“I AM GOD!”

Psalms 46:10-11                     (ESV)

“10 "Be still, and know that “I AM GOD”. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" 

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the GOD of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

By now most everyone has heard the story about why Psalms 46:10 is a verse of Scripture that has been used to continually transform my life.  The account of me being placed in a drug induced coma for 17 days in 2007 is one that I don’t want to ever get over, not because I want notoriety or fame, rather I need to be reminded that I am nothing but a lowly sinner plucked by JESUS out of “this world” and drawn into HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT!!

One of the favorite methods of deception of “the enemy” is to get us so involved with busyness that our time is spent more in HIS Provision rather than in HIS Presence!  He stopped me in my tracks in 2007, causing me to SEEK HIM like never before.  I was acting like a host of others trying to succeed in life.  But when life as we know it is dramatically changed, and we find ourselves seemingly helpless, the ones that SEEK THE LORD are the ones that STOP kicking against the goads (Acts 9:24)!  

When Divine Intervention DEMANDS that we BE STILL, we need to examine ourselves and make sure that “I AM GOD” is the LORD of our lives, not what WE WANT to happen!  Chuck Swindoll writes “Goads were typically made from slender pieces of timber, blunt on one end and pointed on the other. Farmers used the pointed end to urge a stubborn ox into motion. Occasionally, the beast would kick at the goad. The more the ox kicked, the more likely the goad would stab into the flesh of its leg, causing greater pain.”  Kicking against what GOD has planned for us can either be a humbling, life changing event, or a display of us trying to outsmart our CREATOR!!

“I AM GOD” does not indicate that we are a god, rather that we are NOT GOD!  That can be difficult for some to surrender to, but there is only room for ONE in the throne room of a life!  Deception and TRUTH will not mix!  When oil and water are made to BE STILL, they will inevitably SEPARATE!  Kicking against the goads can muddy the water to try and mix the two, but when we are forced to BE STILL, we have to SEE that we are not GOD, but “I AM GOD” is TRUTH!!!

“GOD IS WITH US!”

Matthew 1:18-23                      (ESV)

“18 Now the birth of JESUS CHRIST took place in this way. When HIS mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the HOLY SPIRIT.

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the HOLY SPIRIT.

21 She will bear a SON, and you shall call HIS name JESUS, for HE will save HIS people from their sins."

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a SON, and they shall call HIS name Immanuel" (which means, “GOD IS WITH US”). 

Being in the hospital recently, I was obliged to watch the Hallmark Channel with my wife.  Hallmark is running Christmas Shows during this troubling time, I suppose to reduce the stress of the CORONA virus affecting this world.  One Christmas show was rather good, but it never mentioned THE GREATEST GIFT, a Savior WHO would “save HIS people from their sins."  Joseph was NOT the FATHER of JESUS, rather he was assigned a task by GOD to nurture HIS SON until “the time was right”, according to HIS PURPOSE!   

FAITH is a difficult thing to understand.  Usually BIBLICAL FAITH causes us to accept that GOD will deliver us, no matter how things appear IN THE NATURAL!  The Children of Israel had just been delivered from Egyptian captivity, yet on the banks of the Red Sea the NATURAL looked extremely bleak!  But GOD intervened by parting the Red Sea, something that unprecedented!

Is Christmas only about buying our children the latest, greatest offering from the toy store?  I’m afraid that the “church” has allowed the Christmas season to be “hijacked” by “this world”, making it something that it is not!  In reality, the conception of JESUS by the HOLY SPRIT has to be accepted THROUGH FAITH by the ones HE has CHOSEN.  One of those CHOSEN is me, not because I am worthy, but because HE CHOSE me!

