2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (ESV)
“1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of GOD, we do not lose heart.
2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with GOD’S WORD, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of GOD.
3 And even if our “GOSPEL IS VEILED”, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the GOD OF THIS WORLD HAS BLINDED THE MINDS OF THE UNBELIEVERS, TO KEEP THEM FROM SEEING THE LIGHT of the gospel of the glory of CHRIST, WHO is the image of GOD.
5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but JESUS CHRIST as LORD, with ourselves as your servants for JESUS' sake.
6 For GOD, who said, "Let light shine OUT OF DARKNESS," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of JESUS CHRIST.”
Recently I wrote during my meditation time a few words that rang loudly in my EARS while reading the above Scripture! “More than a few people who claim to be “Christians” expect GOD to never allow distress to come into their lives? Read the book of Job. Read Acts 9:16 “For I will show him (Paul) how much HE MUST SUFFER FOR THE SAKE OF MY NAME." - Acts 9:16”..
We should expect and plan for the enemy to assault, scheme, and manipulate us with all of his might as we serve the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS! 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says “Blessed be the GOD and FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the FATHER of mercies and GOD of all comfort, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR AFFLICTION, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as WE SHARE abundantly in CHRIST's SUFFERINGS, so through CHRIST we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when YOU PATIENTLY ENDURE SAME SUFFERINGS THAT WE SUFFER . Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you SHARE IN OUR SUFFERINGS, you will also share in our comfort.”
We need to understand that the enemy is constantly attacking us and the Church with LIES! "Tell the masses a LIE often enough and for long enough, sooner or later they will all believe it” said Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister who died in 1945. As soon as he was gone, someone else was enlisted to contradict TRUTH. Would the message sent to Paul in Acts 9 ever be preached from modern pulpits nowadays? It appears that it is “more comfortable” for preachers to preach that the “GOSPEL IS VEILED” instead of what the SPIRIT is instructing them to say? But Scripture says that those who believe what is being taught, that the “GOSPEL IS VEILED”, will PERISH!
Hearing TRUTH, and allowing TRUTH to change your life, is not a comfortable experience, but GOD COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR AFFLICTION! We need to stop whining about our seats being too hard, the temperatures being not what we want, the music being too loud, and begging HOLY SPIRIT to change our hearts and visit our brokenness and HEAL OUR LAND quit aiding and abetting those for whom the “GOSPEL IS VEILED”!!!!
Friday, January 24, 2020
Thursday, January 23, 2020
“FEAR NOT!”
Haggai 2:4-9 (ESV)
“4 Yet now BE STRONG, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. BE STRONG, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. BE STRONG, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. WORK, FOR I AM WITH YOU, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. MY SPIRIT remains in your midst. “FEAR NOT”.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
When ALMIGHTY GOD assigns you a task, the magnitude of said task might prove undaunting? It can be awfully easy to withdraw into seclusion, waiting for your path to be cleared and made simple? But GOD never promises us that life in “this world” will be without challenges. Discovering that HE is truly IN TRULY CONTROL of every detail of our lives (not just the good things!) makes it easier to “FEAR NOT!”.
A dear friend of mine was killed a few years back at his home. Discussing the details with his widow, my heart was breaking, yet at the same time I was strengthened, by the testimony he spoke to his wife the last time she spoke to him a few hours earlier. She reports that he said something to the effect of, “The same GOD that provides our blessings also provides our difficulties. We have to just TRUST in HIM for our everything”! Less than six hours later she was dealing with his death!
It would have been very easy for her to withdraw into the arms of their children and grandchildren, but she remembered the testimony of her husband that GOD was in charge of EVERYTHING, even the seemingly BAD THINGS in life. Since ALMIGHTY GOD said MY SPIRIT remains in your midst, we need to WORK, and “FEAR NOT”, for HE is with us! When we show FEAR, we might be saying that we don’t know what is happening nor WHO is in control? We are SUPPOSED TO KNOW that GOD is in charge, and the enemy can not operate unless GOD permits. “The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS” (Haggai 2:8). Isaiah 42:5 says HE gives us the very air that we breathe!
