God First

Mar 12:28  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

The Pursuit of God -  A.W. Tozer  'The whole course of the life is upset by failure to put God where He belongs. We exalt ourselves instead of God and the curse follows.'

Where does God belong?

The FIRST of ALL the commandments is-  LOVING GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL, MIND STRENGTH. 

The second is loving our fellow man.

All the ten moral laws are encompassed in these two.

Loving God with ALL of ourselves!  Can we do this if we love our own selves more?  If at every turn we are considering ourselves before God?

Go a whole week without talking about yourself- your feelings, your wants, your needs, your likes, your dislikes, can you? Can we?  It'd be interesting to see how long we could go wouldn't it? But then again we are focusing on ourselves aren't we, even while hoping not to. We are so full of ourselves that even our serving others has become an extension of self-serving.

We are wretched, so very, very wretched. By choosing CONSTANTLY to serve God even in our extreme imperfection we place all our hope in CHRIST who served Him perfectly!

We choose, we constantly choose, over and over we choose.

The Pursuit of God -  A.W. Tozer  'The whole course of the life is upset by failure to put God where He belongs. We exalt ourselves instead of God and the curse follows.'

We need to exalt GOD, not ourselves. Please God, help us do this. We believe, help Thou our unbelief!

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!

Amen.

Honor from God

Joh 5:44  How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

We do this, don't we? We seek honor from each other. We seek recognition from each other. We want admiration, we want approval, we want compliments, we even feel we deserve these things. We do something good, a job well done and we want the reward for that job even if the reward is a thank you. We tend to get upset if our efforts aren't appreciated. We want people to HONOR us and our efforts, and we call this human nature. And if by human nature we mean human sinful flesh nature we'd be right. On the other hand if we mean acceptable because it's our nature, we'd be wrong. We can't ACCEPT our sinful nature, excusing it as if the sins we are prone to are of no consequence. When we desire honor from others we are giving them a hold over us.  When we don't get that desired honor we allow it to affect us.  We may feel sadness, rejection, anger even.  When we seek honor from each other in whatever form that honor takes, we are giving them God's place. We need to seek honor from God and God alone.

We need to recognize where we are seeking honor from.  Please Father, help us!

Joh 12:42  Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

Joh 12:43  For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Do we LOVE the praise of men MORE than the praise of God?!

Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Do we do this in a GOOD way, not a poor me everyone is better than I am, way? Do we truly have a lowliness of mind? Do we truly not embrace strife and seek vain glory from others?! 

Truly all is vanity and only our Savior can save us from ourselves!

1Sa 2:30  Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Honoring God, do we? We need to!

Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life

Is our honor in eternal life through our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord? Do we find our honor IN HIM because He has all the honor?

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

The TRIAL of our faith, the very thing we agonize over time and time again. We'd rather be in peace and safety, comfort and ease than in any trial. We hide from trials don't we? Our weaknesses are exposed and our failures apparent, yet we need this, we need to comprehend our need of a SAVIOR that we CANNOT save ourselves. Every trial and tribulation of our faith is truly MORE precious than gold.

2Co 10:18  For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

The LORD must commend us, not any other, and not OURSELVES!

1Co 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

We need PRAISE of God and God alone!

Please FATHER help us! Teach us to seek YOUR honor and YOUR honor alone!

All by Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, NOW and FOREVER!

Please!

Thank you, most glorious Lord Jesus Christ!

This, or That, There is No Other.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

The Pursuit of God- by A.W. Tozer-  'Anyone who might feel reluctant to surrender his will to the will of
another should remember Jesus' words, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."

We must of necessity be servant to someone, either to God or to sin.

The sinner prides himself on his independence, completely overlooking the fact that he is the weak slave of the sins that rule his members. The man who surrenders to Christ exchanges a cruel slave driver for a kind and gentle Master whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.'

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Servants to sin, or servants to God- WE CHOOSE.

There is no other choice.  Satan has disguised the sense of independent thought as being truly independent, but there is no such thing.  We were CREATED- subject to being created, never creating ourselves. We can serve our Creator or the Father of Lies, these are the only two choices we have in life. Satan has made great strides in getting mankind to believe they have other choices, they don't. They are deceived. Even as the Jewish hierarchy in Christ's day could not see their own blindness, could not fathom their own deafness- it existed.  Today is NO different. Men love darkness- the darkness of being blind, the darkness of being deaf because to realize the light means realizing their servitude to their Creator, realizing their need of Salvation from sin, from self-serving.  Man loves serving self in so many, many ways.

