Month: March 2023

LOOKING AT THE INCOMPARABLE LOVE OF GOD…


John 15:13-16 – “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  NKJV

There is an overriding reality that is inescapable as we study Scripture.  It leaps forth in the 66 Books of the Bible and is visible page after page and passage after passage.  It is something almost impossible to explain and almost inexplicable.  That of which I speak is the Incomparable and Incomprehensible Love God has for mankind! 

We are His creation, but our history has been one of rejection and rebellion.  He would have easily been justified in smashing the race like bugs and virtually did that saving only Noah and his family.  He has demonstrated His incredible patience and willingness to give us second, third, fourth, and fiftieth changes, yet mankind continues to seek something other than Him.

The work of Christ on the Cross is a testimony of the depth of God’s love for mankind as is revealed in John 3:16.  Jesus, in our text, testifies that He considers us His friends! In laying down His life, He has demonstrated the “no greater love.”  Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 that God “… is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  Paul wrote in Romans 8:37-39 regarding God’s love for mankind and declared that Nothing could separate us from God’s love.  In Ephesians 2:4-5 he reminds us of the depth of God’s love.

God’s love is unconditional, whereas human love is conditional.  If others reject us and spurn our demonstrations of love by disrespecting, disappointing, and turning their backs on us, love would not describe our feelings toward them.  But with God, He loves us regardless.  His unconditional love will not vacate His holiness or judgment.  He has promised that if we ‘come to Him,’ He will not reject us, but if we reject Him and die in that condition, He cannot overlook our sins. 

Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of the inhabitants’ continual rejection. I believe God weeps over our world today.  There have been at least three times in my life when I heard God weeping as I was in prayer meditating on the Word. It was one of the most disturbing experiences I have ever had. I sensed His heartbreak, and I was broken.  The Omnipotent One could crush us like aluminum cans and remove us from the planet with the stroke of His finger. Yet He chooses to Love us and demonstrates longsuffering beyond human comprehension.

We can never merit that love, but through grace, He extends it.  As I meditate on this today, I tremble, realizing the times I have taken His mercy for granted.  How could anyone reject such incomparable love? 

How?  I believe that to reject God’s love, we must become so self-absorbed that our love for ourselves overpowers our reason.  I believe that to reject God’s love; we must believe the Lie of the devil and elevate ourselves to be equal with God in our minds.  Jesus said in John 8:32 – “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  If we truly SEE the finished work of Christ on the Cross and God’s Love, we will respond and be made free.

I pray that if anyone is teetering on the fence, undecided about God, His mercy, grace, and love, you have your eyes opened and See.   I pray that each of us gains spiritual sight to a greater measure and Sees God’s, Great Love!

God bless you as you go through this day!

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THE REVEALING OF THE HEART…


2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”  NKJV

I have long believed through my study of Scripture and watching people that generosity or the lack thereof reveals a person’s heart.  I am convinced that if God does not have our pocketbooks, He does not truly have our hearts, for where the treasure is, the heart is also.  I know the context of this passage is focused on money, but I want to press it beyond that and do not believe that I am violating truth in doing so.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping goes far beyond monetary consideration.  The principle of reaping what we sow, later than we sow, and more than we sow, whether it is money, time, patience, or love, is a fact of life.  In this truth, God Promises that He will cause All Grace to abound to us so that we have All Sufficiency in All Things and have an abundance for Every Good Work!  That is an incredible promise!

Sadly, some have taken it as a promise of personal wealth and attempted to manipulate God through their giving.  God is interested in the gift and the motivation behind the gift, and His blessings are in accordance with that principle.  It would behoove us to examine what we are giving, why, or what we are not giving and why.  It will reveal our hearts, either good or flawed.

I have personally experienced times when I desperately needed finances and had no means of acquiring those funds.  I recall one such incident where I had a $500 need and 55 dollars to my name.  I do not mean I had that amount of ready cash; that is ALL I had in this world. 

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said tithe on my need.  My response was, “What? God, I have $55 to last me a whole week, a wife, and two small children to care for.  If I give the $50 you are asking for, I will have $5 left.”  Three times I heard ‘tithe on your need.’  I took the $50 and planned to put it in the offering on Sunday morning, and as the plate came around, I tried but could not turn it loose. 

