We are dependent upon God, and if we forget that we are lost. Without God we have no hope. The miracle of our Savior- is that hope is given back to us. ONLY by the grace of God do we have hope. Nothing we did brought that hope, nothing we can do will manufacture hope. We are given that hope by grace, unwarranted, undeserved.
Have you ever been given something you didn't deserve and you KNEW you didn't deserve it for whatever reason? How did it make you feel? Wasn't there a touch of dismay brought on by the fact you knew the gift was completely underserved, in fact if anything the opposite would be much more appropriate- you should be punished. Yet there it is, an undeserved gift and offered to you.
The most precious gift in life is the forgiveness we can find through our Savior.
His righteousness, not ours, not ever ours.
Psa 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psa 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
To be judged we will forever be found wanting, in the sight of God we CANNOT be justified on our own- it's IMPOSSIBLE.
Psa 143:3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Those long dead dwell in darkness, the darkness of death's sleep and Satan would have us enter into a living death, a living darkness- completely void of the light of salvation.
Psa 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
The feelings of despair are NOT special to us, every human being has this propensity to feel the overwhelming heaviness in spirit, our heart desolate. There is no magic key to keep away these feelings, and so many people turn to pills and alcohol and other things to push away the darkness in their lives, not realizing it is when we feel the desolation, when we feel the overwhelming of our spirit it is that which draws us towards Christ- towards the realization He has to be our all in all and we will not find peace in this world outside of Him.
Psa 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Psa 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
Everyone has seen how water quickly disappears in the parched earth, yes? You've seen very dry dirt, cracked and crumbling and poured water upon it, yes? Thirsty land eagerly absorbs the water poured upon it without hesitation. A soul thirsty for Christ is eager and ready to absorb all that Christ has to offer.
Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Cause us to know the way we should walk as we lift up our lives to You God.
Psa 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Deliver us from all our enemies and the spiritual evil that attacks us is truly from our greatest enemy, help us as we flee to you, seeking to hide in You.
Psa 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Teach us because Lord we don't automatically know, we aren't inclined in the natural man to do Your will, TEACH us Lord, please, TEACH us to know and to DO THY WILL.
Psa 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
We would be YOURS Lord! We would be Yours, under Your protection! We are Your servants Lord, Your servants. So much in life would have us turn our backs on You and Your will and follow paths that are far from being the paths You would have us take. Enemies surround us and so often we cannot even see them, the most evil of enemies fighting the spiritual warfare against us while we simply go about our daily lives as if we are not in a war at all. How easy is it to lose a battle you don't even realize you are fighting? Seriously? Sneak attacks at the very beginnings of wars have the distinct advantage of destroying a multitude of lives simply because they weren't expected. Hundreds, thousands dead simply because they didn't even realize they needed to be prepared to fight- that an enemy was right there on their doorstep. Dead before they even understand what's going on. Satan works this way too. Satan loves to have people spend their entire lives oblivious to His existence in their lives in a very, very real way. So many people rush through life and ignore the fact they are in a war, a spiritual war and we need our Savior to destroy those who afflict our souls, we need God to cut off our enemies. We need God to have mercy upon us, wonderful, wonderful mercy.
Please Lord bless us.
Thank you for Your amazing love, for Your mercy, for Your grace!
In You Always!
Amen.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Be doers of the word
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
It is so incredibly easy to hear and not do the things we hear isn't it? It's easy to KNOW to do good, but incredibly difficult to do the good things we know we should do. Why is it that way? Why?
I KNOW I shouldn't lose my temper. I KNOW I shouldn't speak hurtful things. I KNOW I should be more considerate of others. I KNOW I am so incredibly far from being a doer of the word in so many ways. The closer I long to be to my Savior the further away I seem to go. I've noticed just recently after studying about 'counting it joy', and trying to implement this in my life that Satan pulls out all stops and not just in me but abusing those I love so that it pains me to watch them being spiritually attacked over and over again.
These spiritual attacks happen ALL the time and yet we've been taught to believe they are far from spiritual attacks and simply human invention. Humans don't like to believe they can be used by Satan to hurt others and yet it happens all the time. Satan exploits our weaknesses and our propensity towards evilness in all forms. If He knows we are hurt by something that is supposed to be harmless, he'll do all he can to bring about that supposed harmless situation. Oh there are so many ways the evil one works at us and when we can see his work in us shouldn't it sicken us? I know it sickens me to know that Satan's influence on a spiritual level affects me and my actions. I don't want to be hurtful, harmful, insensitive and yet all too often I find myself being that way and the sad thing is a lot of the times I try and justify the reasons I have for being that way- another trick of Satan's. Preserve SELF at all cost! Even when giving up some of self- turn that into a supremely selfish act through motive. Are we truly giving of ourselves because it is what our Savior desires of us or are we giving of ourselves so that we may APPEAR to be giving as our Savior desires? Satan uses wiles we can't even comprehend as he attempts to twist our lives so horrifically that we don't know whether we are coming or going and His purpose? To get us to give up in despair, to be defeated by all the confusion he's managed to cause.