John 4:24 says GOD (GOD first party) IS SPIRIT.  The HOLY SPIRIT (GOD third party) caused Mary to conceive JESUS (GOD second party).  The HOLY SPIRIT doesn’t work within the NATURAL (Exodus 14).  We cannot expect to see GOD reveal HIMSELF to us if we are limited to looking in the NATURAL!  Just celebrating CHRISTmas doesn’t transform you into a Believer.  FAITH that JESUS is “GOD IS WITH US” by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT is the ONLY way to make that happen!!!

“HE WOULD WITHDRAW!”

Luke 5:16                                                    (ESV)

“But “HE WOULD WITHDRAW” to desolate places and pray.”

There is an “app” that has many different translations of Scripture.  I use this when I am studying a particular verse, trying to get exactly what GOD is telling me to draw me closer to HIM.  Luke 5:16 is one of those verses.  One translation says “But JESUS HIMSELF would “often” slip away to the wilderness and pray.”  Another says “However, HE continued HIS “habit” of retiring to deserted places and praying.”  

GOD was a way of using what I see as adverse circumstances to move me INTO THE WILDERNESS so that I can be alone with HIM.  HE expects us to follow HIS Plan for our lives, but sometimes I get so caught up in doing what “I think” is where I need to go that I can’t SEE HIM directing me INTO THE WILDERNESS.  JESUS made a habit of spending time alone with HIS FATHER and getting HIS marching orders.  

Especially since JESUS “would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” that we would have a tendency to do likewise?  However our vision gets clouded by the cares of “this world” and start Believing the LIE that we are doing so much for HIM, when all HE wants is for us to only be silent, and let THE LORD fight for us. (Exodus 14:14). 

HIS PRESENCE should be the most sought after trait that we long for.  However, HIS PROVISION is what most of us long to experience.  When we get alone with HIM, HIS PROVISION becomes secondary to HIS PRESENCE.  It wasn’t coincidence that “HE WOULD WITHDRAW” by HIMSELF, getting HIS focus back on the things ABOVE instead of “this world”!  Since “HE WOULD WITHDRAW”, shouldn’t we do likewise???

“WE ARE DUST!”

Psalms 103:1-14                                              (ESV)

“1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless HIS holy name! 

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all HIS benefits, 

3 WHO forgives all your iniquity, who HEALS all your diseases, 

4 WHO redeems your life from the pit, WHO crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 

5 WHO satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 

7 HE made known HIS ways to Moses, HIS acts to the people of Israel. 

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

9 HE will not always chide, nor will HE keep HIS anger forever. 

10 HE does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is HIS steadfast love toward those who fear HIM; 

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does HE remove our transgressions from us. 

13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear HIM. 

14 For HE knows our frame; HE remembers that “WE ARE DUST”.”

It can so easy to focus on the trials of our lives, ignoring the Blessings that are heaped on us daily!  When you experience trials (and we ALL do!) it is imperative that we remember that “WE ARE DUST”, and one day will return to dust.  We are only here for a season and when we finish our assignment, we will stand before GOD and answer for our deeds!  

Don’t let “the enemy” convince you that you are so important that you wished need to be considered.  “WE ARE DUST” formed into vessels that either bless HIS NAME, or do whatever it is that WE WANT.  “WE ARE DUST” and HE is the potter, molding us into vessels that Glorify HIS NAME.   Remember WHO is the central figure in our walk!!!

“WHO THEN IS THIS?”

Matthew 4:37-41                                         (ESV)

“37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

38 But HE was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke HIM and said to HIM, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"

39 And HE awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 HE said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"

41 And THEY WERE FILLED WITH GREAT FEAR and said to one another, "WHO THEN IS THIS”, that even the wind and the sea obey HIM?"”

We all experience things in our lives that make an indelible impression on us, things that GOD uses to shape us into vessels that HE can use for HIS Glory.  We ALL have our weaknesses that we want to hide from others.  When our FEARS are exposed we can either realize them and address them, or we can buckle under the pressure and let it control our lives!

