GUARD YOUR HEART
"Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." - Hebrews 4:7
"... give attention to My words; ... keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them.
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.
Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil." ~ Proverbs 4: 20-24, 26-27
DO I GIVE AWAY MY WILL?
Most of us fall prey to the same things as George Fox writes about in the devotional Streams in the Desert. The question is What do we do about it?
He writes: "I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to me, but I found something deep within me that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. I did what I could to keep those traits suppressed, but they were still there. Finally I sought Jesus for help, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and removed everything that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. And then He shut the door."
OBEYING AS THE LORD COMMANDS OR ...
Conversation between Joash, king of Judah, and Elisha, the prophet: "Take the arrows ... strike the ground ... he struck three times, and stopped. The man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times." - II Kings 13:18-19
When God tells us, instructs us to do something, He expects us to complete it, not be half-hearted. Our actions show how strong or weak our faith is.
When our faith is weak, we tend to stop midway. We may believe we have accomplished much because we did do as the Lord instructed. But the Lord's blessing upon us could be so much greater if we obeyed as the Lord commands and continue until He says stop, rather than when we say stop.
We are missing all He has for us - His blessings, His promises - when we have given up because we fail to believe wholeheartedly in our Lord and Savior.
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." - Ephesians 3:20-21
Based on readings in Nov. 25 Streams in the Desert
YIELDING TO GOD
The more we are shaped - molded
hammered
put through fire
beaten
pounded
and polished
the greater we will be of use.
Be still
silent
long-suffering, patient
The more we suffer,
the more we yield
for God's glory
and for the blessing of others.
The Lord's desire
is for us
to be still, silent, (patient), long-suffering
in the
midst of battles
that come at us
on every side.
He tells us
to lay aside,
to put away
everything that
hinders,
prevents us
from walking,
journeying
with Him.
Do not fall into traps
that catch us
off guard
that lead us along
paths of neglect
for those under our care
or destroy
relationships
because of mistaken
thoughts and beliefs.
Do not follow
the world that shows you
its perception of right
and wrong
Follow Me
My strength
My power
All that I AM
within you
My Child
will help you
endure
all that lies
ahead of you.
Keep your eyes,
your focus on Me
I AM the Prize
you seek
There is nothing
better or greater
than Me
for I AM
the source.
I AM
He who perfects you
I AM
Jesus,
I AM
His Father,
Your heavenly Father.
I AM
He who suffered for you
bled for you
died for you
was buried for you
and rose again
for you.
Through Me
you have
a new life
a new hope
Be still
Be silent
"(Let us) lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfector of our faith." - Hebrews 12:1-2 - CMOL
ARE WE WILLING?
Are we willing to live without possessions that others own or that we have had in order to be more like Jesus?
His likeness
shines through us
lives within us
joyful fellowship
solely with our Lord above
Selfishness on our part brings choices that may brighten our world on earth but does little to bring glory in and for His kingdom.
Who are we living for, to?
Remember Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life."
There is no unity, no fellowship, no love without the Lord.
Follow - believe - love ... wisely
FEELINGS OR FACTS
"We live by faith, not by sight." ~ II Corinthians 5:7
God never wants us to live by our feelings. Unfortunately, we do not routinely live by what God desires. We feel good or happy or sad or angry or something else and we react based on our emotions - what we feel.
God wants us to "face the facts" - the facts of Jesus Christ - His life, His death, His resurrection - "His finished and perfect work for us." He wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, to look to Him in every circumstance, to praise and thank Him for all we receive.
And when we have turned off and turned away from our feelings and turned to the Lord Jesus, our life will be complete and much more genuine.
"God only gives us feelings when He sees that we trust Him apart from our feelings, resting solely on His Word and his faithfulness to His promise. These feelings will be given at such a time and to such a degree as His love sees best for each individual circumstance."
We must choose between facing our feelings - living life based on our desires, our will - or facing the facts of God - living life based on the Lord Jesus and His will.
(Based on Sept. 26 devotional reading of Streams in the Desert)
DO YOU HEAR ... ARE YOU LISTENING?
"For God's vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time." ~ Dr. Pardington, Streams in the Desert
God whispers
but we do not hear Him
We are caught up in ourselves - our own personal world Its noise and distractions prevent us
We say we hear
We say we listen
But...
If we only hear ourselves
If we can't hear another
voice their own fears and sorrows
and agitations
If we can't be there
for another without judgment,
without interruption, without backslashing ...
How can we possibly hear the still small voice of God?
How can we know what words of wisdom the Lord imparts?
DO WE FOLLOW AFTER JESUS?
The Lord Jesus says in Mark 8:34, "whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
How can we accept the Lord's death, burial and resurrection for ourselves and call Him our personal Lord and Savior, yet not follow after Him?
Did we repent and turn away from our sins when we accepted His love?
He went to the cross for our very souls. He died for our every sin. He was buried and He was raised from the dead in newness of life. Our sin was buried with Him and when He rose, we rose - not as the person we were, but as a new person, with a new beginning.
Accepting the Lord is more than being assured of a way to heaven. It's a lifelong relationship that grows stronger as you stay in close fellowship with Jesus, who brings LIFE.
Satan is the death bearer.
"He who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." - John 5:24
If we do not wish to be judged by another, then we ourselves should also not judge.
The sin - that we can judge, condemn, hate. But the sinner - we should love. As Jesus.
Jesus Himself says He cannot judge according to His own will. "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me." - John 5:30
Use the cross you bear as a crutch to help you on your way, not as a stumbling block that causes you to fall. - Streams in the Desert, Sept. 14
WHAT WE LEARN
God is with us in our troubles all day and all night. When He determines we are no longer restless and worried, but calm and quiet, He will remove us from the troubles that plague us. The difficulties, however, will continue until we have learned ... whatever it is.
We often say we don't know what the Lord is teaching us. Well maybe it is not so much the "what," but rather the right attitude or character we are to learn -- to be patient, kind, gentle, calm, quiet, content, peaceful, joyful, loving.
The longer we continue to be bitter, conceited, quarrelsome, angry, discontented, deceitful, defensive, complaining, anxious, worried, selfish, the longer it will take us to see how our difficulties are stepping stones to opportunities.
When we find our way to Him and stay continually in His presence, the traumas of life will not become so burdensome. We will be able to move through life without the painful memories and disappointments being relived over and over.
(based on readings from Sept. 7 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert)
GOD TEACHES US
Many of the lessons we learn through the years are through tears. Tears of pain in death, in health, in finances, in relationships, and more. We ask the Lord, "Why? Why?"
If we stopped and thought about it, we might know.
Like a road map, God shows us:
THE LIGHT ... THE DARKNESS
We live in the darkness of sin and the world because we are humans. When we
become united with Jesus Christ, we can overcome the darkness.
We can live in the light of Jesus for it is our Lord and Savior who overcame
evil and defeated Satan so we may live in Him, with Him, for Him.
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we love fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." -- I John 1:6-10
OBEDIENCE
Waiting on God brings us to the end of our journey much faster than our feet.
"By faith Abraham obeyed ... and went out, not knowing where he was going." ~ Hebrews 11:8
- CMOL
FAITH / PRAISE / FOCUS
Did you know for Christians there are three levels of faith? If you did, you are one up on me.
In Acts 27:25-26, the apostle Paul tells us when all seems against us and the storm continues to rage, even in giving up, our faith in God remains.
And in our faith, we are to praise the Lord. Thank Him for what is confronting us, because when we are in God, we are completely surrounded by Him. Surely ... we realize that that which comes against us first passed through Him ...? I think we forget. C.H.P. says because of this we can thank God for what He will bring out of and through our trials.
HOW MUCH DO WE TRUST?
The July 6 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert brought me to
2 Chronicles 20:12, which says, "O our God, ... we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but 'our eyes are upon You.' "
It continues along the vein of being still and not being distracted by what we think we know.
Take time to read and ponder what A.B. Simpson says:
These are poems, but I thought they belonged here. The first one was written June 30, 2018 and the second three years earlier.
The sounds can destroy us
The Lord speaks
I have heard His gentle voice
I have listened to His words of wisdom
I have obeyed His instruction
Yet
It has not always been so
and is not now
I could hear Him -
I was "still"
Now
It is hard to be still
when pushed and pulled
in every direction
My own thoughts
tear me down
filling me
with questions, concerns,
irritation,
even outrage
Calling
Asking
Seeking
Noises distract
ringing, rattling, talking
Where is my time
with You, Lord?!
When will the "stillness"
You desire of me
return
The Enemy seeks to devour, destroy
I miss what I know
I miss what I had,
what I remember
My Jesus
My Lord
My Father God
Show me the way back
to being still in Your Presence
________________
I wrote the following on April 24, 2015, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is titled "Be still, and know."
"Be still, and know
that I AM God." (Psalm 46:10)
God is here
with us
His Presence
our refuge
our hiding place
our strength
Be still
Will yourself
to focus
on Him
who is...
GOD
Remove
yourself
from endless thinking
planning
for any and every
circumstance
It is not easy
Keeping yourself
away
from where
you should not be
should not travel
Oh Lord
guide my steps
my every step
guide my thoughts
so I am not
led places
that are unfruitful
You are my Light
How can I be
fruitful
and multiply
if I stumble
along the path
before me?
You, Lord
show us
love
and joy
and peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
self-control (Galatians 5:22)
to show
another
the way
to You
the way
You lived
the way
You are
the way
for us
to become
like You
So much
seeks
to destroy
our walk
our life
with the Lord
Selfish desires
become
a higher priority
than
God's desires (Galatians 5:19-21)
We hear
but not
that which
God wants us
to hear
We see
but our vision
is cloudy
We think we
comprehend
but are misguided
True Understanding
escapes us
Do not fear
but we are afraid
The Almighty God
creator of the universe
and of us
lowly humans
We fear His Promises
are not real
We fear His Presence
is not surrounding us
We fear His Power
is not enough
Oh we of little faith
Where is our trust
We make ourselves
bigger
We are so small
so insignificant
yet God loves us
Loved us
so much
He sent His Son
to be
the sacrificial lamb
to die
in our place
Be still
and know
Ask for all
you do not receive
Seek all
you do not find
Know
as much as
He will share
and understand
He Is.