Doers of the word.
In all our actions.
This isn't simply for becoming the supposed ideal Christian person- diving head first into all manner of Christian acts, this is for ALL aspects of our lives. Our Savior's word touched our lives on many, many levels and it's in ALL those levels that we have to be DOERS of the word. We don't get to pick and choose when we should be doers and when we should not, simply because we should ALWAYS be doers of the word. If we are not ALWAYS doers of the word then we are truly DECEIVING OURSELVES.
Deceiving ourselves has become an art form, hasn't it? We deceive ourselves in so many various ways and we do it because the ultimate goal is to live for self. Self preservation- mentally, emotionally, physically. Our lives revolve around preserving ourselves in so many, many ways. Whenever we get upset in any way we need to stop and ask ourselves if there is any self preservation involved in this upset. By self-preservation I mean are we concentrating on self, preserving our self desires, our wants, our idea of how our lives should be, our opinions, our choices over another's, our needs, our idea of how something should be done or shouldn't be done. Are we putting ourselves FIRST for whatever reason we can think of? Are we more concerned with how we are made to feel about ourselves than anything else? Do OUR feelings come first? Are we ridiculed and laughed at, and does this produce a selfish desire NOT to be treated like that? Does it created a desire to preserve SELF? We NEED to ask ourselves this, we HAVE to ask ourselves this because giving up self is the message of our Savior who came and GAVE UP HIMSELF for US! We are to give ourselves up for Him and for others, we are to come LAST- not FIRST and we put ourselves FIRST in so many, many ways!
Doers of the word in ALL ways or we truly are deceiving ourselves. If we think for one moment we can be hearers only and then go away and live our lives any ol' way we choose, keeping that old man alive, that old self alive and well by feeding it all the sin it's used to being fed, then we are DECEIVED! We HAVE to be HEARERS of the WORD and THEN DOERS! This is an action, the action of DOING, of LIVING the Word of God in our lives!!!
Please Lord, help us! Please! Save us from OURSELVES! Please!
In Your amazing love always!!!!!!!
Through Your righteousness forever!
Please Lord, mercy…
It is so incredibly easy to hear and not do the things we hear isn't it? It's easy to KNOW to do good, but incredibly difficult to do the good things we know we should do. Why is it that way? Why?
I KNOW I shouldn't lose my temper. I KNOW I shouldn't speak hurtful things. I KNOW I should be more considerate of others. I KNOW I am so incredibly far from being a doer of the word in so many ways. The closer I long to be to my Savior the further away I seem to go. I've noticed just recently after studying about 'counting it joy', and trying to implement this in my life that Satan pulls out all stops and not just in me but abusing those I love so that it pains me to watch them being spiritually attacked over and over again.
These spiritual attacks happen ALL the time and yet we've been taught to believe they are far from spiritual attacks and simply human invention. Humans don't like to believe they can be used by Satan to hurt others and yet it happens all the time. Satan exploits our weaknesses and our propensity towards evilness in all forms. If He knows we are hurt by something that is supposed to be harmless, he'll do all he can to bring about that supposed harmless situation. Oh there are so many ways the evil one works at us and when we can see his work in us shouldn't it sicken us? I know it sickens me to know that Satan's influence on a spiritual level affects me and my actions. I don't want to be hurtful, harmful, insensitive and yet all too often I find myself being that way and the sad thing is a lot of the times I try and justify the reasons I have for being that way- another trick of Satan's. Preserve SELF at all cost! Even when giving up some of self- turn that into a supremely selfish act through motive. Are we truly giving of ourselves because it is what our Savior desires of us or are we giving of ourselves so that we may APPEAR to be giving as our Savior desires? Satan uses wiles we can't even comprehend as he attempts to twist our lives so horrifically that we don't know whether we are coming or going and His purpose? To get us to give up in despair, to be defeated by all the confusion he's managed to cause.
Doers of the word.
In all our actions.
This isn't simply for becoming the supposed ideal Christian person- diving head first into all manner of Christian acts, this is for ALL aspects of our lives. Our Savior's word touched our lives on many, many levels and it's in ALL those levels that we have to be DOERS of the word. We don't get to pick and choose when we should be doers and when we should not, simply because we should ALWAYS be doers of the word. If we are not ALWAYS doers of the word then we are truly DECEIVING OURSELVES.