I spent a miserable Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday night, when the offering took place, I threw the $50 in the offering plate.  It felt like a hot potato that I had to get out of my hand.  I believed God would care for us, but my humanity kept me awake all night battling thoughts of my failure in my responsibility to my family, and they would have little to eat this week if…  That is the problem IF…  

I was in the condition of the man that said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  The next day after a time in prayer, I went to town to run an errand for the church, and a person walked up to me on the street and said, “The Lord spoke to me last night to give you this.”  They placed an item in my hand and walked away.  I sat in my car and opened my hand, and it was a check for $550.00. 

God met my need and gave me back the $50.00 above the need.  My family was cared for, the need was met, and my faith was given an adrenaline shot that has never been forgotten.  God responded to my obedience and blessed me despite my fears, questions, and doubts. Since then, my giving has been cheerful, and I have not given out of necessity since that day but out of a desire to honor the Lord and help others.

I have faced times when I desperately needed someone to assist, comfort, love, or counsel me and found that the return on my investment in others came back to me many fold.  God Never fails to send help in the time of need, and if we allow Him to control our time and treasure, we will find that Grace will Abound to us in a mighty manner.

God bless you as you go through this day!

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LORD, I AM THIRSTY – – Part 4…


Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  NASB

CONDITION NUMBER TWO – Come to Jesus.

  • That involves and means ‘total surrender’ of our lives to our LORD. 
  • That means to seek the will of God in all things and walk in the light you have received.
  • That is Total Surrender! 

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 11;28-29, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 

He followed that up in 1 John 1:7, saying, “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  If we are to have all of Him, He must have all of us.  He must have control. He must increase, and we must decrease.  He must be Lord as well as Savior.  He must find us a yielded vessel.  We cannot have His fullness without coming to Him in total surrender.

CONDITION NUMBER THREE – We Must Drink.

You will never quench your thirst, in the natural, by looking at a picture of water or reading about the water. You have to Drink!  This means we must have a whole-hearted reception of His water and Him in our lives.  We must receive His gifts, His fruit, and His Spirit.  His Word must live in us. 

I call your attention to 1 Cor 12:4-13 –“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” 

The gifts of the Spirit are directly connected to our relationship with and our connection to Christ. 

In Galatians 5:22-23we discover a powerful truth.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  That is like a magnet to a hungry heart! 

In Revelation 22:17, we are invited to Come.  The thirst can come.  The hungry can come.  The willing can come.  You and I will never be filled and satisfied until we come to His River and Drink!

CONDITION NUMBER FOUR – We Must Believe on Jesus as the Bible Teaches.     

Biblical belief implies obedience is required if we are to receive His fullness.  We must walk in complete obedience!  There are no shortcuts to God!  Jesus told His followers in Matthew 28:20 to go into all the world and share the message of Grace and then teach the new converts to Obey God’s Commandments.  He also told them to tell the new converts that He would guide and comfort them.  In Mark 16, this is repeated, and in verses 15-20, He gives a more detailed directive. 

In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”  After His resurrection and ascension in Acts 1:4, we find the followers of Christ assembled just like He had instructed, and they were WAITING for the Promise of the Father.  They were awaiting that River that would spring up inside them through the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 5:32, they testified that they were His witnesses, and so is the Holy Spirit God gives to the obedient. 

The truth is that if we want more of God, we can have more of God!  The problem is not on His end. It is ours.  If we want more of His Holy Spirit, we can receive.  If we want to see the Power of God manifest in our lives, we can have that Power.  Whenever I talk to God about Power, He talks to me about Purity!

THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE:

Thirst, come to Jesus, Drink, Believe, and Obey. 

My question to each of us today is,“Are We Thirsty?”  Do we long for more of God?  He is willing and waiting for us to Come and Drink!  We must allow our thirst to draw us to His River!

CONCLUSION:

  • Having More of God is not Automatic. It requires effort on our part.
  • To Quench our Thirst, we must come to Him and Drink!
  1. The question is, how intense is our Thirst?
  2. Will we invest our time and energy to pursue Him?
  3. The question is will we determine that anything less than the fullness of God is unsatisfactory in our lives. 

If we are hungry and thirsty, we will have all of God we can receive.  The supply is unlimited.

God bless you as you pursue Him!   Have a fantastic day!

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LORD, I AM THIRSTY – – Part 3…


Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  NASB

WITH CAUTION, I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOMETHING IMPORTANT:

Sometimes, I fear that I make things seem overly easy! There are some conditions to receiving the Spirit and Power of God in our lives to the fullest.  It takes more than just wishful thinking or saying we want it.

