“WHO SEES IN SECRET!”

 Matthew 6:5-6                    (ESV)

[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your FATHER WHO is in secret. And your FATHER “WHO SEES IN SECRET” will reward you.”

There are MANY times when my “Brain Damaged” mind is unable to focus on one thing at a time.  I have always had a problem with a wondering mind, hardly ever finishing a thought until I am pondering something totally different?!?  This morning I typed into a “search engine” BIBLE SPENDING TIME WITH GOD and one of the first results was Matthew 6:6.  As I copied and pasted the two verses above, my mind was captivated by the sentence “And your FATHER “WHO SEES IN SECRET” will reward you”!

To fully absorb what Scripture is trying to teach us, this humble servant is REQUIRED to SLOWLY digest the WORD and allow it to marinate my thick skull.  Our FATHER “WHO SEES IN SECRET” might be understood to mean that GOD literally SEES what we an asking for and provides our “wishes“?  But ALMIGHTY GOD KNOWS that I am flawed and HE can’t give me everything that I “wish for”.  That would be chaotic, putting it mildly!  

“WHO SEES IN SECRET” could be better understood that GOD KNOWS ALL, and HE lovingly “orchestrates” happenings FOR HIS GLORY.  The “finiteness” of the human mind is unable to comprehend what THE ALMIGHTY is capable of doing.  I might have NEVER fathomed that I would experience a “massive brain hemorrhage” in 2007, spend seventeen days in a coma and two years off from work, yet be HEALED enough two years later to buy my business back from the person GOD entrusted it to for those three years.  

ALMIGHTY GOD, “WHO SEES IN SECRET”, has a PLAN!  We have to WALK BY FAITH (2 Corinthians 5:7), NOT BY SIGHT, to please HIM!  Our limited knowledge and abilities are incapable of SEEING what HE has planned for us.  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, cause me to TRUST in YOU to guide me through this life and to fully understand that YOU are the ONE “WHO SEES IN SECRET”!!!

“WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD!”

 1 John 3:19-23                    (ESV)

“[19] By this (HOLY living) we shall know that we are of the TRUTH and reassure our heart before HIM; [20] for whenever our heart condemns us, GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR HEART, and HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, “WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD”; [22] and WHATEVER WE ASK WE RECEIVE FROM HIM, because WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS and do what pleases HIM. [23] And this is HIS commandment, that we believe in the NAME OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST and LOVE ONE ANOTHER, just as HE has commanded us.”

IF our lives have been changed by the GRACE of GOD, we WILL NOT radiate the “sins of the flesh”, according to the Scripture above.  But the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to SAVE SINNERS, OF WHOM I AM THE FOREMOST”!!!  

Why then do I continue to be a victim to sin and its effect on my life?  Once again, the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:14 that “For sin will have no dominion over you, since YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE!!The same person (Paul) writes in Romans 7:15 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”  Then at the end of that chapter Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25 “Wretched man that I am! WHO will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD! So then, I myself serve the law of GOD with my mind, but WITH MY FLESH I serve the law of sin.”

“WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD” that we will be USED by GOD to Glorify HIM and HIS SON!  Will we do this by living ABOVE sin???  Obviously not, for I DO NOT UNDERSTAND MY OWN ACTIONS, as Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Rome!  But “WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD” that HE will use my failures for HIS GLORY, as ONLY HE can!!!

“IF YOU KNOW???”

 IYKYK

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“HIS PERFECT PATIENCE!”

 1 Timothy 1:15-16                    (ESV)

“[15] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the FOREMOST. [16] But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the FOREMOST, JESUS CHRIST might display “HIS PERFECT PATIENCE” as an example to those who were to believe in HIMf or eternal life.”

For MANY YEARS 1 Timothy 1:15 was a verse quoted often by yours truly because, even though I am CHOSEN, I am living in a “broken world” and I STILL sin!!  The King James Version of the aforementioned verse finishes with “….of whom, I am CHIEF”!!!  The Apostle Paul thought that he was the worst person CHOSEN to be one of HIS (CHRIST’S), but if Paul considered me, his opinion would certainly be different??

