2 Corinthians 4:16 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”  NKJV

I recall as a young Christian and minister one of the senior ministers in the area pulled me aside and said, “Son, always remember that from the time you were born you began to die in the natural.  But from the time you were born again you begin to live in the spiritual.  Never forget that while you are heading toward the grave naturally your, are headed toward heaven spiritually.  Never let the natural take priority over the spiritual.”  In the years that have passed I have sometimes had a difficult time acknowledging that I am growing older for in my mind I’m still twenty-something but when I look in the mirror I am reminded of his words.

His words have caused me to continually evaluate life and purpose.  His words have helped keep me focused on the objective in life and prioritize.  His words have helped me fight off the temptation to become despondent when things appeared to have no solution.  His words have inspired me to always LOOK to the author and finisher of my faith.  I do not recall why he pulled me aside but he did and his daughter told me at his funeral that her dad loved me like a son and what she relayed that he saw in me I could not see.  Of course what he really saw was Christ in me not my talent or abilities but a willing and hungry heart.  I wanted to be what God wanted, do what God wanted, and go where God wanted.  It was and is a consuming passion!

LIVING is not just a chronology it is experience.  Unless the Lord comes and takes us home first we will all experience that which we call death or as the New Testament calls SLEEP.  In the process of making the journey from cradle to grave we should LIVE rather than just EXIST as too many do.  For some, when the cold reality shatters their fantasy of natural immortality they become depressed and paralyzed.  That is not and has never been God’s plan.  If we live as pilgrims in this life and citizens of heaven we can face the eventuality of death with a joyous heart and savor each moment in life.  If we are fighting to exist we will miss so much life has to offer and become targets of depression.  God wants us to live while we are dying allowing His Abundant Life to be our life in this present world.

DYING for the child of God is not a terror but can be faced with a calm assurance knowing that it is simply a transition from the natural to the eternal.  For as Paul said, ‘to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.’  I have talked to the Lord and shared what He already knows that I want to live as long as He will allow enjoying my life, His work, my family and friends.  I want to enjoy the experience of seeing His hand touch lives and watch their transformation.  I remember what it was like the night I truly came to know Him and as I see others experience His liberation in salvation or some other bondage I experience what they experience vicariously.  LIFE lived is thrilling!

            May the Lord be with you as you go through this day!

Deuteronomy 2:2-3 – “And the LORD spoke to me, saying, 3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north…’” NASU

I have and you probably have found yourself going in circles in life and after a while found it difficult to acknowledge that fact and break out of the cycle.  I remember once fishing with my dad and brother and it was one of only two times I can recall my dad being turned around in the woods even at night.  After we passed a particular bend in the creek and the same Elm tree three times dad acknowledged that we were lost and stopped long enough to reorient himself and led us to the truck.  When you are lost it seems that one tends to make one step shorter than the other and instead of going in a straight line often you will go in a circle as we did.  Nothing is in the right place and the other time we were disoriented an Uncle insisted that the creek was running the wrong direction. Obviously it could not be so it allowed us to reorient ourselves and find our way out.  That is true in the natural and the spiritual. 

Sometimes we need to ‘cease striving’ and ‘listen’ so the Holy Spirit can help us become reoriented and head in the right direction.  In this case Israel was wandering almost aimlessly in the wilderness by God’s plan and now the time had come when God spoke and said, “Enough already it is time to head north to the Promised Land.”   He instructed them how to conduct themselves, where to go and what to expect and reminded them that although they had been in the wilderness forty years they had been taken care of and lacked nothing.  They were learning to TRUST and that would be essential in their taking possession of the Promised Land and their failure to trust would be a key in their downfall in later years.

If you sense that you are simply going in circles and accomplishing nothing, progressing nowhere, and have a sense of emptiness as a result I suggest that you STOP what you are doing and LISTEN.  God will give guidance if your heart is willing to hear and heed what He directs.  Do not seek to manipulate God that will not happen and will only prolong your aimless wandering leaving you empty and dissatisfied.  If you are willing to heed what you hear from the Word and Spirit of God you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you emerge from your doldrums and enjoy God’s Promise.

