Create In Me A Clean Heart.

I have to say, these last couple of days have been topsy turvy with my daily schedule- and I miss my morning Bible study. Having it at night there are just too many distractions for me. Don't get me wrong, God is first. By His grace I was able to pray first thing and ask Him to guide me, to take all my plans and do with them as He willed(s). My thoughts turned to Him often, but it still wasn't a study time, a time to reflect on His word, to learn from His word. Why did I change the schedule, because I had things to get done and that was a time when I could. If I was wrong, God forgive me, if not praise God I didn't do wrong.  Saying God understands is easy for us to do. We have to, don't we? We want to believe that God understands our motives, our heart when we don't even know our own heart half the time. God, create in my a clean heart with clean motives and no guile in me whatsoever.

More tomorrow, by the grace and will of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Spiritually Starving.

'The man is "saved," but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.'

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 

Hunger and thirst. Two basic needs we all have and we have these needs daily for the most part.

Have you memories of being thirsty, I mean really thirsty, so thirsty you begged for something to drink? I have. I remember it vividly. I was in the hospital and they denied me any food or drink for three days- yes, I had an IV in my arm but it wasn't the same. My body may have been hydrated but my thirst was awful, so awful I was begging those around me to give me something to drink. No one would. Thirsty. Begging for water… Thirsty. Begging for righteousness, for God. So thirsty my desperation was agonizing. Do I beg for God this way? Do I long for God in my life above all else?

I've been hungry before but never to the point of starving. That time I was thirsty, the thirst took precedence over any hunger I may have had. Hunger pangs are real, but lately I've been fasting and I notice the pains, grumbling, growling it all passes. Yes, it returns periodically but then is passes again. I've also notice that sometimes I'm a lot more hungry than at other times.  When I'm really hungry and I choose to eat, I know the eating will satiate the hunger, I can be filled that hunger can be assuaged. Just as thirst can be assuaged by drinking. 

No, that food will not keep me from being hungry again any more than drinking will never make me thirsty again. I will continuously be hungry and thirsty for food and drink, and I need to be hungry and thirsty for God, but am I. And if I'm not hungry and thirsty for God then what am I? Why aren't I?

 The Pursuit of God quote-

'The man is "saved," but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.'

How can we be truly saved and NOT be hungry or thirsty for God?  How?

We need daily sustenance, we need sustenance even if it isn't daily. We need to feel hunger and thirst for God or else we are spiritually starving ourselves and when you starve yourself you die. You can live while you are spiritually dead, in fact many people are spiritually dead and they don't even know it. I don't want to be spiritually dead. I want to FEEL the hunger and thirst for God that I need so that I can be spiritually alive, feeding and drinking of God and His righteousness.

Please Lord, please help me hunger and thirst after YOU today, tomorrow, forever!

I Have Many Treasures.

I found these two quotes from the book - Pursuit of God- worthy of repeating and expounding on.

'Faith may  now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be "received" without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. '

'The man is "saved," but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.'

Imagine faith without a single jar to our moral life. Imagine being told you can live as you please, seek pleasure as it suits you, and still be saved, a Christian. We really don't have to imagine this, do we? It's the way the majority of people choose to live. Seeking self-satisfaction in every aspect of our lives. If we want something we strive to get it if at all possible- within our financial means of course, or without if we are able to borrow, use credit or otherwise obtain the funds. We are seldom content with very little. We pity those who have very little, we call them poor, deprived, sad and miserable. Are they always sad and miserable with their meager possessions? Do they spend their lives constantly lamenting their fate, wish they'd been dealt a different hand so they could have been among those with many tangible treasures.

Do you realize just how many treasures you have in your life? Seriously, do you?

We are told to lay up our treasures in heaven but truthfully we have a whole slew of treasures surrounding us. There is a holiday approaching, Christmas, and it is filled with treasure accumulation. Just how many new treasures are coming our way? We delight to receive and often we delight to distribute treasures too, don't we? I know I've made several gifts this year which in truth are treasures, to give to people. Is it wrong? I cry out, no, no it can't be wrong. Yet, these verses…

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

And this verse… Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

Treasures… I have so many compared to so many, and yet I have so few compared to many as well. I am blessed beyond measure with my treasures.

I digress, at the beginning of this little study I mentioned the belief that you can have faith without a jar to the moral life- you can have Jesus without any change to your life whatsoever- live as you please- and you know what? It is all LIES. People believe it's true, but it's not. To live for Christ is to live as Christ and Christ had moral standards as high as they come. We NEED to welcome the convictions of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and live accordingly heeding the reprimands, the chastising, the pain of our allowing sin to flourish in our lives. We cannot indulge our low moral standards, but ever seek the moral standard Christ would have us hold.

