“THE PLANS OF HIS HEART!”

Psalms 33:10-11                                                        (ESV)

“10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; HE FRUSTRATES THE PLANS OF THE PEOPLE’S. 

11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, “THE PLANS OF HIS HEART” to all generations.”

Have you noticed that the experiences that we are subjected to as an individual mold and make us into the person we become in life, EXCEPT FOR GOD’S INTERVENTION!  Recently I witnessed a friend who is approximately one year younger than I discussing their life.  As I reminisced about my life and my what I know about my friends life, VERY LITTLE seems equal nor similar.  I came out of pretty severe poverty in a single parent household.  My friend still has both of their parents living into their late 70’s.  Their parents have been married for almost 60 year, and by all appearances, love each other dearly!

Conversely, my parents were divorced when I was four years old.  My mother was awarded custody of my sisters and I and my father promptly (within the month) moved to Canada and abandoned us, never paying any child support.  I finally met my father the summer after I was married in 1984, twenty years later!  I was 6’6” tall and weighed 225 pounds.  My father was about 5’9” tall and weighed about the same as me.  He came to my uncles house after their sister, my aunt, called my father and told him that she was disowning him if he didn’t come to Houston and talk to me.  In my opinion, my father wasn’t really interested in seeing me, but he didn’t want to upset his sister, so he came to Houston from his house, which was about 45 minutes away.  His plan to avoid his offspring were changed by his sisters orders!

All of this story has been revealed to demonstrate that you can NEVER ASSUME that you understand what others have dealt with in their past.  Do I hold anyone to blame for my past?  In my younger years, DEFINITELY YES!  But GOD has revealed to me that my father’s influence in my life was neutralized by his lack of caring how I was being reared and that GOD had better PLANS for me than I could imagine.  Trusting in GOD proved to be the only way that I could SEE out of the lack of self-worth that I experienced during my childhood.  

When GOD has a PLAN, it isn’t by chance or circumstance that it WILL happen!  HE can cause a peasant to be a king, and HE can cause royalty to be a beggar!  When ALMIGHTY GOD has CHOSEN you for HIS PLAN, it makes no difference what others attempt to accomplish.  “THE PLANS OF HIS HEART” WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED!!!  But I’m not worthy to be used by the Creator of the universes for HIS Glory some may say?  Well, who is worthy?  When you are part of “THE PLANS OF HIS HEART” FOR ALL GENERATIONS, you just have to sit back and enjoy the scenery! 

“IN SIN!”

Psalms 51:5-10                                                                (ESV)

“5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and “IN SIN” did my mother conceive me. 

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and YOU teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that YOU  have broken rejoice. 

9 Hide YOUR face from my sins, and BLOT OUT ALL MY INIQUITIES. 

10 Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within me.”

When GOD does a WORK in our lives, an indescribable TRANSFORMATION takes place, one that words cannot describe, especially for someone who struggles with word selection.  King David, a man after GOD’S OWN heart (1 Samuel 13:14), writes in the passage of Scripture above that he, like ALL of us, was conceived “IN SIN”!  In other words, even if he lived a perfect life and had never strayed from THE LAW, he would have not been worthy to call upon the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES to BLOT OUT ALL MY INIQUITIES.  

So many people state, when asked why they should allowed into Heaven, that they have been a good person and tried to do the right thing.  But King David KNEW that he was not worthy to even call upon the name of THE LORD.  He was simply at the mercy of a loving GOD to “create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within me”!  Being a man after GOD’S OWN heart must have made the man a little bit better than others?  But David only saw his brokenness and impurities, and he begged to be purged with hyssop!  “Cleanse me with hyssop...” was not talking about being clean physically.  Instead, King David was requesting to be Spiritually cleansed with hyssop, a current day antiseptic, to remove his sin from his account.  He understood, unlike some, that the blood of his father, Jesse, was tainted leaving him imperfect before a HOLY GOD.  He was conceived “IN SIN” and he lived “IN SIN”!  

Why do we want to act as though we are better than King David, or any other of GOD’S Creation? We are simply people born “IN SIN” and until we leave “this world” we will remain “IN SIN”!  JESUS CHRIST, born of a virgin by INCORRUPTIBLE SEED (1 Peter 1:23), SUFFERED through “this world”, in obedience to the FATHER, for the EXPLICIT purpose of providing my salvation!  