Three years ago this April I was lying in a hospital bed listening to the doctor telling me and my family that I needed to have open heart surgery.  Being a substitute teacher in Sunday School a few weeks earlier, the lesson was on Genesis 50:20-21 when Joseph told his brothers “As for you, you meant evil against me, but GOD meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.  SO DO NOT FEAR; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”  

GOD had put Joseph through great difficulties in his life to prepare him for the task HE had planned for his latter years.  Almost as soon as FEAR HIT ME about going through the valley of the shadow of death, PEACE FROM ABOVE flooded my soul and FEAR had to FLEE!  

The fear of Coronavirus has a lot of people in its grip.   However, because of the “storms” I have been exposed to in my past, life seems so much more PEACEFUL, almost laid back!  JESUS said in Deuteronomy 31:7-8 “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.  IT IS THE LORD WHO goes before you. HE WILL BE WITH YOU; HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU.  DO NOT FEAR OR BE DISMAYED."”

While it is TRUE I have been through some huge battles, my FAITH has grown expediently because of those battles.  Coronavirus, open heart surgery, Brain Hemorrhages, Aspartame Poisoning, none of cause me to FEAR, for I know “WHO THEN IS THIS”!!!  Recognizing that HE will NEVER LEAVE ME NOR FORSAKE ME brings me more PEACE than “the enemy” can ever match!  “WHO THEN IS THIS” is JESUS, my Redeemer!!! THEY WERE FILLED WITH GREAT FEAR and JESUS cannot abide in the same space!!!

“BY HIMSELF!”

John 6:15                              (ESV)

“Perceiving then that they (the people) were about to come and take HIM by force to make HIM king, JESUS WITHDREW AGAIN TO THE MOUNTAIN “BY HIMSELF”.”

Very seldom do I use one verse in writing a devotional.  It is too easy for an author to take single verses out of context and try to make it fit into what man wants it to say and miss what GOD is saying.  It is NO COINCIDENCE that this verse came across my path recently with people being encouraged to seclude ourselves from “this world”!?!  But putting the entire chapter of John 6 seemed a bit drastic, yet there didn’t appear to be a “natural” place to break from what needed to be said.   

JESUS had just performed a miracle of magnanimous proportions.  HE had fed 5,000 men, along with women and children, so probably over 10,000 people at least!  Celebrating that so many had experienced a miracle of GOD would appear to be what JESUS had come to earth to accomplish?  But HE “perceived” that they had misunderstood what HE had done.  HE “perceived” that they had received the blessing of a full stomach, BUT THEIR SPIRITS REMAINED UNCHANGED.  

GOD knows when our SPIRIT has been changed for HIS GLORY.  In Mark 5:25-34 JESUS was in a crowd of people and the woman with an issue of blood touched HIS garment IN FAITH and JESUS knew!  HE also knew when the people of John 6 weren’t changed!  We can’t fake it or trick JESUS into a confession that HE is LORD of our lives.  HE doesn’t need us to do anything for our salvation, HE HAS DONE IT ALL!  In Exodus 14:14 the Children of Israel were whining and crying about the Egyptians approaching from their rear.  Mountain ranges were on either side of them, and the Red Sea was in front of them.   BUT GOD had a Plan, and the Egyptians were going DOWN!  Literally!!!  HE said to Moses “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."”!!!

Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH. And THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE MAY BOAST.”  The SPIRIT OF GOD doesn’t need any assistance from you or me!  HE doesn’t want to be an earthly ruler or to have untold wealth.  HE WITHDREW to the MOUNTAIN to be “BY HIMSELF”, for HE alone was sent to purchase our salvation, not HE and me!  

Putting it bluntly, we need to depend on HIS PRESENCE versus HIS PROVISION!!!

“ALL PEOPLE!”

1 Timothy 2:1-4                                          (ESV)

“1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for “ALL PEOPLE”,

2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that WE MAY LEAD A PEACEFUL AND QUIET LIFE, Godly and dignified in every way.