            May the Lord be with you as you go through this day!

Psalms 25:4 – “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.”  NASU

The age old effort of the devil and his earthly henchmen to dilute the message of the Cross and infiltrate the Church continues and I believe it is important to refocus on some of the tactics so we not miss what is happening.

In the area of education there has been a slow process that has changed or attempted to change the curriculum.  We have observed things like ‘values clarification’ courses which are nothing more than a means whereby they can indoctrinate our children moving them to rejecting the ‘moral absolutes’ of the Bible.

During the administration of Jimmy Carter an Educrat during a discussion on funding for government controlled preschool day-care centers said:  “One of the reasons we need to establish preschool day-care centers for children from three years up is because in spite of the billions of dollars at our disposal and the thirteen years we have the children in our public schools, we are still not able to UNDO THE HARM done to them before they arrive in kindergarten.”  WHAT?  The harm he spoke of was, in part, belief in God, an absolute value system, and respect for the authority of parenthood.

The devil has dispatched ‘change agents’ into most government and many church organizations and in the Department of Education we have seen:

• ED 056-345 – – Humanism: The counselor’s role as a change agent.
• ED 058-664 – – Change Agent Teams Changing Schools: Case Studies.
• ED 054-513 – – Emotional Arousal & Attitude Change During Simulation Games.

Then a document entitled:  “Report to the President’s Commission on School Finance” where the concern expressed was that the majority of youth hold the same values as their parents and that pattern MUST BE ALTERED was the conclusion

Going back years again because I want you to understand this is not a new phenomenon but a tireless one.  The HUMANIST – [Jan/Fegb 1983] – p. 26, Religion for a New Age – “…The battle for humankinds’ future must be waged and won in the Public School Classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a NEW FAITH; a RELIGION OF HUMANITY that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being.  These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of a sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey HUMANIST VALUES in ‘whatever’ subject they teach, ‘regardless’ of the educational level!  The classroom MUST and WILL become an arena of conflict between the old and the new (the rotting corpse of Christianity), and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a new world in which the never realized Christian ideal of ‘love thy neighbor’ will be finally achieved.”

            Years ago a court in California ruled that a child could sue its parents and the hospital for having been born!  Also decades ago, the Delaware Attorney General ruled that a doctor who refused to kill two unborn babies with lethal saline injections could be sued for ‘criminal malpractice.’  Our world has not gotten better since then but worse and the perversion of God’s moral laws has escalated not diminished.    If we are going to have God’s blessings upon our world and families we need to return to some of the Old Paths and honor God and His Word.  We need to give our children a heritage that is worthy and worthwhile – A Good Name.  We must realize that the proper teaching and training is our responsibility – Train up a Child in the way he/she should go.  We must become men/women of prayer and intercession – Pray without ceasing.  We must point them to Christ – By example, teaching and testimony.   Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

           May God be with you as you go through your day!

Psalms 25:4 – “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.”  NASU

It would take more than an optimist to think that our present world is not a troubled world.  It would take a total denial of facts and become willingly blind to reality.  If we read 1 Timothy 4:1-3 and 2 Timothy 3:15 we cannot miss the prophetic description of our times.  The evidence of our world being a troubled world is everywhere.  For decades there have been voices crying out seeking the attention of our young.  They have made systematic and emphatic efforts to alter the thinking and behavior of the younger generations.  There has been a concerted effort to give credibility to moral decay and situation ethics.  There have been efforts to lull generations to sleep and make light of the subtle tricks of the forces of hell and tragically they have been effective.

Bill Gothard was right when he taught about the progression of moral decay and the acceptance of situation ethics saying, “What we allow in moderation our children will do in excess.”  Those who adhere to the doctrines of Satanism and follow the communistic philosophy and ideology have said, “Let me control the music and influence the education of just one generation and I will control the world.”

