Thinking of the Potter's wheel, the clay, the time it takes for God to chisel and mold into His likeness...
I was tempted today to think that there could have been another way, that the years of meandering through the wilderness were useless. I was tempted to doubt the motive of my heavenly Father when I reflected on my journey of faith...
I realized in a fresh way that there couldn't have been another way...at least in my life...in order for God to make me ready for spiritual warfare. I would not fight...the flesh, the world and the devil...had He not brought me face to face with myself...during those years!
How much time I've wasted thinking that if I had only done this or that...I would have avoided some rough bends in the road for myself or my family!
I resolved today to trust the One who allows the twists and turns...not because He is sovereign...but because He knows that the way He chooses for me is the only way that would make me strong in faith...able to stand in the gap...able to fight the good fight of faith!
I resolve to learn all the lessons He wants to teach me...so that if He should call on me to stand...I would stand in faith and not falter under the pressure of circumstances.
I resolve today to let my loved ones in the Hand of God...for their inevitable wilderness experience...knowing that the Potter has never marred a vessel that was entrusted to Him yet!
"When Israel came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea with the Egyptians pursuing, Moses said,'Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord'. (Ex. 14:13) That's salvation!
But when along came Amalek, it was 'Go out and fight Amalek'; that's Christian warfare!
We want salvation, but not warfare! When will we rally at His standard, the banner of Jehovah Nissi? True, the battle rages between flesh and Spirit as it did between Joshua and Amalek in the valley of Rephidim. Yet, look up. There on the holy mount of heavenly Zion is the Son of God with arms extended high, EVER LIVING TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR YOU! (Heb. 7:25)"
from book: Lord I want to know You /by Kay Arthur
"This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent...Now therefore, come, let us go..." (2Kings 7:9)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Holy, Holy, Holy
Midterm elections...this Tuesday...
We have nowhere else to go...a lot of prayers have gone up to the throne of grace (unmerited favor)...
"Why should the "Egyptians" say...?"
We have nowhere else to go...a lot of prayers have gone up to the throne of grace (unmerited favor)...
"Why should the "Egyptians" say...?"
Friday, June 4, 2010
On the same side of a struggle
Reminded this morning of several things...when I read an excerpt from the book: The Sevenfold power of First-Century Churches and Homes by Bill Gothard.
"Fellowship takes place when two or more people are on the same side of a struggle."
Light and truth cannot coexist with darkness and lies. The struggle has always been the same...and cultures and civilizations...prosper or decay...based on their reaction to the unseen line drawn by their Creator. Few men/women have managed to walk the "tight rope" of God's commandments indefinitely...Sooner or later...all fall on one side or the other of obedience!
The garden of Eden proves that men/women do not redefine reality...they merely conform to God's standard of life or death. Obedience results in life and disobedience results in death. The garden of Ghetsemane revealed the total inability and inadequacy of man to redeem himself...after he crossed the line into darkness and deceit. Christ remains the only lifeline thrown to sinners in any culture...however refined or depraved they may be! Christ came to seek and to save lost men and women...wherever they are found...regardless of the culture/subculture they are immersed in!
Christ was offended by the culture of the Pharisees...not because He expected all to receive the truth and obey it...but because they had the "key of knowledge" and they would not enter in themselves nor allow others to enter in.
This is why I am deeply offended with this current American "culture" and with the current state of affairs in the church! There are few places in the world where religious freedom is allowed...but it seems that even in such a nation as ours...we pay lip service to the Word...to Christ and the liberty He came to proclaim for sinners!
If God has an agenda....to save sinners in the liberal and homosexual "culture"...He will have to do that Himself. Here and there, He will use Christians as clay to place on the eyes of hardened sinners and under the influence of the Holy Spirit...He will draw men and women to Himself...who will in turn reach out to others in their former circle of acquaintances/friends with the truth of the gospel that saved and set them free!
It is important that we are on the same side of the struggle...as the Almighty/Holy One of Israel! Some verses stand out regarding the sovereignty of God and His ability to save/sanctify those whom He calls to Himself:
"I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life...indeed...there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?" (Is. 43:3,4,13)
"Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?" (Ps. 94:20)
"That I may know Him, and the power of His ressurection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." (Phil. 3:10)
It remains a sad reality that we as Christians who profess to have experienced the love and forgiveness of our Christ...cannot turn around and offer it to others!
Pulling others from the "culture" of sin,deception, bondage...remains the task of those who are willing to be made clay in the hands of the Savior...and whose hearts are being broken slowly but surely...with the realization that were it not for the love of God poured in the heart by the Holy Spirit...we would never love, never go to others who are so different from us, never pull anyone from the fire that ultimately sorches the mind, will and emotions of any and all who disregard Christ.