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of GOD our SAVIOR,

4 WHO desires “ALL PEOPLE” to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH.”

There are those who are giving the current President of the United States tremendous credit for the success America is enjoying.  At the same time, there are others who criticize him for the way he does things, especially the speech he chooses to use.  He most definitely has FLAWS, but there is not a man born of woman who doesn’t have flaws, NO NOT ONE!

The bottom line is, GOD IN HEAVEN IS IN CONTROL, and if HE says someone else should be President, then this November will be a good time for that to happen.  Until then, I am instructed to urge others to PRAY for “ALL PEOPLE”, both in leadership and servant hood.  It is very easy to see faults, to criticize, to imagine how things could be done better.  But taking time to offer “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” for “ALL PEOPLE” can change the prism we view ourselves and others through.  

One of the most uncomfortable things that I have had to come to grips with in my life is that I AM NOT GOD and I AM NOT IN CONTROL!  When we start losing CONTROL, we can either let go and let GOD run things, or we will do anything within our power to regain control!  When we get to the point where we CANNOT control things, recognizing that GOD IS IN CONTROL will bring about a PEACEFUL AND QUIET LIFE!  Turmoil and confusion are replaced with PEACE and JOY.  JESUS brings PEACE!!

“ALL PEOPLE” need to understand that we are placed on earth to GLORIFY GOD, not glorify each other!  Presidents come and go.  Pastors will leave your church.  Even your parents will leave you one day.  But JESUS CHRIST will NEVER leave us (Romans 8:35-30) nor forsake us!  HIS LOVE will be in HEAVEN, but also please remember HIS WRATH will be in HELL FOR ETERNITY!  “ALL PEOPLE” will receive their just rewards.  You can call on HIM now, or you can cry out to HIM from Hades for eternity?!?  

“SAVE US, LORD!”

Matthew 8:23-27                                        (ESV)

“23 And when HE (JESUS) got into the boat, HIS disciples followed HIM.

24 And behold, there arose a GREAT STORM on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but HE was asleep.

25 And they went and woke HIM, saying, "SAVE US, LORD”; WE ARE PERISHING!."

26 And HE said to them, "Why are you afraid, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?" Then HE rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey HIM?"”

Have you noticed that people seem to be a lot more laid back about meeting their deadlines and schedules in the past few days?  It appears that the things we thought absolutely had to be done before now are not so important.  Do you suppose that our EYES are being opened to SEE that our little world is not as important as we thought?  When we have “our vision” adjusted by our mortality it tends to change the prism which we observe life through.   

The disciples (a follower of another in doctrines and precepts) were not “following” JESUS too faithfully on the ship in the Scripture above.  Verse 23 says when JESUS got into the boat, HIS disciples followed HIM.  HIS followers in doctrine and precepts knew WHO JESUS said HE was, but they didn’t KNOW that the CREATOR of the earth and all that is within it was asleep in the hill of their boat.  

Are we any better than the followers in the boat?  The CREATOR lives within our being (John 17:23) and yet we go running to HIM every time something happens a little outside of our plans to retire in luxury with plenty of money to do whatever it is that WE WANT!  As a follower of HIS doctrines and precepts, I should be willing to do whatever HE leads me to do, not what I WANT TO DO.  Yielding to HIS WILL is something that I am constantly having to adjust my life’s plans for as HE is molding me into a vessel of HIS CHOOSING.  

“SAVE US, LORD” seems to be a standard cry when we are faced with the uncertainty that life brings.  But short of HIS return, we ALL are going to experience death, it is just a matter of time!  The time to cry “SAVE US, LORD” is now, while we still have time.   Matthew 7:22-23 says “On that day many will say to ME, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in YOUR name, and cast out demons in YOUR name, and do many mighty works in YOUR name?'  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from ME, you workers of lawlessness.'”  While you still can, beg HIM to “SAVE US, LORD”!  HE is the ONLY ONE WHO can!!!