Deceiving ourselves has become an art form, hasn't it? We deceive ourselves in so many various ways and we do it because the ultimate goal is to live for self. Self preservation- mentally, emotionally, physically. Our lives revolve around preserving ourselves in so many, many ways. Whenever we get upset in any way we need to stop and ask ourselves if there is any self preservation involved in this upset. By self-preservation I mean are we concentrating on self, preserving our self desires, our wants, our idea of how our lives should be, our opinions, our choices over another's, our needs, our idea of how something should be done or shouldn't be done. Are we putting ourselves FIRST for whatever reason we can think of? Are we more concerned with how we are made to feel about ourselves than anything else? Do OUR feelings come first? Are we ridiculed and laughed at, and does this produce a selfish desire NOT to be treated like that? Does it created a desire to preserve SELF? We NEED to ask ourselves this, we HAVE to ask ourselves this because giving up self is the message of our Savior who came and GAVE UP HIMSELF for US! We are to give ourselves up for Him and for others, we are to come LAST- not FIRST and we put ourselves FIRST in so many, many ways!
Doers of the word in ALL ways or we truly are deceiving ourselves. If we think for one moment we can be hearers only and then go away and live our lives any ol' way we choose, keeping that old man alive, that old self alive and well by feeding it all the sin it's used to being fed, then we are DECEIVED! We HAVE to be HEARERS of the WORD and THEN DOERS! This is an action, the action of DOING, of LIVING the Word of God in our lives!!!
Please Lord, help us! Please! Save us from OURSELVES! Please!
In Your amazing love always!!!!!!!
Through Your righteousness forever!
Please Lord, mercy…
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Put away all filthiness
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Lay apart… put away, cast aside. This is an action. Once again we come face to face with that old belief that you shouldn't have to do anything at all as a Christian because if you do stuff- such as putting away the filthiness in your life you are hoping that action will save you. WRONG. The people who came up with the idea that you no longer have to obey God's commandments, and you no longer have to 'sin no more', that you no longer have to 'lay apart' anything in your life, that you mustn't try at all to do anything whatsoever because then it's 'works' and not 'grace' you are living by- those people are in league with Satan.
Our Salvation is through our Savior alone. We cannot do anything aside from accept what He's done for us in order to be saved. But once we have experienced that new birth then how can we truly expect to carry on in the old man? How? How can we accept the willful sinning we live in as being acceptable to God, because our not sinning won't save us? God has never and will never accept sin. Anyone that believe God will accept sin is fooling themselves. We need to ask forgiveness for EVERY sin, not just the ones we committed before we first accepted Christ as our Savior. We need to ask for forgiveness for the first sin we commit after we've accepted Christ all the way to the last sin we commit. We will NEVER be in a position as long as we are living in a time before the second coming of our Savior, to sin willfully and neglect to beg, to plead for forgiveness from God.
We are wretched beings and only Christ can save us. As wretched beings we are immersed in a constant warfare with Satan. It is a WAR. People don't realize it, but it is. Our lives are spent in a war! A REAL war. A SPIRITUAL war. When we are tempted to sin that is the enemy warring against us. When we sin that is the enemy claiming a victory over us. When we ask for forgiveness with true repentance and sorrow for that sin we are being renewed by our Savior and declared His, not Satan's. Satan wants us on his side and he'll use any means necessary to get us there. If we live in willful sin we are Satan's. If we live in a constant battle against sins that are so easily besetting us then we are striving against sin and we are claiming Christ as the victor over those sins. If we lay down our lives and no longer strive, no longer set aside, no longer go and sin no more, no longer lay apart all filthiness then we are not living our lives as Christ would have us live them. This war is real and we have our part in it, as a soldier of Christ's we have a leader who has told us so much through His life, through His word, through the words of those guided completely by the Holy Spirit. We cannot get to a point in our lives where we NO longer desire to lay aside the besetting sins. As much pleasure as our flesh nature may receive from these besetting sins, they will NEVER be acceptable to God, never! Our flesh pleasure is not the indicator that something is good and acceptable. If this were true then all those who derive pleasure from acts we call criminal would have the right to say they are acceptable acts, good acts from the simple fact they bring them happiness and pleasure.
We are to deny ourselves-
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
We are to go and sin no more-
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
We are to lay aside every weight-
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
We are to lay apart all filthiness-
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We are to do this and then receive WITH meekness the engrafted word- the word of God- the words of life that will save us. Those words we receive are the words of the gospel our Savior preached to all.