More on those quotes from the book Pursuit of God, tomorrow, by the will and grace of our Lord.

Please, Lord, we would be wholly Yours. Please let us use any treasures we may have for your glory, teach us how to do so, help us to be YOURS. Please let our morals be the same as Yours and no others. May You be our guide throughout our lives now and ALWAYS! We choose You, Lord, we choose You! Save us even from… especially from ourselves and the evils we indulge in. Open our blind eyes please! Please.

Thank you, Lord, thank you.

Our Actions.

Actions-

Know them which work among us for the Lord, those who may have more knowledge and understanding than we do ourselves. Think highly of them with the Love of God. Know that if you are admonished by them it's with good reason, for your growth in Christ.

Knowing, thinking, loving.

'And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.'

Actions:

Warn those who are upsetting.

Comfort those with feebleminds.

Support the weak.

Be Patient toward everyone.

Do NOT give evil for evil to ANYONE.

Follow good with each other and ALL.

'Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. '

Actions:

Rejoice always!

Pray without stopping!

Give thanks!

God wants us to do these things.

'Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. '

Actions:

Do not hinder the Holy Spirit.

Do NOT despise prophecies.

'Quench not the Spirit.  Despise not prophesyings.' 

Actions:

Prove ALL things.

Hold onto the good things.

'Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.' 

Actions:

Do not appear evil.

'Abstain from all appearance of evil.' 

IF we are using our actions for these things that we are admonished to use our actions for…. THEN…

'And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.  Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.  I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.'

1Thess. 5:12-28

God's Database.

No posters plastered on walls. No billboards marking the time and place. Not a single media post on any medium available. Thieves simple do NOT announce their planned thievery. If anything, thieves are very hush, hush about what they are doing. The fewer people who know what they are up to the better, right? There is a lot less of a chance of a thief getting caught if their plans are kept to a bare minimum on a need to know basis. Your more elaborate thieves might even keep the entire plan from all those helping to pull off the crime. One thief may play a part entirely different from another and therefore no need to know arises. Thieves plot their actions quite often, the more elaborate the thieving the more intricate the plotting might be. This isn't to say there aren't many thieves born simply of opportunity. An opportunity arises and so they take it, and tada, they are now a thief.

Victims of thieves (of which I have been one in the past) end up feeling violated on an emotional level (at least this one did). The sense of loss is undeniable. When you can't replace that which was stolen from you it is even worse.

Had I known a thief was targeting my possessions I would have taken greater pains to protect them. Was it a crime of opportunity, they were just walking by my car and decided hey, this might be something I could use, or sell to get some money. So, they break into my car and steal my possessions simply because they came, saw and wanted to conquer them. I'll never know how thought out and planned the burglary was, from a split second decision to a watching the car for several nights, what I do know is I had NO IDEA a thief was going to take what was rightfully mine.

Why so much discussion about thieves? Because the word of God tells me that Jesus is going to return as a thief.

'But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.'

Not only is Jesus our Lord returning as a thief, He's returning as a thief in the night.  We all know that under the cloak of darkness a lot more crimes are committed. It's a safe bet to say the majority of thieving (at least for tangible possessions - not cyber and electronic stealing) is done in the dark when there is less chance of being seen.  I know where I live, the city I live in, there are quite of few incidences of groups of kids breaking into cars and when do they mostly occur? In the middle of the night. It truly is harder to catch a thief while you are sleeping, yes? Near to impossible unless of course you have a knowledge of non-lethal physical traps you can set up around your property maybe then you can catch the thief. Nowadays there are a lot of people who own security cameras and they catch the thieves in action but wily thieves cloak their identities quite a bit, some even spy the cameras and take action to keep from being seen simply by keeping their face turned from the recording device.

Jesus is going to return as a thief in the night.

Seems a bit sneaky, right? Doesn't seem like Jesus at all to be even a touch underhanded. I suppose anything we connect to thieves sets us immediately on edge. We can't refute the word of God though, it did say that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. In fact, there was and there is no reason whatsoever to tell someone when Jesus will return, because we are told we can't know. Isn't that what is meant by the thief part? Not that Jesus is going to align Himself with criminals and steal anything at all. The part about thieves in the night and what that means- YOU DON'T KNOW when a night time thief is going to rob you. Thieves do not have schedules available for our eyes to see. There are no posts at all from thieves, no instant message saying- Hey, I'm on my way to rob you tonight. They do not let us know when they are coming. So too we will not know the date of our Savior's return, we can't know.