“NOT A HAIR OF YOUR HEAD!”

Luke 21:10-19                                 (ESV)

“10 Then HE said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be GREAT EARTHQUAKES, and in various places FAMINES and PESTILENCES. And there will be TERRORS and GREAT SIGNS from HEAVEN.

12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for MY NAME’S sake.

13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,

15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.

17 You will be hated by all for MY NAME’S sake.

18 But “NOT A HAIR OF YOUR HEAD” will perish.

19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

It can be amazing that some actually believe that “this world” and cosmos came together, AND HOLDS TOGETHER, all from a coincidence, some random happenstance?  However, Colossians 1:16 (ESV) plainly states “For by HIM (JESUS) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through HIM and for HIM.”  Since humans physically live ON EARTH, we were made through HIM and for HIM.  

While walking on earth during HIS 30+ year ministry, JESUS imparted untold WISDOM, it’s just that some cannot grasp TRUTH because according to 1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV) “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.”  A person who has been in church their whole life who has yet to be regenerated is NOT ABLE to understand them!  A person who gives great wealth to the poor in NOT ABLE to understand them!  Unless a person has been “called out of the darkness and into HIS marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9), he cannot understand the things of the Spirit!

So it is with current events.  JESUS explicitly tells us that “NOT A HARD OF YOUR HEADS” will perish, yet a lot of “church people” are the ones at the supermarket buying like there is no tomorrow!  They might be correct, but if they are I won’t need anything in my shelves, nor on my toilet paper dispenser!  The KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS has declared “NOT A HAIR OF YOUR HEADS” will perish, and I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE HIM!  FEAR and WORRY (Mark 4:39) were rebuked by JESUS because HE IS IN CONTROL, not nature, not circumstances, and not “the enemy”!!!

“There will be GREAT EARTHQUAKES, and in various places FAMINES and PESTILENCES. And there will be TERRORS and GREAT SIGNS from HEAVEN” could be taken out of a modern day newspaper.  JESUS is the ONLY answer to the CHAOS of “this world”!  When our MIND OF CHRIST (1 Corinthians 2:16), we are not fearful when JESUS is ignored and darkness (1 Peter 2:9 again) gets ahold of “this world”!  “NOT A HAIR OF YOUR HEADS” will perish isn’t a dream, BUT A PROMISE!!!

“HERE COMES THIS DREAMER!”

Genesis 37:18-28                                    (ESV)

“18 They (Joseph’s brothers) saw him (Joseph) from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

19 They said to one another, "HERE COMES THIS DREAMER”.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."

21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life."

22 And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"-that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.

24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 50:19-20   

“19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

In the HIStory recorded in Scripture, they are many pages, but only ONE story, GOD IS IN CONTROL!  Joseph is a great example of the HAND OF GOD protecting HIS CHOSEN.  Joseph has a DREAM (Genesis 37:1-11) that his brothers didn’t care for.   So they decided to kill Joseph, then decided to throw him into a pot, then decided to sell him as a slave to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt to serve.  

When Joseph got to Egypt, he was introduced to Potiphar’s regime where GOD continued to use Joseph for HIS Glory.  Potiphar’s wife had her own ideas of using Joseph, but once again the HAND OF GOD protected Joseph and he rose to be second in command of the entire kingdom of Egypt!  No matter what “the enemy” tried to deter Joseph with, GOD kept him safe!  

How many times do I have to read about Joseph in the book of Genesis to fully and completely understand that GOD IS IN CONTROL???  GOD doesn’t just bail us out when we get to where we have no idea how to get through a trying time in our lives, but HE “walks through the valley of the shadow of death” with us, FOR HIS GLORY!  