We ALL are born “IN SIN”!  NONE of us have the ability to NOT NEED A SAVIOR!  Unless you have the offering of JESUS on your behalf, you will stand before a HOLY GOD with what you were born with........”IN SIN”!!!

“FOUNDATION!”

Psalms 87:1                                                                        (KJV)

“HIS “FOUNDATION” is in the Holy mountains.”

When my wife and I were married, a cousin  came to the wedding in our home town.  He graciously offered to give us the use of a 1984 customized van for the entire honeymoon week if we would carry him and his party home.  He lived in Morrilton, Arkansas, certainly not the honeymoon destination of the rich and famous.  But we went anyway and ventured up to Petit Jean Mountain, just south of his hometown to begin our lives together.  

Yesterday I was privileged to attend the memorial service for his son, a 64 year old man who never had great wealth, but was rich beyond measure!  After the luncheon following the service, in following the customs of my ancestry, I went back to the cemetery to spend a few minutes at the gravesite.  The cemetery is at the base of Petit Jean Mountain, so I decided that I needed to go back “up the mountain” and quietly allow GOD to speak to me.  In less than 10 minutes I was on top of the mountain, and GOD did not disappoint!

On our 35th wedding anniversary (February 17, 2019) we went back to the same lodge where we began our lives together.  Little did I fully understand that ALMIGHTY GOD was preparing me/us for the remainder of our lives as we have returned to this place on numerous occasions for a get-a-way.  GOD placed Psalms 87:1 on my heart and mind while my wife was resting.  “HIS “FOUNDATION” is in the Holy mountains” really didn’t have a grand significance to me, but Psalms 87:1 stuck with me.   Surely because we were on Petit Jean Mountain was why Psalms 87:1 was on my mind?  That is the only thing that made sense!

One dictionary defines “FOUNDATION” as “the basis or groundwork of anything:”.  Basically, our entire lives together began on THE MOUNTAIN.  Now, I have caused us to experience the valleys more times than I care to admit, but in the valleys are where the greatest growth occurs!  But “HIS (GOD’S) “FOUNDATION” is in the Holy mountains” I believe because HE is GOD and HE doesn’t need to mature!  HE simply wants us to understand that we are HIS and we should TRUST HIM for our everything!  

While I certainly don’t deserve a relationship with OUR CREATOR, to know that HE CHOSE me to be called out of the darkness and into HIS marvelous light is something that I will let EVERYONE know!  I AM CHOSEN, and OUR CREATOR has HIS “FOUNDATION” in the Holy mountains, therefore I will abide in HIM!!!

“BE PATIENT!”

James 5:7-10                                            (ESV)

“7 “BE PATIENT”, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the LORD. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

8 You also, “BE PATIENT”. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the LORD is at hand.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the LORD.”

“This world” is becoming alarmingly fast-paced.  Keeping up with the Jones’s used to be how everyone lived, but now most are not satisfied unless they are AHEAD of the Jones’s, AND EVERYONE ELSE!!!  It has become so competitive to have the latest, greatest devices hooking to the internet on the swiftest connections, to get the desired information so we can get off work early enough to do whatever it is that WE WANT to do.  

As humans, we have a insatiable desire to see results, and usually QUICK RESULTS!  We even want ALMIGHTY GOD to exact revenge for people who have “hurt” us quickly so can move on to the next crisis in our lives.  We want our medicine to respond quickly.  We want our plane to arrive early.  We want EVERYTHING to go OUR WAY!

We must remember that WE are not GOD, and we are NOT capable of making decisions for ourselves, much less for others!  There are currently over 7.5 Billion people in “this world” and GOD numbers the hair of every head (Luke 12:7)!  Whether we can even count to 7.5 Billion in a lifetime is debatable.  Since GOD IS IN CONTROL, why do we not accept HIS timetable for the happenings of our lives?  If HE can SPEAK these worlds into existence from nothing, HE can certainly handle the brief existence I have on earth.  HE needs to be praised and celebrated just for allowing me to exist!

When we come to the realization that we are NOT the creator, rather the Created, it might be easier to “BE PATIENT” and WAIT ON HIM!  GOD almost NEVER has worked on mans timeline, and I don’t think HE is going to change HIS ways to appease me, nor you!  The verses instructing us to WAIT ON THE LORD, and TRUST IN THE LORD, and to BE STILL before THE LORD are too numerous to count!  If we can just “BE PATIENT” before THE LORD, we can SEE HIM do majestic things that only HE can do!  

