You have to begin to see everything that happens to you as coming from ME (GOD), not from them!" 

Dr. Charles Stanley 2011

I must realize that GOD uses the trials and difficulties in my life to MOLD me into what HE needs for me to be!

"NOT OUR OWN"!

"Believers are special in the eyes of their God and King. We are a sacred people and a holy order. What are you doing with your life? As a believer, you are not your own anymore (1 Cor. 6:19). You are a priest and a privileged servant of the Most High God."

Dr. Charles Stanley says in this mornings devotional we are "special" in the eyes of GOD!  But, what about in the eyes of man?  Many people in today's society want everyone to be impressed with what accomplishments they have achieved.  

GOD works differently than us.  Isaiah 55:9 proclaims "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."    The best way for us to assure we are achieving HIS plan is to STUDY what HIS plan is.  

Dr. Stanley, and more importantly GOD's WORD, tells us "we are not our own"!  For us to satisfy GOD's call on our lives, we MUST submit to HIM!  

"Stop and Listen"!!

If you don't have time to pray & read scripture, you're busier than GOD ever intended for you to be!

This was on "my wall" this morning and I shared the photo.   I also saved it!  You see people, the things I write about are things that GOD speaks to "me" about.   Usually I share right after I come from the "woodshed"!    

Scripture tells us in Psalms 4:4 "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and BE STILL. Selah."  Wikipedia defines "SELAH" as "something like "stop and listen".   As I meditate "day and night" on HIS word, I am convicted that I have become "TOO BUSY" for my own good.  GOD has demonstrated to me that HE doesn't need me to do anything!  

We think we need to do "stuff" for HIM when all we NEED to do is love HIM and obey HIM.  Our society has dictated, with no authority to do so, that we be "productive" and "successful".  Yet, they cannot define either?!   Ecclesiastes 12:13 says "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."  

I have a dear friend who says "We want to be more than GOD intended us to be"!  My prayer is that I will "BE STILL" and be more in tune with the Spirit of the Living GOD!  

ECHO!

As I have posted many times, we have two "puppies" that we inherited from our kids.  One is named "ROME" and the other "ECHO".  ECHO is half Australian Shepherd and half Great Pyrenees.  

It is not unheard of for white Australian Shepherds to be  euthanized upon birth because they are usually blind and deaf.  ECHO is as loving a pet as you could ask for.  He is VERY hard of hearing and his eyesight is NOT GOOD.  But, he is sweet!

While ECHO is not "BLIND", we have noticed that his vision is better out of one eye than it is the other.  He can see........but he has a definite "problem".  

JESUS knew that some people could not "envision" some things.  Even as far back as Deuteronomy 29:4 scripture records "Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day."   

GOD reveals to some and to others HE hides things.  In Matthew 11:25 scripture records "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."  

How can a "babe" be more ready to learn a truth than the "wise and prudent"?  I don't have all of the answers, but maybe the "babes" are humble enough to not take credit for knowing?  The "wise and prudent" may try to glory in their knowledge? 

I don't know why ECHO has bad eyesight, but I am glad ECHO has his laid-back demeanor.  Maybe someday I will be able to see more clearly!  

"NO DOUBTS!"

James 1:5-8

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

GOD requires that our faith in HIM be unwavering. I remember a friend of mine saying the their faith was not a huge thing, but nobody would have been more shocked than them if the desired outcome had been different!

THAT is Faith! NO DOUBTS! GOD uses many things to show and teach us. Are you LOOKING for HIM?

"I SEE!"

Luke 10:21-22

"In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Sometimes I get frustrated with others that find something difficult to understand.   I "get it", why can't they?  Why don't others see what I do?

I was enlightened about that this morning while reading in the book of Luke.   JESUS says that the only ones who can "SEE" are the ones HE chooses to reveal HIM to.   GOD may be wanting to use a useless vessel such as I to reveal HIMSELF to others.   HE may need me to be obedient to HIS direction in order for a saint to know HIM more intimately.   

FATHER, I pray that I will be obedient to YOUR guidance in my life!  I want to be used by YOU!  

DEPRESSION!

I hate to admit it, but even before I had my brain hemorrhage, I had problems with depression.   Since the hemorrhage, I have been more accepting of the fact that I am NOT above "negative personality traits".  King David had a same problem.  He knew the best cure for his situation.  If you focus on how BAD you are, your spiritual eye will be "trained on" the negative.  Conversely, if you focus on how good GOD is, your spiritual eye will trained on the GOOD and POSITIVE in life!   