Even though “this world” may cry out “HERE COMES THIS DREAMER”, ALMIGHTY GOD has a purpose for our lives that  ONLY HE can get Glory from.  Getting out of HIS WAY is my biggest challenge, but HE WILL NOT SHARE HIS GLORY (Isaiah 42:8) with anyone!  Don’t get so caught up in HIS GLORY that you start absorbing it.  When you are designated as being “HERE COMES THIS DREAMER”, remember you are not what people want to see.  It  is the ONE WHO GAVE THE DREAM!!!

“HE SAW NOTHING!”

Acts 9:1-9                                       (ESV)

“1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the LORD, went to the high priest

2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

4 And falling to the ground, he heard a VOICE saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?"

5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am JESUS, WHOM you are persecuting.

6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, “HE SAW NOTHING”. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

The story of Saul being converted to Paul is one that carries a lot of CHANGES.  To begin with, Saul was “a Pharisee of the Pharisees” (Philippians 3:5) and participated in “threats and murder against the disciples of the LORD”!  He couldn’t SEE that he was doing anything wrong.  He was headed to Damascus with arrest warrants for anyone of The Way to squelch the movement which eventually became known as HIS CHURCH.  

But...... his journey was interrupted by a VOICE FROM HEAVEN that said “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Now Scripture tells us that this VOICE was none other than JESUS, our CREATOR.  Saul’s EYES weren’t yet opened to SEE WHO was speaking to him, so he said “Who are you, Lord?”, to which JESUS replied “I am JESUS, WHOM you are persecuting.  But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."  Saul went from being a “feared persecutor” to being humbled into a sheepish, submissive state in the blink of an eye!  The thing that jumps out to me though is Saul’s sight was interrupted by GOD.  And when GOD interrupts something in your life, HE may or may not restore it???  Saul didn’t walk down the aisle in the nearest tabernacle.  But his life was Supernaturally TRANSFORMED by the Holy Spirit to become one of the greatest converts in history.  

Was JESUS unable to HALT Saul until this Damascus road experience?  

CHANGE for GOOD though seldom occurs without some uncomfortable things happening.  Saul spent three days fasting and waiting for Ananias to OPEN HIS EYES!  Could JESUS have waited another week and allowed more of HIS CHOSEN to suffer at the hands and ignorance of Saul?  Of course HE could have.  WHY then, did GOD IN THE FLESH, decide at THIS MOMENT to intervene and cause Saul to pause his actions?  If GOD could have seen fit in the last part of Acts 7, HE might have saved the stoning of Stephen?  The simple answer to the question is I AM NOT GOD and I simply must TRUST HIM to be RULER of the universe.  

Saul became Paul in Acts 13:9.  By now he was experiencing what JESUS told Ananias in Acts 9:15-16 “But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of MINE to carry MY name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.  FOR I WILL SHOW HIM HOW MUCH HE MUST SUFFER FOR THE SAKE OF MY NAME."  JESUS doesn’t mince words when HE pronounces TRUTH to us. Paul also experienced some MIRACULOUS occurrences in his life, but most of them had a cost!  For instance, in Acts 28 Paul was bitten by “a viper”, but that was only after the ship he was a prisoner in was sunk!  The people all around were waiting for him to swell up and die from the apparent poisonous bite.  However he shook it off and they said he was a god!  There was miracles, but there was also pain!  

I am not a prophet nor a preacher, but if you are not experiencing some resistance or difficulty, it might be because you are not threatening the enemy?  One of my favorite quotes is “GOD DELIGHTS IN IMPOSSIBILITIES”!  “Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, “HE SAW NOTHING”.”  After his EYES WERE OPENED Paul saw GOD perform MIRACLE after MIRACLE.  But “HE SAW NOTHING” had to happen first!  GOD has a Perfect timing that in which we are not guaranteed to understand.  We MUST understand that HE IS GOD, and WE ARE NOT, and when HE gets ready HE will open our EYES to SEE and we will experience TRUTH like we have never known it!!!

“EACH OF US!”

Romans 14:11-12                                      (ESV)

“11 for it is written, "As I live, says the LORD, EVERY KNEEshall bow to ME, and every tongue shall confess to GOD." 