We do not hear much about it but Secular Humanism invaded American thinking and has altered the moral fabric of our society.  Let me interject here some clarification of terms:

• Humanitarian – – A person who promotes human well-being.
• Humane – – – A quality marked by compassion, sympathy or consideration of others.
• Secular Humanism – – The doctrine or attitude centered on human interests and values. It teaches that man has the capacity for self-fulfillment and correct ethical conduct without God.  It declares that man is literally his own god.

            This mentality and philosophy has been permeating our political, judicial, educational and even religious world for decades.  Let me call your attention to some of the influential people involved:

• JOHN DEWEY – – Recognized as the ‘Father of Progressive Education’ was also the chief designer of the Humanist Manifesto of 1933.
• CHARLES FRANCIS POTTER – – Who was a signer of the ‘Humanist Manifesto I’ was also president of the National Education Association said: “Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism and every American Public School is a School of Humanism.  What can a Theistic Sunday School meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of the Five Day Program of Humanistic Teaching!”
• JAN/FEB ’76 ISSUE OF – THE HUMANIST:  “Something wonderful, free, unheralded and of significance to all humanist is happening in secondary schools.  It is the adolescent literature movement.  Thy may burn “Slaughter House Five” in North Dakota and ban a number of innocuous books in Kanawaha County, but thank God the crazies don’t do all that much reading.  If they did, they’d find that they have already been defeated. Adolescent literature has opened Pandora’s Box… Nothing that is part of contemporary life is taboo in the genre, and any valid piece of writing that helps make the world more knowable to young people serves an important humanistic function.”

             What am I saying?  I am saying that for decades they have slowly and systematically infiltrated ever segment of our society and now we have several generations that have been indoctrinated with the worldview and ideology of the Secular Humanist and Anti-God societies bringing us to the place we are today where the morals of our society have been severely tarnished and our view of God and the Bible altered with politically correctness and tolerance that many no longer believe the gospel message or fear God thus opening the door for evil of every kind to step through that open door.

I may want to pursue this a little more but will pause here and pray that God be with you as you go through your day.  Righteous exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.  God help us to return to our first love and find our roots in His Holiness.  Blessings!

Acts 2:46-47 – “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”  NASU

I cannot tell you how many times I have had preachers and members of congregations tell me that they wanted what the Early Church had.  That sounds wonderful, right?  The conversions and miracles but that’s not all they had.  They and indescribable persecution, unflappable commitment, and untiring dedication and God was with them helping them reap the harvest.  Not to miss the context but I want to focus on these two verses to speak to having what they had.

They were engaged in the Kingdom ‘daily’ and were ‘unified’ in their objective, commitment, and pursuit.  Sadly, today most churches are in competition not co-laborers for the Kingdom.  We have sectarian divisions that become literal wars where different groups wage war on other groups calling them everything but Christian and focus more on debunking or discrediting them than spreading the gospel to the world.  If that breaks my heart and angers me can you imagine how God feels about it?

Examine how they approached the Christian life.  They were daily with singleness of mind in the temple.  They were daily having ‘koinonia’ – FELLOWSHIP breaking bread from house to house with joy and sincerity.  They were daily engaging in praising God together.  As a result there were not church splits, denominational wars their theological differences were discussed with civility and sincerity seeking truth and depending on the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  The result was ‘favor’ among the people and souls were added daily.  Yes, the religious and civil hierarchy wanted to eradicate them but as they endured for the Kingdom of God the church became more a body than body parts fragmented and dysfunctional.  Christ in them shone to all who would hear and they manifested that which was living in them.

They did not consider it unusual or unexpected to face difficulties and hate.  They did not consider it unusual or unexpected for miracles to transpire.  They did not think it unusual or unexpected to see people born again every day.  I suggest that while they preached, taught, shared, and grew, had they conducted corporate gatherings like we it would have been more for ‘reporting’ what had happened rather than a time for ‘preaching’ and a church service.  They were the church rather than just going to church.  A building can never be the church for it is people, living stones, the Body of Christ.