Psalms 43:5 (ESV) says "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."  

You may have to have medical prescription to help with your depression, but there is NO substitute for the peace and assurance that comes from HIM!  LORD, Help me to "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."  

"How big is GOD?"

Exodus 33:11 (ESV)

"Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent."

GOD would speak to Moses "as a man speaks to his friend"!  Imagine, if you will, just WHO we speak of when we say "GOD"!   Francis Chan is on YouTube with "The Awe Factor of GOD".  (http://youtu.be/3Ya12I036lg )

Francis Chan does an excellent job of attempting to describe how BIG my GOD is.   

Yet, we tend to forget with all of HIS awesomeness, just how much HE cares for me.  So much so that HE took on flesh to become mortal and provide me a path to be with HIM for eternity.   And HE would have "rescued" me had I been the only one needing salvation!   You see, I AM SPECIAL!!!

Wher was GOD?

Proverbs 3:6

"In all thy ways acknowledge HIM, and he shall direct thy paths."

With all of the uproar over the mass murder of children and adults in Sandy Hook Connecticut, and other atrocities, one desires to SHOUT from the mountain tops this simple instruction from GOD's word!   

King Solomon is recognized by scripture for his wisdom.   He is credited as being the Author of Proverbs.   If he saw the benefit of 

verse 5 when it says "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding",  why is there such a question arising when these tragedies occur?  We cannot "understand", especially if we try to see through our eyes.  

I know most will say that a good god would never have let such a thing happen.  But verse 7 explains it well. "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."  Fear HIM, depart from evil!  

Lord, help me to follow the instructions of Psalms 119:15 "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways."   

"Miracle from GOD!"

While reminiscing about the recovery from my near fatal brain hemorrhage in 2007, my mind remembers most of the people who "helped" me.  I remember nurses, speech therapists, physical therapists, nurses aides, dietitians, and on and on.  I even remember the ambulance driver who took over an hour loading me onto a stretcher for the 45 second ride around the corner to the Rehabilitation Hospital!   

The Doctors who helped in my recovery all advised and ordered according to their education and experience.  But, my Personal Physician is my friend and he wrote it best in my medical records September 25, 2007.  He wrote "However, he has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a miracle from GOD!"  

I am no medical expert and cannot make any judgements as to how "Serious" my condition was, but whenever I see his comments about me I am humbled once again to think that GOD had a purpose for me!  

Everyone is a miracle!  Explain what it is that causes you to breath?  What is your purpose for today?   Whose life will you bless today?  

Decisions?

We live our lives in such a "Facebook" mentality!   Our attention spans are only about 30-45 seconds and then we have to move on to the next post (life activity)!  We don't want a CLOSE (meaningful) relationship with GOD because that would require too much of an investment of OUR time and resources.   We don't indicate we need HIS help or guidance in our lives, as we make decisions numerous times without seeking HIS direction.  

GOD is showing me that apart from HIM,  nothing really matters!   Mark 8:36-37 says "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"   Then why do I try to make the unimportant become as if it is everything?  GOD has already displayed to me that HE can intervene to ANY extent HE desires!   

I stand with Joshua!  He told the Israelites in Joshua 24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.!"

HURRY!!

"Wish I had a fog horn! 45 miles per hour on the highway......really????

This was posted recently on my Facebook wall by a friend.  I have threatened MANY things while driving behind someone who isn't in as big of a hurry as I am.  Let me say, that if you're not going to lead, then follow!

With that being said, yesterday while driving I was driving the speed limit on a highway and a log truck was tailgating me.  I was actually driving about 8 MPH over the speed limit!   While in a driving rain, the tractor trailer passed me when there was an opening.  About 10 minutes later I passed the same truck when we got to the next city.   

My life's motto for about the last three years has been "BE STILL" and KNOW!  GOD continues to show me that HE allows "BOULDERS in my stream" to manage and direct that path HE desires from my existence.  My desire is to reduce the size of boulders required to channel my stream in HIS direction.  

Some people know what I speak of.  Matthew 11:15 say "15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."  Some people cannot hear the truth because they can't hear it.   LORD, help me to realize that others may not see or hear things I do!  

I am praying for you!