I have been writing “devotionals” for over a dozen years!!  Wondering why our CREATOR would CHOOSE me is beyond my comprehension?!?  I’M SO GLAD HE DID elect me, for without HIM I would a “lost cause”!!!  “HIS PERFECT PATIENCE” is THE ONLY thing that I can glory in.  Not because I have done anything worthy of salvation, but because JESUS CHRIST displayed “HIS PERFECT PATIENCE” for the FOREMOST of sinners is all I can claim!

Why did HE CHOOSE me?  “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the FOREMOST (of sinners), JESUS CHRIST might display “HIS PERFECT PATIENCE” as an example to those who were to believe in HIMf or eternal life”.  I can’t explain it any more clearly, but simply because of “HIS PERFECT PATIENCE“!!!

“YOUR HOLY SPIRIT!”

 Psalm 51:10-12                    (ESV)

    “[10] Create in me a clean heart, O GOD,

        and RENEW a right spirit within me. 

    [11] Cast me not away from YOUR PRESENCE,

        and take not “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” from me. 

    [12] Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation,

        and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

The more I learn about Scripture, the MORE I discover that I am illiterate about the DEPTHS of the HOLY WORD!  I have written about these verses at least five or six times since I began this journey in November 2011.  GOD continues to use HIS WORD to transform me into a vessel that is more like HIM.  

The author of this Psalm was none other than King David, a “man after GOD’s OWN HEART”!!  But King David had his weaknesses, similar to every person who ever lived!  The caption over these Bible verses says “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”  A “man after GOD’s OWN HEART” must have been embarrassed to have his sinful deeds (including the killing of Uriah the Hittite) plastered above his admission to GOD???  But whenever the 51st Chapter of Psalms is viewed, it shows the “brokenness” of GOD’s servant, something that we all need to experience more often than we care to admit!!

“YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” is thought by some to have been “released” on Pentecost (Acts 2)!  But King David wrote around 3,000 years ago (1,000 years before JESUS!) begging GOD NOT TO take “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” from me!  “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” was evident in CREATION (Genesis 1:2), so HE has been A PART of the TRINITY for ETERNITY PAST!  HE will be A PART of ETERNITY FUTURE as well!

King David, a man after GOD’S OWN HEART, prayed “Cast me not away from YOUR PRESENCE, and take not “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” from me”.  If King David experienced “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” while he lived on “this world”, surely “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” was here for him, and “YOUR HOLY SPIRIT” is here for us!!!

“MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS!”

 Psalm 143:8                    (ESV)

    “[8] Let me hear IN THE MORNING of YOUR steadfast love, for in YOU I trust.

    “MAKE ME KNOW THE WAY” I SHOULD GO,

        for to YOU I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 27:9

        “[9]     Hide not YOUR face from me.

    Turn not YOUR servant away in anger,

        O YOU WHO have been my help.

    Cast me not off; forsake me not,

        O GOD of my salvation!”

“MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS!”

 Psalm 25:4-5                       (ESV)

    “[4] “MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS”, O LORD;

        teach me YOUR paths. 

    [5] Lead me in YOUR TRUTH and teach me,

        for YOU are the GOD of my salvation;

        for YOU I wait all the day long.”  

 As I attempt to make certain that I follow “YOUR WAYS”, I find myself second-guessing myself that I am doing what is in HIS PERFECT will.  The month of July 2007 was critical for my family, but for me I could do NO WRONG!  I was in a coma and had NO CONTROL over anything that happened to me during those seventeen days!  

The feeling of not being in control of anything is really sort of liberating.  I remember the first few days of being “awake” again, I was so relaxed, almost “do whatever you want to me”!!!  I was so “agreeable” that I didn’t want to do anything to alienate my nurses , a career that my mom had for most of my life. “MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS” is something that I was taught without knowing that I was “in school”?  I did exactly what I wanted to, but my “want to” was drastically different from three weeks prior!  

The same position is something that I need to surrender to in my life today.  My EYES need to be fixed on SEEING “MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS” even when I am not focused on doing RIGHT!  If I can SEE “MAKE ME TO KNOW YOUR WAYS” in front of my selfish desires, maybe I will FOLLOW HIM more frequently???

“IN CHRIST!”