EVIDENCE OF FRUIT
"The servant of the Lord must ... be gentle." ~ II Timothy 2:24
We receive the fruit of the Spirit at salvation, yet evidence of that fruit takes time and much suffering on our part.
In the June 11 devotional reading, Streams in the Desert says it is not us who conquers and changes ourselves, but God who does the conquering and the changing of our unyielding nature.
Being a born-again believer of Jesus Christ for decades does not necessarily mean there is evidence of fruit in our lives. The fruit is there, but are we showing LOVE, PATIENCE, JOY, PEACE, KINDNESS,GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS (Galatians 5:22-23) in all we do and say?
Do we remember our definitions of showing love / being loving, showing patience / being patient, showing joy / being joyful, showing peace / being peaceful, showing kindness / being kind, showing gentleness / being gentle, showing self-control / being in control of emotions - thoughts - actions, showing goodness / being good and showing faithfulness / being faithful are not the same as God's definitions?
It is not us who rules the world we live in, but God, our heavenly Father.
We talk as if we are so knowledgeable.
Galatians 5:24-25 tells us "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."
How well are we doing?
To say you or I have been a Christian for a long time and are grateful to what the Lord has done to get us where we are today is one thing, but can you honestly say that you and those around you can see evidence of the Spirit showing itself in you?
Where is the evidence?
How do you show God's love
His patience
His kindness
His faithfulness
His gentleness
His goodness
His self-control
His peace
His joy
all the time, every time?
You and me all by ourselves cannot change a darn thing. We cannot conquer the highest, steepest mountain, if the Lord is not The One to whom you seek help. If you expect to conquer every problem in your strength alone, you will fail every time. Our strength is in our Lord. Without Him, we are powerless.
We become new, ridding ourselves of the old, because of Jesus. It is in Jesus' death that we meet ours and in His re-birth, resurrection from the grave that we become re-born.
We are to hang on the cross and give our every sin to Jesus, remembering them no more. Isn't it in remembering that we hold onto them, keeping them close by and in our thoughts? Remembering our sin does not help us forget them. The Lord does not want us to remember those things. He wants us to remember that which we gained as a result of being new creations in Him.
It is the Fruit that was given us when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit took up residence in our heart that we are to recognize as available to us, that we are to desire and that we are to nourish in our thoughts.
We talk about spiritual growth and discipleship, about the struggles - how when we're in the middle of them, we want them gone. We want patience, but not at the price we have to pay. We want kindness, but how kind are we when another is mean? We desire gentleness and kindness, but how gentle and how kind are we when another is having a bad day? Tell me, is your idea of peace the same as God's?
Do we pray, asking God to help us attain this fruit or do we refuse to acknowledge the need?
~ CMOL
VICTORIOUS FAITH
In the May 12 reading from Streams in the Desert devotional, the writer talks about the different stages of faith.
The Way of faith
is lifelong
through trials
with discipline
patience to wait
and courage to see
the end result ...
The Victory of Faith
The question is about our faith, not the Lord's ability to answer.
The Lord can do all. Jesus says to us, you and me, "If you can believe, all things are possible (to him who believes)." ~ Mark 9:23 NKJV
Are you victorious in the way of faith or have you given up?
ONLY GOD KNOWS
Our faith in the Lord Jesus will take us places only God Himself knows.
As long as we remain steadfast and unwavering to Him, obedient to His every command, we will not stumble. The road will be crooked, going this way and that, but with the Lord our God at the helm, we shall pass through the waters deep and not drown upon our sorrows.
We shall overcome because with God, all things are possible. ~ CMOL
HELP ME SEE
"Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." ~ II Kings 6:17 NKJV
The April 4 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert has to do with trials.
We need to open not just our eyes, but our minds and our hearts. For what good is it to visually see, but not be able to grasp with our minds or our hearts what God wants us to see.
If we allow a trial to crush us, resulting in misery and despair, it surely will. And it has. Time after time irritation and frustration brings miserable consequences and often irreparable harm.
Satan has us where he wants us, stuck between a rock and a hard place, and looking down.
We think there is no way out and why?! Because we have lost sight of God. We ask for His help. We ask Him to remove Satan's foot-hold on us. But, obviously there is something lacking, something we're not doing.
Perhaps it is that although we have asked for His help, we are not acting like we believe He will help. He is waiting for us to make the first step. And maybe even a second step. How can we expect God to help if we are not obedient to His teachings or do not believe in His promises? Where is our faith?
It is not the trials themselves, but how we view them that determines whether we overcome our adversary or are overcome by it. It is our choice.
If we are discouraged, then every battle we enter is looked at in defeat. We have lost before we have begun.
If we see God with us and are always looking unto Him for our hope and our help, we are encouraged, we don't have a defeated attitude, but believe we can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens us.
God wants us to look up.... up into the Light of His Son, Jesus, not down in the gutter at the problem. It's our choice. Right or wrong, we choose. It's a choice to be made every single moment of every day.
What do you choose ... What do you see?
THOUGHTS TO PONDER
My reading in the devotional "Streams in the Desert" for Friday, March 30, which was Good Friday, and Saturday, March 31, dealt with darkness and light. i invite you to read the following and think about where you are, where you are going, who you rely on and the future, which can be just as soon as the next minute or a more distant time.
"When we are in darkness, the temptation is to find our own way without trusting in the Lord and relying upon Him. Instead of allowing Him to help us, we try to help ourselves. We seek the light of the natural way and the advice of our friends. We reason out our own conclusions and thereby may be tempted to accept a path of deliverance that would not be of God at all.
The light we see may be the fires from our own kindling, or deceptive beacons leading us toward the danger of the rocks. And God will allow us to walk in the false light of those sparks, but the end will be sorrow."
"Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life,
but He is my perfect security in the storms.
He has never promised me an easy passage,
only a safe landing."
TO REJOICE ALWAYS
"sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" ~ II Corinthians 6:10
"...Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
~ Hebrews 12: 1-2
"... with God all things are possible." ~ Matthew 19:26
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
We do not understand
His ways
His reasoning
yet it always is for our best
Sorrow ages our face
We strive to be still
Sometimes
patience breaks through
and our pain
is stifled
although tears flood our eyes
and streak past our cheeks
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
A lesson to learn
over and over
God teaches
shows us how
We are often like the race horse
at the starting gate
We falter
unsure of the path
unsure of our strength
unsure of expectations
But we go
looking onward to that final prize
laying aside every weight
that hinders us
Remembering our Lord and Savior
who, for us,
carried our sins
and
endured the cross
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
An effort
we cannot manage alone
But,
with God,
all things are possible.
OBEDIENCE
"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." ~ Matthew 2:13
Arise, take ...
flee ...
and stay until
How obedient are we?
Do we get up
when He says
Do we take
what He says
Do we go
where He sends
Do we stay
where He puts us
and wait
for His instructionJoseph, Jesus' earthly father, was awakened in a dream by an angel. Joseph was close to His heavenly father, so when he was told to arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until word was sent otherwise, he didn't question the source. He knew who sent the message and he simply obeyed.
How obedient are we? Are we open to God's Word? Do we trust in His timing?
PAIN AND PRAISE
"When the fires of affliction draw songs of praise from us, we are indeed purified, and our God is glorified." ~ Mrs. Charles H. Spurgeon, Streams in the Desert
"Just and true are Your ways
Great and marvelous are Your deeds" (Revelation 15:2-3)
You are Lord God Almighty,
King of all, every age, O Eternal One
I am Your child
I fail You so many times
in some many ways
I fall, downtrodden by any
and every suffering that comes
I am distraught by the pain
It consumes my every thought
But when it is gone
Relief flows over me, through me, around me
and I am grateful
to You, my Lord
Yet the pain returns
in some new place
a new way
or an old hurt
And I begin again
Do I ... Will I learn
to praise You at all times
so You are glorified
or does it remain
a constant battle
within my soul?
BURDENS
In the March 9 reading of Streams in the Desert, the writer says "bearing the burden of crushing weight actually gives Christians wings." God gives us the burdens so we will learn patience, to wait upon Him instead of acting on our own thinking. "And once we have done so, the burden is transformed into a pair of wings through the miracle of trust."
"But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with
wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."
~ Isaiah 40:31
A poem, written by Mary Butterfield, says it well:
One day when walking down the street,
On business bent, while thinking hard
About the "hundred cares" which seemed
Like thunderclouds about to break
In torrents, Self-pity said to me:
"You poor, poor thing, you have too much
To do. Your life is far too hard.
This heavy load will crush you soon."
A swift response of sympathy
Welled up within. The burning sun
Seemed more intense. The dust and noise
Of puffing motors flying past
With rasping blast of blowing horn
Incensed still more the whining nerves,
The fabled last back-breaking straw
To weary, troubled, fretting mind.
"Ah yes, it will break and crush my life;
I cannot bear this constant strain
Of endless, aggravating cares;
They are too great for such as I."
So thus my heart consoled itself,
"Enjoying misery," when lo!
A "still small voice" distinctly said,
"'Twas sent to lift you--not to crush."
I saw at once my great mistake.
My place was not beneath the load
But on the top! God meant it not
That I should carry it. He sent
It here to carry me. Full well
He knew my incapacity
Before the plan was made. He saw
A child of His in need of grace
And power to serve; a puny twig
Requiring sun and rain to grow;
An undeveloped chrysalis;
A weak soul lacking faith in God.
He could not help but see all this
And more. And then, with tender thought
He placed it where it had to grow--
Or die. To lie and cringe beneath
One's load means death, but life and power
Await all those who dare to rise above.
Our burdens are our wings; on them
We soar to higher realms of grace;
Without them we must ever roam
On plains of undeveloped faith,
(For faith grows but by exercise
In circumstance impossible).
O paradox of Heaven. The load
We think will crush was sent to lift us
Up to God! Then, soul of mine,
Climb up! Nothing can e'er be crushed
Save what is underneath the weight.