Please Father, please help us to continuously realize our subservience to You as an amazing, wondrous thing, please. You alone are everything, Creator! The Redeemer is Your only begotten Son, God in flesh, God with us.  Please Father we would be Yours! May Your will be done in us now and forever!

Amen!

The Proof is in Our Choices

'For the world of fallen men does not honor God. Millions call themselves by His Name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who is _above_, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the
choices he makes day after day throughout his life.'  --  The Pursuit of God    By A.W. Tozer

Jesus' words-

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

KNOWING CHRIST!

CHRIST KNOWING US!

LIVING CHRIST!

The proof is in the choices we make.

What choices do you make?

Have you EVER had to choose between God and another? Have you ever been placed in the positions mentioned above?  

' Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time.'

Have you ever had to choose?

I have to wonder how often we've been faced with the choice but don't even recognize it because we've conditioned ourselves to ignore it so we don't feel the guilt associated with not choosing God. 

How often have we told ourselves it's okay, God will understand?  I've done it, God forgive me, but I have. I'm prone to doing this because I think I'm unique for some idiotic reason.  I think I'm an exception and I go on to make all kinds of excuses, using Biblical figures to prove I'm just as infallible and messed up as they were, but I STILL WANT GOD!

The question is… do I want God more than I want my own selfish, self-serving ways?  Do I?

By the grace of my SAVIOR I will choose God over all! Only through His power will it be possible. I am so far from where I know I should be!

Please, Father, please teach me YOU.

All in Your love always!!!!!!

In the name of Jesus Christ my Savior, now and forever! Please!

AMEN.

Beholding is Believing

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The following is another excerpt from  'The Pursuit of God' - by A.W. Tozer

'Now, if faith is the gaze of the heart at God, and if this gaze is but the raising of the inward eyes to meet the all-seeing eyes of God, then it follows that it is one of the EASIEST THINGS POSSIBLE TO DO. It would be like God to make the most vital thing easy and place it within the range of POSSIBILITY for the WEAKEST  and POOREST of us.

Several conclusions may fairly be drawn from all this. The simplicity of it, for instance.

Since believing is looking, it can be done WITHOUT special equipment or religious paraphernalia.

God has seen to it that the one life-and-death essential can NEVER be subject to the caprice of accident.

Equipment can break down or get lost, water can leak away, records can be destroyed by fire, the minister can be delayed or the church burn down. All these are external to the soul and are subject to accident or mechanical failure: but _LOOKING_ is of the HEART and can be done successfully by ANY man standing up or kneeling down or lying in his last agony a thousand miles from any church.

Since believing is looking it can be done _ANY TIME_.

No season is superior to another season for this sweetest of all acts. God never made salvation depend upon new moons nor holy days or sabbaths. A man is not nearer to Christ on Easter Sunday than he is, say, on Saturday, August 3, or Monday, October 4. As long as Christ sits on the mediatorial throne every day is a good day and all days are days of salvation.

Neither does _place_ matter in this blessed work of believing God. Lift your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a sanctuary though it be a Pullman berth or a factory or a kitchen. You can see God from ANYWHERE if your mind is set to love and obey Him.'

*******

Looking is Believing--

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

All who LOOKED upon the fiery brass serpent upon this pole that Moses made, they were HEALED if a serpent bit them!

Symbolic, so incredibly symbolic for us as CHRIST Himself noted.  Christ said -  AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SERPENT IN THE WILDERNESS- EVEN SO MUST THE SON OF MAN BE LIFTED UP THAT WHOSEOVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Christ is the One we must LOOK to and NO we cannot behold Him physically, tangibly, but we can behold Him SPIRITUALLY!  Is it any wonder ALL Christ followers must be born again of the Spirit? It is through the Spirit we see, we behold Jesus Christ our Savior, the Lamb Slain lifted up upon a cross for ALL to see, for ALL to know Him and His wondrous mercy.

What A. W. Tozer speaks of above is truth. Does He have all the truth? Perhaps for His day, perhaps for His spiritual walk. I do know what He writes above is truth.

We are NEVER put in any position where we cannot look to Christ, not a single one. NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING can separate us from a Savior who we can behold at ANY TIME, ANY PLACE.

This is truth and this is BEHOLDING is BELIEVING.