If we want what they had we must become what they were.  The Kingdom of God must become first in our lives not an accessory we add to our otherwise busy lives.  It may be a salve for our consciences to attend services on Sunday and mid-week but that, in itself is not being what they were or doing what they did.  I am not saying not do so but I am saying that is part not the whole.  We need to be ‘assembled’ not just ‘assemble’ for a meeting.  I am convinced that there is coming an hour when THE CHURCH will be what they were and we will see all they saw and more.  We will truly become epistles known and read among men and say with Peter, ‘such as I have, give I to thee.’

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.”  NASU

It is a firm conviction of my heart that one of the greatest needs in the Body of Christ today individually and collectively is VISION.  Please note I did not say “Have a vision” I said, “Have Vision.”  Vision is not the only ingredient needed but a very significant element in overcoming, defeating defeatism and becoming what God desires us to be.  I am convinced that with VISION comes DETERMINATION and FAITH.  It is through VISION that we become more astute and open to establishing right priorities or putting ‘first things first’ and develop personal accountability.

Sadly, without VISION we will become nothing more than notches in the world’s gun and live in the bondage of the devil’s defeatism.  I believe that Matthew 6:24-34 gives us some real insight into the great difference between the way people live ‘naturally’ and the way Jesus wants and has prepared for us to live – FREE.

As we consider this world we notice some things that easily entrap us raising the questions, “What are we willing to accept?”  “What do we desire?”  The world tends to focus on the negative.  It questions:

• What is wrong, not what is right.
• What is missing, not what is present.
• What is ugly, not what is beautiful.
• What is destructive, not what is constructive.
• What we lack, not what we have.

            Indifference is often the norm rather than abnormal and a significant portion of society and the church community want to ‘just go with the flow’ and not make waves.  Some even say, ‘What difference does it make?’  I do not want to live that way.  I want to rise as high as God will take me and live free partaking of His divine nature.

            CONSIDER – The eagle has eight times as many visual cells per cubic centimeter as the human.  An eagle flying at 600 feet can spot an object the size of a dime in six inches of grass. He can see a three inch fish jumping in a lake five miles away.  He sees what most miss!  For you and me to become all God desires we must have VISION and then must develop DETERMINATION and become totally COMMITTED.

REMEMBER – In Numbers 13 Israel had made their exodus from Egypt.  Under the leadership of Moses they had reached the edge of the Promised Land. The new territory was theirs to claim for God had promised it to them (v.2).  God basically told them, “You will have to invade and fight but the victory is guaranteed.”  In the process God instructed Moses to send out spies into the land for some recognizance.  Moses sent them (vv. 17-20) and as you read those passages you notice Moses DID NOT instruct them to come back advising as to the feasibility of invading the Promised Land.  They were gone forty days and when they returned they brought an impressive sample of the goods of the land but ten of the twelve brought a report that was VISIONLESS and filled with FEAR.  They advised that invasion was impossible.  That is not what their job was but that’s what they did.  The people’s hearts became filled with fear.  Then the report of Joshua and Caleb they focused not on what they saw but what God said.  They saw what the others missed for they had VISION. 

            Vision leaves no room for fear or intimidation but is filled with confidence and we know the story had they did occupy the land and overcome the seeming impossible obstacles.  So I ask, “What Is Your Promise or Canaan?”  What is the challenge you are facing, the giants that make you seem like a grasshopper and causes you to want to surrender?  How can you rise above it?  VISION!  In vision you gain the ability to see God’s PRESENCE, perceive God’s POWER, and focus on God’s PLAN.

May God give you vision and empower you with all you need to fulfill His purposes for your life on this day!  BLESSINGS!

