Hebrews 6:15 (ESV)

 Hebrews 6:15                       (ESV)

“And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”

“TIME!”

 From Bishop Robert E. Smith Sr.!

“There are time limits on spiritual growth (Heb. 5:12-14), for total prosperity (3 John 1:2).  Don't waste time (Eph. 5:16,17; Ps. 84:10,11).”

“ONLY THROUGH JESUS!”

 Romans 7:18                    (ESV)

“For I know that NOTHING good dwells in me, that is, IN MY FLESH. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

ONLY THROUGH JESUS!!!

“WATCH YOURSELVES!”

 Luke 21:34-38                     (ESV)

WATCH YOURSELVES 

“[34] “But “WATCH YOURSELVES” lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of “this life”, and that day come upon you suddenly LIKE A TRAP. [35] For it WILL come upon ALL who dwell on the face of the whole earth. [36] But stay awake (alert) at all times, PRAYING THAT YOU MAY HAVE STRENGTH to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the SON of MAN.”

[37] And every day HE was teaching in the temple, but at night HE went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. [38] And early in the morning all the people came to HIM in the temple to hear HIM.”

Getting “caught up” in the cares of “this life” can consume your being to the point of controlling your actions and ultimately your thoughts!  

“WATCH YOURSELVES” wasn’t a suggestion given by THE CREATOR to help us find success in “this life”, rather a way that YOU MAY HAVE STRENGTH to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the SON of MAN!

“WATCH YOURSELVES” people, because we ALL  are going to stand before the SON of MAN!!!!

Ezekiel 37:12

 Ezekiel 37:12                    (ESV)

“[12] Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the LORD GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.”

Have THINE OWN way!

 Have THINE OWN way LORD

Have THINE OWN way

THOU art the potter

I am the clay

Mold me and make me 

After THY will

As I am waiting, yielded and STILL!

Ecclesiastes 7:8

 Ecclesiastes 7:8                     (ESV)

    “[8] Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

        and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

“YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT!”

 Exodus 14:13-14            (ESV)

“[13] And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. [14] The LORD will fight for you, and YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT.””

“BUT GOD’s!”

 2 Chronicles 20:14-17                    (ESV)

“[14] And the SPIRIT OF THE LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. [15] And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘DO NOT BE AFRAID and DO NOT BE DISMAYED at this great horde, for the battle is not yours “BUT GOD’s”. [16] Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. [17] YOU WILL NOT NEED TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE. Stand firm, hold your position, and SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD ON YOUR BEHALF, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and THE LORD WILL BE WITH YOU.”

How often do I perceive trouble on my horizon and begin to have “fear and doubt” in my mind?  Fear and dismay are tools that the enemy uses to get my eyes on him and NOT on the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!  

Maybe that is why I was placed into a coma before the battle of 2007 when my brain hemorrhaged?  ALMIGHTY GOD knew that the storm was about to get serious and I didn’t have the Spiritual maturity to let HIM fight the battle for me??  My medical records say it best, “However, he has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a miracle from GOD”!  

One would think that this “lesson” would have grown my FAITH to where I would be UNSTOPPABLE??  But “the enemy” is “more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made” (Genesis 3:1) and his desire is to defeat GOD!  My desire is for GOD TO BE VICTORIOUS!  But apparently I DON’T want to be in the midst of a battle?!?  

ALMIGHTY GOD is UNDEFEATED, for all eternity!  Even on the crucifixion day GOD was fulfilling HIS PLAN!  My sins, my LACK OF FAITH, and my failure to be a TESTIMONY of HIS DELIVERANCE from the “valley of the shadow of death” were what JESUS died for!  Without question, I AM WEAK!  “BUT GOD’s” GRACE IS THERE FOR ME!!!

“BELIEVE!”

 Mark 11:20-33                    (ESV)

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

“[20] As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. [21] And Peter remembered and said to HIM, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that YOU cursed has withered.” [22] And JESUS answered them, “Have faith in GOD. [23] Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, “BELIEVE” that you have received it, and IT WILL BE YOURS. [25] And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your FATHER also WHO is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

The Authority of JESUS Challenged

[27] And they came again to Jerusalem. And as HE was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to HIM, [28] and they said to HIM, “By what authority are YOU doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” [29] JESUS said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer ME, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. [30] Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer ME.” [31] And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ HE will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ [32] But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. [33] So they answered JESUS, “WE DO NOT KNOW.” And JESUS said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”” 

 These verses carry so much TRUTH that clinging to lies COULD be a fatal flaw!!!  In verses 20-25 JESUS was teaching HIS disciples about “BELIEVING” what was in their heart and they would SEE it come to fruition.  In verses 26-33 JESUS is speaking with “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” about WHO gave HIM “authority” to do “these things”?  