May we comprehend and avail ourselves OFTEN of our amazing, incomprehensibly wonderful ability to behold- ALL made possible by our SAVIOR, our LORD, JESUS CHRIST!

Now and forever!

Amen!

'Faith Looks Out Instead of In'

Heb_12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Pursuit of God -  A.W. Tozer

'Believing, then, is directing the heart's attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to "behold the Lamb of God," and never ceasing that beholding for the REST OF OUR LIVES. At first this may be difficult, but it becomes easier as we look steadily at His wondrous Person, quietly and without strain. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him the attention
will return again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to its window.

I would emphasize this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes the heart's intention to gaze FOREVER upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances He must
for the thousand distractions which beset us in this evil world. He knows that we have set the direction of our hearts toward Jesus, and we can know it too, and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit
of soul is forming which will become after a while a sort of spiritual reflex requiring no more conscious effort on our part.

Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, FAITH IS OCCUPIED WITH THE OBJECT UPON WHICH IT RESTS AND PAYS NO ATTENTION TO INSELF AT ALL. WHILE WE ARE LOOKING AT GOD WE DO NOT SEE OURSELVES--BLESSED RIDDANCE. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience REAL RELIEF when he STOPS TINKERING WITH HIS SOUL AND LOOKS AWAY TO THE PERFECT ONE. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be GOD working in him to will and to do.

Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a REDIRECTING of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus.

SIN HAS TWISTED OUR VISION INWARD AND MADE IT SELF-REGARDING. UNBELIEF HAS PUT SELF WHERE GOD SHOULD BE AND IS PERILOUSLY CLOSE TO THE SIN OF LUCIFER who said, "I will set my throne above the throne of God."

FAITH LOOKS_OUT_ INSTEAD OF _IN_ and the whole life falls into line.

All this may seem too simple. But we have no apology to make. To those who would seek to climb into heaven after help or descend into hell God says, "The word is nigh thee, even the word of faith." The word induces us to lift up our eyes unto the Lord and the blessed work of faith begins.'

Rom_10:8  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach

*******

The above excerpt from 'The Pursuit of God' is a real eye opener for me. It may not be an eye opener to any other, but for me it touched a place within that needed touching. I am notoriously looking inward at myself and my failings. Satan continuously throws my past evil up into my face and dares to me believe one like me can ever have the hope of salvation.  And not only that, Satan uses my many weaknesses, preying upon them so I fail more often than not and then he rubs my face in those failures once again daring me to believe, to hope I can belong to Christ's. He lays thick the filthy robes of unrighteousness upon me and I tighten them about myself fearing of every being able to allow my SAVIOR to take them from me. Christ's ability to release the evil from around me is so much greater than I can imagine! I HAVE committed myself to HIM, and while I don't believe in once saved always saved, I do believe in once saved continuing in hope, hope that lies far beyond my ability to comprehend.  We commit to Christ, we make Christ our hope and He is our hope, our ONLY HOPE. He will save us from ourselves we only have to LOOK TO HIM ALWAYS! And when Satan does put up the evil distractions to get us to look away we must repent, seek forgiveness and look once more upon our ONLY HOPE, JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD and SAVIOR NOW and FOREVER!!!!!!!

Please, Lord, we would be YOURS always! ALWAYS! Even as we live in this world filled with a million distractions seeking to turn our gaze from You we will look past those distractions all by YOUR GRACE and to YOU! 

We are not better because we believe, we are humbly blessed.

Mankind loves darkness.

LOVES DARKNESS.

Why? Because their deeds are evil.

Seriously, how often do people say they don't want to hear any Bible mumbo jumbo? How often do people turn their noses up at God in favor of their own personal pursuits? The answer to both questions is- a lot.

To accuse people of committing evil deeds because they refuse the light of life in Christ, is to put a lot of people in an uproar. They are very quick to explain that they are good people, doing good things, kind to the poor, helpful to the brokenhearted, generally they are good honest people not lovers of evil deeds. Just because they don't believe in God, or Jesus Christ for their Savior doesn't make them evil deed committing human beings. Right?  Wrong.

Refusing to acknowledge they have a Creator, refusing to acknowledge they have a Redeemer from evil, is in truth an act of evil.  What is evil?