Rev. Phillip Brooks, a New England pastor in the late 1800’s, was quoted as saying “The trouble is, I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.”   Rev. Brooks had to learn to “BE PATIENT”!  As difficult as it is, I might be learning that lesson myself!  “BE PATIENT”!!!

“CONFIDENT!”

2 Corinthians 10:7                                   (ESV)

“Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is “CONFIDENT” that he is CHRIST’S, let him remind himself that just as he is CHRIST’S, so also are we.”

Witnessing my cousin in his final hours in “this world” was very revealing to me.   A great number of people came to visit him to tell him how great a person they thought that he was.  But he said that he was “only doing his job”, as some would say!   At 1:30 yesterday afternoon he exited “this world” and entered his eternal reward!  

He was an RN for a number of years, caring for people who were in need.  In his latter years he was the one in need and was being cared for by younger nurses.  In his lengthy career he was exposed to MRSA and several other “exotic” diseases.  His death will most likely be attributed to Congestive Heart Failure, but all of the trauma his body was subjected to as an RN had to have taken a toll.   He worked for one of the leading Cardiac Surgeons in our state.  He also worked at one of the smallest hospitals in the state.  The thing is, he CARED FOR PEOPLE, no matter their wealth, race, or religion!!!

Caring for others usually carries a price.  But it also carries rewards that can never be measured!  Hearing the compliments of the people who came to visit about his nursing abilities recently was astounding.  Their stories of his compassion, generosity, his medical knowledge, his ability to SEE a need were amazing.  He understood that we ALL have needs and he filled as may of those needs as he felt led to.  

A former pastor of his was one of the visitors that afternoon.  He talked about the many times that my cousin and he traded “compliments” (if you know what I mean!) in their discourse.  Right before the pastor left he asked to pray with my cousin.  When he was finished, my cousin, barely able to speak, added to his prayer.  Of course, my eyes began leak as he did so, talking to the ONE WHO made everything (Colossians 1:15-20), his CREATOR!

My cousin KNEW where he is going!  Confidence in where he was headed makes his departure almost a joyous occasion, if I weren’t so attached to his flesh!  Confidence and hope are very similar, but Confidence is when you KNOW something is going to happen.  Hope that something is going to happen may not carry the same knowledge.  Confidence is something that you cannot have outside of CHRIST!  The Apostle Paul knew CHRIST, and my cousin can say “let him remind himself that just as he is CHRIST’S, so also are we.”

Bobby Gilbert has completed his course!  He ran a good, NO...A GREAT RACE!!!  Now there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous judge, will award to Bobby on that day!  I AM “CONFIDENT” OF THAT!!!!

“THIS BOOK!”

Joshua 1:8-9                                            (ESV)

“8 “THIS BOOK” of the Law SHALL NOT DEPART from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS. Do not be FRIGHTENED, and do not be dismayed, for THE LORD YOUR GOD is with you wherever you go."”

It can be easy to offer advice and give direction when we don’t have any “skin in the game”.  But whenever we have a friend or loved one who is in a life and death situation, being able to SEE clearly is not as easy!  I’ve always said, you can hurt me and it may be overlooked, but hurt my wife or my kids (GRANDKIDS!) and a new story has developed!  There is something about the ones that we love being hurt where we think we can protect them.  But ultimately, we are NOT IN CONTROL, GOD ALMIGHTY IS!

Many of you know that yesterday I celebrated my 59th birthday.  One would think that someone who is almost 60 years old would have enough maturity about themselves to not allow “the enemy” to infiltrate their business.  “THIS BOOK”, in actuality, is the character of ALMIGHTY GOD that we are allowed to carry with us wherever we go.   GOD told Joshua if he would meditate on “THIS BOOK” day and night, his way would be prosperous, and he would have good success!  GOD DID NOT PROMISE THAT HE WOULD MAKE HIS WAY SIMPLE!

Being STRONG and COURAGEOUS should, in fact, tell us quite the opposite.  We don’t need to STRONG and COURAGEOUS to fight battles that are simply cakewalks!  Reflecting “THIS BOOK”, HIS Character, should be what “the enemy” gets out of us when THE PRESSURE is put on us.  It has been said that orange juice can ONLY be made when oranges are squeezed, NOT whining and crying and taking my toys and running inside LIKE A LITTLE CHILD!