For those who engage sinners in any culture...the promise of God...the cost ...the ultimate reward!
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever." (Jude )
"Fellowship takes place when two or more people are on the same side of a struggle."
Light and truth cannot coexist with darkness and lies. The struggle has always been the same...and cultures and civilizations...prosper or decay...based on their reaction to the unseen line drawn by their Creator. Few men/women have managed to walk the "tight rope" of God's commandments indefinitely...Sooner or later...all fall on one side or the other of obedience!
The garden of Eden proves that men/women do not redefine reality...they merely conform to God's standard of life or death. Obedience results in life and disobedience results in death. The garden of Ghetsemane revealed the total inability and inadequacy of man to redeem himself...after he crossed the line into darkness and deceit. Christ remains the only lifeline thrown to sinners in any culture...however refined or depraved they may be! Christ came to seek and to save lost men and women...wherever they are found...regardless of the culture/subculture they are immersed in!
Christ was offended by the culture of the Pharisees...not because He expected all to receive the truth and obey it...but because they had the "key of knowledge" and they would not enter in themselves nor allow others to enter in.
This is why I am deeply offended with this current American "culture" and with the current state of affairs in the church! There are few places in the world where religious freedom is allowed...but it seems that even in such a nation as ours...we pay lip service to the Word...to Christ and the liberty He came to proclaim for sinners!
If God has an agenda....to save sinners in the liberal and homosexual "culture"...He will have to do that Himself. Here and there, He will use Christians as clay to place on the eyes of hardened sinners and under the influence of the Holy Spirit...He will draw men and women to Himself...who will in turn reach out to others in their former circle of acquaintances/friends with the truth of the gospel that saved and set them free!
It is important that we are on the same side of the struggle...as the Almighty/Holy One of Israel! Some verses stand out regarding the sovereignty of God and His ability to save/sanctify those whom He calls to Himself:
"I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life...indeed...there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?" (Is. 43:3,4,13)
"Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?" (Ps. 94:20)
"That I may know Him, and the power of His ressurection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." (Phil. 3:10)
It remains a sad reality that we as Christians who profess to have experienced the love and forgiveness of our Christ...cannot turn around and offer it to others!
Pulling others from the "culture" of sin,deception, bondage...remains the task of those who are willing to be made clay in the hands of the Savior...and whose hearts are being broken slowly but surely...with the realization that were it not for the love of God poured in the heart by the Holy Spirit...we would never love, never go to others who are so different from us, never pull anyone from the fire that ultimately sorches the mind, will and emotions of any and all who disregard Christ.
For those who engage sinners in any culture...the promise of God...the cost ...the ultimate reward!
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever." (Jude )
Thursday, June 3, 2010
God's promises valid in spite of our failures
I was meditating today on God's faithfulness when we present to Him ...the basements or upper rooms of our hearts...
"Thus says the Lord: Because the Syrians have said," The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver...and you shall know that I am the Lord." (1Kings 20:28)
"Thus says the Lord: Because the Syrians have said," The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver...and you shall know that I am the Lord." (1Kings 20:28)
culture shock...
After listening to Al Mohler's sermon delivered in 2006 at a Together for the Gospel conference...I am in awe of Christ!
Left to ourselves... as individuals, families and even as a nation...we have the tendency to pray imprecatory psalms such as we find in Ps. 69:22-28...when we deal with injustices done to us or those we love...
On the same page in the daily Bible reading...I find Christ washing the disciples' feet...even those of Judas who eventually betrayed Him!
This kind of love is an anomaly in any culture...American or otherwise!
"The humble shall see...and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. For the Lord hears...and does not despise...for God will save...and build..." (Ps. 69: 32-35)
"O God, who is like You?...You shall revive...and comfort...To You I will sing...O Holy One of Israel...My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long." (Ps. 71:17-24)
Keeping in mind eternal souls...no matter their culture...
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
Left to ourselves... as individuals, families and even as a nation...we have the tendency to pray imprecatory psalms such as we find in Ps. 69:22-28...when we deal with injustices done to us or those we love...
On the same page in the daily Bible reading...I find Christ washing the disciples' feet...even those of Judas who eventually betrayed Him!
This kind of love is an anomaly in any culture...American or otherwise!
"The humble shall see...and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. For the Lord hears...and does not despise...for God will save...and build..." (Ps. 69: 32-35)
"O God, who is like You?...You shall revive...and comfort...To You I will sing...O Holy One of Israel...My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long." (Ps. 71:17-24)
Keeping in mind eternal souls...no matter their culture...
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"..my adversaries are all before You." (Ps. 69)
Looking to Christ in His hour of trouble...observing what He did, what He prayed for...