Imagine a thieves network where all their future crimes are posted suddenly being exposed for all to see and the times and places of all the thieving were revealed. If you look down the list and see your address what exactly would you want to do? Prepare? Sit down in the shadows with your BB gun, stun gun, any non-lethal weapon and wait for the thief to arrive so you could stop them, right? Granted that is only if the thief doesn't know you've seen their plans.

Prior to getting the knowledge of when you were going to be robbed you never gave a thought to sitting in wait for a possible burglar to show up. However, you might take many precautions against being burgled- locks, security systems, lights and so on, just in case.

If the date and time of our Lord's return were posted for all to see how many people would simply do as they pleased waiting until the date drew near to begin their walk with Christ? True, all the procrastinators would be known and most likely the insincerity of their desire to belong to Christ on record, but if we stop and look at the entire picture- the time of Christ's return thousands of years away from the date of the written reminder- how unreal that might seem to a lot of people, so much so they grow discouraged under the weight of that knowledge.

The date and time of our Lord's return has been kept from all for reasons beyond our full comprehension.  Many people- I'd love to say millions and millions, but in truth I have no idea how many- have lived and died waiting for the Lord to return.

(Side note of logic here for a moment- why would it matter when the Lord returned if when a person died they go to be with Him immediately? Wouldn't people simply look forward to their death and not concern themselves too much with Christ's return? We know the Bible tells us explicitly that people are in the grave, people will rise when Christ returns- so why do we perpetuate the belief in immediate rising, immediately continuity of life upon death?)

The graves are filled with those who have not seen the Lord since they closed their eyes in death's sleep. They live suspended lives. No, they aren't packed in some futuristic suspended animation capsule, they are kept suspended in the grand database of God. Yes, I said that and I mean that. Our bodies decay to dust, the air put into our lungs is expelled returning to the One who put it there, and our thought process that contains all the uniqueness of each of us down to the last detail - every last memory, every single choice we've ever made, all of it is locked away in death's sleep, kept alive only by the will of God who knows all hearts and knows the hearts of those who choose to reunite with Him through the offered Way- Jesus Christ our Savior. Every person is recorded in God's grand database and WHEN our Lord returns those in that database who belong to God will be reanimated, brought back to life, given an immortal, incorruptible form. Those who do not belong to God will also be reanimated but they will NOT be given immortal, incorruptible bodies- they will return to the state of themselves prior to death and subject once again to death.

Jesus our Lord will return when we aren't expecting Him, except if we live in a state of expectation, of hope that His return is ever imminent. Jesus, our hope.

The Bible goes on to say…

'For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.' 1Th 5:1-11

We who are Christ followers are NOT in darkness. We who are Christ followers will not be overtaken as when a thief comes in and robs you. We live in the light of our Savior, we live in the day of His expected return not in the night of sleep's lack of knowledge. We watch, we keep alert, our minds unfettered by substances that cloud thinking. We wrap ourselves in the knowledge and belief of faith and love, of hope for salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ will give us salvation, He died to give this gift to us. We might be alive at His return or in the grave of death's sleep it doesn't matter we will be HIS, we will live with HIM. This knowledge must give us the comfort we need and we need to continually recall this knowledge never losing sight of it, never. All through the grace, the will, the mercy, the love of our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, now and forever! In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Do Not Preach God- If You Do Not Live For God.

Self-deceit.

Deceiving ourselves seems strange, doesn't it? And yet, it is an art we perfect from our youth, carrying it on through to adulthood.

We tell ourselves we aren't that bad. We have to tell ourselves that, don't we? Justifying our actions day by day, accepting in ourselves so many sins- calling them good, calling ourselves good.

Recognizing our own shortcomings isn't easy. We most certainly do NOT appreciate them being pointed out to us by others- that just puts us on the defensive. Recognizing our day to day failures to comply to a standard that seems all but impossible, but at the same time comprehending that it should be possible in the world that was meant to be, and the world that will be, is a good thing. We are being refined, and the only way we can be refined is by the knowledge we need refining. The knowledge we need a refiner is paramount. We are not our own refiner, taking credit for refining out the impurities in our lives that would keep us separated from God. We must strive to keep ourselves in the refiner's reach, never picking up the refiner's tools thinking we can take over the work and help the refiner out a bit.

Our refiner knows just how to do the very intricate job necessary to make us wholly God's. While we might believe the refiner should cut along the line of our excess attitude, our refiner might have the knowledge that cutting away that excess would do no good if the underlying, deeper heart work isn't worked on first.

Exposing our deepest, darkness self-deceptions may be necessary before real refining can be done in us.

We are told to renounce the HIDDEN things of dishonesty, NOT walking in craftiness. Some believe that to be crafty is a very good thing, but if that craftiness means cheating anyone in any way so that we get the better of someone- even a deceitful someone- is wrong.