GOD instructed Joshua to “meditate on it day and night” when talking about “THIS BOOK”!  Instead, I usually run to “THIS BOOK” when I see “the enemy” coming to attack!  If I could SEE that “the enemy” is doing anything he can to get my EYES off of THE MASTER, then I wouldn’t be so quick to try and fight battles on my own!  Spiritual Maturity isn’t for the weak and immature.  Remaining in “THIS BOOK” will bring Spiritual Maturity, but it might be after we go through some trials!!!

“THEIR EYES WERE OPENED!”

Luke 24:13-35                                          (ESV)

“13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,

14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

15 While they were talking and discussing together, JESUS HIMSELF drew near and went with them.

16 But THEIR EYES WERE KEPT FROM RECOGNIZING HIM.

17 And HE said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.

18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered HIM, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

19 And HE said to them, "What things?" And they said to HIM, "Concerning JESUS of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before GOD and all the people,

20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered HIM up to be condemned to death, and crucified HIM .

21 But we had hoped that HE was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,

23 and when they did not find HIS body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that HE WAS ALIVE.

24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but HIM they did not see."

25 And HE (JESUS) said to them, "O FOOLISH ONES, AND SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN!

26 WAS IT NOT NECESSARY THAT THE CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER THESE THINGS AND ENTER INTO HIS GLORY?"

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, HE interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. HE acted as if HE were going farther,

29 but they urged HIM strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So HE went in to stay with them.

30 When HE was at table with them, HE took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.

31 And “THEIR EYES WERE OPENED”, and they recognized HIM. And HE vanished from their sight.

32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while HE opened to us the Scriptures?"

33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

34 saying, "The LORD has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how HE was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

While this passage of Scripture is lengthy in comparison to most days, it must all be considered to grasp the TRUTH that is being revealed to us.  The “two of them” that were walking on the road to Emmaus were confused about the events of the preceding days.  Although JESUS had explained to them on several occasions that HE must suffer and die for the remission of sins, they could not SEE THE TRUTH of HIS demise because THEIR EYES WERE KEPT FROM RECOGNIZING TRUTH until it was revealed to them!

These trusted men of GOD IN THE FLESH were prevented from SEEING JESUS, even though HE was right in front of them, HE was well known to them, and HE wanted them to recognize HIM for WHO HE was.  “O FOOLISH ONES, AND SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN!  WAS IT NOT NECESSARY THAT THE CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER THESE THINGS AND ENTER INTO HIS GLORY?" was HIS question for them.  THE PROPHETS were simply men used by GOD for HIS GLORY, but they weren’t familiar with what had been written about HIM to recognize the sacrifice that had to be paid by the spotless LAMB OF GOD!  

Imagine the disappointment, despair, anger, defeat and every other emotion imaginable the one’s who had Believed were experiencing since JESUS had been killed by the JEWS?  Now JESUS was walking right beside them and they couldn’t even recognize HIM.  

Can I recognize HIM when HE is right before me?  DO I STUDY SCRIPTURE ENOUGH TO BE READY TO SEE HIM?  Do I have a STRONG DESIRE to be used by and for HIM?    When the time came, “THEIR EYES WERE OPENED” to SEE TRUTH walking in their midst.  My prayer is that I will be ready, willing and able to SEE when “THEIR EYES WERE OPENED” for HIS GLORY!!!

“THE! WIND!”

John 3:8                                                           (ESV)

“”THE WIND” blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with EVERYONE WHO IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT."

The third chapter book of John is probably one of the most quoted in the Bible, if for no other reason, the sixteenth verse.  While led to write about being BORN AGAIN (John 3:7) recently, I was “exposed” to John 3:8, AND IT WILL NOT LET ME GO!  For me, John 3:8 has always been a verse that was between other verses that never was studied to the degree that some others were.  But over the past few days the LORD has caused my mind to be reminded of other Scriptures about “THE WIND” that are very interesting!  

When JESUS was in the hull of the ship, HE was “sleeping” and a storm arose with strong winds.  In Luke 9:24 it is written “And they went and woke HIM, saying, "MASTER, MASTER, we are perishing!" And HE awoke and rebuked “THE WIND” and the raging waves, and they ceased, and THERE WAS a CALM”.  The disciples were afraid of “THE WIND” and so they went running to the MASTER OF “THE WIND”!  

In Acts 2:2 Scripture states “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a MIGHTY RUSHING WIND, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting”. JESUS was crucified on Passover.  Many believe that Pentecost is 50 days later.  Whenever the day was, it was signified by a MIGHTY RUSHING WIND passing through the crowd.  “THE WIND” gave evidence that the HOLY SPIRIT was present at Pentecost.  