Let's read from another source- but make sure you check Bible verses for yourself-

Encyclopedias - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Evil

EVIL

ev'-'-l, e'-vil ra`; poneros, @kakos, @kakon:

In the Bible it is represented as moral and physical. We choose to discuss the subject under these heads. Many of the evils that come upon men have not been intended by those who suffer for them. Disease, individual and national calamity, drought, scarcity of food, may not always be charged to the account of intentional wrong. Many times the innocent suffer with, and even for, the guilty. In such cases, only physical evil is apparent. Even when the suffering has been occasioned by sin or dereliction of duty, whether the wrong is active or passive, many, perhaps the majority of those who are injured, are not accountable in any way for the ills which come upon them. Neither is God the author of moral evil. "God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man" (James 1:13).

See TEMPTATION.

1. Moral Evil:

By this term we refer to wrongs done to our fellowman, where the actor is responsible for the action. The immorality may be present when the action is not possible. "But if that evil servant shall say in his heart" (Matthew 24:48,49), whether he shall smite his fellow-servants or not, the moral evil is present. See SIN. "All these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23). The last six commandments of the Decalogue apply here (Exodus 20:12-17). To dishonor one's parents, to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, to bear false witness and to covet are moral evils. The spiritual import of these commandments will be found in Matthew 5:21,22,27,28. "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness" (Matthew 6:23). Words and deeds are coined in the heart before the world sees or hears them (Matthew 12:34,35). The word ought or its equal may be found in all languages; hence, it is in the mind of all people as well as in our laws that for the deeds and words we do and speak, we are responsible. "Break off thy sins by righteousness" (Daniel 4:27) shows that, in God's thought, it was man's duty, and therefore within his power, to keep the commandment. "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well" (Isaiah 1:16). We cannot think of God commanding men to do what He knew they had no ability to do! God has a standing offer of pardon to all men who turn from their evil ways and do that which is right (Ezekiel 33:11-14). Evil begins in the least objectionable things. In Romans 1:18-23, we have Paul's view of the falling away of the Gentiles. "Knowing God" (verse 21), they were "without excuse" (verse 20), but "glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened" (verse 21). "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (verse 22). This led the way into idolatry, and that was followed by all the corruption and wrongdoing to be instigated by a heart turned away from all purity, and practiced in all the iniquity to be suggested by lust without control. Paul gives fifteen steps in the ladder on which men descend into darkness and ruin (Galatians 5:19-21). When men become evil in themselves, they necessarily become evil in thought and deed toward others. This they bring upon themselves, or give way to, till God shall give "them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:28). Those thus fallen into habits of error, we should in meekness correct, that "they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will" (2 Timothy 2:25,26).

2. Physical Evil:

Usually, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word ra` is employed to denote that which is bad. Many times the bad is physical; it may have been occasioned by the sins for which the people of the nation were responsible, or it may have come, not as a retribution, but from accident or mismanagement or causes unknown. Very many times the evil is a corrective, to cause men to forsake the wrong and accept the right. The flood was sent upon the earth because "all flesh had corrupted their way" (Genesis 6:12). This evil was to serve as a warning to those who were to live after. The ground had already been cursed for the good of Cain (Genesis 4:12). Two purposes seemed to direct the treatment:

(1) to leave in the minds of Cain and his descendants the knowledge that sin brings punishment, and (2) to increase the toil that would make them a better people. God overthrew Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, cities of the plain, making them "an example unto those that should live ungodly" (2 Peter 2:6). In the Book of Isa the prophet, we find a number of "burdens": the burden of Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-22); the burden of Moab (Isaiah 15:1-9); the burden of Damascus (Isaiah 17:1-14); the burden of Egypt (Isaiah 19:1-17); the burden of the Wilderness of the Sea (Isaiah 21:1-10); the burden of Dumah (Isaiah 21:11,12); the burden upon Arabia (Isaiah 21:13-17); the burden of the Valley of Vision (Isaiah 22:1-25); the burden of Tyre (Isaiah 23:1-18); the burden of the Beasts of the South (Isaiah 30:6-14); the burden of the Weary Beast (Isaiah 46:1,2). These may serve as an introduction to the story of wrongdoing and physical suffering threatened and executed. Isa contains many denunciations against Israel: against the Ten Tribes for following the sin introduced by Jeroboam the son of Nebat; and the threatening against Judah and Benjamin for not heeding the warnings. Jeremiah saw the woes that were sure to come upon Judah; for declaring them, he was shut up in prison, and yet they came, and the people were carried away into Babylon. These were the evils or afflictions brought upon the nations for their persistence in sin. "I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Yahweh, that doeth all these things" (Isaiah 45:7). These chastisements seemed grievous, and yet they yielded peaceable fruit unto them that were exercised thereby (Hebrews 12:11).