How may we climb! By what ascent
Will we crest the critical cares
Of life! Within His word is found
The key which opens His secret stairs;
Alone with Christ, secluded there,
We mount our loads, and rest in Him.
TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD
FAITH
Faith that goes forward triumphs.
Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.
Faith that sits and waits after God has said go and do is not faith.
We must learn to take God at His word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward. -
from Feb. 11 reading, Streams in the Desert
When God says go and do
we must obey
we must go
we must do
When we refuse
to go as He says
and do as He commands
our faith
is sadly lacking
We go so far
and then we wait ...
wait for an answer
that we won't hear
for it has already been given
He tells us to go
to believe, trust in Him
He tells us to obey and do
to move forward,
a step one at a time
He tells us to praise Him
at every step
on every path
at every level
Barriers, obstacles remain
when our actions reveal
a refusal to be
obedient to God
We must try to pass through the darkness
of every barrier, every obstacle.
With God leading we cannot fail
But when we listen
to ourselves or others,
we often fail before we've begun.
WHERE ARE YOU?
"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9 NKJV) God asks
God knows where we are.
When God asked Adam this question, Adam's response was "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10)
God knows our response, yet he desires us to be accountable, to take responsibility for our actions instead of passing the buck.
Adam hid.
God knew ... where he was and why.
"Who told you...Have you (done that) of which I commanded you (not to do)?" God asks. (Genesis 3:11)
Adam didn't reply to God's questions. He remained hidden, refusing to acknowledge any sin on his part.
Adam said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12)
Adam put the blame on God - it was His fault He created the woman. And he put the blame on Eve -- even though the serpent, through Satan, deceived her, it was her fault she shared the fruit of the tree which God commanded them not to eat. It was not his fault. He was blameless.
But Adam was at fault - and so was Eve. They both knew what God commanded and chose to disobey and do what they desired instead.
We too know what God commands. We choose to be obedient to His will and follow His way or we choose to be disobedient and go our own way.
God's judgement affected Satan, Adam and Eve and all of mankind.
And because of our great need and God's great love, He sent His son, Jesus, to come to Earth, to be born of a virgin, to die on the cross in our place - taking our sin upon Himself, to be buried and to be resurrected.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," Jesus said. (John 14:6 NKJV)
If you truly desire fellowship with God the Father and the Son and for Him to live in your heart as the Holy Spirit, come to Jesus. If you have once come and turned away, return to Jesus. There is no other way.
Where are you?
LOOK TO GOD
Who is the one you look to in times of distress and trouble?
Is it your spouse or your parents or someone else?
Do you ever consider God?
God is our refuge, our strength, our helper, our friend, our everything.
F.B. Meyer in Streams in the Desert devotional said: "God is He who can summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment to help His people. Believe that He is between you and your difficulty, and what troubles you will flee before Him as clouds in the wind."
Poem shared in Streams in the Desert:
When nothing for which to lean remains,
When strongholds crumble to dust;
When nothing is sure but that God still reigns,
That is just the time to trust.
It is better to walk by faith than sight,
In this path of yours and mine;
and the darkest night, when there's no outer light
Is the time for faith to shine.
DON'T STRAY ... STAY FOCUSED ON GOD
It's a new year. We are invited to take possession of what the Lord has given us, for He is with us, watching continually and caring for us.
That which He gives is filled with His goodness, but He also allows the badness of Satan to envelop us.
If we want what God offers, we must be obedient to His commands - to love, to serve (Deuteronomy 11:11-15).
We just ended 2017. The devotional, "Streams in the Desert," reminds us to go, to do. God has put what He wants us to have into our hands, but it is for us to do something with it. Unless we take what He has given and run with it, remembering His promise to be with us at all times, our faith is absent, incomplete. Without faith, we have let negative thoughts and comments defeat us before we have allowed God to lead us up every hill and down every valley.
"...with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26
Our focus must stay on Jesus not stray to outside influences. Our heart shows where we truly are. When you accept(ed) Christ as your Lord and Savior, you became a child of the King - of Jesus.
Another is not better or worse. We are all sinners. If you are a believer, a follower of Christ, then you are a sinner saved by Grace. Satan is not your master.
Deuteronomy 11:16 reminds us to "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them..."
SAVE A WANDERING SINNER
In James 5:19-20, James writes to fellow believers, "If anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from (an early) death and cover a multitude of sins."
There are Christians who have fallen ... adopting the ways of the world, becoming less focused on the Lord, The One to whom you gave your heart and soul.
Your mindset is on you, your wants, your desires, your perceived needs. All the world is at your feet ... an open door.
You find no time to open your Bible and study His word, to attend worship services, to desire to be among fellow believers. You claim you know what the Bible says, and maybe it is true, but what happened to your relationship with Jesus, He who saved you from damnation?
Do you apply to yourself what the Bible says or does it only apply to others?
Do you hold yourself accountable for your own actions or do you lay every blame on someone else?
Jesus loves you.
Where do you place your love or does only hate and disgust fill your soul and heart?
Jesus misses the fellowship you once had with Him.
Luke 15:11-32 tells of The Parable of the Lost Son. Verse 32 says, "...we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."
JESUS CARES
THE SECOND MILE
Do you remember the story in John 13 about how Jesus washed his disciples' feet and told them to do likewise? He said, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed our feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." ||(John 13:14-15)
He was showing us how to go the second mile, the extra mile. No matter how menial or commonplace the task. No matter how it makes you feel. You went one mile, you made the effort, but a second time?! No way is your immediate response.
But Jesus went above and beyond ... not once, but every time, out of love and service.
We cannot select our opportunities - what comes is what we have, even if it is repeated.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest tells us:
"Watch the kind of people God brings around you, and you will be humiliated to find that this is His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him."
Oh wow, if that isn't sad and enlightening at the same time.
"...whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away." (Matthew 5:41-42)
If our goal is to be like the Lord Jesus, we must be obedient to His way, His truth and His life.
Without Him, we have no purpose, no life, no relationship.
REMOVE THE STONE
I believe God
on the mountain top
… when nothing disturbs me
… when I am not at odds with everything around me
… when I am not caught off guard
What about in the valley
… when circumstances contradict
… when funds have dried up
… when health is dismal at best
Do I believe then too
that God is with me
that God will keep me safe
that God still loves me
that I am His forever
“Remove the stone,”
Jesus said. (John 11:39)
Remove the stone?
Lazarus was in the tomb
four days
when Jesus came
The stench was heavy
Yet Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
But…
But nothing.
Remove the stone.
Have you forgotten?
“Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
Jesus said. (John 11:40)
Remove the stone.
The stone of unbelief
Jesus prays for us, that we may all be one
Like the Father and the Son are one,
we too may be one with them
completely one
completely loved.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.” (John 11:24)
“I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.” (John 11:26)
Remove the stone …
every stone attempting to crowd in and take over
The glory the Father gave to the Son who in turn gives to us … abiding always and only … is a one-on-one personal, intimate relationship of pure love.
But you must believe ... in the Father, in the Son, in the Holy Spirit ... in united love ... in Truth.
Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (August 29)
GOD'S TESTS
God tests us. I do not like the tests we are given. They are not like an exam where you get a A+ or C-. The tests are our life ... what comes at us, how we handle things, what we learn and unlearn.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, the Lord was testing them. They looked for water and all they found was bitterness. What did they learn - I can't see they learned anything, for they complained. But through Moses' faith in God, drinkable water was found. The Lord tells us what He will do for us if ....
"The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there. He said, If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you." (Exodus 15:22-26)
In the devotional Streams in the Desert, J.R. Macduff writes:
"It is quite easy for us to talk and to theorize about faith, but God often puts us into His crucible of affliction to test the purity of our gold and to separate the dross from the metal. How happy we are if the hurricanes that blow across life's raging sea have the affect of making Jesus more precious to us! It is better to weather the storm with Christ than to sail smooth waters without Him."
SHOWING THE TRUTH
A while back I talked about sanctification (Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, July 22-23). He brought the subject up again Aug. 27 in a reading titled Theology Alive. The Scripture, from John 12:35, said, "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you."
HE CALLS YOU FRIEND
THE LAW AND FAITH
Friday morning, Aug. 25, I read the devotional Streams in the Desert.
Works do not save us, only faith in Jesus Christ.
"...a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ." (Galatians 2:16 Christian Standard Bible CSB)
I once lived under the law, and many still do, because they have backslidden, or because they do not believe Jesus was sent by God to be their redeemer, their Savior, their Lord. They do not believe God humbled Himself to come to earth as a tiny baby to save His people - the people He formed from the dust of the ground and breathed life into.
When Christ came and I accepted Him, I became dead to sin (although unfortunately, because I am human, sin still grasps hold of me and I give in) and alive in and through and to Christ, who lives in me. He loved me so much, He died for me.
"...I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 CSB)
Righteousness ... Faith does not come through the law. If it did, then Christ came and lived and died for no reason.
"...if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing." (Galatians 2:21 CSB)
If I rely on the works of the law, I am not of God. I am under a curse.
"Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed." (Deuteronomy 27:26 CSB)
"The righteous will live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4 CSB)
Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us all. He took our every sin upon Himself. He who knew no sin, who was perfect in every way, became the curse that really was ours.
And the reason ... the purpose? That the blessing God gave to Abraham would come to fruition in you and me. Through Christ Jesus we would receive the promised Spirit through faith. (paraphrase Galatians 3:14 CSB)
"The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and thus cancel the promise. For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise; but God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise." (Galatians 3:17-18)
WE ARE SECURE
This morning, July 25, I read the devotional Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards.
Psalm 9:18 (NKJV)
For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
When we are truly born again by accepting Jesus as our LORD and Savior we are indeed secure in our faith.
God has promised us what we Baptists claim with blessed assurance that "once saved, always saved!"
Nothing can ever take our salvation away from us. When we have Jesus in our lives we become children of the Living God.
We are told in John 10:25-30 (NKJV)
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."
Do you notice what Jesus is stating here? When we are safe in the hand of God NOTHING can snatch us out of His hand.