Sometimes things are right in front of my face and I STILL don't see them!   Today I was skimming over my Facebook page and I noticed a lady posting on a friends page about "Praying for _______".   

The lady doing the praying is am elected member of a state government.  She could have said she would get the Governor of the state to intervene, or introduce legislation to make sure the patient was well cared for, or done everything within her power to assure health was restored to the individual in question. 

There is NO substitute for taking time to intercede on someone's behalf with the Creator of the Universe.  In the year 2000, George W. Bush was coming to town to campaign for office of President of the United States of America.  My family was chosen to meet with him during his visit.  We found him to be extremely courteous and "down-home"!  

President G. W. Bush was still in office in July 2007 when my brain hemorrhaged.   Knowing him did not get me any better care or considerations.  My doctor did not write in my medical records "Patient is a friend of the President!"   No, instead my doctor wrote "However, he has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a miracle from GOD"!

Folks, our HOPE is in HIM!   Psalms 38:15 (KJV) says "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God."  It is far better to pray to GOD than to trust in a man!  

"CLUELESS!"

Everyone has things in their lives they are happy about.  I am blessed beyond measure for my relationship with JESUS CHRIST and that HE would even consider me to even be a servant of HIS!  

I am really blessed to have my wife as my "help meet" (Genesis 2:18) for nearly 30 years!   She has stuck by me "in the valley of the shadow of death" and never flinched!  GOD gave us two sons that I love with all of my heart, who married two women that are beautiful, Godly people!  

At the same time, everyone wishes they could have done better!   I missed opportunities to represent CHRIST in my life, I missed opportunities to be a better husband, I could have been a more caring, understanding Dad, I could have done a lot of things BETTER!

GOD uses everything in our lives to form us into vessels that HE can use for HIS glory!   Isaiah 45:6-7 says 

"That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  I form the light, and create darkness: I MAKE PEACE, and CREATE EVILl: I the LORD do all these things."   

Scripture proclaims HE creates EVIL!   HE is Holy, yet HE created evil!  WHY?  GOD tells us that HIS ways are NOT our ways!   Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."  

Heavenly Father, I pray that I will be just what YOU want me to be!   Even though I sometimes am clueless, I pray that I will be submissive to YOUR will in my life!  

IMPEACH!

This morning while looking at "my wall" on Facebook, I saw a post asking if I thought the president should be impeached. My first response a hateful "YES"!

While I do not support this President, nor his policies, I long for the day when Americans (me included) examined their own lives as much as we do others (our leaders included) lives and make appropriate changes! America will change when HEARTS begin to change, not when others change!

Scriptures record time after time that when people's hearts are changed is when societal changes occur. We may get irritated or upset with actions of individuals, but the only person I can change is ME! GOD can use my witness to influence others, but I am accountable for ONE PERSON! When I get "me" fixed, then I will move on!

Proverbs 26:2 says "Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind." It doesn't say to prove OTHERS, to try OTHERS, to test OTHERS! I am responsible for ME!

GOD, help me to show more concern over my obedience and let YOU take care of others behavior!

"WAIT, I say, on the LORD!"

Please listen to these words!  "Verily, verily, I say unto you!" was the words JESUS used when HE was hear on earth!  Just as ISRAEL was made to wander in the wilderness for forty years because disobedience, we can 

RUN ourselves into a MESS if we don't wait on HIM!   

Psalms 27:14 (KJV) says "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."   The Psalmist was pretty plain spoken in this passage!   TWICE in one verse HE says to "WAIT"!   

A wise friend of mine told me something in 2011 that has stuck with me.   "We want to be MORE than GOD intended for us to be."  Whenever we try to do something OUTSIDE of GOD's timing, we are trying to accomplish things on "MY TERMS"!  I need to learn to "WAIT"!!

"THINGY"

Today, I have had this “THING” stuck in my throat and it is driving me crazy!  It may be a piece of sausage (Breakfast) or something I do not remember eating, but I cannot get it to quit bugging me!  I bought a soft drink and tried to wash it down, but it just won’t go away!

Then I got to thinking about it.  That is how it feels when there is some SIN that I have in my life!  I feel as though there is just something that is not right.  I cannot have the peace and joy that only CHRIST can bring with SIN in my life.  And like the thing in my throat, it will not let me alone until I get it out! 

Numbers 32:23 says “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”!  I have to remove all sin from my life or I will be hard to deal with. 

Now, to get this “THING” out of my throat!!!!