As my EYES continue to be opened to SEE things that the “natural person” cannot see (1 Corinthians 2:14), amazement and awe flood my heart. SEEING that ALL THINGS (Romans 8:28) are working together FOR HIS GOOD comforts me, even if I cannot understand it now. “FEAR NOT”, for man is not in control, ALMIGHTY GOD is!!!
“4 Yet now BE STRONG, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. BE STRONG, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. BE STRONG, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. WORK, FOR I AM WITH YOU, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. MY SPIRIT remains in your midst. “FEAR NOT”.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
When ALMIGHTY GOD assigns you a task, the magnitude of said task might prove undaunting? It can be awfully easy to withdraw into seclusion, waiting for your path to be cleared and made simple? But GOD never promises us that life in “this world” will be without challenges. Discovering that HE is truly IN TRULY CONTROL of every detail of our lives (not just the good things!) makes it easier to “FEAR NOT!”.
A dear friend of mine was killed a few years back at his home. Discussing the details with his widow, my heart was breaking, yet at the same time I was strengthened, by the testimony he spoke to his wife the last time she spoke to him a few hours earlier. She reports that he said something to the effect of, “The same GOD that provides our blessings also provides our difficulties. We have to just TRUST in HIM for our everything”! Less than six hours later she was dealing with his death!
It would have been very easy for her to withdraw into the arms of their children and grandchildren, but she remembered the testimony of her husband that GOD was in charge of EVERYTHING, even the seemingly BAD THINGS in life. Since ALMIGHTY GOD said MY SPIRIT remains in your midst, we need to WORK, and “FEAR NOT”, for HE is with us! When we show FEAR, we might be saying that we don’t know what is happening nor WHO is in control? We are SUPPOSED TO KNOW that GOD is in charge, and the enemy can not operate unless GOD permits. “The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS” (Haggai 2:8). Isaiah 42:5 says HE gives us the very air that we breathe!
As my EYES continue to be opened to SEE things that the “natural person” cannot see (1 Corinthians 2:14), amazement and awe flood my heart. SEEING that ALL THINGS (Romans 8:28) are working together FOR HIS GOOD comforts me, even if I cannot understand it now. “FEAR NOT”, for man is not in control, ALMIGHTY GOD is!!!
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
“OF GOD!”
John 8:42-47
“42 JESUS said to them (the scribes and the Pharisees...John8:3), "If GOD were your FATHER, you would love ME, for I came from GOD and I am here. I came not of MY own accord, but HE sent ME.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? IT IS BECAUSE YOU CANNOT BEAR TO HEAR MY WORD.
44 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.
45 BUT BECAUSE I TELL THE TRUTH, YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME .
46 WHICH OF YOU CONVICTS ME OF SIN? If I tell the truth, WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE ME?
47 Whoever is “OF GOD” hears the words “OF GOD”. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not “OF GOD”."
Some people can HEAR THE TRUTH but cannot absorb THE TRUTH because they are NOT OF GOD! I am not being judgemental, Scripture is doing that for me. The scribes and the Pharisees (John 8:3) were in church regularly, but they were not OF GOD. Just because someone is in a position where “this world” has elevated them DOESN’T MEAN that they are OF GOD.
WHEN THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM they may not be able to help themselves, it might be because they SPEAKS OUT OF HIS OWN CHARACTER, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES”? Regrettably, some people cannot SEE TRUTH staring them in the face because they are so caught up in the lies of “the enemy” that TRUTH can be right in front of them and it goes unnoticed.
Ephesians 6:12 says “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this PRESENT DARKNESS, against the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES.” If our lives fail to line up with THE WORD OF GOD, we might better make certain that we identify with JESUS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE??? FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES should NOT be what we portray. We should be speaking TRUTH!
“"Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) is one of the most misinterpreted Scriptures in the Bible. Allowing Scripture to judge is what we constantly need to be doing with our lives and IN LOVE those those around us. When we fail to live up to what Scripture desires, we need change to be more “OF GOD” and less of what we think is right!!!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
“I AM WITH YOU!”