David Roberts Dungan

From <http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/evil/>

The bottom line- evil is many things, deeds of evil are equally of many variations. Keeping ourselves separated from God is evil.

Our Creator created us to be a part of Him.  When we willingly choose to be apart from Him we are choosing darkness. Why would we willingly choose to keep ourselves apart from God? Because we have the belief in us that we don't need God, that we are self-sufficient.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

If we refuse light on any grounds, we are choosing condemnation.

Many willingly choose condemnation boasting to themselves proudly they've no need of God. They pride themselves on being above the God professing believers, and their ways better being all inclusive in ways God is not. They embrace all evil, rather than desiring people being saved from evil. They call evil good and have convinced many that it is so. Rather than shunning anything in our nature they tell us to embrace ourselves and our nature so we do not have to feel the weight of guilt for being born with evil tendencies, with the easy temptation to evil in our very core. Rather than recognizing how extreme our separation from God has become, we are encouraged to shun God, or to believe that God would never shun our evil selves, that He accepts our evil without constraint.

Yes, mankind loves its darkness, and therefore they reject the light.

Are those who believe in the light superior to those who don't? No, not in a single way. There is no superiority in us, not a bit. We are not better than those who love darkness. We are blessed beyond measure, not better. There is NOTHING in us that deserves better than any other. Nothing. I am not better because I believe. I am humbled, grateful eternally, and saddened by those who choose darkness over light.

Please, Father God, please, we would choose the Light of Life- Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior. Please shine upon all the darkness in our lives and helps us to repent and seek Your forgiveness. Please save us from ourselves, please. Let YOUR light shine in us in all ways, in any way so that others will want to know YOU, the true God, the true Savior, the true Spirit of God.

Please.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever!!!!!!!

Amen.

Would we recognize Him?

Born of God.

If we receive our Savior, we become born of God. If we believe on the name of our Savior, we become born of God. We have power to become the children of God.  And it's not because we are born of blood, born of flesh, born by the will of others, but born of God.

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

We receive Jesus Christ as God on earth, God only begotten Son. God in the flesh who dwelled with us among His own- those who were supposed to be God's people- and those people did not receive God's Son.

The world- He made the world- but the world He made didn't know him.

How is it possible for the world, for His own people not to know Him?  How far from being truly God's people had they become? They kept the rituals and even added more strict rules in order to please God. They THOUGHT, really and truly BELIEVED they were God's people and yet they did not recognize God in the flesh, they rejected HIM, they did NOT see the love, the real, true love of God manifested for all humanity to see.  What they saw was a threat to their manufactured way of life. They saw the ability of this strange man to disrupt their well-oiled machine, their religion, their profits, their prestige, their pride. They called the Son of God a blasphemer!  They told the Son of God He was a commandment breaker, the very commandments made by HIM!

Now we have to ask ourselves - would we be guilty of the same thing? Would we know Jesus as the Son of God if He came to earth again and walked among us?  No, He's NOT going to return this way, He told us how He would return and it's not by touching earth again- not until New Jerusalem descends from heaven with Him inside. He will return and we will MEED Him IN THE AIR.  But just for a moment speculate on how you would react to Jesus on earth. Would you RECOGNIZE HIM?

IF we believe on His name, if we become the children of God, if we receive Him, we are truly born of God, born of Spirit, born again.

And we know… we do know we must be born again.

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

May we be born again, may we know our Savior.

The Light of Christ - Is Truth

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

When you enter a dark room, a really dark room, what can you see?  Nothing. When you turn on a light everything around you is illuminated, the darkness disappears. Darkness cannot exist in light.  If we choose to remain in the dark to things eternal, to truths that are available to us, we are refusing light. To refuse light is to refuse truth.

So many people want pick and choose when they remain in the dark and when they remain in the light. They don't equate refusing light with refusing truth. 

Some believe as long as they are in a bit of light it's enough, they can roam freely in the darkness and slip into the light as needed.

When light is presented to us and we refuse that light we are in all reality refusing Christ.

Light will shine in darkness, and that darkness will NOT comprehend it.  Darkness does not want light.

Once more just knowing, really knowing that when our Savior returns many people will not be known by Him, but think they are- THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO COMPREHEND! Those who choose darkness, those who choose not to know Christ and be known by Him will get what they choose. They will get darkness, and they will not know Christ, and He will not know them.