By His grace may WE receive the word of God fully into our lives. May we fight in this war we are embroiled in and not surrender to Satan and his evil, deceptive ways.
Please Lord, SAVE US!
All through Your love!
Amen.
Lay apart… put away, cast aside. This is an action. Once again we come face to face with that old belief that you shouldn't have to do anything at all as a Christian because if you do stuff- such as putting away the filthiness in your life you are hoping that action will save you. WRONG. The people who came up with the idea that you no longer have to obey God's commandments, and you no longer have to 'sin no more', that you no longer have to 'lay apart' anything in your life, that you mustn't try at all to do anything whatsoever because then it's 'works' and not 'grace' you are living by- those people are in league with Satan.
Our Salvation is through our Savior alone. We cannot do anything aside from accept what He's done for us in order to be saved. But once we have experienced that new birth then how can we truly expect to carry on in the old man? How? How can we accept the willful sinning we live in as being acceptable to God, because our not sinning won't save us? God has never and will never accept sin. Anyone that believe God will accept sin is fooling themselves. We need to ask forgiveness for EVERY sin, not just the ones we committed before we first accepted Christ as our Savior. We need to ask for forgiveness for the first sin we commit after we've accepted Christ all the way to the last sin we commit. We will NEVER be in a position as long as we are living in a time before the second coming of our Savior, to sin willfully and neglect to beg, to plead for forgiveness from God.
We are wretched beings and only Christ can save us. As wretched beings we are immersed in a constant warfare with Satan. It is a WAR. People don't realize it, but it is. Our lives are spent in a war! A REAL war. A SPIRITUAL war. When we are tempted to sin that is the enemy warring against us. When we sin that is the enemy claiming a victory over us. When we ask for forgiveness with true repentance and sorrow for that sin we are being renewed by our Savior and declared His, not Satan's. Satan wants us on his side and he'll use any means necessary to get us there. If we live in willful sin we are Satan's. If we live in a constant battle against sins that are so easily besetting us then we are striving against sin and we are claiming Christ as the victor over those sins. If we lay down our lives and no longer strive, no longer set aside, no longer go and sin no more, no longer lay apart all filthiness then we are not living our lives as Christ would have us live them. This war is real and we have our part in it, as a soldier of Christ's we have a leader who has told us so much through His life, through His word, through the words of those guided completely by the Holy Spirit. We cannot get to a point in our lives where we NO longer desire to lay aside the besetting sins. As much pleasure as our flesh nature may receive from these besetting sins, they will NEVER be acceptable to God, never! Our flesh pleasure is not the indicator that something is good and acceptable. If this were true then all those who derive pleasure from acts we call criminal would have the right to say they are acceptable acts, good acts from the simple fact they bring them happiness and pleasure.
We are to deny ourselves-
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
We are to go and sin no more-
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
We are to lay aside every weight-
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
We are to lay apart all filthiness-
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We are to do this and then receive WITH meekness the engrafted word- the word of God- the words of life that will save us. Those words we receive are the words of the gospel our Savior preached to all.
By His grace may WE receive the word of God fully into our lives. May we fight in this war we are embroiled in and not surrender to Satan and his evil, deceptive ways.
Please Lord, SAVE US!
All through Your love!
Amen.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Slow to wrath
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
The Father of lights.
God created the light, remember?
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
God created the main source of our natural light- the sun. And He created the moon and the stars - all light sources or reflectors of light.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
God truly is the Father of lights. And NOT only is He the Father of- the Creator of lights, He is the Father of the LIGHT of the world- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Every good thing comes from God, every truly good thing. Just because our perception is skewed from thousands of years of sin and so many call evil good, and good evil, doesn't mean that God is the Father of evil things. We call a lot of perverted, disgusting things good because we've had our senses so incredibly dulled by Satan. We need to fall before God on our knees and pray that we aren't duped by the evil one who has taken so many people's eternal lives through His perversions. This isn't a popular way to talk at all, this is frown upon by people because they simply do NOT want to hear truth, it goes against their comfortable existence living side by side with Satan's evil they've accepted as good. No one wants to be told that the majority of things they love, the things they like, the things they've embedded into their routine of life all are evil. No one likes it, no one. We come face to face with the evil in our lives and we make a choice whether to accept it or not. We can choose to continue on without changing a thing- this is the power of choice we have- and we can choose our own path. God offers us life- and He offers us ALL good gifts, ALL perfect gifts. Does this mean we'll have all things happy, happy, NO! We've talked about this a lot. The happiness we need to seek is ONLY found in our SAVIOR! If we seek for happiness elsewhere we are only setting ourselves up to fall over and over and over again! It'll be an endless rollercoaster- never ending torture and we'll put ourselves through it because we can find happiness, we can find incredible happiness called JOY in our Lord!
