“LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD!”

 Proverbs 4:23-27                             (ESV)

“23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 

24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 

25 “LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD”, and your gaze be straight before you. 

26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 

27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

Being 60 years old (and a few days!) gives me a totally different perspective than when I was younger.  Hopefully my 60 year old vision is more seasoned and refined than my teen years, or even my 30 year old vision?  Realizing that the speed of life has consumed more than likely most of my time on this earth, focusing on where I am going in what time I have left is rapidly becoming vital in my mind and life.  

Scripture states in 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”  It might have taken me most of my life to give up childish ways, but it now seems that I no longer have the same desires of my youth, or even my recent past!  As I have aged, I am noticing that eating healthier is more important to me than before.  My “eyes” have also opened to “see” that my Spiritual appetite has changed as well.  

When Scripture tells me to “LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD”, it isn’t so much speaking of my physical eyesight, rather the SPIRITUAL VISION of my mind and body.  Moving in a direction where you are not looking can be physically disastrous, painful, even fatal! It is by chance that AFTER our EYES, GOD then instructs us about our FEET!  Yielding to the HOLY SPIRIT “control” of our EYES first, and then our FEET, we are more likely to FOLLOW HIS PLAN for our lives.  

Allowing Scripture to MOLD us into vessels that are used for HIS GLORY is what we should desire for our lives.  However, Jeremiah 6:16 tells us “Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'WE WILL NOT WALK IN IT.’”  When THE SPIRIT OF GOD instructs us to “LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD”, will we FOLLOW HIS PLAN for our lives, or will we do what WE desire?  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, cause me to YIELD to YOUR PLAN and “LET MY EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD” as I serve YOU!!!

“MY WORD!”

 John 8:31-33                                   (ESV)

“31 So JESUS said to the Jews who had believed HIM, "If you abide in “MY WORD”, you are truly MY disciples,

32 and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH WILL SET FREE."

33 They answered HIM, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, YOU WILL BECOME FREE'?"

A friend of mine posted about how one organization’s bylaws were entirely different that what the supposed title of their group inferred.  My reply was 

“Genesis 3:1 says “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made. He said to the woman, "Did GOD actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"  

“The enemy” always distorts TRUTH to deceive!  GOD told Adam that he shouldn’t eat from ONE TREE of the garden in Genesis”!

THE JEWS in the verses above asked “How is it that you say, 'YOU WILL BECOME FREE'?” basically ignoring the fact that humanity has been enslaved because of the fall of man.  Adam and Eve selected SLAVERY over FREEDOM all because they allowed “the enemy” to distort the WORD OF GOD!  JESUS told THE JEWS of John 8:31 "If you abide in MY WORD, you are truly my disciples”.  But they allowed ancestry and traditions to cloud their minds so that THE TRUTH was unable to be SEEN!  

Laws and bylaws are good when used appropriately.  But Joseph (Genesis 39) is unjustly sent to prison in the Old Testament and Paul (Acts 16) and others in the New Testament by man’s law!  Knowing “MY WORD” may not guarantee our staying out of jail, but it does guarantee FREEDOM!  WHEN we INTIMATELY KNOW “MY WORD”, we will have a PEACE that passes ALL UNDERSTANDING (Philippians 4:7) and helps us IDENTIFY “the enemy” at his lies!!

FATHER IN HEAVEN, cause me to be ever IN YOUR WORD and allow YOUR WORD to draw me closer to YOU!  “MY WORD” can change lives, therefore changing actions!  The ONLY THING that we should have HOPE in is “MY WORD”!!!

“NO ONE!”

 John 14:1-7                                          (ESV)

“1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in GOD; believe also in ME.

2 In MY FATHER’S house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to MYSELF, that where I am you may be also.

4 And you know the way to where I am going."

5 Thomas said to HIM, "LORD, we do not know where YOU are going. How can we know the way?"

6 JESUS said to him, "I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. “NO ONE” comes to the FATHER except through ME.

7 If you had known ME, you would have known MY FATHER also. From now on you do know HIM and have seen HIM."”

Observing so-called “peaceful protestors” has become a misnomer for “things didn’t go the way I think they should and I demand things change”!  Just because you “feel” things would be better if your ideas are being followed doesn’t mean that others feel the same.  The only sure thing is that the only constant is TRUTH as defined in John 14:6.  JESUS was explaining to Thomas that HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE!  

