“BROKEN!”

 Psalm 51:16-17                         (ESV)

    “[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” and contrite heart, O GOD, you will not despise.”

The following devotional was shared this morning by a fellow BELIEVER:

“”God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to produce rain, broken grain to give bread and broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is the broken Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever” (Anonymous).

The little boy gave his lunch to Jesus, who blessed it, broke it, and used it to feed the five thousand men (Matthew 14:18-22).  When we allow ourselves to be broken for Him, God is able to use us.

GOD, break us, mold us, and make us into something usable for You. Amen.””

“When we allow ourselves to be “BROKEN” for HIM, GOD is able to use us” is a concept that might be extremely difficult to understand and implement.   Prior to July 09, 2007 I was living life at such a pace that I was unable to SEE life passing me by!  After being placed in a drug-induced coma for almost three weeks, I was awakened on July 29, 2007 with my Brain healed from the “BROKEN” blood VESSEL in my brain, but my thoughts were moving as though they were in molasses.  

In the 15+ years since, GOD has displayed to me that HE is more satisfied with PRAISE than any service we can offer!  However, HE had to have me “BROKEN” for me to be able to SEE this!  Humanity needs to be “BROKEN” before we SEE the need for a SAVIOR!  ONLY JESUS can cure for our “BROKEN” lives!!!

“HEAR ME!”

 Mark 7:14-21                         (ESV)

What Defiles a Person

[14] And HE called the people to HIM again and said to them, “”HEAR ME”, all of you, AND UNDERSTAND: [15] There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” [17] And when HE had entered the house and left the people, HIS disciples asked HIM about the parable. [18] And HE said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not SEE that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, [19] since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus HE declared all foods clean.) [20] And HE said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

As my life matures past the Brain Hemorrhage of 15+ years ago, I often find myself thinking about how the remnant I am now has changed from the “pre-stroke” vessel I previously was? Before the Brain Hemorrhage I was very vocal about making sure that people heard what I saw as truth, regardless of whether it was uncomfortable for them to accept it or not!  My delivery was BOLD and DELIBERATE, sometimes to a fault, delivering what I felt needed to be said regardless of how it was received.  

In stark contrast, in the Scripture passage above JESUS was trying to relay to “the people” gathered that what was coming OUT of a person DISPLAYED what was on the INSIDE!  HIS disciples even had to “HEAR ME” AND TO UNDERSTAND that GOD needs us to be OBEDIENT, not to take the easy way out of a situation that we find ourselves in! 

Since JESUS is GOD in human form, HE needs to be listened to with more intensity than any other human vessel.  We need to SEE that displaying JESUS through our lives is our chief responsibility, not saying what we think is the easiest thing to say.  As humans, we don’t possess the ability to UNDERSTAND that we REQUIRE a Savior.  The ONLY WAY we are able to be delivered from the penalty of sin is to be CHOSEN in HIM before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4)! 

Is JESUS saying do you “HEAR ME” calling you???  

“GOD GAVE GIFTS TO MEN!”

 Ephesians 4:1-16                        (ESV)

Unity in the Body of Christ

“[1] I therefore, a prisoner for the LORD, urge you to walk in a manner WORTHY OF THE CALLING to which YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the SPIRIT in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one SPIRIT—just as you were called to the one HOPE that belongs to YOUR CALL—[5] one LORD, one FAITH, one BAPTISM, [6] one GOD and FATHER of all, WHO is over all and through all and in all. [7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of CHRIST’s gift. [8] Therefore it says, 

    “When HE ascended on high HE led a host of captives,

        and “HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN”.”

    [9] (In saying, “HE ascended,” what does it mean but that HE had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? [10] HE who descended is the ONE WHO also ascended far above all the heavens, that HE might fill all things.) [11] And HE gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of CHRIST, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the SON of GOD, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of CHRIST, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into CHRIST, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

We are ALL descendants of our CREATOR (Colossians 1:16), although some of us reject being apart of HIS CHOSEN race.  We who have been CHOSEN by our CREATOR (Ephesians 1:4) are NOT perfect or complete.  Why else did “HE gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of CHRIST”?

Know that you have been given “tools” to enhance the lives of others and to BUILD UP the body of CHRIST…not to enhance yourself!  “HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN” that will GLORIFY HIM!  Some are assigned jobs that require characteristics that they haven’t developed yet, but “HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN” that HE has to bring out in HIS DIVINE PLAN!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 Finding the words to properly enunciate your thoughts is difficult for many, but a hemorrhage located in the “word recall” portion of your brain causes some of us to THINK about what you are saying more completely before voicing your thoughts!  

In November 1621, just over 400 years ago, the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered at Plymouth for an autumn harvest feast, an event regarded as America’s “first Thanksgiving” according to some.  Others say it began even earlier, but the thing that is vastly overlooked by most is that ALMIGHTY GOD has provided us with benevolent enough to bestow PEACE and SECURITY to us and some want to only PRAISE HIM one day a year for HIS PROVISION???

You might not have time right now to absorb Isaiah 42 entirely (25 verses!), but from what I remember of 2007 following the aforementioned brain hemorrhage, I had nothing but time to CONSIDER where I had been AND where I was going!  Our CREATOR has an unfathomable amount of ability to extend our lives, AND the same ability to end our earthly lives!  

We NEED to give HIM more than just one day of THANKS!  We should daily give HIM PRAISE and ADORATION for allowing us to reflect HIS GLORY in “this world”!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING should be celebrated everyday!!!