Do you remember the old Allstate Insurance commercials? "You are in good hands with Allstate?" I wonder if they got their slogan from this verse.
Paul ends perhaps one of the greatest chapters in the whole Bible…
Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV)
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Never believe any doctrine that states you can lose your salvation. You can't. We are secure in Jesus.
GOOD MOTIVES
The devotional reading Monday, July 24, in My Utmost for His Highest was about having good motives... Oswald Chambers says "The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God."
So, it is not just about good motives. It's about everything we are - as Christ's, it is the way we live when the way of Christ as the Holy Spirit has His way with us. So we're really still talking about sanctification. From my perspective, the problem is even as Christians we don't consistently allow God / Christ / the Holy Spirit to have their way with us. We still want our own way with so many things.
It brought me to Galatians 5.
IT'S ABOUT HIM ... in me
Christ lives in me
through me
All that is Jesus
is mine
when I admit to God I am a sinner
when I believe Jesus Christ is God's Son
when I confess Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior
I am His
and
It is
His patience
His love
His holiness
His faithfulness
His purity
His goodness (His motives)
His peace
His kindness
His gentleness
His self-control
that is in me
I have been made one with the Lord Jesus
I am dead to sin.
Because I am His,
the evil that lurks everywhere
is not for me to pursue.
The Lord set me free to walk in His Spirit.
"and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:24
He lives
He lives
in me! He lives
What do others see ... Does Jesus' life show itself to you through me?
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25
or do others see only themselves in my life:
their hate
their jealousy
their selfishness
their envy
their irritation
their lies
their anger
their deceit
their defiance
their contempt
their discontentment
their worry
their pride
their disobedience
Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life for all of us. There is no other way, no other truth, no other life.
"...you shall love your neighbor as yourself" Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39.
"But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" - Galatians 5:15
"...not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." - Galatians 5:26
SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification.
That's a big word, and for so long I didn't understand what it really meant. It means being made one with Jesus. It is not something He puts into me, but He Himself in me.
When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, He comes to live within us. All of Him - we must come to understand what that means.
In the devotional, My Utmost for His Highest (July 22-23), Oswald Chambers says when we are one with Christ, every quality that is Jesus, our Lord, is ours - His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity.
We undoubtedly do not see this so readily, but as we live our lives with Jesus at the helm, we will witness His life played out in us.
We are sanctified - saved for all eternity because Christ is in me.
It is only through Christ's death we gain wisdom. It is only when we ourselves are willing to give up everything around us, relying only, solely on the Lord Jesus.
I understand what the apostle Paul means when he says it is better to remain single. When you are married, your mindset is on your spouse, married life. You need to work harder to follow Jesus' path and allow Him to lead.
WAITING
We wait
God waits
We for His promises
said to fulfill
He to renew our motivation,
our inspiration,
our trust
in Him.
He patiently teaches
obedience
We learn
from the wrongs
we do,
the discipline
He doles out,
Father to child.
God waits for us
test after test comes
He will know
when
in all of our waiting,
we are ready
to receive
His blessings.
Our gain
His glory.
REMOVING SELF FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHERThis is the year I will retire - on the very last day of December, and as I have contemplated the move from more money to less money, fear has set in. Yesterday, on July 15, it dawned on me that I must remove myself from the state of worry about the year (s) ahead with Medicare and rely only on God. He has seen us through before and if we are to move (to a condo), then so be it. Whatever we are to do, the Lord will lead us.
If I am to trust Him for one thing, I must trust Him for everything, or else I really am not trusting Him at all. What I say must agree with what I do.
On April 23, Jim started a series of messages on Proverbs. On July 9, he began a mini-series on faith - "Four Basics of Faith," taken from Proverbs 3:5-6. Briefly, the four points are: (1) What do we need? - a whole-hearted trust (2) Where does faith come from? - God alone (3) When should we have faith? - at all times (4) Why? - because it's the only way.
Today, July 16, the mini-series continues with "Simple Trusting" from Proverbs 16:20.
This morning's reading in My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says --
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those who have His Spirit. It works on this principle - God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, why should I worry?
Nothing happens in any particular (way) unless God's will is behind it, therefore you can rest in perfect confidence in Him.
And in Streams in the Desert, F.B. Meyer has this to say --
Indeed there is nothing God will not do for those who will dare to step out in faith onto what appears to be only a mist. As they take their first step, they will find a rock beneath their feet.
NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY In the July 13 reading in My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes: Our soul's history with God is frequently the history of the "passing of the hero." Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged. Take it personally: In the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was, died - I gave up everything? I became ill? I got disheartened? or - I saw the Lord?
I think I read this wrong. But my husband, Jim, says there is no wrong way. You read it one way, another reads it differently. That doesn't make one right and one wrong.
Jim said he thought of the deaths of Dale Hammond, a teacher mentor he had while attending Hannibal-LaGrange College, and Homer Larson, his pastor at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, when he accepted the Lord as his savior. He wasn't discouraged by their deaths, but the passage read brought to his mind how important they were in his Spiritual growth.
When I read the passage, I didn't equate removal of friends with physical death. I thought ... in everything around you, did you see the Lord or is it only the circumstances, only our emotions? Someone says to us to do this or do that or else... If you care at all, do this. But it is not God talking.
It is others and we can get discouraged by our emotions and circumstances of another. But what does God say? Does He tell us to jump through hoops just because? Where is our attention - is it solely on Him, our God, every time for every thing?
We are works in progress. If we regularly study the word of God, seeking The Truth, The Way and The Life that is Jesus, w become closer to our Father in Heaven. But when we fail, the Spiritual realm becomes of no significance. Does God remove our friends so we won't follow the physical, secular, lost world? The meaning of life is not found in a world that is dying. Only in Christ is there meaning.
WAITING with FAITH"And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land." (I Kings 17:7)
"Truly my soul waits for God;
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense
I shall not be greatly moved.
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation (hope) is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." (Psalm 62: 1a, 2, 5-7)
Do we look for the answers we ask?
Do we believe God will respond?
Do we seek His will alone?
Do we rely on God's promise?
Do we offer up our prayers in Jesus' name,
solely influenced by the Holy Spirit
and not the world in which we live?
Do we wait silently, strengthened by God's word to us?
Do we wait expectantly for His answer
even when we do not know when or where it may come?
Charles H. Spurgeon leaves these thoughts:
"Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith; they also give opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him even when facing the apparent denial of our request."
"Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." - Hebrews 4:7
"... give attention to My words; ... keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them.
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.
Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil." ~ Proverbs 4: 20-24, 26-27
"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." ~ Proverbs 23:7
DO I GIVE AWAY MY WILL?
Most of us fall prey to the same things as George Fox writes about in the devotional Streams in the Desert. The question is What do we do about it?
He writes: "I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to me, but I found something deep within me that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. I did what I could to keep those traits suppressed, but they were still there. Finally I sought Jesus for help, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and removed everything that would not stay pleasant, patient, and kind. And then He shut the door."
- CMOL
OBEYING AS THE LORD COMMANDS OR ...
Conversation between Joash, king of Judah, and Elisha, the prophet: "Take the arrows ... strike the ground ... he struck three times, and stopped. The man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times." - II Kings 13:18-19
When God tells us, instructs us to do something, He expects us to complete it, not be half-hearted. Our actions show how strong or weak our faith is.
When our faith is weak, we tend to stop midway. We may believe we have accomplished much because we did do as the Lord instructed. But the Lord's blessing upon us could be so much greater if we obeyed as the Lord commands and continue until He says stop, rather than when we say stop.
We are missing all He has for us - His blessings, His promises - when we have given up because we fail to believe wholeheartedly in our Lord and Savior.
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." - Ephesians 3:20-21
Based on readings in Nov. 25 Streams in the Desert
- CMOL
YIELDING TO GOD
The more we are shaped - molded
hammered
put through fire
beaten
pounded
and polished
the greater we will be of use.
Be still
silent
long-suffering, patient
The more we suffer,
the more we yield
for God's glory
and for the blessing of others.
The Lord's desire
is for us
to be still, silent, (patient), long-suffering
in the
midst of battles
that come at us
on every side.
He tells us
to lay aside,
to put away
everything that
hinders,
prevents us
from walking,
journeying
with Him.
Do not fall into traps
that catch us
off guard
that lead us along
paths of neglect
for those under our care
or destroy
relationships
because of mistaken
thoughts and beliefs.
Do not follow
the world that shows you
its perception of right
and wrong
Follow Me
My strength
My power
All that I AM
within you
My Child
will help you
endure
all that lies
ahead of you.
Keep your eyes,
your focus on Me
I AM the Prize
you seek
There is nothing
better or greater
than Me
for I AM
the source.
I AM
He who perfects you
I AM
Jesus,
I AM
His Father,
Your heavenly Father.
I AM
He who suffered for you
bled for you
died for you
was buried for you
and rose again
for you.
Through Me
you have
a new life
a new hope
Be still
Be silent
"(Let us) lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfector of our faith." - Hebrews 12:1-2 - CMOL
ARE WE WILLING?
Are we willing to live without possessions that others own or that we have had in order to be more like Jesus?
His likeness
shines through us
lives within us
joyful fellowship
solely with our Lord above
Selfishness on our part brings choices that may brighten our world on earth but does little to bring glory in and for His kingdom.
Who are we living for, to?
Remember Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life."
There is no unity, no fellowship, no love without the Lord.
Follow - believe - love ... wisely
- CMOL
FEELINGS OR FACTS
"We live by faith, not by sight." ~ II Corinthians 5:7
God never wants us to live by our feelings. Unfortunately, we do not routinely live by what God desires. We feel good or happy or sad or angry or something else and we react based on our emotions - what we feel.
God wants us to "face the facts" - the facts of Jesus Christ - His life, His death, His resurrection - "His finished and perfect work for us." He wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, to look to Him in every circumstance, to praise and thank Him for all we receive.
And when we have turned off and turned away from our feelings and turned to the Lord Jesus, our life will be complete and much more genuine.
"God only gives us feelings when He sees that we trust Him apart from our feelings, resting solely on His Word and his faithfulness to His promise. These feelings will be given at such a time and to such a degree as His love sees best for each individual circumstance."