“This world” can concoct so many “ideas” that seem to be an answer to what ails mankind, but there is ONLY ONE CURE to the FATAL DISEASE named SIN, and that is JESUS!  We cannot “police” JESUS into people.  We cannot “social program” a person into having their EYES OPENED.  Man cannot SAVE mankind in the least!  ONLY JESUS CHRIST is the ANSWER!!!

“The enemy” has been attempting to add, change, or take away from the ANSWER since Genesis 3, but THE ANSWER has never changed.  FAITH in JESUS is our ONLY HOPE!   “NO ONE” has, will, nor can improve upon the PERFECT PLAN OF GOD!  When will we quit trying and ACCEPT what JESUS CHRIST has done???

“ANXIOUS HEART!”

 Isaiah 35:1-7                               (ESV)

“1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 

2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. THEY SHALL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD, THE MAJESTY OF OUR GOD. 

3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 

4 Say to those who have an “ANXIOUS HEART”, "BE STRONG; FEAR NOT! Behold, your GOD will come with vengeance, with the recompense of GOD.  HE WILL COME AND SAVE YOU." 

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 

7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.”

In times of doubt and dismay, I at times find myself with an “ANXIOUS HEART”, not trusting that GOD is in CONTROL!  Although I do my best to keep my mind on things that are above (Colossians 3:2), “the enemy” is ever trying to infiltrate all of our minds, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)!  When he has our minds on daily problems, we live in fear of what might happen instead of living in JOY of who we are in JESUS CHRIST!  

Recently “the enemy” was playing deceitful games with my mind concerning an issue that is WAY BIGGER than I know how to deal with.  Like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15-20, I “still” want to do things my way and try to figure out how GOD is going to resolve the issue at hand.  GOD isn’t confined by the limits of the human imagination, nor by the way “this world” always does things.  HE has a PLAN, and that PLAN will be fulfilled!  

In the passage of Scripture above, Isaiah tells us “THEY SHALL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD, THE MAJESTY OF OUR GOD”!  Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears shall hear, and a lame man shall leap like a deer when GOD IS ON THE SCENE.  Luke 1:37 says “For NOTHING will be IMPOSSIBLE with GOD”, so the mind of man should definitely NOT think it can comprehend what is possible with the ALMIGHTY calling the shots!  Why, then, do I have an “ANXIOUS HEART” when I experience hardships and turmoil in my life?  I am NOT IN CONTROL, but HE IS!

The psalmist writes in Psalms 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will FEAR NO EVIL, for YOU ARE WITH ME; YOUR rod and YOUR staff, THEY COMFORT ME.”  FEAR and DOUBT can only visit me when my eyes wonder to what “the enemy” wants me to gaze upon.  JESUS, the VICTOR, says to keep my EYES on things that are above, which will remedy the consequences from an “ANXIOUS HEART”!!!

“WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD!”

 Romans 8:16-17;28                           (ESV)

“16 The SPIRIT HIMSELF bears witness with our spirit that “WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD”,

17 and IF CHILDREN, then HEIRS-HEIRS OF GOD and FELLOW HEIRS WITH CHRIST, PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM.

28 And WE KNOW that for those who love GOD ALL THINGS WORK together for good, for those who are called according to HIS purpose.”

Occasionally my MIND is infiltrated by “the enemy” and I begin to question WHY things aren’t going just as I think they should.  Why do BAD things happen to GOOD people?  Making sure you are following GOD‘S PLAN for your future is something that I desire for my life, but the key to that statement has to be that GOD’S PLAN is being achieved, NOT MY PLAN!  

Dr. John MacArthur has been quoted as saying “A right attitude during a SEASON OF TRIAL only comes when you have an eternal perspective.”  When I get disgruntled about the position I find myself in, I have to remind myself that ALL THINGS WORK together for good, PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM!  Scripture never says that we will live on EASY STREET with no challenges.  As a matter of fact, PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM is the complete opposite of everything going the way WE WANT!

What I need to keep at the forefront of my MIND is “The SPIRIT HIMSELF bears witness with our spirit that “WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD””!  My “children” are young adults now, but both can testify that being raised by one of the parents GOD assigned to them was “challenging”, to say the least!  My methods were not always the best, but they have grown into fine young men, despite my imperfections.  

“WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD”, fellow HEIRS with CHRIST, so we can expect, even prepare for, SUFFERING to come our way!  While we WILL experience SUFFERINGS, knowing that we WILL receive a reward in HEAVEN (Romans 2:6-8) will far exceed our pain.  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, open my EYES to SEE that YOU are WORKING ALL THINGS for YOUR GLORY and I am BLESSED just to be apart of YOUR PLAN.  They persecuted and crucified YOUR SON, so since “WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD”, we are to gladly SUFFER WITH HIM!!!

“FOLLOW ME!”

 John 1:35-43                                        (ESV)

“35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at JESUS AS HE WALKED BY and said, "BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD!"

37 The two disciples heard him say this, and THEY FOLLOWED JESUS.

38 JESUS turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39 HE said to them, "COME and you will SEE." So they CAME and SAW where HE was staying, and they stayed with HIM that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and FOLLOWED JESUS was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the MESSIAH" (which means CHRIST).

42 He brought him to JESUS. JESUS looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

43 The next day JESUS decided to go to Galilee. HE found Philip and said to him, "FOLLOW ME."”

Sometimes I am guilty of searching so hard for an ANSWER to a problem in my life that I can’t SEE it right in front of my EYES!  There are things that we overcome with within OUR OWN ABILITIES, and then there are those things that are FAR TOO BIG to us to handle.  Always being a person who desired to make things happen, when things happened that were TOO BIG for anyone to take credit for them, I usually was forced to admit that ALMIGHTY GOD was in control!  HE was leading, and I was relegated to FOLLOWING HIM!

Playing the game “FOLLOW ME” as a child, I was always interested in doing my “own thing”!  Doing your “own thing” is not good when you are playing “FOLLOW ME”, and it is NOT GOOD when we are living for CHRIST! When JESUS instructs us to “FOLLOW ME”, HE is doing it for our good, and for the GLORY OF GOD!  Like the immature servant that I was, we can TRY to do things for JESUS in our own strength and abilities, but until we “FOLLOW ME”, walking where HE has gone before us, we are setting ourselves up for our own glory, and ultimately failure!  Romans 14:23b says “...For whatever does not proceed from FAITH is sin”!  Walking by FAITH is to “FOLLOW ME” in everything we do.  

We may have to “FOLLOW ME” through a wilderness, and we might get to “FOLLOW ME” through some good times?  But in Matthew 16:24 JESUS says “...”If anyone would come after ME, let him deny himself and take up his cross and “FOLLOW ME””!  

FATHER in HEAVEN, cause me to keep my EYES fixed on JESUS (Hebrews 12:2) and never more be guilty of setting my own agenda!  Move my steps to “FOLLOW ME”, but only when that ME is JESUS!  

“FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE!”

 Luke 22:1-6                                                     (ESV)

“1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, WHICH IS CALLED THE PASSOVER.

2 And the CHIEF PRIESTS and the SCRIBES were seeking how to put HIM to death, “FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE”.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray HIM to them.

5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.

6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray HIM to them in the absence of a crowd.”

The really difficult times in our life can be when we are trying to do the right thing, but “the enemy” is working in others to accomplish things that we can’t SEE, or even imagine.  The CHIEF PRIESTS and the SCRIBES were originally used by ALMIGHTY GOD, but as “the enemy” had time to work through fallen man, they became fools (Romans 1:22), trying to elevate themselves beyond their calling.  “Originally their name (Heb. sōperêm, writers) was used MERELY of clerks whose function was to copy royal and sacred manuscripts” is written of the Scribes.  They gave the appearance of WISDOM, when they only knew how to write in their own language.  JESUS came to identify “the enemy”, of whom most Scribes were identified.  

Satan, “the enemy”, uses FEAR as one of his most effective tools.  When I am facing a difficult situation that I feel can’t be “messed up”, my tendency is to try and figure out an escape route, to contribute to the solution!  The CHIEF PRIESTS and the SCRIBES were simply men, “FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE”!  If they were really so much WISER than the supposed underlings they “ruled” over, then WHY did THEY FEAR THE PEOPLE?  Even Moses led the Israelites to a hopeless situation, BUT GOD had other Plans!  