Haggai 2:4-9 (ESV)
“4 Yet now BE STRONG, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. BE STRONG, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. BE STRONG, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for “I AM WITH YOU”, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My SPIRIT remains in your midst. FEAR NOT.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
Very seldom do I use the same passage of Scripture two days in a row, and to my knowledge I have NEVER used the same passage three days in succession. But I can already see the message of FEAR NOT being used to channel my thoughts. However the words “I AM WITH YOU” are ringing in my Spiritual ears today.
Isn’t it bothersome to have a ringing in your hearing, that constant interruption from the PEACE that we have come so accustomed to? Having your Spiritual Hearing “in tune” with the Spirit of GOD is a wonderful experience. When that fellowship (PEACE) is interfered with by the things of “this world”, it can cause unrest, even TURMOIL in our Spirits. That TURMOIL is one of the best tools used by the enemy, because it causes me to begin looking for a solution to return the PEACE that I once enjoyed.
The enemy wants to keep us doing ANYTHING but trusting GOD for our EVERYTHING! TURMOIL is basically not trusting GOD. I realize that it is difficult to trust GOD whenever we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but WHO IS IN CONTROL of our lives? ALMIGHTY GOD, our CREATOR, the Giver and Sustainer of life, is telling us “I AM WITH YOU”! If GOD is with us, what do we have to FEAR?
Knowing that “I AM WITH YOU” is one of the best blessings I can imagine. So why is it so easy for me to allow “the enemy” to cause troubled waters to cause me concern? The bottom line is, GOD is in charge of EVERYTHING and we should TRUST HIM, even if HE guides us through a ferocious storm! The very ONE WHO said “Let there be.....” lives inside of me so I need to forever remember that “I AM WITH YOU” and TRUST HIM to deliver me!!!
“4 Yet now BE STRONG, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. BE STRONG, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. BE STRONG, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for “I AM WITH YOU”, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My SPIRIT remains in your midst. FEAR NOT.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
Very seldom do I use the same passage of Scripture two days in a row, and to my knowledge I have NEVER used the same passage three days in succession. But I can already see the message of FEAR NOT being used to channel my thoughts. However the words “I AM WITH YOU” are ringing in my Spiritual ears today.
Isn’t it bothersome to have a ringing in your hearing, that constant interruption from the PEACE that we have come so accustomed to? Having your Spiritual Hearing “in tune” with the Spirit of GOD is a wonderful experience. When that fellowship (PEACE) is interfered with by the things of “this world”, it can cause unrest, even TURMOIL in our Spirits. That TURMOIL is one of the best tools used by the enemy, because it causes me to begin looking for a solution to return the PEACE that I once enjoyed.
The enemy wants to keep us doing ANYTHING but trusting GOD for our EVERYTHING! TURMOIL is basically not trusting GOD. I realize that it is difficult to trust GOD whenever we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but WHO IS IN CONTROL of our lives? ALMIGHTY GOD, our CREATOR, the Giver and Sustainer of life, is telling us “I AM WITH YOU”! If GOD is with us, what do we have to FEAR?
Knowing that “I AM WITH YOU” is one of the best blessings I can imagine. So why is it so easy for me to allow “the enemy” to cause troubled waters to cause me concern? The bottom line is, GOD is in charge of EVERYTHING and we should TRUST HIM, even if HE guides us through a ferocious storm! The very ONE WHO said “Let there be.....” lives inside of me so I need to forever remember that “I AM WITH YOU” and TRUST HIM to deliver me!!!
Monday, January 20, 2020
“BE STRONG!”
Haggai 2:4-9 (ESV)
“4 Yet now “BE STRONG”, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. “BE STRONG”, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “BE STRONG”, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I AM WITH YOU, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My SPIRIT remains in your midst. FEAR NOT.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
Occasionally there are words on my heart that I have a strong impression to write down as I don’t want them to escape my increasingly limited memory. At the end of the Bible Study class yesterday, the following words were on my heart:: “Don’t let “this world” confuse the issue. If GOD gives you a task, it doesn’t matter WHAT this world puts in your path!” I wrote the words on my iPad so that they would contain the message further reflection at the appropriate time.
ALMIGHTY GOD issued orders to Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) through the prophet Haggai. The CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES was displeased that HIS HOUSE was not being taken care of, while the personal homes were lavishly decorated with up-to-date furnishings.