We must choose between facing our feelings - living life based on our desires, our will - or facing the facts of God - living life based on the Lord Jesus and His will.
(Based on Sept. 26 devotional reading of Streams in the Desert)
- CMOL
DO YOU HEAR ... ARE YOU LISTENING?
"For God's vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time." ~ Dr. Pardington, Streams in the Desert
God whispers
but we do not hear Him
We are caught up in ourselves - our own personal world Its noise and distractions prevent us
We say we hear
We say we listen
But...
If we only hear ourselves
If we can't hear another
voice their own fears and sorrows
and agitations
If we can't be there
for another without judgment,
without interruption, without backslashing ...
How can we possibly hear the still small voice of God?
How can we know what words of wisdom the Lord imparts?
- CMOL
DO WE FOLLOW AFTER JESUS?
The Lord Jesus says in Mark 8:34, "whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
How can we accept the Lord's death, burial and resurrection for ourselves and call Him our personal Lord and Savior, yet not follow after Him?
Did we repent and turn away from our sins when we accepted His love?
He went to the cross for our very souls. He died for our every sin. He was buried and He was raised from the dead in newness of life. Our sin was buried with Him and when He rose, we rose - not as the person we were, but as a new person, with a new beginning.
Accepting the Lord is more than being assured of a way to heaven. It's a lifelong relationship that grows stronger as you stay in close fellowship with Jesus, who brings LIFE.
Satan is the death bearer.
"He who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." - John 5:24
If we do not wish to be judged by another, then we ourselves should also not judge.
The sin - that we can judge, condemn, hate. But the sinner - we should love. As Jesus.
Jesus Himself says He cannot judge according to His own will. "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me." - John 5:30
Use the cross you bear as a crutch to help you on your way, not as a stumbling block that causes you to fall. - Streams in the Desert, Sept. 14
- CMOL
WHAT WE LEARN
God is with us in our troubles all day and all night. When He determines we are no longer restless and worried, but calm and quiet, He will remove us from the troubles that plague us. The difficulties, however, will continue until we have learned ... whatever it is.
We often say we don't know what the Lord is teaching us. Well maybe it is not so much the "what," but rather the right attitude or character we are to learn -- to be patient, kind, gentle, calm, quiet, content, peaceful, joyful, loving.
The longer we continue to be bitter, conceited, quarrelsome, angry, discontented, deceitful, defensive, complaining, anxious, worried, selfish, the longer it will take us to see how our difficulties are stepping stones to opportunities.
When we find our way to Him and stay continually in His presence, the traumas of life will not become so burdensome. We will be able to move through life without the painful memories and disappointments being relived over and over.
(based on readings from Sept. 7 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert)
- CMOL
GOD TEACHES US
Many of the lessons we learn through the years are through tears. Tears of pain in death, in health, in finances, in relationships, and more. We ask the Lord, "Why? Why?"
If we stopped and thought about it, we might know.
Like a road map, God shows us:
- The way to Him through His Son, Jesus
- The truth through His death and His resurrection
- The life He led in which we are to pattern our lives
- CMOL
THE LIGHT ... THE DARKNESS
We live in the darkness of sin and the world because we are humans. When we
become united with Jesus Christ, we can overcome the darkness.
We can live in the light of Jesus for it is our Lord and Savior who overcame
evil and defeated Satan so we may live in Him, with Him, for Him.
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we love fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." -- I John 1:6-10
- CMOL
OBEDIENCE
Waiting on God brings us to the end of our journey much faster than our feet.
~ Streams in the Desert (Aug. 23)
We think the above quote is not true because we can't see the end from the beginning. But even under our own power, we do not see the end.
Why would we trust ourselves more than the Lord Jesus?
Are our instincts better than that of God who created us, formed us from the clay of the earth?
Are our instincts better than that of God who created us, formed us from the clay of the earth?
"By faith Abraham obeyed ... and went out, not knowing where he was going." ~ Hebrews 11:8
- CMOL
FAITH / PRAISE / FOCUS
Did you know for Christians there are three levels of faith? If you did, you are one up on me.
According to the July 21 devotion in Streams in the Desert:
- We believe only when we see some sign or have some strong emotion.
- We believe when all feelings are absent.
- We believe God and His word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people and human reason all seem to urge something to the contrary.
"May God grant us faith to completely trust His word, even when every other sign points the other way." ~ C.H.P.
And in our faith, we are to praise the Lord. Thank Him for what is confronting us, because when we are in God, we are completely surrounded by Him. Surely ... we realize that that which comes against us first passed through Him ...? I think we forget. C.H.P. says because of this we can thank God for what He will bring out of and through our trials.
So where is your focus?
Is it on your circumstances, your emotions, other people
or is it on God?
Are you preoccupied with all that is going on around you
or do you dwell completely on the Lord, believing in His promises and stepping out on faith?
It is not in seeing that we believe, although that is how the world perceives.
Is it on your circumstances, your emotions, other people
or is it on God?
Are you preoccupied with all that is going on around you
or do you dwell completely on the Lord, believing in His promises and stepping out on faith?
It is not in seeing that we believe, although that is how the world perceives.
Psalm 106:12-15 says:
They believe God's words
They sing praises
They forget His works
They fall away
They follow after their own will
They test God
and in answering,
They are destroyed
They believe God's words
They sing praises
They forget His works
They fall away
They follow after their own will
They test God
and in answering,
They are destroyed
"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." ~ Psalm 27:13
Do you believe God only when your circumstances are favorable or do you believe no matter what your circumstances may be? ~ C.H.P.
Faith is believing what we do not see, and the reward for this kind of faith is to see what we believe. ~ Saint Augustine
~ CMOL
HOW MUCH DO WE TRUST?
The July 6 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert brought me to
2 Chronicles 20:12, which says, "O our God, ... we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but 'our eyes are upon You.' "
It continues along the vein of being still and not being distracted by what we think we know.
Take time to read and ponder what A.B. Simpson says:
"Living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone.
If we have completely entrusted something to God, we must keep our hands off it.
Things in our lives may seem to be going all wrong, but God knows our circumstances better than we do. And He will work at the perfect moment, if we will completely trust Him to work in His own way and in His own time. Often there is nothing as godly as inactivity on our part, or nothing as harmful as restless working, for God has promised to work His sovereign will."
- CMOL
ARE WE "BEING STILL" OR ARE THE SOUNDS DESTROYING US?These are poems, but I thought they belonged here. The first one was written June 30, 2018 and the second three years earlier.
The sounds can destroy us
The Lord speaks
I have heard His gentle voice
I have listened to His words of wisdom
I have obeyed His instruction
Yet
It has not always been so
and is not now
I could hear Him -
I was "still"
Now
It is hard to be still
when pushed and pulled
in every direction
My own thoughts
tear me down
filling me
with questions, concerns,
irritation,
even outrage
Calling
Asking
Seeking
Noises distract
ringing, rattling, talking
Where is my time
with You, Lord?!
When will the "stillness"
You desire of me
return
The Enemy seeks to devour, destroy
I miss what I know
I miss what I had,
what I remember
My Jesus
My Lord
My Father God
Show me the way back
to being still in Your Presence
I wrote the following on April 24, 2015, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is titled "Be still, and know."
"Be still, and know
that I AM God." (Psalm 46:10)
God is here
with us
His Presence
our refuge
our hiding place
our strength
Be still
Will yourself
to focus
on Him
who is...
GOD
Remove
yourself
from endless thinking
planning
for any and every
circumstance
It is not easy
Keeping yourself
away
from where
you should not be
should not travel
Oh Lord
guide my steps
my every step
guide my thoughts
so I am not
led places
that are unfruitful
You are my Light
How can I be
fruitful
and multiply
if I stumble
along the path
before me?
You, Lord
show us
love
and joy
and peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
self-control (Galatians 5:22)
to show
another
the way
to You
the way
You lived
the way
You are
the way
for us
to become
like You
So much
seeks
to destroy
our walk
our life
with the Lord
Selfish desires
become
a higher priority
than
God's desires (Galatians 5:19-21)
We hear
but not
that which
God wants us
to hear
We see
but our vision
is cloudy
We think we
comprehend
but are misguided
True Understanding
escapes us
Do not fear
but we are afraid
The Almighty God
creator of the universe
and of us
lowly humans
We fear His Promises
are not real
We fear His Presence
is not surrounding us
We fear His Power
is not enough
Oh we of little faith
Where is our trust
We make ourselves
bigger
We are so small
so insignificant
yet God loves us
Loved us
so much
He sent His Son
to be
the sacrificial lamb
to die
in our place
Be still
and know
Ask for all
you do not receive
Seek all
you do not find
Know
as much as
He will share
and understand
He Is.
- CMOL
"The servant of the Lord must ... be gentle." ~ II Timothy 2:24
We receive the fruit of the Spirit at salvation, yet evidence of that fruit takes time and much suffering on our part.
In the June 11 devotional reading, Streams in the Desert says it is not us who conquers and changes ourselves, but God who does the conquering and the changing of our unyielding nature.
Being a born-again believer of Jesus Christ for decades does not necessarily mean there is evidence of fruit in our lives. The fruit is there, but are we showing LOVE, PATIENCE, JOY, PEACE, KINDNESS,GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS (Galatians 5:22-23) in all we do and say?
Do we remember our definitions of showing love / being loving, showing patience / being patient, showing joy / being joyful, showing peace / being peaceful, showing kindness / being kind, showing gentleness / being gentle, showing self-control / being in control of emotions - thoughts - actions, showing goodness / being good and showing faithfulness / being faithful are not the same as God's definitions?
It is not us who rules the world we live in, but God, our heavenly Father.
We talk as if we are so knowledgeable.
Galatians 5:24-25 tells us "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."
How well are we doing?
To say you or I have been a Christian for a long time and are grateful to what the Lord has done to get us where we are today is one thing, but can you honestly say that you and those around you can see evidence of the Spirit showing itself in you?
Where is the evidence?