12 So then “EACH OF US” will give an account of himself to GOD.”

The uproar being generated by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is remarkable.  In a country that has approximately 330,000,000 living in it, to date 29 deaths have been associated with the COVID-19 virus.  Worldwide 126,093 people have been diagnosed with the disease.  It has claimed the lives of 4,628 people.  68,211 of the 126,093 have totally recovered.   According to an internet search engine there are currently 7.8 BILLION people in the world.  So the actual numbers say that 0.0000006% of our population has experienced something that we ALL are GUARANTEED to have to deal with one day!  

The Scripture above states “As I live, says the LORD, EVERY KNEE shall bow to ME, and every tongue shall confess to GOD.  So then “EACH OF US” will give an account of himself to GOD.”   NOBODY WILL ESCAPE bowing to JESUS, and confessing to GOD.  “EACH OF US” will give an account of himself to GOD.”  These words were spoken by “the LORD”, so there isn’t escaping the finality and surety that is imminent. 

In reality, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) will more than likely not turn into the “killer” that “this world” wants us to believe.  The grim reality though is that “EACH OF US” will kneel before JESUS and proclaim that HE IS GOD!  The news media won’t warn anyone that this JUDGEMENT is coming.  HIS WORD is very explicit and plain!  “EACH OF US” had better become familiar with the only ONE WHO save us on that day!!!

Don’t allow your regularly scheduled programming to resume before you take this message to heart!  HIS WORD says “EACH OF US”, and this includes you!!!

“HE WROTE!”

Exodus 34:1-9; 28                                              (ESV)

“1 The LORD said to Moses, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to ME ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.

3 NO ONE SHALL COME UP WITH YOU, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain."

4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone.

5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a GOD merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but WHO will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

8 And Moses quickly BOWED HIS HEAD TOWARD THE EARTH AND WORSHIPED.

9 And he said, "If now I have found favor in YOUR sight, O LORD, please let the LORD go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."

28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And “HE WROTE” on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”

GOD both was and is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but WHO will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."  When Moses begged GOD to “show me YOUR GLORY” (Exodus 33:18), he had to cover his face to commune with the Children of Israel because of the brightness glowing from him.  Exodus 34:30 states “Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”

GOD had told Moses in Exodus 33:20 that “man shall not see ME and live”.  So when Moses asked in Exodus 34:9 “... If now I have found favor in YOUR sight, O LORD, please let the LORD go in the midst of us,...”,GOD did the next best thing for the Israelites.  GOD made HIS Presence known through the outward appearance of Moses.  The Children of Israel couldn’t have stood anything stronger, for “the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”  

Also, Moses had to “Be ready by the morning”, and “come up” to “ME ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.  NO ONE SHALL COME UP WITH YOU, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain.”  Moses prepared the stones as he was instructed, but he also must have given orders for others not to come with him!?!  When Scripture states “let no one be seen throughout all the mountain”, I’m pretty sure that meant NO ONE!  When we go up on our assigned MOUNTAIN to hear from GOD, we must prepare ourselves for the meeting.  All baggage must be left at the bottom of the MOUNTAIN.  Hearing from GOD must be paramount in our lives.  

Today, we have the privilege provided to us by the sacrifice of JESUS to approach HIM, our CREATOR, with no appointment and unannounced, without any arbitrator or other go-between and we neglect and discount this privilege so greatly?  Could it be that we don’t BELIEVE that HE IS actually GOD, able to be “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but WHO will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation?”  If we did, shouldn’t we revere HIS Presence and Authority more?  