Do you actually BELIEVE that “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” really cares about they were actually speaking with GOD INCARNATE???  Can you picture the JUDGEMENT SEAT when “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” have to answer THE KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS that they couldn’t SEE that HE was GOD??  Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth will be the top “menu” item when they SEE JESUS seated on HIS THRONE!  

WHOM do you say that JESUS is???  Timing is the KEY, for if you deny HIM before men, HE WILL DENY you before HIS FATHER (Matthew 10:33)!  It is IMPERATIVE that we are “BELIEVING” that JESUS IS GOD and that HE died for my sins AND ROSE FROM THE GRAVE to rule and reign forever more!!!

“HE WILL ACT!”

 Psalm 37:4-5                         (ESV)

    “[4] Delight yourself in the LORD,

        and HE will give you the desires of your heart.

    [5] Commit your way to the LORD;

        trust in HIM, and “HE WILL ACT”.”

“Your body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels.”

“Measured at the equator, the Earth has a circumference of 40,075.017 km or 24,901.461 miles.”

This indicates that our bodies have enough blood vessels to go completely around earth almost two and one half times!  

In July 2007 a blood vessel in my brain sprung a leak smaller than the size of a number two pencil lead, probably considered a TINY leak to most, it almost cost me my life!

Then in April 2017, three blood vessels in my heart were clogged (60%, 65%, and 70%) and these three “clogs” were bypassed by a heart surgeon.  The “donor artery”, pulled from my leg, was long enough to do four (4) bypasses, allowing blood to properly flow through my heart once again. 

Both of the aforementioned “conditions” could be considered life threatening, but GOD used each to teach me INVALUABLE lessons that many people never have the opportunity to learn from!  GOD knew PRECISELY when and where the Brain Hemorrhage needed to happen to accomplish HIS PURPOSE!  The Bypass Surgery “corrected” so-called “tiny” coronary arteries with a blood vessel from my leg that was HUGE, causing my blood pressure to drop greatly!  

Both instances were considered to be “life threatening”!  But one of the lessons that I learned soon afterwards was that GOD IS IN CONTROL, especially when “the enemy” is getting near (Exodus 14:14)!  Although my doctors and nurses were excellent, the medical conditions were treated by hospitals over 100 miles apart.  However GOD was there, no matter where I was being treated.  

GOD doesn’t “require” for us to specifically ask for HIM to perform miraculous works in our lives, sometimes “HE WILL ACT” to GLORIFY HIS NAME and we are the recipients!!  In Isaiah 42:5 Scripture says HE gives us the very breath we breathe!  HIS MIRACLES NEVER CEASE, if we could only recognize THEM!!!

“MY GRACE!”

 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.”

The Apostle Paul, in my mind, had to be one of the most influential people in the Bible, yet he writes in 1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV) “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners; OF WHOM I AM CHIEF.”!  His understanding of his position IN CHRIST is something that I have to be reminded of at times as my Brain Damaged self tends to forget exactly who I am and where I have been brought from!  

I AM NOTHING outside of “MY GRACE” that JESUS CHRIST provides for such a “wretch”!  Why do I fret about abusing “MY GRACE” when Apostle Paul wrote that he was the CHIEF of sinners?  I am CHOSEN, not because of my worthiness, but because of “MY GRACE”!  

Humility isn’t a problem when you can’t even speak words in the correct order to make a sentence!  Or your legs won’t even carry you around the house!  Or you are unable to tell GODS GIFT to you that she is the best gift ever!  The Apostle Paul was “sidelined” for three days in Damascus.  It took a few months for me to SEE what GOD was trying to SAY to me, INCLUDING A SEVENTEEN DAY COMA!!!

The Apostle Paul was used TREMENDOUSLY to further the KINGDOM of GOD.  “MY GRACE” has been used to keep me on this earth.  I need to FOREVER be reminded that without “MY GRACE” I would not have survived a single day without JESUS in my life!!!  When you look up “MY GRACE” in the dictionary, my life should be what is seen!!!  

“HATED HIM EVEN MORE!”

 Genesis 37:5-11

[5] Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they “HATED HIM EVEN MORE”. [6] He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: [7] Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” [8] His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they “HATED HIM EVEN MORE” for his dreams and for his words.

[9] Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” [10] But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” [11] And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Genesis 41:46-52

[46] Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. [47] During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, [48] and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. [49] And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

[50] Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. [51] Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” [52] The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For GOD has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

When I recall the story of Joseph I remember how his own brothers sold him into slavery at the ripe age of 17!  So he was “in captivity” for 13 years until he was elevated to the second in command, answering only to Pharaoh.  

Initially my mind recalls the “brothers” who “HATED HIM EVEN MORE” because of the dreams that GOD had given Joseph.  Should Joseph had kept the dreams to himself?  Should the “brothers” have been more understanding of where the dreams came from?  Ultimately where did Joseph wind up?  Exodus 13:19 Scripture tells us that Moses took “the bones of Joseph” with him as the Children of Israel departed Egypt.  