How do you show God's love
His patience
His kindness
His faithfulness
His gentleness
His goodness
His self-control
His peace
His joy
all the time, every time?
You and me all by ourselves cannot change a darn thing. We cannot conquer the highest, steepest mountain, if the Lord is not The One to whom you seek help. If you expect to conquer every problem in your strength alone, you will fail every time. Our strength is in our Lord. Without Him, we are powerless.
We become new, ridding ourselves of the old, because of Jesus. It is in Jesus' death that we meet ours and in His re-birth, resurrection from the grave that we become re-born.
We are to hang on the cross and give our every sin to Jesus, remembering them no more. Isn't it in remembering that we hold onto them, keeping them close by and in our thoughts? Remembering our sin does not help us forget them. The Lord does not want us to remember those things. He wants us to remember that which we gained as a result of being new creations in Him.
It is the Fruit that was given us when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit took up residence in our heart that we are to recognize as available to us, that we are to desire and that we are to nourish in our thoughts.
We talk about spiritual growth and discipleship, about the struggles - how when we're in the middle of them, we want them gone. We want patience, but not at the price we have to pay. We want kindness, but how kind are we when another is mean? We desire gentleness and kindness, but how gentle and how kind are we when another is having a bad day? Tell me, is your idea of peace the same as God's?
Do we pray, asking God to help us attain this fruit or do we refuse to acknowledge the need?
~ CMOL
VICTORIOUS FAITH
In the May 12 reading from Streams in the Desert devotional, the writer talks about the different stages of faith.
The Way of faith
is lifelong
through trials
with discipline
patience to wait
and courage to see
the end result ...
The Victory of Faith
The question is about our faith, not the Lord's ability to answer.
The Lord can do all. Jesus says to us, you and me, "If you can believe, all things are possible (to him who believes)." ~ Mark 9:23 NKJV
Are you victorious in the way of faith or have you given up?
- CMOL
Our faith in the Lord Jesus will take us places only God Himself knows.
As long as we remain steadfast and unwavering to Him, obedient to His every command, we will not stumble. The road will be crooked, going this way and that, but with the Lord our God at the helm, we shall pass through the waters deep and not drown upon our sorrows.
We shall overcome because with God, all things are possible. ~ CMOL
HELP ME SEE
"Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." ~ II Kings 6:17 NKJV
The April 4 devotional reading in Streams in the Desert has to do with trials.
We need to open not just our eyes, but our minds and our hearts. For what good is it to visually see, but not be able to grasp with our minds or our hearts what God wants us to see.
If we allow a trial to crush us, resulting in misery and despair, it surely will. And it has. Time after time irritation and frustration brings miserable consequences and often irreparable harm.
Satan has us where he wants us, stuck between a rock and a hard place, and looking down.
We think there is no way out and why?! Because we have lost sight of God. We ask for His help. We ask Him to remove Satan's foot-hold on us. But, obviously there is something lacking, something we're not doing.
Perhaps it is that although we have asked for His help, we are not acting like we believe He will help. He is waiting for us to make the first step. And maybe even a second step. How can we expect God to help if we are not obedient to His teachings or do not believe in His promises? Where is our faith?
It is not the trials themselves, but how we view them that determines whether we overcome our adversary or are overcome by it. It is our choice.
If we are discouraged, then every battle we enter is looked at in defeat. We have lost before we have begun.
If we see God with us and are always looking unto Him for our hope and our help, we are encouraged, we don't have a defeated attitude, but believe we can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens us.
God wants us to look up.... up into the Light of His Son, Jesus, not down in the gutter at the problem. It's our choice. Right or wrong, we choose. It's a choice to be made every single moment of every day.
What do you choose ... What do you see?
~ CMOL
THOUGHTS TO PONDER
My reading in the devotional "Streams in the Desert" for Friday, March 30, which was Good Friday, and Saturday, March 31, dealt with darkness and light. i invite you to read the following and think about where you are, where you are going, who you rely on and the future, which can be just as soon as the next minute or a more distant time.
"When we are in darkness, the temptation is to find our own way without trusting in the Lord and relying upon Him. Instead of allowing Him to help us, we try to help ourselves. We seek the light of the natural way and the advice of our friends. We reason out our own conclusions and thereby may be tempted to accept a path of deliverance that would not be of God at all.
The light we see may be the fires from our own kindling, or deceptive beacons leading us toward the danger of the rocks. And God will allow us to walk in the false light of those sparks, but the end will be sorrow."
"Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life,
but He is my perfect security in the storms.
He has never promised me an easy passage,
only a safe landing."
- CMOL
TO REJOICE ALWAYS
"sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" ~ II Corinthians 6:10
"...Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
~ Hebrews 12: 1-2
"... with God all things are possible." ~ Matthew 19:26
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
We do not understand
His ways
His reasoning
yet it always is for our best
Sorrow ages our face
We strive to be still
Sometimes
patience breaks through
and our pain
is stifled
although tears flood our eyes
and streak past our cheeks
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
A lesson to learn
over and over
God teaches
shows us how
We are often like the race horse
at the starting gate
We falter
unsure of the path
unsure of our strength
unsure of expectations
But we go
looking onward to that final prize
laying aside every weight
that hinders us
Remembering our Lord and Savior
who, for us,
carried our sins
and
endured the cross
To rejoice
in the trial
To be glad
God brought us here
An effort
we cannot manage alone
But,
with God,
all things are possible.
- CMOL
OBEDIENCE
"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." ~ Matthew 2:13
Arise, take ...
flee ...
and stay until
How obedient are we?
Do we get up
when He says
Do we take
what He says
Do we go
where He sends
Do we stay
where He puts us
and wait
for His instructionJoseph, Jesus' earthly father, was awakened in a dream by an angel. Joseph was close to His heavenly father, so when he was told to arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until word was sent otherwise, he didn't question the source. He knew who sent the message and he simply obeyed.
How obedient are we? Are we open to God's Word? Do we trust in His timing?
- CMOL
PAIN AND PRAISE
"When the fires of affliction draw songs of praise from us, we are indeed purified, and our God is glorified." ~ Mrs. Charles H. Spurgeon, Streams in the Desert
"Just and true are Your ways
Great and marvelous are Your deeds" (Revelation 15:2-3)
You are Lord God Almighty,
King of all, every age, O Eternal One
I am Your child
I fail You so many times
in some many ways
I fall, downtrodden by any
and every suffering that comes
I am distraught by the pain
It consumes my every thought
But when it is gone
Relief flows over me, through me, around me
and I am grateful
to You, my Lord
Yet the pain returns
in some new place
a new way
or an old hurt
And I begin again
Do I ... Will I learn
to praise You at all times
so You are glorified
or does it remain
a constant battle
within my soul?
- CMOL
BURDENS
In the March 9 reading of Streams in the Desert, the writer says "bearing the burden of crushing weight actually gives Christians wings." God gives us the burdens so we will learn patience, to wait upon Him instead of acting on our own thinking. "And once we have done so, the burden is transformed into a pair of wings through the miracle of trust."
"But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with
wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."
~ Isaiah 40:31
A poem, written by Mary Butterfield, says it well:
One day when walking down the street,
On business bent, while thinking hard
About the "hundred cares" which seemed
Like thunderclouds about to break
In torrents, Self-pity said to me:
"You poor, poor thing, you have too much
To do. Your life is far too hard.
This heavy load will crush you soon."
A swift response of sympathy
Welled up within. The burning sun
Seemed more intense. The dust and noise
Of puffing motors flying past
With rasping blast of blowing horn
Incensed still more the whining nerves,
The fabled last back-breaking straw
To weary, troubled, fretting mind.
"Ah yes, it will break and crush my life;
I cannot bear this constant strain
Of endless, aggravating cares;
They are too great for such as I."
So thus my heart consoled itself,
"Enjoying misery," when lo!
A "still small voice" distinctly said,
"'Twas sent to lift you--not to crush."
I saw at once my great mistake.
My place was not beneath the load
But on the top! God meant it not
That I should carry it. He sent
It here to carry me. Full well
He knew my incapacity
Before the plan was made. He saw
A child of His in need of grace
And power to serve; a puny twig
Requiring sun and rain to grow;
An undeveloped chrysalis;
A weak soul lacking faith in God.
He could not help but see all this
And more. And then, with tender thought
He placed it where it had to grow--
Or die. To lie and cringe beneath
One's load means death, but life and power
Await all those who dare to rise above.
Our burdens are our wings; on them
We soar to higher realms of grace;
Without them we must ever roam
On plains of undeveloped faith,
(For faith grows but by exercise
In circumstance impossible).
O paradox of Heaven. The load
We think will crush was sent to lift us
Up to God! Then, soul of mine,
Climb up! Nothing can e'er be crushed
Save what is underneath the weight.
How may we climb! By what ascent
Will we crest the critical cares
Of life! Within His word is found
The key which opens His secret stairs;
Alone with Christ, secluded there,
We mount our loads, and rest in Him.
- CMOL
TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD
In Mark 11:24, Jesus tells His disciples and us that “whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
God says
this is yours
go and claim it
but do we?
this is yours
go and claim it
but do we?
Do we believe what God says – It is ours
and do we claim it as ours?
or
Do we wait for some person to give it to us
hope a group of people will say, Come
continue to look for the light
when it is right there shining upon us?
and do we claim it as ours?
or
Do we wait for some person to give it to us
hope a group of people will say, Come
continue to look for the light
when it is right there shining upon us?
God gives
and we do not believe
so where is our faith?!
Faith is not waiting for something else to happen
It is not questioning if God’s promise is true, if God is faithful
and we do not believe
so where is our faith?!
Faith is not waiting for something else to happen
It is not questioning if God’s promise is true, if God is faithful
It is acting on what God has said IS
We are to go His way
and as we go, be obedient to His instruction
doing His will
glorifying His name
and as we go, be obedient to His instruction
doing His will
glorifying His name
Not our way
our feelings
our truths
our desires
our glory
It is not about us
Not about what we can do in our power
Not what we think or believe is necessary to achieve God’s promise
Not about giving up because other people don’t respond
Who do you follow?