“YOU CANNOT COME!”

John 8:21-30                                    (ESV)

“[21] So HE said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek ME, and YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SIN. Where I am going, “YOU CANNOT COME”.” [22] So the Jews said, “Will HE kill HIMSELF, since HE says, ‘Where I am going, “YOU CANNOT COME”’?” [23] HE said to them, “YOU ARE FROM BELOW; I AM FROM ABOVE. You are of this world; I AM NOT OF THIS WORLD. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM HE you will die in your sins.” [25] So they said to him, “WHO are YOU?” JESUS said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. [26] I have much to say about you and much to judge, but HE WHO sent ME is TRUE, and I declare to the world what I have heard from HIM.” [27] THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND that HE had been speaking to them about the FATHER. [28] So JESUS said to them, “When you have lifted up the SON of MAN, then you will know that I AM HE, and that I do nothing on MY own authority, but speak just as the FATHER taught ME. [29] And HE WHO  sent ME is with ME. HE has not left ME alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to HIM.” [30] As HE was saying these things, many believed in HIM.”

For we who are able to SEE, it is plain to UNDERSTAND that JESUS was trying to explain to “the Jews” (v.22) WHO HE was, and that they SPECIFICALLY would not be CHOSEN (Ephesians 1:4) to follow HIM, but they would be left behind because “you are of this world”!

Knowing that you are not CHOSEN has to be sickening?  The EYE OPENING thing is, those who are not CHOSEN aren’t able to grasp what is right before their EYES, that TRUTH is available to them to avoid what is coming to them at THE JUDGMENT.  We must be grateful that our EYES can SEE our wretchedness, that we are UNABLE to live HOLY enough to satisfy our needs. 

I pray that you will not HEAR one day that “YOU CANNOT COME”???

“THE FALL!”

 Genesis 3:1-7                           (ESV)

“THE FALL”

“[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made. He (the serpent) said to the woman, “Did GOD actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, [3] but GOD said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT EAT of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” [4] But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For GOD knows that when you eat of it YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED, and you will be like GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL.” [6] So when the woman SAW that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and THAT THE TREE WAS TO BE DESIRED TO MAKE ONE WISE, SHE TOOK of its fruit and ate, and she also GAVE SOME TO HER HUSBAND who was with her, and he ate. [7] Then the EYES OF BOTH WERE OPENED, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Far too many times I let my “inquiring mind”lead me into an area where I am not capable of handling THE TRUTH!  This causes me grief!!!  I want to know everything there is to know about everything, but my infinite mind cannot comprehend or understand anything that my CREATOR hasn’t ordained it to SEE!

Adam and Eve were the CREATED by ALMIGHTY GOD.  The desire to KNOW what only comes from GOD can be confusing.  We can only SEE (fully understand) what our minds can comprehend.  From a Brain Hemorrhage survivor, this fact is vividly clear!  Knowing the “odds” were not favorable for survival, much less a recovery where I would be able to function without great assistance, is something that I am extremely BLESSED and GRATEFUL for.  

Adam and Eve didn’t have the SCRIPTURES to guide their lives, but that was part of HIS PLAN, not ours!   FAITH in ALMIGHTY GOD to LEAD us through this life is NOT something we earn nor are worthy of   We are CHOSEN as part of HIS PLAN.  We must understand that “THE FALL” is a part of HIS PLAN!  My Brain Hemorrhage was part of HIS PLAN!  The Pharaoh of Exodus 14 was a part of HIS PLAN!  There is evil that GOD uses for HIS GLORY!  “THE FALL” demonstrated that an ALL KNOWING GOD can provide salvation to we who have no intrinsic value other than HE CHOSE US!

My “inquiring mind” will never understand why a HOLY GOD would put up with a vessel that a vessel that is so deformed?  But GOD CHOSE me before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to LIVE for HIM, for HIS GLORY!  HE uses we who have experienced “THE FALL” to be IMPUTED with the RIGHTEOUSNESS of HIS SON!!!

“THE TRUTH!”

John 14:6                               (ESV)

“JESUS said to him, “I AM the way, and “THE TRUTH”, and the LIFE. No one comes to the FATHER except through ME.

Recently I was exposed to a story of a retired military officer and he was quoted as saying “I call it a war of narratives where there is distraction. There’s deception. There’s truth.  There is some physical aspects of it.  “Smart generals over the history of time have always used distraction, deception, untruths, and mixed with some truth.”  This military man spoke what he observed as true, but the dissemination of TRUTH wasn’t something that he speaking about.

JESUS had just washed HIS disciples feet, an act of servitude that was usually reserved for servants!  Yet THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES subjected HIMSELF lowering of what HE knew about HIMSELF and serving the needs of HIS followers for the Glory of HIS FATHER!  While it is accepted that the disciples were CHOSEN, ALL of them were flawed, some to a great degree.  Why did the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS (Colossians 1:16) bow to washing the feet of the disciples shortly before HIS crucifixion?  

Shortly thereafter, JESUS spoke to them “I AM the way, and “THE TRUTH”, and the LIFE. No one comes to the FATHER except through ME”!  A few days later JESUS was crucified on Calvary, something that HE knew would bring separation from THE FATHER!  Yes, JESUS had never experienced being alone from GOD THE FATHER until HE was on the cross of Calvary.  “THE TRUTH” is that this sacrificial offering had to be paid in order for my wretchedness to gain salvation from the punishment I deserved!  And THAT is “THE TRUTH”, no matter how many times we humans misuse the word!!!