Are you known by Christ?

Do you live in light?

Do you long to live in the light?

We need so much more.  We fight against powers that would keep us in the dark, completely in the dark.

Please, Father, please, let us live in the light of Christ, in the light of the Word made flesh.  Please, by Your mercy and grace, please.

Forgive us, forgive me for choosing the dark that I've chosen. Help me to seek light and live in all Your truths.

All in Your will, all for Your glory, Your honor!

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever.

AMEN.

Help my unbelief

Can we ever truly live in the now? Seriously, can we?

Can we ever truly believe that ALL that befalls us is something we need to simply accept?

Is life truly more than meat?

Is our body more than raiment?

Can we really take NO thought for our lives? No thought about what we'll eat? No thought about what we will drink? No thought about what we will wear?

We are WORRIERS. We are PLANNERS.  We are INDULGERS. We are SELF-FOCUSED. And…

WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE OTHER THAN WE ARE.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Exo 16:18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Can we be content with what we have?

Can we not fear what others will do to us?

Can we stop our heart from being troubled?

Can we not be afraid?

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Can we have peace in Jesus while our lives are filled with tribulation?

Can we be of good cheer because we know this world, our life and all its problems have been overcome?

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Do we believe that it is only through much TRIBULATION that we enter the kingdom of God.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

1Th 3:3  That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

1Th 3:4  For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

*******

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

*******

God may be all in all.

We MUST BELIEVE, it's our lack of TRUE believing that will be our undoing. We can't play act at believing.  We can't half-heartedly believe. We can't believe only in part.

I cry out with this desperate father--

Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

LORD, I BELIEVE, HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF!

This is my prayer!

Teach Me

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness

Over and over again it becomes more apparent that our righteousness truly is as filthy rags.

Isa_64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags

My niece posted a video on facebook today reminding me of the very important truth that Christ alone can do away with our sins, our unrighteousness.  We can't rid ourselves of the sins in ourselves. We can only submit- over and over again- to Christ.

Daily we are reminded of our inability to be sinless.  Daily this reminder is needed maybe until we fully comprehend Christ as our Savior.  We say it, we believe it, but is it real in our lives?

Seeking first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness. I need to learn to do this. Please teach me, Lord, please teach me to seek Your kingdom first, to seek Your righteousness first. I keep looking at myself and my failures, my inabilities, my many, many shortcomings, my numerous failings, my fears and in doing this I'm taking my eyes of Christ where they belong!

Teach me, Lord, please, teach me!

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior! Now and forever…amen!

Prayers

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

We get to hear the prayer of Daniel-- we must listen.

Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said,

 O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

We get to hear the prayer of Jesus- we must listen--

Joh 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Joh 17:2  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Joh 17:7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Joh 17:10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

Joh 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Joh 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Joh 17:13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Joh 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Joh 17:24  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Joh 17:25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

Joh 17:26  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

And our prayer-

Please Father, please we would be Yours through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, Your only begotten Son. Please.

More on this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD.  We need to pray the prayers of God's people, we are God's people. We need prayers of spirit, prayers of love, prayers heard. Please.

Please.

Sifted as Wheat? No- Prayed for by Jesus!

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Like Simon, Satan desires to have ANYONE who dares claim the Lord for their Savior in a very real, living, active way. Satan would love to sift us as wheat.

How is wheat sifted?

'Manual Threshing

The first step in the process of sifting wheat is to loosen the chaff from the edible grain, which is called threshing. The old-fashioned way to do this is to spread the wheat onto a floor made from stone, concrete or tamped earth and to beat it with a flail. This is no longer done in the developed world. But in some places where machines are expensive and human labor is cheap, manual threshing is still common. From <http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4925686_farmers-sift-wheat.html> '

'Hand threshing was laborious, with a bushel of wheat taking about an hour.[3] In the late 18th century, before threshing was mechanized, about one-quarter of agricultural labor was devoted to it.[4]From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshing> '

'Threshing (thrashing) was originally "...'to tramp or stamp heavily with the feet'..." and was later applied to the act of separating out grain by the feet of people or oxen and still later with the use of a flail.[2] A threshing floor is of two main types: 1) a specially flattened outdoor surface, usually circular and paved,[3] or 2) inside a building with a smooth floor of earth, stone or wood where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest and then winnow it. Animal and steam powered threshing machines from the nineteenth century onward made threshing floors obsolete. The outdoor threshing floor was either owned by the entire village or by a single family, and it was usually located outside the village in a place exposed to the wind.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshing_floor '

Sifted as wheat.  Wheat was beaten, stomped on, laboriously processed in order to get to the edible portion. Satan sifting a person as wheat is to BEAT them, STOMP them laboriously, and very actively abuse them trying to separate them from the love of God!