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
By the will of our LORD we all have come into existence. The apostles, the disciples that lived when our Savior walked the earth and for several years after He ascended to heaven were truly a kind of firstfruits- they were the first to live in a world after the promised Messiah's coming. No others had ever lived in that time, not one. And because these men and women lived in this time, this new existence they were cautioned…
'Be SWIFT to HEAR.'
'Be SLOW to SPEAK.'
'SLOW to WRATH.'
Is this EVER bad advice? Seriously, is it?
I know I am VERY guilty of jumping right in there to offer my thoughts, my opinions on things without taking any time to hear, truly hear. And as for being slow to wrath, I have to hang my head in shame over and over again because my wrath all too often seems to come instantaneously.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
And that wrath of mine will NOT work the righteousness of God.
That instant wrath of mine goes against God.
Please Lord, please help me to be swift to hear- help me to learn to LISTEN so much more than I do. Please Lord, please help me be slow to speak- help me learn to be quiet, to learn that I don't have to be heard like I all too often believe I do.
Please Lord, please help me to be slow to wrath- help me keep my instant temper in check, please, help me Lord I don't want to work anything that isn't the righteousness of God.
By YOUR GRACE LORD!
In YOUR LOVE!
Amen.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
The Father of lights.
God created the light, remember?
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
God created the main source of our natural light- the sun. And He created the moon and the stars - all light sources or reflectors of light.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
God truly is the Father of lights. And NOT only is He the Father of- the Creator of lights, He is the Father of the LIGHT of the world- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Every good thing comes from God, every truly good thing. Just because our perception is skewed from thousands of years of sin and so many call evil good, and good evil, doesn't mean that God is the Father of evil things. We call a lot of perverted, disgusting things good because we've had our senses so incredibly dulled by Satan. We need to fall before God on our knees and pray that we aren't duped by the evil one who has taken so many people's eternal lives through His perversions. This isn't a popular way to talk at all, this is frown upon by people because they simply do NOT want to hear truth, it goes against their comfortable existence living side by side with Satan's evil they've accepted as good. No one wants to be told that the majority of things they love, the things they like, the things they've embedded into their routine of life all are evil. No one likes it, no one. We come face to face with the evil in our lives and we make a choice whether to accept it or not. We can choose to continue on without changing a thing- this is the power of choice we have- and we can choose our own path. God offers us life- and He offers us ALL good gifts, ALL perfect gifts. Does this mean we'll have all things happy, happy, NO! We've talked about this a lot. The happiness we need to seek is ONLY found in our SAVIOR! If we seek for happiness elsewhere we are only setting ourselves up to fall over and over and over again! It'll be an endless rollercoaster- never ending torture and we'll put ourselves through it because we can find happiness, we can find incredible happiness called JOY in our Lord!
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
By the will of our LORD we all have come into existence. The apostles, the disciples that lived when our Savior walked the earth and for several years after He ascended to heaven were truly a kind of firstfruits- they were the first to live in a world after the promised Messiah's coming. No others had ever lived in that time, not one. And because these men and women lived in this time, this new existence they were cautioned…
'Be SWIFT to HEAR.'
'Be SLOW to SPEAK.'
'SLOW to WRATH.'
Is this EVER bad advice? Seriously, is it?
I know I am VERY guilty of jumping right in there to offer my thoughts, my opinions on things without taking any time to hear, truly hear. And as for being slow to wrath, I have to hang my head in shame over and over again because my wrath all too often seems to come instantaneously.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
And that wrath of mine will NOT work the righteousness of God.
That instant wrath of mine goes against God.
Please Lord, please help me to be swift to hear- help me to learn to LISTEN so much more than I do. Please Lord, please help me be slow to speak- help me learn to be quiet, to learn that I don't have to be heard like I all too often believe I do.
Please Lord, please help me to be slow to wrath- help me keep my instant temper in check, please, help me Lord I don't want to work anything that isn't the righteousness of God.
By YOUR GRACE LORD!
In YOUR LOVE!
Amen.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
In my mother's womb
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Psa 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
Psa 139:18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
God knows us while we are in our mother's womb.
God makes us- fearfully, wonderfully, marvelously.
Before we are even created, before we are conceived…God knows us!
It's so incredibly hard to imagine, isn't it? Being known before we are even conceived, being known as we are growing in our mother's womb.
