“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?