Is it really God and God alone
or only yourself
our feelings
our truths
our desires
our glory
It is not about us
Not about what we can do in our power
Not what we think or believe is necessary to achieve God’s promise
Not about giving up because other people don’t respond
Who do you follow?
Is it really God and God alone
or only yourself
Where is your faith?
God says
this is yours
go and claim it
Why have you not?
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1
God says
this is yours
go and claim it
Why have you not?
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1
Who do you believe?
What do you believe?
Is it God’s Word
or some other evidence?
Just as Hebrews 11:1 says, true faith relies on God, believing before seeing.
What do you believe?
Is it God’s Word
or some other evidence?
Just as Hebrews 11:1 says, true faith relies on God, believing before seeing.
It is natural to want some evidence, but if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we have all the evidence we need.
We pray
and God has given
Yet we don’t go and claim that which He has promised
and God has given
Yet we don’t go and claim that which He has promised
We think we need more
God, Our Lord is everything. He is all we need. We need to understand that and not be like Thomas the Doubter, who would not believe until he saw the pierced hands of Jesus.
Go
Step out on faith
be obedient
Do
He has given
Glorify Him
Praise Him
Thank Him
Step out on faith
be obedient
Do
He has given
Glorify Him
Praise Him
Thank Him
Do as He has commanded.
- CMOL
FAITH
Faith that goes forward triumphs.
Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.
Faith that sits and waits after God has said go and do is not faith.
We must learn to take God at His word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward. -
from Feb. 11 reading, Streams in the Desert
When God says go and do
we must obey
we must go
we must do
When we refuse
to go as He says
and do as He commands
our faith
is sadly lacking
We go so far
and then we wait ...
wait for an answer
that we won't hear
for it has already been given
He tells us to go
to believe, trust in Him
He tells us to obey and do
to move forward,
a step one at a time
He tells us to praise Him
at every step
on every path
at every level
Barriers, obstacles remain
when our actions reveal
a refusal to be
obedient to God
We must try to pass through the darkness
of every barrier, every obstacle.
With God leading we cannot fail
But when we listen
to ourselves or others,
we often fail before we've begun.
-- CMOL
WHERE ARE YOU?
"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9 NKJV) God asks
God knows where we are.
When God asked Adam this question, Adam's response was "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10)
God knows our response, yet he desires us to be accountable, to take responsibility for our actions instead of passing the buck.
Adam hid.
God knew ... where he was and why.
"Who told you...Have you (done that) of which I commanded you (not to do)?" God asks. (Genesis 3:11)
Adam didn't reply to God's questions. He remained hidden, refusing to acknowledge any sin on his part.
Adam said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12)
Adam put the blame on God - it was His fault He created the woman. And he put the blame on Eve -- even though the serpent, through Satan, deceived her, it was her fault she shared the fruit of the tree which God commanded them not to eat. It was not his fault. He was blameless.
But Adam was at fault - and so was Eve. They both knew what God commanded and chose to disobey and do what they desired instead.
We too know what God commands. We choose to be obedient to His will and follow His way or we choose to be disobedient and go our own way.
God's judgement affected Satan, Adam and Eve and all of mankind.
- Because of sin, Adam and Eve no longer had the good life walking in fellowship with God the Father.
- Because of sin, God proclaimed to Satan, "I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He (Jesus) will strike your head and you will strike His heel." (Genesis 3:15 Christian Standard Bible)
- Because of sin, we needed a Savior.
And because of our great need and God's great love, He sent His son, Jesus, to come to Earth, to be born of a virgin, to die on the cross in our place - taking our sin upon Himself, to be buried and to be resurrected.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," Jesus said. (John 14:6 NKJV)
If you truly desire fellowship with God the Father and the Son and for Him to live in your heart as the Holy Spirit, come to Jesus. If you have once come and turned away, return to Jesus. There is no other way.
Where are you?
-- CMOL
LOOK TO GOD
Who is the one you look to in times of distress and trouble?
Is it your spouse or your parents or someone else?
Do you ever consider God?
God is our refuge, our strength, our helper, our friend, our everything.
F.B. Meyer in Streams in the Desert devotional said: "God is He who can summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment to help His people. Believe that He is between you and your difficulty, and what troubles you will flee before Him as clouds in the wind."
Poem shared in Streams in the Desert:
When nothing for which to lean remains,
When strongholds crumble to dust;
When nothing is sure but that God still reigns,
That is just the time to trust.
It is better to walk by faith than sight,
In this path of yours and mine;
and the darkest night, when there's no outer light
Is the time for faith to shine.
- CMOL
DON'T STRAY ... STAY FOCUSED ON GOD
It's a new year. We are invited to take possession of what the Lord has given us, for He is with us, watching continually and caring for us.
That which He gives is filled with His goodness, but He also allows the badness of Satan to envelop us.
If we want what God offers, we must be obedient to His commands - to love, to serve (Deuteronomy 11:11-15).
We just ended 2017. The devotional, "Streams in the Desert," reminds us to go, to do. God has put what He wants us to have into our hands, but it is for us to do something with it. Unless we take what He has given and run with it, remembering His promise to be with us at all times, our faith is absent, incomplete. Without faith, we have let negative thoughts and comments defeat us before we have allowed God to lead us up every hill and down every valley.
"...with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26
Our focus must stay on Jesus not stray to outside influences. Our heart shows where we truly are. When you accept(ed) Christ as your Lord and Savior, you became a child of the King - of Jesus.
Another is not better or worse. We are all sinners. If you are a believer, a follower of Christ, then you are a sinner saved by Grace. Satan is not your master.
Deuteronomy 11:16 reminds us to "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them..."
- CMOL
In James 5:19-20, James writes to fellow believers, "If anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from (an early) death and cover a multitude of sins."
There are Christians who have fallen ... adopting the ways of the world, becoming less focused on the Lord, The One to whom you gave your heart and soul.
Your mindset is on you, your wants, your desires, your perceived needs. All the world is at your feet ... an open door.
You find no time to open your Bible and study His word, to attend worship services, to desire to be among fellow believers. You claim you know what the Bible says, and maybe it is true, but what happened to your relationship with Jesus, He who saved you from damnation?
Do you apply to yourself what the Bible says or does it only apply to others?
Do you hold yourself accountable for your own actions or do you lay every blame on someone else?
Jesus loves you.
Where do you place your love or does only hate and disgust fill your soul and heart?
Jesus misses the fellowship you once had with Him.
Luke 15:11-32 tells of The Parable of the Lost Son. Verse 32 says, "...we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."
- CMOL
JESUS CARES
The Dec. 22 reading from Streams in the Desert devotional was taken from Mark 4:36-40 (also Luke 8:22-25) -- "Now when they (the disciples) had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat ... and a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' "
The disciples thought the angry sea separated them from Jesus or that the storm was a sign that Jesus had forgotten them and did not care about them. We are just the same. We wonder why we are in the midst of horrid trouble and suffering. Where is our God?
God is right there, with us. He has not left nor forgotten us.
It is Satan who whispers to us ... God has forgotten you ... God has forsaken you. It is Satan who brings to your mind every negative and causes you to believe it.
F.S. Webster says God has allowed the difficulty to come upon us - just like He allowed Satan to take all that was Job's, except his life (read the book of Job) - in order to bring us closer to Himself. The difficulty has not come to separate us from Jesus but to cause us to cling to Him more faithfully, more firmly and more simply.
"Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?' " (verses 39-40)
- CMOL
THE SECOND MILE
Do you remember the story in John 13 about how Jesus washed his disciples' feet and told them to do likewise? He said, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed our feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." ||(John 13:14-15)
He was showing us how to go the second mile, the extra mile. No matter how menial or commonplace the task. No matter how it makes you feel. You went one mile, you made the effort, but a second time?! No way is your immediate response.
But Jesus went above and beyond ... not once, but every time, out of love and service.
We cannot select our opportunities - what comes is what we have, even if it is repeated.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest tells us:
"Watch the kind of people God brings around you, and you will be humiliated to find that this is His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him."
Oh wow, if that isn't sad and enlightening at the same time.
"...whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away." (Matthew 5:41-42)
If our goal is to be like the Lord Jesus, we must be obedient to His way, His truth and His life.
Without Him, we have no purpose, no life, no relationship.
- CMOL
REMOVE THE STONE
I believe God
on the mountain top
… when nothing disturbs me
… when I am not at odds with everything around me
… when I am not caught off guard
What about in the valley
… when circumstances contradict
… when funds have dried up
… when health is dismal at best
Do I believe then too
that God is with me
that God will keep me safe
that God still loves me
that I am His forever
“Remove the stone,”
Jesus said. (John 11:39)
Remove the stone?
Lazarus was in the tomb
four days
when Jesus came
The stench was heavy
Yet Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
But…
But nothing.
Remove the stone.
Have you forgotten?
“Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
Jesus said. (John 11:40)
Remove the stone.
The stone of unbelief
Jesus prays for us, that we may all be one
Like the Father and the Son are one,
we too may be one with them
completely one
completely loved.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.” (John 11:24)
“I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.” (John 11:26)
Remove the stone …
every stone attempting to crowd in and take over
The glory the Father gave to the Son who in turn gives to us … abiding always and only … is a one-on-one personal, intimate relationship of pure love.
But you must believe ... in the Father, in the Son, in the Holy Spirit ... in united love ... in Truth.
Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (August 29)
- CMOL
GOD'S TESTS
God tests us. I do not like the tests we are given. They are not like an exam where you get a A+ or C-. The tests are our life ... what comes at us, how we handle things, what we learn and unlearn.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, the Lord was testing them. They looked for water and all they found was bitterness. What did they learn - I can't see they learned anything, for they complained. But through Moses' faith in God, drinkable water was found. The Lord tells us what He will do for us if ....
"The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there. He said, If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you." (Exodus 15:22-26)
In the devotional Streams in the Desert, J.R. Macduff writes:
"It is quite easy for us to talk and to theorize about faith, but God often puts us into His crucible of affliction to test the purity of our gold and to separate the dross from the metal. How happy we are if the hurricanes that blow across life's raging sea have the affect of making Jesus more precious to us! It is better to weather the storm with Christ than to sail smooth waters without Him."