GOD had a Plan for JESUS, and HIS PLAN displayed how the hierarchy of the Jewish people were NOT the answer to “this world”!  Today, we try to elevate humanity to be some sort of ruling class when they are simply people who are flawed, EMPOWERED by GOD to preside over HIS domain for a finite time.  Our RULER is ALMIGHTY GOD and we must recognize that anything/anyone trying to rise above HIM is of “the enemy”!  

JESUS CHRIST defeated “the enemy” when HE overcame death, hell and the grave!  No longer should it be said “FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE” as the victory belongs solely to JESUS.  Although “the enemy” will try to make us think that he is still “in the game”, JESUS is the VICTOR over all and deserves our PRAISE and ADORATION!  “FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE” is for those who are of this world, not for we who are from above (Ephesians 6:12)!  “FOR THEY FEARED THE PEOPLE” is for those who have yet to be regenerated!  Who am I???

“A THORN WAS GIVEN ME!”

 2 Corinthians 12:7-10                        (ESV)

“7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, “A THORN WAS GIVEN ME” in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to KEEP ME FROM BECOMING CONCEITED.

8 THREE TIMES I PLEADED with the LORD about this, THAT IT SHOULD LEAVE ME.

9 But HE said to me, "MY grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, SO THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST may rest upon me.

10 FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST, then, I AM CONTENT WITH WEAKNESSES, INSULTS, HARDSHIPS, PERSECUTIONS, and CALAMITIES. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:9, “But HE said to me, "MY grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, SO THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST may rest upon me”, was shared recently on my social media site, and once again it stirred me!  Admitting that we have some weaknesses can be quite uncomfortable, even HUMILIATING!  Being exposed as being weak is not something that you would expect to see on a resume, but the Apostle Paul states that he will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, SO THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST may rest upon me!  

Being married to the most giving person I know, it is more than obvious that ALMIGHTY GOD orchestrated our union.  She is patient, and I am not!  She is forgiving, and I am learning how!  She has so many great qualities that I wish I had, but one of us HAD TO BE WEAK to compliment the other one.  Of course, I’m not speaking of physical strength, I am referring to inner strength, someone who has a PROVEN track record of being there through the hard times.  GOD obviously uses my wife to be STRONG in my weaknesses, complimenting me in my many flaws!  

One of the most painful and difficult times of my life was when my younger sister was diagnosed with Stomach Cancer in 1996.  Within three months she went from a vibrant looking 33 year old woman to a lady who looked 100+ years old displaying the effects of chemotherapy and the disease that wound up claiming her PHYSICAL life 3 days after her 34th birthday. The most comforting statement I have ever heard was made by my little sister after the diagnosis.  In telling her that IF this disease was successful, she would get to see our grandmother, a lady she was named after, she stated “I want to see JESUS when I get to Heaven”!!!  Being older than her, I should have been more Spiritually mature, but I had to SHUT UP when hearing her proclamation.  

The Apostle Paul says “A THORN WAS GIVEN ME” in the flesh TO KEEP ME FROM BECOMING CONCEITED!  GOD knows when “A THORN WAS GIVEN ME” and how we are going to react to the adversity.  HE USES THE DIFFICULTIES OF OUR LIVES FOR HIS GLORY, just ask Joseph in Genesis!  Just because we can’t understand the why and how of the things we are going through is part of HIS PLAN, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL, and WE ARE NOT!  We don’t get to KNOW everything, we HAVE to TRUST HIM!  My little sister has been celebrating in Heaven since December 26, 1996.  When “A THORN WAS GIVEN ME”, my prayer is that I will realize that GOD loves me too much to ever hurt me, and HIS PLAN always works for my good!!!

“HE WHO HAD SET ME APART!”

 Galatians 1:11-17                                               (ESV)

“11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is NOT man's gospel.

12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST.

13 For you have heard of MY FORMER LIFE in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of GOD violently and tried to destroy it.

14 And I WAS ADVANCING IN JUDAISM beyond many of my own age among my people, SO EXTREMELY ZEALOUS WAS I FOR THE TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS.

15 But when “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” before I was born, and WHO CALLED ME by HIS Grace,

16 was pleased to reveal HIS SON to me, in order that I might preach HIM among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”

It has been said by many to “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.  This might be a catchy statement, but the reality of this statement could be fatal!  Can you SEE the breath you breathe?  Yet each of us continue to inhale and exhale without ever consciously putting much thought into the process!  Even when we are asleep the inhaling and exhaling continue with no pre-planned efforts of our own!