As I am blessed to continue serving my LORD in “this world”, I cannot help but wonder if I am like the tribe of Judah during the reign of Zerubbabel? ALMIGHTY GOD has delivered me through several “valley of the shadow of death”, and yet I am mostly concerned with my personal desires, my “selfish” wants!
GOD has already done more for me than HE “owes” me! Yet I still get caught up in what “this world” will see and not how obedient I am to HIM, being more concerned with HIS PROVISION than HIS PRESENCE! When will I realize that one day in HIS PRESENCE is worth FAR MORE than SILVER and GOLD, for HE owns IT ALL (Haggai 2:8)!
What does ALMIGHTY GOD see when HE looks at me? Does HE see someone who will “Don’t let “this world” confuse the issue. If GOD gives you a task, it doesn’t matter WHAT this world puts in your path?” Or does HE see someone wanting “this world” SEE a follower of JESUS “BE STRONG”?
“4 Yet now “BE STRONG”, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. “BE STRONG”, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “BE STRONG”, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I AM WITH YOU, declares the LORD OF HOSTS,
5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My SPIRIT remains in your midst. FEAR NOT.
6 For thus says the LORD OF HOSTS: Yet once more, IN A LITTLE WHILE, I WILL SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND.
7 And I WILL SHAKE ALL THE NATIONS, so that THE TREASURES OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME IN, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH GLORY, says the LORD OF HOSTS.
8 The SILVER IS MINE, and THE GOLD IS MINE, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.
9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF HOSTS.'"
Occasionally there are words on my heart that I have a strong impression to write down as I don’t want them to escape my increasingly limited memory. At the end of the Bible Study class yesterday, the following words were on my heart:: “Don’t let “this world” confuse the issue. If GOD gives you a task, it doesn’t matter WHAT this world puts in your path!” I wrote the words on my iPad so that they would contain the message further reflection at the appropriate time.
ALMIGHTY GOD issued orders to Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) through the prophet Haggai. The CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES was displeased that HIS HOUSE was not being taken care of, while the personal homes were lavishly decorated with up-to-date furnishings.
As I am blessed to continue serving my LORD in “this world”, I cannot help but wonder if I am like the tribe of Judah during the reign of Zerubbabel? ALMIGHTY GOD has delivered me through several “valley of the shadow of death”, and yet I am mostly concerned with my personal desires, my “selfish” wants!
GOD has already done more for me than HE “owes” me! Yet I still get caught up in what “this world” will see and not how obedient I am to HIM, being more concerned with HIS PROVISION than HIS PRESENCE! When will I realize that one day in HIS PRESENCE is worth FAR MORE than SILVER and GOLD, for HE owns IT ALL (Haggai 2:8)!
What does ALMIGHTY GOD see when HE looks at me? Does HE see someone who will “Don’t let “this world” confuse the issue. If GOD gives you a task, it doesn’t matter WHAT this world puts in your path?” Or does HE see someone wanting “this world” SEE a follower of JESUS “BE STRONG”?
Friday, January 17, 2020
“YOU DO NOT EXPECT!”
Luke 12:35-40 (ESV)
“35 "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
40 YOU ALSO MUST BE READY, for the SON of MAN is coming at AN HOUR “YOU DO NOT EXPECT”."
For me, it is shameful that I sometimes operate my life in such a nonchalant manner when it comes to alerting people that JESUS is coming again, maybe today! There should be an urgency, an almost immediacy, to proclaim that JESUS is returning to “this world” that we share it like food, a necessity for LIFE!
Yet I (or my flesh (Romans 7:15-20)) would prefer going to a meeting with other Believers, soaking up more and more Spiritual nourishment, than to “Go ye therefore” (Matthew 28:19-20) and proclaim the GOOD NEWS! Recently seeing numerous social media posts about a gathering of FAITH people in a city, my thoughts were caused to wonder, “Oh, for man to exhibit as much excitement about hearing from our CREATOR as they do about hearing from HIS CREATED!?!?! These are all knowledgeable and sound instruments (men), but BEING STILL and knowing HE IS GOD is still far greater than hearing from men!!!” Now I realize that we all need to have our tools sharpened (Proverbs 27:17), but HIS KINGDOM needs us to be SPIRIT FILLED a lot more than hearing from other broken vessels!