I read this today and thought immediately of my great niece, Rayne Elizabeth born this past Sunday, and my great niece Lyla Rose still in her mother's womb growing soon to be born. God knows these babies! God knew US as babies! We are not conceived by chance without our Creator knowing. The very same Creator who formed the first human beings from the dust of the earth- creating every single part of us from the tiniest cell to the deepest hidden parts inside of us- is the same God today who knows each and every one of us before we are formed.
Some people might speak up about now and start in about all the babies born deformed and such and they'd start blaming God for that and how horrible He must be to allow a baby to be born suffering. These are the same people who become atheists, the same people who would rather believe there is no God than believe there is a God who allows horrific things to happen not only to adults but to tiny innocent babies who've not even had a chance to commit any wrong.
People don't get the whole big picture. They focus on a few bits and then form their opinions, their beliefs. The horrors this world has in it exist because of a choice made by first- an angel, and secondly another choice the first human couple made- NOT because God designed evil and forced it upon that angel or the first humans. People then say God should NEVER have given the angel or mankind a choice but simply made everything perfect without any chance at all whatsoever to do anything wrong, to disobey, no choice between good and evil.
That good and evil exists, and has existed since long before mankind is a mystery- a mystery that we're not allowed to delve into. One of those secrets that belong to God.
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
God knows of good and evil- it exists and God in making angels gave them the power of choice in knowing evil and good to choose one or the other. Then God made mankind and they didn't know of good and evil other than there was a tree that possessed the key to that knowledge and they were forbidden to eat from that tree and told rather to trust solely in God for all things, they were given everything perfect just like people say they want. Of course people say they NEVER should have been given a choice, that tree should NEVER have been put in the garden and people should have just been allowed to live in this perfect existence without any choice but to do so. We in essence should have been the puppets of the master, NOT ever being allowed an opportunity to love God. Seriously, love can never be forced and setting up a situation where there is NO choice takes away the love. When we love someone it's because we CHOOSE to love someone. Love is a choice, it's not a lustful emotion as so many believe. Love is a choice to make and we do it over and over again in good and bad times as the ol' marriage vows go. Unfortunately the marriage vows aren't enough- we need to choose to love our neighbor, not just a single partner in life, not just our family members. Love is a choice we make and we make it constantly- not just once or once in a while.
Yes, God could have given us no choice- and in return He would have had no love.
That WE made the wrong choice is on US, not on HIM and this is where people get it all messed up. Taking the blame for things goes against our sinful nature- the nature Adam and Even inherited instantly upon disobeying.
Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The blame went where? Not on themselves. Yes, they had help- Adam had temptation from Eve and Eve had temptation from Satan, but they ULTIMATELY made the choice to disobey, they were not forced.
God did NOT want evil for us. God did NOT want sickness for us. God did NOT want death for us. Yet so many are eager to blame Him for it all, unwilling to take any responsibility at all for anything.
We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who loves us so deeply He forbears with us after all these many, many, many thousands of years not willing that any will be lost that would be saved, that would choose love over all- even self.
May God bless those little babies, born and unborn - they were fearfully and wonderfully made by our amazing Creator. May their lives be filled with His love now and always.
Amen.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Psa 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
Psa 139:18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
God knows us while we are in our mother's womb.
God makes us- fearfully, wonderfully, marvelously.
Before we are even created, before we are conceived…God knows us!
It's so incredibly hard to imagine, isn't it? Being known before we are even conceived, being known as we are growing in our mother's womb.
I read this today and thought immediately of my great niece, Rayne Elizabeth born this past Sunday, and my great niece Lyla Rose still in her mother's womb growing soon to be born. God knows these babies! God knew US as babies! We are not conceived by chance without our Creator knowing. The very same Creator who formed the first human beings from the dust of the earth- creating every single part of us from the tiniest cell to the deepest hidden parts inside of us- is the same God today who knows each and every one of us before we are formed.
Some people might speak up about now and start in about all the babies born deformed and such and they'd start blaming God for that and how horrible He must be to allow a baby to be born suffering. These are the same people who become atheists, the same people who would rather believe there is no God than believe there is a God who allows horrific things to happen not only to adults but to tiny innocent babies who've not even had a chance to commit any wrong.
People don't get the whole big picture. They focus on a few bits and then form their opinions, their beliefs. The horrors this world has in it exist because of a choice made by first- an angel, and secondly another choice the first human couple made- NOT because God designed evil and forced it upon that angel or the first humans. People then say God should NEVER have given the angel or mankind a choice but simply made everything perfect without any chance at all whatsoever to do anything wrong, to disobey, no choice between good and evil.