 1 Corinthians 15:20-26                    (ESV)

“[20] But in fact CHRIST has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a MAN has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, so also “IN CHRIST” SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE. [23] But each in his own order: CHRIST the firstfruits, then at HIS coming those who belong to CHRIST. [24] Then comes the end, when HE delivers the kingdom to GOD the FATHER after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25] For HE must reign until HE has put all his enemies under HIS feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

My sins are a part of the “the fall” of humanity!   Adam and Eve “chose” to select sin over PEACE, and that choice has made us the wretched people we are.  ALL descendants from Adam and Eve are cursed, but some of US are CHOSEN to LIVE ANEW!!!

ALL of humanity, IN ITS ENTIRETY, doesn’t have what it takes to live a HOLY life, but “IN CHRIST” ALL SHALL BE MADE ALIVE!  You can’t just “know about” CHRIST, but you MUST have HIM in you and you MUST BE “IN CHRIST”!!!!

“A CLEAN HEART!”

 Psalm 51                    (ESV)

Create in Me “A CLEAN HEART”, O GOD

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

    [1] Have mercy on me, O GOD,

        according to YOUR steadfast love;

    according to YOUR abundant mercy

        blot out my transgressions. 

    [2] Wash me THOROUGHLY from my iniquity,

        and cleanse me from my sin!

    [3] For I know my transgressions,

        and my sin is ever before me. 

    [4] Against YOU, YOU ONLY, have I sinned

        and done what is “evil” in YOUR sight,

    so that YOU may be justified in YOUR words

        and blameless in YOUR judgment. 

    [5] Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

        and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

    [6] Behold, YOU delight in TRUTH in the inward being,

        and YOU teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

    [7] Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

        wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

    [8] Let me hear joy and gladness;

        LET THE BONES THAT YOU HAVE BROKEN REJOICE. 

    [9] Hide YOUR face from my sins,

        and blot out all my iniquities. 

    [10] CREATE in me “A CLEAN HEART”, O GOD,

        and renew a right spirit within me. 

    [11] Cast me not away from YOUR presence,

        and take not your HOLY SPIRIT from me. 

    [12] RESTORE to me the joy of YOUR salvation,

        and uphold me with a willing spirit.

    [13] Then I will teach transgressors YOUR ways,

        and sinners will return to YOU. 

    [14] Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O GOD,

        O GOD of my salvation,

        and my tongue will sing aloud of YOUR righteousness. 

    [15] O LORD, open my lips,

        and my mouth will declare YOUR praise. 

    [16] For YOU will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

        YOU will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 

    [17] THE SACRIFICES OF GOD ARE A BROKEN SPIRIT;

        A BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE HEART, O GOD, YOU WILL NOT DESPISE.

    [18] Do good to Zion in YOUR good pleasure;

        build up the walls of Jerusalem; 

    [19] then will YOU delight in right sacrifices,

        in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

        then bulls will be offered on YOUR altar.”

King David was BROKEN!!  Today HE HAS BROKEN ME!  Our CREATOR doesn’t have to have a sin so grand that we are shamed tremendously!  

GOD wants to give us “A CLEAN HEART”, but HE has to put us through some “difficult” situations to display HIS MERCY and GRACE!!!

“FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM!”

 Genesis 18:16-21                    (ESV)

“[16] Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. [17] The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, [18] seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? [19] “FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM”, that he may command his children and his household after him to KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” [20] Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, [21] I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.””

Was the FAITH of Abraham automatically bestowed upon him at a point in his life?  Did he just wake up one day and TRUST in GOD ALMIGHTY with his entire being?  Abraham was born Abram, a son of Terah (Genesis 11:26).  GOD changed his name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5, where it is written “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, FOR I (GOD ALMIGHTY) HAVE MADE YOU THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS.”  GOD had developed the FAITH of Abraham and HE wanted to display this to everyone!

Long before Abraham was born Abram, GOD had ordained and CHOSEN him (Ephesians 1:4).  As Abraham followed the PATH for his life, his FAITH grew stronger and stronger.  He was renowned for it his entire life, AND BEYOND!  His FAITH was written about as late as in 1 Peter.  Why did this happen?  Because GOD PLANNED it!!  

Has ALMIGHTY GOD CHOSEN to fulfill a PURPOSE of HIS PLAN with your life?  The pain and suffering that you experience COULD be for HIS GLORY???  Those who seem to have everything going their way will ONE DAY stand at the JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST and will have nothing to offer HIM, except wealth and prosperity.  What will you have to offer the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES?  My prayer is that JESUS will say about me “FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM”, and that is all that matters!!!