"...what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." (John 12:27,28)
It must be that in some of our dark hours, the conflict of soul centers around our idol worship...
"Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the ...they did not confess Him, lest they should (lose something they loved more than Christ); for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42,43)
I was glad to observe that Christ did not appeal to Himself, to His own resources. He simply reiterated His purpose, He acknowledged the difficulty of the "hour" and He asked His Father to glorify Himself, to glorify His name. Sometimes Christ tells us as believers: "Occupy till I come!" and we don't know when He will come but we know that we have to "man the fort/turn back the battle at the gate" ...until He comes or until He takes us to Himself.
Looking across our nation's political landscape...I see the entrenched goal of our Adversary to "steal, kill & destroy".
"A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back to pervert the ways of justice." (Prov. 17:23)
"And there were also perverted persons in the land." (1 Kings 14:24)
"Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." (Prov. 17:24)
Because the Spirit of God will not always strive with men, because men in and of themselves cannot see spiritual realities unless God brings light to them, how dangerous it is to postpone settling eternal matters "until a more convenient time", until certain objectives are reached...
"While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light...he who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the Word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day."
When God tells us what to do, when He gives us wisdom and grace for obedience for the present hour...how foolish we can be when we ignore His prompting...and keep our eyes "on the ends of the earth"...whatever that means for each one of us!
It is reassuring to know that all He wants us to do in our difficult hours is to look to Him and expect from Him and know beyond any doubt that through our submission to His will He never fails to glorify His name. It is not within our means and power to glorify His name but He always manages to "thunder" His will and purposes and even as Christ died, He fulfilled the promises and He achieved the goal for which He came: "I...will draw ...to Myself." (John 12)
He can "thunder" His purposes even in our own lives, our families and our nation...when we come to Him with our troubled souls, purpose not to ask for deliverance from our present hour of trouble and humbly ask Him to glorify His name...for His greater glory!
"...what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." (John 12:27,28)
It must be that in some of our dark hours, the conflict of soul centers around our idol worship...
"Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the ...they did not confess Him, lest they should (lose something they loved more than Christ); for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42,43)
I was glad to observe that Christ did not appeal to Himself, to His own resources. He simply reiterated His purpose, He acknowledged the difficulty of the "hour" and He asked His Father to glorify Himself, to glorify His name. Sometimes Christ tells us as believers: "Occupy till I come!" and we don't know when He will come but we know that we have to "man the fort/turn back the battle at the gate" ...until He comes or until He takes us to Himself.
Looking across our nation's political landscape...I see the entrenched goal of our Adversary to "steal, kill & destroy".
"A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back to pervert the ways of justice." (Prov. 17:23)
"And there were also perverted persons in the land." (1 Kings 14:24)
"Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." (Prov. 17:24)
Because the Spirit of God will not always strive with men, because men in and of themselves cannot see spiritual realities unless God brings light to them, how dangerous it is to postpone settling eternal matters "until a more convenient time", until certain objectives are reached...
"While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light...he who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the Word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day."
When God tells us what to do, when He gives us wisdom and grace for obedience for the present hour...how foolish we can be when we ignore His prompting...and keep our eyes "on the ends of the earth"...whatever that means for each one of us!
It is reassuring to know that all He wants us to do in our difficult hours is to look to Him and expect from Him and know beyond any doubt that through our submission to His will He never fails to glorify His name. It is not within our means and power to glorify His name but He always manages to "thunder" His will and purposes and even as Christ died, He fulfilled the promises and He achieved the goal for which He came: "I...will draw ...to Myself." (John 12)
He can "thunder" His purposes even in our own lives, our families and our nation...when we come to Him with our troubled souls, purpose not to ask for deliverance from our present hour of trouble and humbly ask Him to glorify His name...for His greater glory!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Spiritual fitness...D.C.style!
Every so often, someone takes a book off the shelf and leaves it on the table...I don't remember when I bought the book or who gave it to me...but I was supposed to study it and evidently I had given up after the first day. Years ago, whenever I attempted to do the Bible study that came with it...I came across the question:
"If someone were to ask you to describe God, how would you do it? In the space below, write down the words that come to your mind when you think of God."
I simply answered:
"He is good but I don't always understand His dealings. He chastises us. He brings light so I can see truth."
That's as far as I got. I never really finished the book...I should pick it up now...and go through it.
The book: Lord I want to know You/ by Kay Arthur
quote from the book:
"When the hounds of trouble, worry, and fear pursue you; when the dogs of temptation, corruption, and evil seek to overtake you; when your energy is spent; when weakness saps you and you feel you cannot run any longer, where do you turn?"
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe." (Prov. 18:10)
"Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.(Ps. 20:7)
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