That good and evil exists, and has existed since long before mankind is a mystery- a mystery that we're not allowed to delve into. One of those secrets that belong to God.
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
God knows of good and evil- it exists and God in making angels gave them the power of choice in knowing evil and good to choose one or the other. Then God made mankind and they didn't know of good and evil other than there was a tree that possessed the key to that knowledge and they were forbidden to eat from that tree and told rather to trust solely in God for all things, they were given everything perfect just like people say they want. Of course people say they NEVER should have been given a choice, that tree should NEVER have been put in the garden and people should have just been allowed to live in this perfect existence without any choice but to do so. We in essence should have been the puppets of the master, NOT ever being allowed an opportunity to love God. Seriously, love can never be forced and setting up a situation where there is NO choice takes away the love. When we love someone it's because we CHOOSE to love someone. Love is a choice, it's not a lustful emotion as so many believe. Love is a choice to make and we do it over and over again in good and bad times as the ol' marriage vows go. Unfortunately the marriage vows aren't enough- we need to choose to love our neighbor, not just a single partner in life, not just our family members. Love is a choice we make and we make it constantly- not just once or once in a while.
Yes, God could have given us no choice- and in return He would have had no love.
That WE made the wrong choice is on US, not on HIM and this is where people get it all messed up. Taking the blame for things goes against our sinful nature- the nature Adam and Even inherited instantly upon disobeying.
Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The blame went where? Not on themselves. Yes, they had help- Adam had temptation from Eve and Eve had temptation from Satan, but they ULTIMATELY made the choice to disobey, they were not forced.
God did NOT want evil for us. God did NOT want sickness for us. God did NOT want death for us. Yet so many are eager to blame Him for it all, unwilling to take any responsibility at all for anything.
We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who loves us so deeply He forbears with us after all these many, many, many thousands of years not willing that any will be lost that would be saved, that would choose love over all- even self.
May God bless those little babies, born and unborn - they were fearfully and wonderfully made by our amazing Creator. May their lives be filled with His love now and always.
Amen.
By the grace of God we will NOT FEAR
Fear-
Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Gen 46:3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
Gen 46:4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Fear not.
The message here from God is to FEAR NOT.
Fear not because God is OUR SHIELD.
Fear not because God is OUR EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD.
Fear not because God is WITH US.
We must believe.
By faith Abraham believed God and His word. God was REAL to Abraham. God has to be REAL to us. Fear will overwhelm us if God is not REAL to us.
Fear is real, not fake, not something that is non-existent. Fear is something very, very real to so many people in so many ways. Fear comes to us in many disguises. Fear to one is not fear to another.
Abraham feared having to do what He was being asked, otherwise why would God tell Him to fear not if fear wasn't a factor?
Jacob feared going down to Egypt when Joseph sent for him. Fear was real to Jacob. Fear was real to Abraham. These were great men of God and fear was something they needed to overcome. God needed to tell them to FEAR NOT and He did so for a reason. God knew of their fear. God knew that they needed reassurance because their fear was real. Too many people scoff at fear as if it can't affect them- especially men. Don't be afraid, don't show fear, fear is for wimps, fear is for babies, fear is wrong.
Fear may be wrong but the thing is, people want other people to conquer fear all on their own to prove that they are greater than the fear, they are the ones who either succumb to fear or fight it. It sounds good. It sounds uplifting, it sounds like ego building doesn't it? And being uplifted and ego building is good right? Not right. Turning our lives to focus on our selves is wrong. We have to give up self and grab a hold of God. It is through God we lose fear because God takes that fear away, not because we have that power. TOO many people think they should be able to stop fearing on their own.
We stop fearing because God is our shield, God is our great reward, God is with us, God tells us to fear not. We do cling to God and all He tells us, we believe in God- not ourselves. As long as we believe WE should be able to rid ourselves of fear without depending upon God we will forever fear. Satan may allow us to believe we've conquered fear without God, but it'll be a false belief one that He controls.
By the grace of God we will NOT FEAR, through God we will NOT FEAR. When fear threatens us- and it will- we need to seek God, depend upon God, live for God not ourselves.
All through HIS love, all through HIS grace and mercy, always!
Amen.
Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Gen 46:3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
Gen 46:4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Fear not.
The message here from God is to FEAR NOT.
Fear not because God is OUR SHIELD.
Fear not because God is OUR EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD.
Fear not because God is WITH US.
We must believe.
By faith Abraham believed God and His word. God was REAL to Abraham. God has to be REAL to us. Fear will overwhelm us if God is not REAL to us.
Fear is real, not fake, not something that is non-existent. Fear is something very, very real to so many people in so many ways. Fear comes to us in many disguises. Fear to one is not fear to another.