Did the “brothers” of Joseph despise him so badly because he was mean to them?  Did the “brothers” of Joseph despise him so badly because he was wealthier than them?  Then WHY DID the “brothers” of Joseph despise him so badly?  GOD’s PLAN HAD TO BE FULFILLED and the “brothers” were a part of GOD’s PLAN!  We all remember the triumph of Joseph, but we MUST remember that his “brothers” “HATED HIM EVEN MORE” and sold him into slavery or the Red Sea crossing wouldn’t have happened!!!

2 Timothy 2:23

 2 Timothy 2:23                    (ESV)

“[23] Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”

“YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!”

Proverbs 3:5-6                                  (ESV)

    “[5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

        and do not lean on “YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING”. 

    [6] In all your ways acknowledge HIM,

        and HE will make straight your paths.”

Waking in the middle of the night can be a frustrating thing, especially when you physically weary from the cares of “this world”!  Escaping from the “rat race” we so often find ourselves in can be difficult, even unnerving, especially when we can’t SEE the guidance from ABOVE trying to guide our lives???  Then I SEE that GOD might have me AWAKENED in PEACE and QUIET to SPEAK to me on an uninterrupted wavelength to REVEAL TRUTH to me, so maybe I can truly HEAR from HIM without “the enemy” influencing my thoughts!

So many times I have relied upon “YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” when trying to figure out THE PATH GOD has planned for me and my future.  Why would I rely on “YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” when the SPIRIT OF GOD abides within me (1 Corinthians 6:19)?  Yielding to the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES should be my default position, instead of doing WHAT I THINK is best?

HEAVENLY FATHER, cause me to ALWAYS SEE that YOU are here trying to LEAD my life, especially when I awake from a night of peaceful sleep!  I DON’T want to lean on “YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” when I have YOUR SPIRIT to guide me through “this world”!!!

“WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM!”

 Psalm 37:7-9                       (ESV)

    “[7] BE STILL before the LORD and “WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM”;

        fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

        over the man who carries out evil devices!

    [8] REFRAIN from anger, and FORSAKE wrath!

        FRET NOT yourself; it tends only to evil. 

    [9] For the evildoers shall be cut off,

        but those who “WAIT” for the LORD shall inherit the land.”

MOST of the time in my life has been spent in an “on the go” mentality, doing anything to stay busy!  Now it appears that BEING STILL and WAITING might be recognized by scientists as healthy, even Biblical, which might confuse “the learned” of “this world”???

In an article published within the last few days a term about the so-called “Default Mode Network” offers the possibility that BEING STILL and “WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM” might be good advice?!?  An excerpt from the article states “And dysfunction in the default mode network was floated as a potential feature of nearly every psychiatric and neurological disorder, including depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.”  Later in the article this paragraph was used, “It was as if these areas (Default Mode Network) had been active when the person wasn’t doing anything, and then turned off when the mind had to concentrate on something external.”  In my feeble understanding, the “Default Mode Network” study was saying that when a brain disengages from specific tasks and RESTS, it is free to do whatever ALMIGHTY GOD is trying to get the individual to do for HIM……..for we that are CHOSEN!!

Could it be that King David KNEW that GOD required him to BE STILL and “WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM”?  Modern secular scientists have only found out within the last few days what King David knew over 3,000 years ago!  GOD needs us to “WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM”!!!  HE hasn’t changed!!!

“DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD!”

 Romans 12:1-2                    (ESV)

A Living Sacrifice

“[1] I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of GOD, to present your bodies as a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and acceptable to GOD, which is your spiritual worship. [2] “DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD”, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of GOD, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Ephesians 5:1-2               (ESV)

Walk in Love

“[1] Therefore be IMITATORS of GOD, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as CHRIST loved us and gave HIMSELF up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to GOD.”

CONFORM: To act, often unquestioningly, in accordance with traditional customs or prevailing standards.

TRANSFORM: To change the nature, function, or condition of; convert: synonym: convert

IMITATOR: Someone who copies the words or behavior of another.

There is a tremendous amount of talk these days about “just fitting in”, trying to “just get along”?  Both passages of Scripture above mention that we are to be a “sacrifice” to our CREATOR, not someone who attempts to get along with society.

As a matter of fact, Romans 12:2 instructs us “DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD”!  When the definition of CONFORM is applied that should mean “DO NOT BE “To act, often unquestioningly, in accordance with traditional customs or prevailing standards” TO THIS WORLD”. Scripture is saying we SHOULD NOT FIT IN to the cares of “this world”!  

Our lives need to be TRANSFORMED by the renewal of our minds and for the GLORY of the FATHER!  We don’t need to be like everyone who is going to hell, do we???  I prefer “DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD” but more like where I am going……..soon!!!