Very few have experienced the life changing experiences that I have been Blessed to live through.  My prayer is that I will spend so much time ON MY FACE BEFORE GOD that my life will SHONE for HIM for all the world to see!  Moses had to spend 40 days and 40 nights alone with GOD, writing the WORDS of the Covenant, and the Ten Commandments”!  “HE WROTE” what GOD placed on his heart for others to use to obey.  Could’ve “HE WROTE” whatever he had chosen?  I think that GOD would not have permitted that.  “HE WROTE” exactly what he was supposed to for GOD’s Glory.  My prayer is that GOD is seen in my life as others see the witness I set forth for HIS GLORY!!!

“MUCH WORSE PUNISHMENT!”

Hebrews 10:26-31                                 (ESV)

“26 For if we go on sinning deliberately AFTER RECEIVING THE  KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

29 HOW “MUCH WORSE PUNISHMENT”, do you think, WILL BE DESERVED by the one who has trampled underfoot the SON of GOD, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which HE was sanctified, and has outraged the SPIRIT of grace?

30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The LORD will judge HIS people."

31 IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.”

This morning I was REMINDED how easy it is to become BLINDED in our haste to make another day, another dollar, another appointment, another sales goal.....anything that we put before ALMIGHTY GOD’s PLAN for our lives MAY be causing me to lose sight of the ETERNAL BEING that JESUS came to rescue from an everlasting hell?  The thing that caused me to REMEMBER from where I have come was a photograph of a law enforcement officer apparently giving a citation to a vehicle parked in a reserved parking spot for Handicapped drivers.  Sharing that photo reminded me of where I USED TO BE following the Brain Hemorrhage.  

Being what most consider to be “physically healed” from the Brain Hemorrhage, my word selection is certainly the most affected by the hemorrhagic stroke that so nearly took my life in 2007.  AFTER RECEIVING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH that 80% of Brain Hemorrhage victims did not survive sometimes escapes me can be easily forgotten.  “The enemy” would love for GOD’s WORK in my life to be minimized, or weakened by my silence.  So I choose to SOUND the alarm to acknowledge that I am SPECIAL, that GOD CHOSE me to perform HIS WORK IN, for ALL the world to SEE, if they choose to slow down long enough to SEE what HE has done!

We ALL have a MIRACULOUS RECOVERY to write about though!  Everyone who has been BOUGHT with the blood of JESUS has been CHOSEN by GOD according to the entire book of Hebrews.  Why don’t we who DESERVE a “MUCH WORSE PUNISHMENT” share with this world about what HE has done for us?  Now do you understand why I cannot help but speak of what HE has done (Acts 4:20) for me?  I deserve a “MUCH WORSE PUNISHMENT”, but JESUS rescued me!!!  I cannot help but tell others about it!!!

“EXCEPT THE ONE!”

1 John 5:4-5                                                (ESV)

“4 For everyone who has been born of GOD overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.

5 Who is it that overcomes the world “EXCEPT THE ONE” WHO BELIEVES that JESUS is the SON of GOD?”

A theologian I follow on a social media site recently put these words out for reflection.  

“The church is not in trouble.

Christ chose His church.

Christ died for His church.

Christ resurrected for His church.

Christ ascended for His church.

Christ intercedes for His church.

Christ is returning for His church.

The church is not in trouble.”

People get all riled up over what some preacher says and totally disregard what GOD’s WORD is trying to tell them.  There has never been a soul born that was without flaw, “EXCEPT THE ONE” known as JESUS.  We don’t need to lose sight that HE is the ONE WHO stands in the GAP for us, the ONE WHO was able to pay the great price for my sinful behavior.  

“EXCEPT THE ONE” was willing to sacrifice HIS LIFE, then overcome death, hell, and the grave, all of my peace, joy, and love would be worthless.  Charles H. Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, all great men of GOD, but all saw the need for a Savior.  I am an “EXCEPT THE ONE” that Believes in “EXCEPT THE ONE” that left the perfection of Heaven to live in a fallen world in order to provide salvation (John 1:12-13) through Believing in HIM.  

IT IS ALL ABOUT WHAT HE DID, NOT ANYTHING ELSE!!!