Abraham feared having to do what He was being asked, otherwise why would God tell Him to fear not if fear wasn't a factor?
Jacob feared going down to Egypt when Joseph sent for him. Fear was real to Jacob. Fear was real to Abraham. These were great men of God and fear was something they needed to overcome. God needed to tell them to FEAR NOT and He did so for a reason. God knew of their fear. God knew that they needed reassurance because their fear was real. Too many people scoff at fear as if it can't affect them- especially men. Don't be afraid, don't show fear, fear is for wimps, fear is for babies, fear is wrong.
Fear may be wrong but the thing is, people want other people to conquer fear all on their own to prove that they are greater than the fear, they are the ones who either succumb to fear or fight it. It sounds good. It sounds uplifting, it sounds like ego building doesn't it? And being uplifted and ego building is good right? Not right. Turning our lives to focus on our selves is wrong. We have to give up self and grab a hold of God. It is through God we lose fear because God takes that fear away, not because we have that power. TOO many people think they should be able to stop fearing on their own.
We stop fearing because God is our shield, God is our great reward, God is with us, God tells us to fear not. We do cling to God and all He tells us, we believe in God- not ourselves. As long as we believe WE should be able to rid ourselves of fear without depending upon God we will forever fear. Satan may allow us to believe we've conquered fear without God, but it'll be a false belief one that He controls.
By the grace of God we will NOT FEAR, through God we will NOT FEAR. When fear threatens us- and it will- we need to seek God, depend upon God, live for God not ourselves.
All through HIS love, all through HIS grace and mercy, always!
Amen.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Fear is a snare...Trusting in the Lord is safety.
Pro 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Too often we fear things upon the earth. I know I've spent a lot of my life in fear- fearing one thing or another and the truth is fearing man is a snare. Fearing things of earth, fearing man-made things is a trap of Satan's. Satan loves when we fear because that fear reveals that we do not trust fully in the LORD.
We say it's natural to fear and it is, the natural man does fear and should fear, yet a man who is spiritual must place their trust in the Spiritual- in God.
There is a huge temptation to fear. And it is a temptation to fall into fearing and losing trust in God. A snare, a trap to let fear have a hold on our lives.
We read this…
Luk 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Fear causing men's hearts to fail.
If we live in a world where the worst of the worst has not yet occurred, and we let fear have it's power over us, what will happen when the worst does take place?
Fear brings a snare.
If we fear men, we are likely to be fearful of 'things', yes?
Fear… anxiety, terror.
Dictionary definition-
fear
noun
1.
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Antonyms: courage, security, calm, intrepidity.
2.
a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights. Synonyms: phobia, aversion; bête noire, bogy, bogey, bugbear. Antonyms: liking, fondness, penchant, predilection.
3.
concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.
4.
reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.
5.
something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.
Pasted from
Fear. I think I need to study this more because of the temptation to fear that has ruled my life in so many ways.
May God bless us as we delve into this study more deeply.
By His grace… more tomorrow.
Praise God for His amazing love, His amazing mercy, for the miracle of my great niece being born today.
In His love!
Amen.
Too often we fear things upon the earth. I know I've spent a lot of my life in fear- fearing one thing or another and the truth is fearing man is a snare. Fearing things of earth, fearing man-made things is a trap of Satan's. Satan loves when we fear because that fear reveals that we do not trust fully in the LORD.
We say it's natural to fear and it is, the natural man does fear and should fear, yet a man who is spiritual must place their trust in the Spiritual- in God.
There is a huge temptation to fear. And it is a temptation to fall into fearing and losing trust in God. A snare, a trap to let fear have a hold on our lives.
We read this…
Luk 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Fear causing men's hearts to fail.
If we live in a world where the worst of the worst has not yet occurred, and we let fear have it's power over us, what will happen when the worst does take place?
Fear brings a snare.
If we fear men, we are likely to be fearful of 'things', yes?
Fear… anxiety, terror.
Dictionary definition-
fear
noun
1.
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Antonyms: courage, security, calm, intrepidity.
2.
a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights. Synonyms: phobia, aversion; bête noire, bogy, bogey, bugbear. Antonyms: liking, fondness, penchant, predilection.
3.
concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.
4.
reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.
5.
something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.
Pasted from
Fear. I think I need to study this more because of the temptation to fear that has ruled my life in so many ways.
May God bless us as we delve into this study more deeply.
By His grace… more tomorrow.
Praise God for His amazing love, His amazing mercy, for the miracle of my great niece being born today.
In His love!
Amen.
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