John 7:37-39 – “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ” If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”  39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” 

I ask that you join me in giving some thought to the conditions required to receive that fullness of God that our hearts crave.

CONDITION NUMBER ONE – “We Must Become Thirsty.”

This means that we must develop the ardent, eager, famishing, keep, and all-consuming craving and passion in our souls for complete union with God and with the fullness of His Spirit. 

In verse 2 of our text chapter, the Psalmist cries, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God….”  In Psalm 63:1, the writer desperately seeks and says, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirst for you, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  That is thirst!

Psalm 143:6 declares, “I stretch out my hands to You; my soul longs for You, as in a parched land.”  The picture is incredibly clear, to find God and have our spiritual thirst quenched, we must become desperately and earnestly thirsty!  He must become the most important pursuit of our lives.

In Isaiah 41:17, the prophet speaks of the afflicted and needy seeking water, but no water to be found.  Their tongues are parched from lack of water.  God promises in the next verse that He will open rivers on the bare heights and send springs in the midst of the valley.  No matter where they were, there would be that desired spiritual water! 

Then, in Isaiah 44:3-4, “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; 4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.”  

What a picture! If we seek Him, we will find Him.  If we develop this kind of thirst, we will be satisfied.

Elisha had that kind of thirst in 2 Kings 2, seeking a double portion anointing.  He followed Elijah to Gilgal, to Bethel, then to the Jordan.  He refused to be denied. He refused to accept the delay.  He refused to accept the denial. He pressed into the double portion because He was thirsty!  Joel said God would pour out His spirit upon ALL FLESH, including you and me, if we are thirsty!

May the LORD increase your thirst and help you become determined to press in and drink!   We will consider this more in tomorrow’s devotional. 

God bless you richly is my prayer and desire!

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HELP ME, LORD. I AM THIRSTY – – Part 2…


Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  NASB

Yesterday we began this quest to have more of God, and today we will delve a little deeper into my thoughts on the subject as we seek a pathway to fullness.

HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR GOD:

It is more than turning over a new leaf or practicing morality.  It is to allow the Spirit of God to transform us into Righteousness.  We are to pursue the Righteousness of God.  Let me suggest that upright and moral behavior is only righteous if it comes from a righteous heart, and that only comes from a relationship with God. 

I contend that Righteousness (biblical righteousness) is imputed.  It is infused in our hearts through Salvation.  Romans 1:17 informs us that righteousness is achieved by faith alone: “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”

Beloved, God is offering the Righteousness of Jesus to His Children!  We can put on the Robe of Righteousness.  We can put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. It is part of our armor and our makeup.  It is who we are, not what we do!

I also suggest that Righteousness must be pursued.  We are saved by faith through grace but are called to grow, mature, and live uprightly.  We face the constant tension and tug of the world, but by His Grace, we can prevail and be transformed into the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  That will never happen if we are caviler about our relationship with Him. 

God must be pursued. Matthew 7 tells us to “ask, seek, and knock.”  That implies a progressive approach to our relationship with God.  If we genuinely want the prayer Jesus instructed us to pray in Matthew 6 to become a reality and His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven in our world and our lives, We must thirst for Him!  We must come to Him and Drink!

TRUTHS THAT MUST NOT BE OVERLOOKED:

  • Our appetites determine our spiritual condition. 
  • We eat and drink what we want because we want it. 
  • If we want something bad enough, we will struggle to obtain it, sacrifice to get it, and go to incredible lengths to achieve it. 

That Is true in the natural and true in the spiritual.  Therefore, if we want more of God and become hungry and thirsty enough, we will press in and “seek Him and find Him.”  God is always willing to give us His Spirit and His Person.  God’s presence is available as revealed in the Prayer Jesus instructed us to pray in Matthew 6:9. 

I want to take this further and hopefully enable each to see a pathway to the fullness desired in the heart.  I want us to come to the place where the River of His Fullness flows noticeably in us all the time!

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day He has provided!

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HELP ME LORD, I AM THIRSTY…


Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  NASB

I and many others are crying out for more of God!  I talk to people frequently who express their spiritual dissatisfaction with the status quo and are troubled by what they see in this world.  They and I realize that the only hope for this world and even this country is God! 