Why, then, do we think that we need to micromanage everything else that we accomplish?  In his letter to the church at Galatia, the Apostle Paul let’s it be known that he FORMERLY was a zealot FOR THE TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS!  In Acts 9 he was carrying out his orders,  persecuting the church, the Body of CHRIST, when he was all of the sudden CHANGED by a LIGHT from Heaven.  He was blinded by the LIGHT, so much that he had to be led by those assigned to assist him in his duties of persecuting the church!  He had NOTHING to do with his sight being restored, and certainly nothing to do with his entire life being TRANSFORMED!  The SPIRIT OF GOD completely changed Paul from a PERSECUTOR into THE PERSECUTED all by HIMSELF, with no assistance from anyone!

Paul writes in Galatians 1:15-16 “... when “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” before I was born, and WHO CALLED ME by HIS Grace, was pleased to reveal HIS SON to me, in order that I might preach HIM among the Gentiles...” that a TRANSFORMATION was begun in his life!  When JESUS does a work in our lives, we cannot take any credit for work that only HE could accomplish.  Paul was unable to physically see for three days, but when Ananias spoke TRUTH to him, he was THEN able to Spiritually SEE like NEVER before!  There is no mistaking when JESUS is present!  

Consider if you will, from mankind’s limited intelligence, what other planet is there with oxygen that is required for every living being to survive, other than Earth?  GOD grants us the oxygen we need to live, yet we think we don’t have time to acknowledge OUR CREATOR?  JESUS (Colossians 1:16) doesn’t need us to do ANYTHING for HIM, HE lets us SERVE HIM with our lives!  HE created everything without any assistance from humankind.  When we are CHOSEN by “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART”, we are just a small part of a magnificent Plan of our CREATOR!  “HE WHO HAD SET ME APART” is worthy of PRAISE, HONOR and GLORY!!!

“BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH!”

 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12                            (Geneva Study Bible)

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the LORD shall consume with the SPIRIT of HIS mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received NOT the LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED.  And for this cause GOD shall send them STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED who “BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH”, but had PLEASURE in UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.”

When a LIE is spoken for TRUTH, it becomes the responsibility of we who KNOW TRUTH to expose the LIE!  Those who aren’t familiar with TRUTH are susceptible to being in error, with no idea they have been DECEIVED, nor that they are promoting a LIE.  LIES and DECEIT are two of the most effective tools of “the enemy”!  

We must not think that those who believe the LIE are simply terrible people, although they are doing terrible things to others.  2 Thessalonians 2:11 says “And for this cause GOD shall send them STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE”!  Whether they believe in GOD or not, if GOD sends them a STRONG DELUSION, they are going to believe that DELUSION!  Romans 9:15 states “For HE (GOD) saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  If some can SEE things that others cannot SEE, how can the latter know what they can’t SEE?  

Exposing LIES can become tiring and monotonous!  But unless the people HEAR TRUTH, they cannot/will not know THE TRUTH (Jeremiah 6:10)!  Romans 10:17 tells us “So then FAITH cometh BY HEARING, and hearing by the WORD OF GOD”.  Lost people will generally NOT LIKE HEARING “GOOD NEWS”, but we are COMMANDED to tell them, and let the HOLY SPIRIT deal with them.  Those who don’t listen BELIEVE A LIE: THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED who “BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH”

It is not easy to tell people, especially people that you LOVE, that they are in danger of ETERNAL JUDGMENT.  But people deserve to know what the consequences are for their choices.  If you “BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH”, you might rethink your position on things?  Being a good person won’t get you anywhere.  People can think that you are the BEST person they have ever met.  But if you “BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH”, you will be DAMNED to eternity in hell!  If you “BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH”; the only alternative is to believe a LIE!!!

“HE TESTED THEM!”

 Exodus 15:22-26                                                              (ESV)

“22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there “HE TESTED THEM”, 

26 saying, "If you will DILIGENTLY LISTEN to the voice of the LORD your GOD, and do that which is right in HIS EYES, and give ear to HIS COMMANDMENTS and keep all HIS STATUTES, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."”

Exodus 14, one of the passages GOD uses very often to grow me, is the account of GOD getting Glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, casting them into the Red Sea!  The first eighteen verses of Exodus 15 is a song of praise and adoration for the ALMIGHTY, extolling how HE ravaged “the enemy” so that they were to never be seen again.  Yet less than a very few verses later, the Israelites were whining again, this time because the water was bitter at Marah (defined as “bitter”!)!