Did you ever wonder why the unbelievers didn’t acknowledge that the HOLY SPIRIT was moving during Pentecost?  Could it be that they were not part of EVERYONE WHO IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT?  1 Corinthians 2:14 says “The natural person does not accept the things of the SPIRIT of GOD, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”  Maybe they could not SEE the things of the SPIRIT OF GOD because they SPIRITUALLY BLIND?  

“THE WIND” blows where it wishes, for humans can’t prescribe a WIND whenever they want it.  Neither can humans determine when certain events will happen in our lives.  When we finally understand that ALMIGHTY GOD controls our future???  Only then can we TRUST that HE will provide “THE WIND” when we need it!!!

“SO IT IS!

John 3:1-8                                                  (ESV)

“1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

2 This man came to JESUS by night and said to HIM, "Rabbi, we know that YOU are a teacher come from GOD, for no one can do these signs that you do unless GOD is with HIM."

3 JESUS answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of GOD."

4 Nicodemus said to HIM, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

5 JESUS answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the SPIRIT, he cannot enter the kingdom of GOD.

6 That which is born of the FLESH is FLESH, and that which is born of the SPIRIT is spirit.

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. “SO IT IS” with EVERYONE WHO IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT."

There are many evidences of NEW LIFE in CHRIST.  Baptism, church membership, feeding HIS sheep, a giving heart, are just a few of them.  Being able to SEE when a person has been CONVERTED can be a tricky, even deceptive undertaking.  There are a long list of people, even those calling themselves pastors, who have been exposed as “false prophets”, never experiencing THE TRANSFORMATION.  Matthew Henry’s Concise Bible Commentary says “We must be entirely different from what we were before, as that which begins to be at any time, is not, and cannot be the same with that which was before”.  

In speaking with Nicodemus, JESUS explained that being born of water (natural birth) and being BORN of Spiritual Birth are totally different occurrences.  When you have been “BORN OF THE SPIRIT” the evidence is like when the “wind” blows!  We don’t know where it comes from and we don’t know where it is going.  We do know the cooling effects of the true wind.  We Believers also know the comforting effects of the SPIRIT, calming our nerves and giving assurance in troubled times.   Like a gentle breeze, it cools and comforts without us who benefit from it ever thanking GOD for its blessings.  

John 4:24 says GOD IS SPIRIT.  HIS Blessings are far too often attributed to chance or circumstance when WE SHOULD KNOW James 1:17 says “EVERY GOOD GIFT and EVERY PERFECT GIFT is from above, coming down from the FATHER of lights, with WHOM there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  

“SO IT IS” with the HOLY SPIRIT WHO REVEALS HIMSELF to we that are chosen by the FATHER to SERVE HIM.  HE hasn’t selected us to join the ranks of HIS servants to not SERVE!  All but one of the original twelve disciples were willing to die a martyrs death, and John survived being boiled in oil to write the book of Revelation!   “SO IT IS” that OUR CREATOR has CHOSEN me to serve HIM!  If it is persecution or death, who am I to question MY LORD???

“WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW?”

Luke 2:54-56                                           (ESV)

“54 HE (JESUS) also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens.

55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens.

56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but “WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW” how to interpret the present time?”

I’ve often thought that I would have been a might intimidated had I been alive during the time that JESUS walked on the earth.  GOD IN THE FLESH is right in our midst and we walk around like HE is one of the guys.  HE was seemingly always so gracious, saying words that caused people to ponder HIS point.  But this time HE didn’t beat around the bush with telling “the crowds” exactly what HE wanted them to hear, AND KNOW!

Knowing how the weather acts and reacts to certain happenings can be a valuable tool.  Knowing when a Hurricane is going to develop has become a science that many meteorologists are continuously trying to improve upon.  Tornadoes are studied almost as much.  Winter storms are tracked by everyone with great interest, because we don’t want to run out of milk, eggs and bread when the electricity goes out!

But JESUS IS COMING BACK, and very little attention is being paid to getting prepared for HIS return.  JESUS told “the crowds”, “WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW” how to interpret the present time?  Apparently we are more concerned with a hurricane, tornado, or some other weather related phenomenon that we are listening to the warnings of GOD IN THE FLESH?  HIS “forecast” has NEVER been wrong and yet we act as though HIS WORDS don’t apply to us.   