Satan is REAL and he will torment us spiritually every opportunity he gets.  Satan will use things we least expect him to attack us with. How can he use a sweet innocent child, or a mentally debilitated elderly person to attack us? Truthfully? He's not able to use them, he is using OUR failure to surrender to our Savior fully, in order to goad us spiritually to reacting toward that child and elder from a self-centered standpoint. A selfish standpoint that fills us with indignation, with ire, we something we believe is self-preservation. Then he calls on us to justify our failure by any means necessary- you were tired, you were hungry, you were scared, you were sad, you were upset all very good reasons we allow for bad behavior. As if we'd somehow manage to rise above the same situation should we be well rested, not hungry, unafraid, happy, and not in the least bit upset. Isn't it really true that we are allowing Satan to abuse us in all manner of unexpected and unwanted situations by letting his spirit reign in us? Have you ever not reacted in what we call a typical manner- to a rather unpleasant, even dire situation? People sort of expect others to 'act out' not to seek the peace giving faith of thrusting Jesus' love instantly into the bad situation.   How can we do that-- we cry out, when our hearts are breaking, our spirits are on fire with the offense before us and our instant response is that volatile outburst.  And the chain of events started continue with our despair over our response, and our dwelling upon our bad behavior, lamenting our selfishness and often seeking to find that ready excuse for ourselves.

Wretched people, that's what we are! We are wretched. And if we do place our hope in ourselves, we are completely lost! If we place our hope in ANY other than Christ, anyone else at all, we are LOST!

Our hope must be in Christ to save us from our wretched, wretched selves.

We need to EXAMINE ourselves, not just despair over our actions. We need to question ourselves, ask ourselves why we reacted as we did? Why, truly… WHY!?

Did we feel put out in some way? Did our thoughts instantly begin to berate a person who slighted us, who dared to impose upon us unexpectedly in what we believe is unjustly? Do we look down upon those who Satan uses to expose our very real, very awful selfish ways? Do we detest them and blame them for our own selfishness? As if we wouldn't be selfish if they'd just left us completely alone and did what WE perceive to be their own thing without engaging us. 

Satan set's us up and no, he doesn't always use an innocent child, or older person, he uses anyone he can. He even uses the self-glorified ungodly person against us. He wants us to be able to try and justify our self-centered actions by blaming the other person's obvious defiance of God.

The 'if only' begins to  push their way into our justification- if only this were a different way, if only that wasn't like it is, then I WOULD BE DIFFERENT.  Maybe you would be, or maybe you wouldn't be- it doesn't matter. What matters is what IS and in whatever the situation we react as if we are in the presence of God, because we ARE!

If we need a special something or other to be in the presence of God, then we are in trouble! Because life will NOT stop for us to prepare ourselves. We must be praying always, we must be in God's presence always! We must allow for any routine we have to be blown to bits, because Satan is alive and well and our selfishness equally, and very sadly is alive and well also.  Our dependence upon God must be there in ALL situations, from the worse to the best.  We may be allowed a glorious growth in what we perceive is our spiritual life, and we might then expect that glorious growth, that routine, that pattern, that way to continue on indefinitely, but LIFE doesn't allow for that and anyone who tells you it does isn't a person who is growing, but settled into a deceptively stagnant way of life which Satan loves and allows.  We are to be TRIED in the FIRE, not settled into the warm, relaxing bath water. 

What needs to be the ONLY constant in our lives is our dependence upon CHRIST in all our situations no matter what they might be.  We must seek that dependence while our lives are filled with upheaval, and if God desires our growth to continue in a former manner that has been drastically disrupted, then after our trial by fire, it will return.  Until the time of its return we have to cling to Christ and the hope we have in Him as the waves of the spiritual storm threaten to drown us, as the fire threatens to sear us, char us to the bone and turn us to ash.

May each and every attack by Satan be a chance for spiritual GROWTH, not spiritual dampening in each and every one of.

Jesus has PRAYED for us!

May our faith fail not!

All by His amazing grace, His love, His mercy, His righteousness, all in HIM

Amen.