The Israelites had just witnessed GOD completely annihilating the very people they were enslaved to for 400+ years.  Now only days later they were openly criticizing GOD and HIS servant Moses because the water wasn’t to there liking.  The same GOD WHO CREATED the world and everything in it, the same GOD WHO was protecting them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, this same GOD WHO wanted to SEE that these whiners would “listen to the voice of the LORD your GOD, and do that which is right in HIS EYES, and give ear to HIS COMMANDMENTS and keep all HIS STATUTES, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians” wanted FAITH exhibited by the Israelites!  But they whined that the water was bitter!

Are we any better?  Do we constantly complain about the environment that we are surrounded by because we THINK that we are getting the short end of the deal?  Genesis 50:20 is crying to be HEARD as Joseph had been left for dead by his own brothers, sold into slavery by the same, lied on by Potiphar’s wife, until finally GOD used him to save the very people who were now crying because the water was bitter?!?  Didn’t they remember everything that GOD had performed for them?  Wasn’t their FAITH increased when “HE TESTED THEM”?  Yet they refused to even lend an ear to listen to GOD, much less DILIGENTLY LISTEN!

We are only accountable for our reactions when GOD TESTS US!  HE has brought me through some rather remarkable experiences, and I don’t want to be unappreciative!  “HE TESTED THEM” and the Israelites failed the test, reverting to the whining and griping of their past, instead of acknowledging that GOD was able to deliver them, no matter how bleak the situation.  “HE TESTED THEM” and HE already KNEW their response!  GOD already knows our response also!  When “HE TESTED THEM”, will we TESTIFY, or once again begin to whine and cry???

“THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD!”

 Revelation 12:7-9                                 (ESV)

“7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,

8 but HE WAS DEFEATED, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, “THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD”-he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Some people might ask why I refer to Satan as “the enemy” in the majority of my writings?  Ever since the beginning “the enemy” has been about twisting TRUTH and convincing man that his version of what is true is acceptable, basically DECEIVING any that cares to listen to him.  In John 8:43-44 JESUS says “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear MY WORD. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer FROM THE BEGINNING, and DOES NOT STAND IN THE TRUTH, because THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for HE IS A LIAR and the FATHER OF LIES.”  So even when “the enemy” proclaims half truths, they are also half lies, used to deceive and manipulate!

If a person attempts to convince you that anything short of THE TRUTH will be okay for now, they are NOT being led by the Spirit of GOD!  JESUS said in Matthew 12:30 “Whoever is not with ME is against ME, and whoever does not gather with ME scatters”.  If your message is not centered on the TRUTH, it must be centered on deceit?  Hiding TRUTH behind a “partial truth” is what Satan did in Genesis 3!  If your EYES have been OPENED to see that this is wrong, your SPIRIT will not allow you to share the lie, for the TRUTH lives in your body and “THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD” has no place in you!

Have you been DECEIVED into believing that an untruth is okay because we all are human?  Believers are a NEW CREATION (2 Corinthians 5:17), so we aren’t like everyone else.  The book of Revelation is one that can be misunderstood by many, but understanding that “THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD” and “the enemy” is one and the same is not something that is debatable!  Don’t allow “THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD” to use you unknowingly!  The most effective way to IDENTIFY “THE DECEIVER OF THE WHOLE WORLD” is to be so close to THE TRUTH that “the enemy” will have to flee (James 4:7)!!!

“AND THEY WERE AFRAID!”

 Luke 8:25                                                          (ESV)

“HE said to them, "Where is your FAITH?" “AND THEY WERE AFRAID”, and they marveled, saying to one another, "WHO then is this, that HE commands even winds and water, and they obey HIM?"”

As I am fervently seeking direction from THE LORD on some decisions in my life, I am praying that these decisions be used to bring me closer to HIM.  Not wanting to “miss GOD”, I am desperate to know exactly what HE wants for me to do, how HE wants it be done, and if and when HE wants me to help HIS Plan come to be?  Exodus 14:14, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent”, keeps ringing in my ears!  Why is it then that I always “feel” as though I must “do” things for HIM?