2Co 4:2  …renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 

Anything in the darkness of our lives, anything we try to hide from others or ourselves will be made known. The motive that compels us will not be glossed over in any way. If we live to seek the praise of mankind and not the praise of God, it will be manifested.

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…

Every work, every secret- good or bad will be known in the light of God's righteousness. Scoff at the very idea of God, He knows the reasons why. A scoffer may have a deeply wounded heart being repaired, while a self-righteous person may refuse to see any need for repair in their lives. One may appear to be godless, while the other appears godly, but in truth they are the opposite.

Secrets, things even hidden from ourselves- by ourselves- these will all be exposed.

Ecc 12:13  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 

Ecc 12:14  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 

Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. 

God knows. It is NOT the one who proclaims their Christianity- it is the one who LIVES their Christianity. It would be better to not say a single word about God and live for God, than to preach God and not live for Him. People see through the fallacy of preachers and not doers easily. I would rather not be known as a Christian if it means my whole life is my blowing hot air and having no real substance at all as one who belongs to Christ. I am a sinful, struggling human being who chooses to believe that God's only begotten Son died to save me from my sins of which there are many.

Luk 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 

Luk 12:2  For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 

Luk 12:3  Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 

NOTHING shall be covered, nothing shall be hidden, anything we hide will be known- we must realize we cannot hide ourselves from God, not ever. If we have secrets they will be known- they are already known.

Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 

Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 

Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

Is the law written in our hearts? God knows where it is written.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 

A discerner of thoughts.

A discerner of intents.

All things are manifest to God.

All things are naked and opened to God.

Cover yourself up in clothing you think no one can see beneath, and you will still not hide a single speck of yourself from God.

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

All the things written in the books of God are truth, undeniable truth. Every single work- the true work- the motive behind all work is revealed.  This is why people are going to proclaim they do the works of God, and God is not going to know them at all- because the intents of the heart are revealed to God and He knows every single person who thinks they are getting away with deceiving others and themselves.

Please, Father God, please most Heavenly God, please refine us so we are made YOURS. Take away the blindness from our eyes to all things that we are trying to hide even from ourselves- anything that would keep us from being truly, and wholly YOURS. Let every secret, let every hidden thing be known to YOU and please, work in us so that we have all the faith we need to trust You to complete in us all that we cannot complete in ourselves. We will not despair, keep us from despairing of ever being YOURS, keep us from ALL evil that would separate us from YOU. We surrender all  to YOU. We choose YOU, keep us in YOU! All through the grace, the forgiveness, the mercy of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

My Coveted Comfort Zone.

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Beware of covetousness.

The things we covet go beyond possessions, right? We can covet comfort, in particular we can covet a way of life, and that isn't necessarily a way of life that is rich in possessions.

Being asked to step outside of our comfort zones, to not covet our life to the detriment of others. To put aside our own desires in order to do for others this is what we are called to do. Doing for others isn't this more important than our own comfort?

I am so caught up in my own comfort- and not especially luxurious comfort, but comfort of a routine way of life. I don't like when things interfere with my normal routine but after fifty-six years of living I really should comprehend that NOTHING stays the same for long, not really.  There are constant changes in lives, constant interruptions to routines. We settle into our ways of life and changes that are gradual are acceptable. Changes that are masked as small alterations that turn permanent over time are so much more acceptable than sudden changes.  We can handle the subtle so much more than the shocking.

I want to help others, I want to be someone others can rely on. I don't want to be an angry, stress filled person taking out my stress on others who never deserve it simply because I'm stress when my comfort routine is altered.

Being able to accept interruptions, changes, alterations to my every day routine with grace, with love, with acceptance, without is causing me to lash out at others is the lesson I need to learn.

I covet my time as being my time to do as I please and plan- so much that it truly is a sin.

I shouldn't have a comfort zone- a coveted zone- a coveted comfort zone. 

Taking a saying from a show I watch- expect the unexpected- this should be my outlook, not expect the expected.

I should be prepared for the unexpected to the point that when it occurs I am able to be used by God for His plans, not mine. I try to pray every single morning for God to take me as wholly His, to use me in His plans, to lay ALL MY PLANS at HIS feet so that He can do as He needs to do with those plans. And then… then shamefully when He alters those plans, I rebel. Forgive me, God, forgive my hypocrisy. Teach me, lead me, open my eyes to my shortcomings so I can seek Your grace, Your teaching, Your leading.

Help me, Lord not to covet time as my own, for my own desires, my own comforts. Help me to live for You now and always, help me to learn all the lessons you have to teach me.

All through the Holy Spirit, all by YOUR mercy and grace. NOW and FOREVER.