- CMOL
A while back I talked about sanctification (Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, July 22-23). He brought the subject up again Aug. 27 in a reading titled Theology Alive. The Scripture, from John 12:35, said, "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you."
It's not enough to know about it and think about it, but you must go and do, being genuine in showing the life you profess to abide in, day in and day out, without pretense. The theology you believe in and accept as His Truth, is revealed to the world through you, because of He who lives in you. So walk / live in the Light of Jesus, while you have the Light, so you may become sons and daughters of that Light, or else the darkness will come and you may find yourself lost.
We must continually bring the truth out into the open.
As Chambers says ... "If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it is shown in the life! "You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you running it out into the practical issues of your life? Every bit of your life, physical, moral and spiritual, is to be judged by the standard of the atonement."
- CMOL
Today's reading was from the Friday, Aug. 25, devotional of Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest."
So many of us want a true friend ... someone who understands us and is always there for us.
Have you considered Jesus?
Jesus says in John 15:13 - "No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends."
Jesus gave His life for us ... for our every sin He took them all upon Himself and He calls you friend.
"I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father." - John 15:15
"You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit ... Love one another." - John 15:16, 17
He chose YOU. Why do you not accept Him -- go His way, follow and obey His leadership, do His will?
When you accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior, you also have accepted the friendship He offers.
When you accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior, you also have accepted the friendship He offers.
"I have called you friends" - a friendship based on the new life created in us which has no affinity with our old life, but only with the life of God. Humble ... pure .... absolutely devoted to God.
- CMOL
Friday morning, Aug. 25, I read the devotional Streams in the Desert.
Works do not save us, only faith in Jesus Christ.
"...a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ." (Galatians 2:16 Christian Standard Bible CSB)
I once lived under the law, and many still do, because they have backslidden, or because they do not believe Jesus was sent by God to be their redeemer, their Savior, their Lord. They do not believe God humbled Himself to come to earth as a tiny baby to save His people - the people He formed from the dust of the ground and breathed life into.
When Christ came and I accepted Him, I became dead to sin (although unfortunately, because I am human, sin still grasps hold of me and I give in) and alive in and through and to Christ, who lives in me. He loved me so much, He died for me.
"...I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 CSB)
Righteousness ... Faith does not come through the law. If it did, then Christ came and lived and died for no reason.
"...if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing." (Galatians 2:21 CSB)
If I rely on the works of the law, I am not of God. I am under a curse.
"Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed." (Deuteronomy 27:26 CSB)
"The righteous will live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4 CSB)
Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us all. He took our every sin upon Himself. He who knew no sin, who was perfect in every way, became the curse that really was ours.
And the reason ... the purpose? That the blessing God gave to Abraham would come to fruition in you and me. Through Christ Jesus we would receive the promised Spirit through faith. (paraphrase Galatians 3:14 CSB)
"The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and thus cancel the promise. For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise; but God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise." (Galatians 3:17-18)
- CMOL
WE ARE SECURE
This morning, July 25, I read the devotional Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards.
Psalm 9:18 (NKJV)
For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
When we are truly born again by accepting Jesus as our LORD and Savior we are indeed secure in our faith.
God has promised us what we Baptists claim with blessed assurance that "once saved, always saved!"
Nothing can ever take our salvation away from us. When we have Jesus in our lives we become children of the Living God.
We are told in John 10:25-30 (NKJV)
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."
Do you notice what Jesus is stating here? When we are safe in the hand of God NOTHING can snatch us out of His hand.
Do you remember the old Allstate Insurance commercials? "You are in good hands with Allstate?" I wonder if they got their slogan from this verse.
Paul ends perhaps one of the greatest chapters in the whole Bible…
Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV)
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Never believe any doctrine that states you can lose your salvation. You can't. We are secure in Jesus.
- JWL
The devotional reading Monday, July 24, in My Utmost for His Highest was about having good motives... Oswald Chambers says "The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God."
So, it is not just about good motives. It's about everything we are - as Christ's, it is the way we live when the way of Christ as the Holy Spirit has His way with us. So we're really still talking about sanctification. From my perspective, the problem is even as Christians we don't consistently allow God / Christ / the Holy Spirit to have their way with us. We still want our own way with so many things.
It brought me to Galatians 5.
IT'S ABOUT HIM ... in me
Christ lives in me
through me
All that is Jesus
is mine
when I admit to God I am a sinner
when I believe Jesus Christ is God's Son
when I confess Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior
I am His
and
It is
His patience
His love
His holiness
His faithfulness
His purity
His goodness (His motives)
His peace
His kindness
His gentleness
His self-control
that is in me
I have been made one with the Lord Jesus
I am dead to sin.
Because I am His,
the evil that lurks everywhere
is not for me to pursue.
The Lord set me free to walk in His Spirit.
"and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:24
He lives
He lives
in me! He lives
What do others see ... Does Jesus' life show itself to you through me?
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25
or do others see only themselves in my life:
their hate
their jealousy
their selfishness
their envy
their irritation
their lies
their anger
their deceit
their defiance
their contempt
their discontentment
their worry
their pride
their disobedience
Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life for all of us. There is no other way, no other truth, no other life.
"...you shall love your neighbor as yourself" Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39.
"But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" - Galatians 5:15
"...not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." - Galatians 5:26
(c) CMOL
Sanctification.
That's a big word, and for so long I didn't understand what it really meant. It means being made one with Jesus. It is not something He puts into me, but He Himself in me.
When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, He comes to live within us. All of Him - we must come to understand what that means.
In the devotional, My Utmost for His Highest (July 22-23), Oswald Chambers says when we are one with Christ, every quality that is Jesus, our Lord, is ours - His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity.
We undoubtedly do not see this so readily, but as we live our lives with Jesus at the helm, we will witness His life played out in us.
We are sanctified - saved for all eternity because Christ is in me.
It is only through Christ's death we gain wisdom. It is only when we ourselves are willing to give up everything around us, relying only, solely on the Lord Jesus.
I understand what the apostle Paul means when he says it is better to remain single. When you are married, your mindset is on your spouse, married life. You need to work harder to follow Jesus' path and allow Him to lead.
WAITING
We wait
God waits
We for His promises
said to fulfill
He to renew our motivation,
our inspiration,
our trust
in Him.
He patiently teaches
obedience
We learn
from the wrongs
we do,
the discipline
He doles out,
Father to child.
God waits for us
test after test comes
He will know
when
in all of our waiting,
we are ready
to receive
His blessings.
Our gain
His glory.
(c) CMOL
If I am to trust Him for one thing, I must trust Him for everything, or else I really am not trusting Him at all. What I say must agree with what I do.
On April 23, Jim started a series of messages on Proverbs. On July 9, he began a mini-series on faith - "Four Basics of Faith," taken from Proverbs 3:5-6. Briefly, the four points are: (1) What do we need? - a whole-hearted trust (2) Where does faith come from? - God alone (3) When should we have faith? - at all times (4) Why? - because it's the only way.
Today, July 16, the mini-series continues with "Simple Trusting" from Proverbs 16:20.
This morning's reading in My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says --
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those who have His Spirit. It works on this principle - God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, why should I worry?
Nothing happens in any particular (way) unless God's will is behind it, therefore you can rest in perfect confidence in Him.
And in Streams in the Desert, F.B. Meyer has this to say --
Indeed there is nothing God will not do for those who will dare to step out in faith onto what appears to be only a mist. As they take their first step, they will find a rock beneath their feet.
- CMOL
I think I read this wrong. But my husband, Jim, says there is no wrong way. You read it one way, another reads it differently. That doesn't make one right and one wrong.
Jim said he thought of the deaths of Dale Hammond, a teacher mentor he had while attending Hannibal-LaGrange College, and Homer Larson, his pastor at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, when he accepted the Lord as his savior. He wasn't discouraged by their deaths, but the passage read brought to his mind how important they were in his Spiritual growth.
When I read the passage, I didn't equate removal of friends with physical death. I thought ... in everything around you, did you see the Lord or is it only the circumstances, only our emotions? Someone says to us to do this or do that or else... If you care at all, do this. But it is not God talking.
It is others and we can get discouraged by our emotions and circumstances of another. But what does God say? Does He tell us to jump through hoops just because? Where is our attention - is it solely on Him, our God, every time for every thing?
We are works in progress. If we regularly study the word of God, seeking The Truth, The Way and The Life that is Jesus, w become closer to our Father in Heaven. But when we fail, the Spiritual realm becomes of no significance. Does God remove our friends so we won't follow the physical, secular, lost world? The meaning of life is not found in a world that is dying. Only in Christ is there meaning.
- JWL / CMOL
"Wait on the Lord; Be of good cheer, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
Faith is that which no matter what circumstance comes and causes us dismay we remain steadfast and true to the Lord. We believe in His every promise - He will do what He says. If He tells us this is where I want you - that is what we must believe, being patient while He works things out. We do what we can and wait on the Lord for the rest. We should never give up. Tiredness, anxiety, fear, thereby resulting in other plans being made are not where we should go. We need to stay focused on The Holy One at all costs. He will lead us down the right path. He will show us the right steps to take along the way.
If we are in close fellowship with the Lord, we will hear the words of wisdom He has for us. And when we hear, we will go and obey. If we refuse to go His way and obey His instructions, we do not truly believe in Him, in His provisions - we believe only in ourselves and we are greatly limited without the Lord with us.
- CMOL
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense
I shall not be greatly moved.
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation (hope) is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." (Psalm 62: 1a, 2, 5-7)
Do we look for the answers we ask?
Do we believe God will respond?
Do we seek His will alone?
Do we rely on God's promise?
Do we offer up our prayers in Jesus' name,
solely influenced by the Holy Spirit
and not the world in which we live?
Do we wait silently, strengthened by God's word to us?
Do we wait expectantly for His answer
even when we do not know when or where it may come?
Charles H. Spurgeon leaves these thoughts:
"Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith; they also give opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him even when facing the apparent denial of our request."
- CMOL