Why do I think that HE needs me to help me HIM when HE controls the wind and the water!  JESUS could have caused the windstorm (Luke 8:23) NOT to have happened, but growing the FAITH of HIS disciples required TESTING them!  Being reminded that “AND THEY WERE AFRAID” usually (like in the verse above) comes right after we are asked “Where is your FAITH?”  Apparently FEAR is the favorite weapon of “the enemy”, as it is used on us, EVEN WHEN WE ARE LOOKING FOR IT!  

JESUS embodies PEACE and ASSURANCE!   HE cannot abide in the same dwelling place of FEAR!  Why then do I “default” to FEAR when JESUS IS PEACE and ASSURANCE?  The answer is located in Romans 7:22-24, which says “, “For I delight in the law of GOD, in my inner being, BUT I see in my members another law WAGING WAR against the LAW OF MY MIND and MAKING ME CAPTIVE to the law of sin that DWELLS IN MY MEMBERS.  WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO will deliver me from this body of death?”  Paul was CAPTIVE TO THE LAW OF SIN!  I am CAPTIVE TO THE LAW OF SIN!  How can I escape this enemy???

JESUS is asking me, “Where is your FAITH?”  Please LORD, DON’T let it be said of me “AND THEY WERE AFRAID”!  Let me be able to RECOGNIZE and IDENTIFY “the enemy” and remember that JESUS has already defeated him!  Let we whose FAITH is strong and proven never be accused of “AND THEY WERE AFRAID”!!!

“WEED” or “GOOD SEED!”

 Matthew 13:24-30                             (ESV)

“24 HE put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed GOOD SEED in his field,

25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed WEEDS among the wheat and went away.

26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the WEEDS appeared also.

27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow GOOD SEED in your field? How then does it have WEEDS?'

28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the WEEDS you root up the WHEAT along with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, "Gather the WEEDS first and bind them in bundles to BE BURNED, but GATHER THE WHEAT INTO MY BARN."'" 

Being privileged to grow up in the shadows of a Master Gardener, I am no stranger to successful gardening techniques.  The lessons learned from my grandfather were vast, but hoeing weeds was probably my least favorite.  It seemed he always knew what to do to solve problems in the garden, a lot of them created your truly, to prevent a catastrophe from arising.  Being human, he wasn’t as adept at other things, but he could raise a garden like few others!

You can NOT expect to see a bountiful harvest if the seed is not nurtured and weeded, that is removing unwanted plants which rob the desired planted seeds of nutrients necessary for appreciated growth.  Hoeing weeds was the worst chore for an oversized boy whose only appreciated attention to detail was whether or not my plate was clean at dinner!  SEEING that getting the unwanted growth REMOVED from the plants that would wind up on my dinner plate never “clicked” in my brain.  

All of humanity, the “GOOD SEED” and the “WEEDS”, has been placed in this garden called earth.  Some “WEEDS” may grow far higher than the “GOOD SEED“, but in the end the “WEEDS” will be bundled up and BURNED in the lake of fire!  The WHEAT WILL BE GATHERED INTO THE BARN of the MASTER, for eternity!  “WEEDS”, having their time, will be SEPARATED from the “GOOD SEED” by THE MASTER GARDENER of the UNIVERSE WHO will pass JUDGMENT on them!

We do NOT have the ability to determine WHEN the JUDGMENT will come.  In Matthew 24:36, JESUS tells us, “But concerning THAT DAY AND HOUR no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the SON, but the FATHER only!”  THE MASTER GARDENER of eternity will then JUDGE us, not by our wealth, not by our good deeds, not by any earthly standard, but ONLY by our FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!  RIGHT NOW is the ONLY guaranteed time we have to be Supernaturally CHANGED from a “WEED” to a “GOOD SEED”!!!

“LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE!”

 Luke 8:22-25                                       (ESV)

“22 One day HE got into a boat with HIS disciples, and HE said to them, "”LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE” of the lake." So they set out,

23 and as they sailed HE fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.

24 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.

25 HE said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "WHO then is this, that HE commands even winds and water, and they obey HIM?"”