I am encouraged that many express a desire for more of God and a thirst for God; sometimes, it amounts to nothing more than words.  We must grasp a specific truth if we are to soar like eagles spiritually.  That truth is that revelation must be accompanied by action!  It is the Gospel then we have the Acts in the Bible, which is purposeful in how the books are situated.  It reveals that once we hear from God, we must act upon what we have heard.

Unfortunately, in much of the Church today, no action accompanies the declarations.  I don’t mean to be harsh, but there needs to be more sincerity in the declaration.  I believe there are times when that results from a lack of proper instruction.  Both are problematic but having more of God and getting closer to Him is a condition and position available to every believer. 

It is not something that only the select of the elect can attain.  God desires that everyone come to the water and drink.  Everybody can have as much of God and His Spirit as they desire and will avail themselves of.  We can all come to the River and Drink.

Isaiah 55:1 – “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy, and eat.  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” 

Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”

The Bible teaches that there is a river flowing all the time!    It flows from within our hearts, and it never runs dry.  It is a river of plenteous supply. It is a river that completely satisfies the longing soul. In the natural a river at flood state purifies that river. When the river of God begins to overflow in our hearts and lives, it purifies and washes away the dross. 

John 7:37-39 – “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ” If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”  39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” 

THAT RIVER FLOWS FROM WITHIN

This is incredibly inviting, challenging, and enlightening.  We talk about being “hungry and thirsty” for God.  We talk about wanting more of God. We talk about wanting to be vessels that God can use. We talk! That is the problem, we talk!  Too often, we demonstrate that we are all talk and no action, smoke, and no fire!

Having more of God, and having our Spiritual Thirst quenched and more of the Power of God in our lives does not just happen. It requires something on our part. First, we must Come to Him and then Drink! Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:2 that we are to desire the sincere milk of the Word like newborn babies.  Hunger and Thirst! Jesus said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”  The Psalmist told us in Psalm 63:1, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” 

In the natural, if we get thirsty, really thirsty, we will seek water with a sense of desperation.  Why do we think that it is different in the Spiritual realm?  Thirst will never be quenched by looking at a glass of water or knowing that we have a pitcher in the refrigerator filled with water.  You must actually drink! Believers, it is time we allowed the Holy Spirit to cause our hunger and thirst to rise to desperation. 

I want to delve into this deeper, but we will pause here and say, “If you want more of God, the Bible makes it clear that God wants you to have more of Him.”   The only question is our hunger, thirst, and willingness to press in.

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Jesus!

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WE MUST NOT GROW WEARY IN DOING GOOD…


Galatians 6:9-10 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”  NKJV

We all know people who are always doing good things for other people.  It was or is their heart, no matter the recognition or reward.  They did it.  Then we know those who do good things if the recognition or reward is there.  They continue their efforts and actions as long as the accolades roll in.  I’ve known parents, spouses, and even workers and bosses express their weariness at doing good things for others only to have it go unappreciated.   And frequently, I have seen them cease their actions, and some even fall into bitterness over it.

If what you are doing is based on the immediate gratification of recognition, then you are doing it for the wrong reason.  If you do what you do “in the name of the Lord” and “for the Lord,” your reward is beyond this life and in this life. 

Paul encouraged us not to give up and not grow weary in our efforts to do good things.  He assures us what we should all have settled deep in our hearts – GOD SEES ALL!  Like farming, there is a time of preparing the soil, a time of planting the seed, a time of germination, a time of growing, and then finally, a time of harvest.  We reap What we sow, we reap Later than we sow, and we reap More than we sow. 

According to Paul, this is especially noted when we do good things for anyone; God sees it.  When we are doing good things for those of the household of faith, let me give you a Roy reason for this:  Those of the household of faith are already in the fight and are either sowers of the Gospel or potential sowers of the Gospel.  They are laborers in God’s harvest, and when we do good things for them and help them continue their efforts, we are furthering the cause of the Kingdom in a very tangible way. 

No matter if anyone recognizes your efforts or even expresses appreciation for what you do – Do Not Lose Heart!  God will never forget what you do or have done, and even if it is in Heaven, He will honor your labors, especially if they are labors of love out of a pure heart for the right reasons.

Therefore, as you go through this day and this year, look for opportunities to bless others, especially those of the Household of Faith!  

May God be with you, guide, guard, protect, and richly bless you in all things and at all times!

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