Conviction has been moving me lately to TRUST HIM more and rely less on the things of “this world”. A text just came to me saying “One wonders if GOD trusts us with as much as we trust HIM with? (1 Timothy 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:12)! We (mainly I) need to be relying on ALMIGHTY GOD to reveal HIMSELF to us and finding HIM where we “DO NOT EXPECT” to see HIM! The SPIRIT OF GOD must be present to change a heart. We can plan and orchestrate to our extreme, but ONLY GOD can bring revival to our land!
WE ALSO MUST BE READY whenever we SEE a need to share JESUS, no matter how much we think we know, or more probably DON’T KNOW! JESUS may present an opportunity right when “YOU DO NOT EXPECT” it, for the HOLY SPIRIT is not limited to seminary taught and suit clad “ministers”! BE READY, for the HOLY SPIRIT may be ready when “YOU DO NOT EXPECT” HIM!!!
“35 "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
40 YOU ALSO MUST BE READY, for the SON of MAN is coming at AN HOUR “YOU DO NOT EXPECT”."
For me, it is shameful that I sometimes operate my life in such a nonchalant manner when it comes to alerting people that JESUS is coming again, maybe today! There should be an urgency, an almost immediacy, to proclaim that JESUS is returning to “this world” that we share it like food, a necessity for LIFE!
Yet I (or my flesh (Romans 7:15-20)) would prefer going to a meeting with other Believers, soaking up more and more Spiritual nourishment, than to “Go ye therefore” (Matthew 28:19-20) and proclaim the GOOD NEWS! Recently seeing numerous social media posts about a gathering of FAITH people in a city, my thoughts were caused to wonder, “Oh, for man to exhibit as much excitement about hearing from our CREATOR as they do about hearing from HIS CREATED!?!?! These are all knowledgeable and sound instruments (men), but BEING STILL and knowing HE IS GOD is still far greater than hearing from men!!!” Now I realize that we all need to have our tools sharpened (Proverbs 27:17), but HIS KINGDOM needs us to be SPIRIT FILLED a lot more than hearing from other broken vessels!
Conviction has been moving me lately to TRUST HIM more and rely less on the things of “this world”. A text just came to me saying “One wonders if GOD trusts us with as much as we trust HIM with? (1 Timothy 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:12)! We (mainly I) need to be relying on ALMIGHTY GOD to reveal HIMSELF to us and finding HIM where we “DO NOT EXPECT” to see HIM! The SPIRIT OF GOD must be present to change a heart. We can plan and orchestrate to our extreme, but ONLY GOD can bring revival to our land!
WE ALSO MUST BE READY whenever we SEE a need to share JESUS, no matter how much we think we know, or more probably DON’T KNOW! JESUS may present an opportunity right when “YOU DO NOT EXPECT” it, for the HOLY SPIRIT is not limited to seminary taught and suit clad “ministers”! BE READY, for the HOLY SPIRIT may be ready when “YOU DO NOT EXPECT” HIM!!!
Friday, January 10, 2020
“GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU!”
“GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU!”
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 (ESV)
“6 "For you are a people holy to the LORD your GOD. The LORD your “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a people for HIS treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set HIS love on you and chose you, for YOU WERE THE FEWSET of all peoples,
8 but it is because the LORD LOVES YOU and is keeping the oath that HE swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and REDEEMED YOU from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD your GOD is GOD, the FAITHFUL GOD WHO KEEPS COVENANT and steadfast love with THOSE WHO LOVE HIM and keep HIS commandments, to a thousand generations,
10 and repays to their face those who hate HIM, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates HIM. HE will repay him to HIS face.
11 YOU SHALL BE CAREFUL TO DO THE COMMANDMENT AND THE STATUTES AND THE RULES THAT I COMMAND YOU TODAY.”
When I begin to search for something specific in Scripture, and am determined to establish that my way of thinking is what I am needing to be focused on, ALMIGHTY GOD usually proves to my almost self-righteous person that Scripture is intended to CHANGE me to be more in HIS IMAGE!!! Being convinced that we are correct is precisely where we don’t want to be, for growing in HIM should be where we begin every day we are allowed to breathe HIS air!