Once again, words from a note from A.W. Tozer an American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor the book entitled “GOD’s Gentle Whisper” are causing me to meditate, to SLOW DOWN and absorb things of the SPIRIT!  Praying to ALMIGHTY GOD isn’t like going grocery shopping, with a list of things we want, or need, to get through the day.  When we really grasp that our CREATOR fully understands our wants and needs, we can REST in performing exactly what we are made to accomplish.  Doing things that we aren’t CREATED to do can cause us to feel like a shoe that has been outgrown, crammed with a foot that is too large in a shoe used to fit just right, but now is no longer appropriate for the owner!  

The excerpt from the book is shared ends with “Prayer at its holiest moment is the entering into GOD to a place of such BLESSED UNION as MAKES MIRACLES SEEM TAME and remarkable answers to prayer appear something very far short of WONDERFUL BY COMPARISON” is a calming and assuring statement.  JESUS says in Matthew 19:26 “With man this is IMPOSSIBLE, but with GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE." We cannot enlighten GOD about the difficulties we are having to endure, for HE, through HIS SON, experienced DEATH, HELL, and the GRAVE for our redemption!  HE is fully aware of everything we are experiencing, long before we any symptoms of tribulations exist!  

The disciples had to have been weary from the day’s work, but JESUS had already told them “LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE”, and there wasn’t a disclaimer with that statement!  They must have been so caught up in DOING things for JESUS that they weren’t paying attention to what JE actually said?  Although the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES had already told them “LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE”, the storms had their attention and they couldn’t SEE passed them.  They were tossed to and fro, but JESUS was sleeping in the hull of the boat!

Don’t you imagine that JESUS KNEW when HE laid down that the wind would become an issue?  The TEST has to come before there is a TESTIMONY!   Amazement and wonder filled the hearts and minds of the disciples as they could not believe that this MAN could even control the winds and seas with HIS WORD!  “LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE” was a message that they would be delivered, not that there would be a smooth trip!  We need to understand that storms may blow up and cause us to have fear, but when we are told “LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE” that HE has promised never to leave us nor forsake us and THERE IS A CALM right around the corner!!!

“SHOULDN'T WE???”

 Since we were Created in HIS image (Genesis 1:26), yet we are COMMANDED to have FAITH in HIM (Mark 11:22), shouldn’t we learn to be submissive, even unto death, (Philippians 2:8), and confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the Glory of GOD the FATHER (Philippians 2:11)???

“THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES!”

 Romans 8:26-30                                                         (ESV)

“26 Likewise the SPIRIT helps us in our weakness. For WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO PRAY AS WE OUGHT, but the SPIRIT HIMSELF intercedes for us with groanings TOO DEEP FOR WORDS.

27 And HE WHO searches hearts knows what is the mind of the SPIRIT, because “THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES” FOR THE SAINTS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.

28 And we know that for those who love GOD all things work together for good, for those who are called according to HIS purpose.

29 For those whom HE foreknew HE also predestined to be conformed to the image of his SON, in order that HE might be the firstborn among many brothers.

30 And those whom HE predestined HE also called, and those whom HE called HE also justified, and those whom HE justified HE also glorified.”

The following is an excerpt from writings of A.W. Tozer, “God's Gentle Whisper”.  A friend posted, and I shared, this recently and my mind is PAUSED on the phrase “SCHOOL OF SILENCE”!  

“But there is another school where the soul must go to learn its best eternal lessons. It is the SCHOOL OF SILENCE. BE STILL AND KNOW, said the psalmist, and there is a PROFOUND PHILOSOPHY there, of UNIVERSAL APPLICATION. Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of DEGENERATING into a GLORIFIED GOLD RUSH. Almost every book on prayer deals with the GET element mainly. “

Sometimes I are under the impression that we have to deliver some great oration when we are communicating with the ALMIGHTY.  I’m not trying to say that I have it all figured out, but there are times when I simply allow my mind to go wherever GOD directs it, usually when I am in a spot where I am not certain of my next move! 

The GET element crowds out the POSSESSION of GOD in so many prayers these days.  We are so focused on GETTING things that we lose sight of WHO is doing the GIVING!  Allowing THE SPIRIT to move me to a position where I am focused on worshiping GOD is ultimately where I wind up when I manage to BE STILL!  Knowing that HE IS GOD and I AM NOT is where my RESET button has to carry me. 

When “THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES”, HE never elevates our wishes in front of the MASTERS will!  Maybe I need to YIELD to “THE SPIRIT INTERCEDING” more, close my mouth, open my heart, and allow GOD to direct the paths of my mind?