James 1:2-8 – “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”  NKJV

Just a few days ago I was having a conversation with my dear friend Garry Smith and in the course of the conversation we both acknowledged that current political and world conditions are pointing toward a benefit for the Body of Christ.  Please don’t misunderstand I consider what is happening in our world with terrorism, communism, socialism, and in America politically as anything but good but the one good thing that I see coming out of it is that the Body of Christ is being put in a position to have to TRUST GOD AGAIN like bygone eras.  Paul advised us in Romans that ‘all things work TOGETHER for good…’  He did not say all things were good but the finished product was good.  James tells us that when ‘trials’ come to count it all joy, not because trials, tribulations, and troubles are good in themselves but he too was focused on the finished product.

I believe, biblically, that in the dark days of the end times Christians are going to be forced to learn to TRUST GOD AGAIN or perish.  That is going to be true with regard to food, shelter, health, and virtually everything in life or needed to live in the natural.  I’ve had some tell me they do not believe in miracles and then ask me to pray with them for something that would require the miracle working hand of God to come to pass.  If I did not believe pray had any impact on people or events I would not pray, why waste time?  I try not to do things just for the sake of religious ritual but for purpose.

As I see evil men becoming more wicked and evil I also see the Hand of God being extended to whoever will reach out to Him and call upon Him.  In these days we have entered into, which will grow darker, we will see two streams or trends with regard to the church or professing believers.  Some will become shipwrecked in their faith out of fear and frustration allowing the questions to compromise their faith and that is tragic.  Another group will see the dire straits of our nation and world and press in to God taking His word much more literally than they have in the past or for a long time and develop a renewed deeper relationship with Him and see His hand move in their behalf.   The Bible describes a falling away and a harvest in the last days and those of group who press in to God will be a part of the harvest the other group will be as the foolish virgins or Esau and depend on the hand of man rather than the hand of God.

Difficulties in life including political corruption can become tools of God to bring us nearer to Him and propel into a realm spiritually that many have not visited for a long time. God has not changed and all the power He had He has.  He is still the Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent creator of all things and will not change.  He has promised that “if My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14).  The fields are ready for harvest and the only hindrance is us.

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

1 John 3:14-15 – “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.”  NKJV

AGAPE LOVE says, “I love you!  I may not agree with you in all matters, but I will not intentionally hurt you nor will I be party to hurt.”  AGAPE LOVE says, “I accept you and am willing and able to love you just as you are, and let God take care of any changes that need to take place.”

LOVE is a commitment that operates independently of what I feel or do not feel.  It is an act of my will.  I can choose to love and demonstrate love or I can choose not to love and demonstrate that I do not love.  Let me give you what I would call a LOVE COMMITMENT:

“I want you to know that I am committed to you. You will never knowingly or intentionally suffer at my hands.  I will never say or do anything, knowingly to hurt you. I will always, in every circumstance seek to help you and support you.  If you are down and I can lift you up, I will.  Anything that I have that you need, I will be happy to share it with you; and if need be I will give it to you. My commitment will not change and there is nothing you can do about it.  You do not have to respond.  I love you with the love of the Lord as a brother/sister in Christ.”

             ACCEPTANCE is the evidence of love’s action.  AGAPE LOVE means accepting people the way they are for Jesus’ sake. That will require you getting set free from your external hang-ups and remembering that “Life is the basis of fellowship not opinion.” 

As you read the New Testament you realize that Jesus hung around sinners.  Some of us are so isolated that we refuse to do anything remotely similar to what our Lord did.  Jesus did not isolate Himself in the Synagogue.  He mixed and mingled with the sinners and the self-righteous go incredibly upset.  Remember He came to call sinners to repentance and that is not likely to happen if there is not contact with them of contact that makes them feel like sub-human beings.

Have you ever wondered why some people go to bars?  Many, though they may not know it, are looking for someone to love, accept, and listen to them.  They get drunk and pour all their problems out to the bartender or whoever will listen.  Like the song they are “Looking for love in all the wrong places” but many of the churches and church people make them feel so unwanted they dare not go there.  The Bible tells us that we are ‘accepted in the beloved’.  God has forgiven us and accepted us.  He loves everyone and has not given up on them.