Everybody has been warned! Don’t say that you haven’t.  HIS WORD has been given to us so we can develop a more intimate relationship with HIM, yet we can’t search for answers to the questions of life daily, much less when we are in a crisis!  “WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW” might be because we don’t look at the answers enough?  

When I was going to junior high and high school, we occasionally had some of the answers to homework in the back of the text book.  They were there for everyone one to see, BUT WE HAD TO LOOK!  The answers for life’s questions in THE BOOK!  “WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW” to look for them???

“I AM HOLY!”

Leviticus 11:44-45                                            (ESV)

“44 For I am the LORD your GOD. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be Holy, for “I AM HOLY”. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

45 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be Holy, for “I AM HOLY”."”

One dictionary defines the word “au·to·bi·og·ra·phy/ˌôdəbīˈäɡrəfē/noun” as ”an account of a person's life written by that person.”  When GOD breathed the breath of LIFE into man (Genesis 2:7 ““then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”), HE Created us to be HOLY, for “I AM HOLY”!  The same dictionary lists THE “HOLY BIBLE” as “Bi·ble/ˈbībəl/nounthe Christian scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments."verses from the Bible" synonyms, the Holy Scriptures, Holy Writ, the Good Book, the Book of Books”!!!  Since JESUS said in John 4:24 that GOD IS SPIRIT, and we are flesh, it would stand to reason that GOD doesn’t operate exactly the way we do!  

Genesis 1:27 says “So GOD created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, in the IMAGE of GOD HE created him; male and female HE created them.”  So man, in his state of CREATION, WAS HOLY!  We were CREATED by ALMIGHTY GOD to be HOLY, for “I AM HOLY”, but man failed at being HOLY, so GOD sent HIS SON as a substitute for our wicked selves.  GOD’S WORD, THE HOLY BIBLE, is s without error and it is complete.  It has what hap happened in the past, what is happening now, and what will happen in the future!  And it ALL centers around BEING HOLY!  

Since we, HIS Creations, have fulfilled Scripture (because Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (wicked); who can understand it?) by our actions, why do we think we can write out some Scriptures, or just totally ignore the TRUTH?  We are CREATED, not the creator!  “The enemy” has spoken this lie since Genesis 3:5 when he said “you will be like GOD”.  We are Created in HIS image, but we are not HOLY like HIM.  

GOD GAVE us HIS SON and HIS WORD which are the only examples of HOLINESS that we have, and we FAIL to keep our EYES on either ONE!  Freely HE gave them to us, but we act as though money, fame and possessions are more important.  “I AM HOLY” will return VERY SOON to claim HIS CHOSEN.  As evidenced by the lives being lived for HIM, the task will not be that difficult.  Matthew 7:14 says “For the gate is NARROW and the WAY IS HARD that leads to life, and THOSE WHO FIND IT ARE FEW.”  

Are you trusting in the ONE that lived the “I AM HOLY” life?  

“WHERE WERE YOU?”

Job 38:1-4                                                (ESV)

“1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 

3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 

4 "”WHERE WERE YOU” when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”

The view “this world” has of ALMIGHTY GOD is continually growing dimmer and dimmer as we near the return of JESUS.  While some of us can SEE that we are becoming more wicked every day, others think that we are increasing in our knowledge and intellect.  There was recently a statement saying that “In the eyes of GOD, marriage is still ONE man and ONE woman”!  For me, I am wondering just who it is that defines marriage!  It would seem to me that since ALMIGHTY GOD CREATED us, HE is the ONLY ONE WHO can change HIS rules?  

“"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”  Have we become so educated that we ignore what GOD says in HIS BOOK?  HE CREATED us giving HIM the privilege to lay out the rules, and we have to follow those rules.  If we want to make rules, we need to CREATE our own beings from dirt and then breathe into them the BREATH OF LIFE!  Yes, then we can change rules to reflect what we want.  We could be in charge, changing rules, doing what we think is best!

We think we are so intelligent and such masters of our own destiny when we are unable to add one day to tho feeble existence called life.  One of my FAVORITE quotes is “Life hasn’t gone as I planned, and that is okay”!  I’m not WISE enough to make decisions about my future.  We want to change rules for our lives, or on beings that we didn’t CREATE, without even knowing what they were CREATED to be.  But until we can CREATE LIFE from nothing, we are left answering “WHERE WERE YOU” when everything was CREATED from nothing???