He thing that every person must acknowledge is that we are not better than the vilest of sinners, but that “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a beacon for HIM. We do not deserve anything except death and destruction. Just because we go to church most Sunday mornings, give a few dollars to HIS Kingdom, and maybe used by HIM to fulfill a need of someone in need, doesn’t mean that we are better than the next person. The fact that “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” however should excite us, even if we are CHOSEN to SUFFER for HIM!
The Children of Israel were THE FEWEST of all peoples, were certainly not wealthier than most, and had no traits to set them ABOVE others in
“this world”! But when “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” your worth is beyond earthly calculations, for YAHWEH is above everything we can fathom!
We can’t SEE the magnitude of GOD’s power, the vastness of GOD’s love, we can’t grasp the patience with our unbelief, nor understand HIS mercy. In Exodus 33:18 Moses says “Please show me YOUR glory." GOD lovingly says in verses 20-23 “you cannot see MY face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by ME where you shall stand on the rock, and while MY glory passes by I WILL PUT YOU IN A CLEFT OF THE ROCK, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away MY hand, and you shall see MY back, but MY face shall not be seen." Even though Moses only saw the back of the GLORY OF GOD, he “shone” (glowed) for literally weeks!
We might have a desire to SEE GOD’S GLORY, but we cannot handle it with our earthly limitations. Nevertheless, ALMIGHTY “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a reflection of HIS GLORY to a lost and dying world. Not because we a holier than others, but because “ GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU”!!!
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 (ESV)
“6 "For you are a people holy to the LORD your GOD. The LORD your “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a people for HIS treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set HIS love on you and chose you, for YOU WERE THE FEWSET of all peoples,
8 but it is because the LORD LOVES YOU and is keeping the oath that HE swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and REDEEMED YOU from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD your GOD is GOD, the FAITHFUL GOD WHO KEEPS COVENANT and steadfast love with THOSE WHO LOVE HIM and keep HIS commandments, to a thousand generations,
10 and repays to their face those who hate HIM, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates HIM. HE will repay him to HIS face.
11 YOU SHALL BE CAREFUL TO DO THE COMMANDMENT AND THE STATUTES AND THE RULES THAT I COMMAND YOU TODAY.”
When I begin to search for something specific in Scripture, and am determined to establish that my way of thinking is what I am needing to be focused on, ALMIGHTY GOD usually proves to my almost self-righteous person that Scripture is intended to CHANGE me to be more in HIS IMAGE!!! Being convinced that we are correct is precisely where we don’t want to be, for growing in HIM should be where we begin every day we are allowed to breathe HIS air!
He thing that every person must acknowledge is that we are not better than the vilest of sinners, but that “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a beacon for HIM. We do not deserve anything except death and destruction. Just because we go to church most Sunday mornings, give a few dollars to HIS Kingdom, and maybe used by HIM to fulfill a need of someone in need, doesn’t mean that we are better than the next person. The fact that “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” however should excite us, even if we are CHOSEN to SUFFER for HIM!
The Children of Israel were THE FEWEST of all peoples, were certainly not wealthier than most, and had no traits to set them ABOVE others in
“this world”! But when “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” your worth is beyond earthly calculations, for YAHWEH is above everything we can fathom!
We can’t SEE the magnitude of GOD’s power, the vastness of GOD’s love, we can’t grasp the patience with our unbelief, nor understand HIS mercy. In Exodus 33:18 Moses says “Please show me YOUR glory." GOD lovingly says in verses 20-23 “you cannot see MY face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by ME where you shall stand on the rock, and while MY glory passes by I WILL PUT YOU IN A CLEFT OF THE ROCK, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away MY hand, and you shall see MY back, but MY face shall not be seen." Even though Moses only saw the back of the GLORY OF GOD, he “shone” (glowed) for literally weeks!
We might have a desire to SEE GOD’S GLORY, but we cannot handle it with our earthly limitations. Nevertheless, ALMIGHTY “GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU” to be a reflection of HIS GLORY to a lost and dying world. Not because we a holier than others, but because “ GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU”!!!
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