FORGIVENESS means I quit playing God.  Ephesians 4:32 – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.”  Forgiveness is releasing another from your own personal judgment.  That means you will not act as their judge any longer.  You will not pronounce a guilty verdict on them.  You will leave that to God.  I can hear as I have many times, “But they are wrong!”  Okay, but they will no longer be under my judgment and condemnation.  I release them!  Remember God said in Romans 12:19, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay says the Lord.”  God can handle it we do not have to.

I can imagine the argument some would have with God if they could or dared.  “God that person hurt me, did you know that Lord?”  “Yes”  “Well, what are you going to do about it?”  “What do you think?”  “Are you going to strike them dead?”  “Probably not…”  “But, Lord…”  “Do you want to play God?  If so, remember this:  The moment you step in to bring judgment on that person, you will come under my judgment for with the same measure you judge you will be judged.”

John 6:37 – “Forgive and you will be forgiven.  Judge not, and you will not be judged.”

Truthfully, most people will not open up unless they feel certain that they will be accepted and/or forgiven.  Therefore they continue to disappoint and fail needing forgiveness.  It is a vicious prison that we have them entrapped in.  But as we learn AGAPE LOVE and how to truly forgive and love people God will send more and more people to us that need healing and wholeness.

My prayer is that God teach all of us AGAPE LOVE and help us make the choice to Love as He loves.  May the Lord be with you as you go through your day!

1 John 3:14-15 – “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.”  NKJV

I would suggest that reading verses 1-15 would be beneficial before continuing in this devotional.  Now that you have read the foundational verses I would suggest that it is the expressed desire of our Lord that we be one (UNITED), and live together in harmony and peace (UNITY) in the Body of Christ.  That is evidenced in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21 – “…that they may be one…”

AGAPE LOVE unifies, builds up and strengthens.  It pulls down walls, barriers, and strongholds.  It opens the door for the move of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives, homes, businesses, schools, churches, and world.  God wants UNITY in the Body and the devil wants DISCORD and DISUNITY.  God sends His love to HEAL and the devil sends his hate and deception to KILL.  God wants love to RULE our hearts and the devil wants hate, bitterness and unforgiveness to RULE.  It is not difficult to see that this is a matter of opposites or “Life vs Death.”

TRUTHS TO REMEMBER: 

• All born-again people constitute the Body of Christ.
• God extends fellowship to ALL believers.
• The basis of fellowship is LIFE not OPINION.

             If we are saved we are family, and family is more important than opinions or preferences.  We love one another, and people who love each other would never intentionally hurt each other.  Hurts will come but they are not intentional.  In Christ we are free to love!  However, the problem is that too often we focus on ‘externals’ and miss what God is doing. Tragically many become entrapped by the devil’s delusions and allow schisms to be created in the Body against the directive and desire of God.

One of the greatest purposes of the Church is to bring people into contact with the Gospel that they might be made whole.  The reason the church is in the world is to minister salvation to people.  The word ‘salvation’ in its broadest sense means ‘to bring wholeness.’  It is interchangeable with healing. The Gospel does more than just cleanse the soul it heals and makes whole.  It is more than just forgiveness it is restoration to fellowship and wholeness.  We become partakers of His divine nature and are complete in Him and only in Him.

The Church should be more like a hospital than a museum.  People come who need salvation, healing, and wholeness in every area of their lives. That can only happen if they feel free enough to risk opening themselves up to us and the gospel.  That will not happen until AGAPE LOVE is in force and we give them some guarantees by our words, deeds, and actions.

• They need to know that they will be loved REGARDLESS.
• They need to know that they will be accepted WITHOUT RESERVATION.
• They need to know that they will receive UNRESERVED FORGIVENESS. 

No matter how miserably they fail or how blatantly they sin, they will receive unreserved and unrestricted forgiveness it is theirs for the asking.  Consider the words of the text:  “We know we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Any who does not love remains in death.”  The key evidence we are Children of God is our LOVE for other believers.  We are to love the brothers/sisters – – ALL OF THEM and that’s both frightening and liberating.

I want to say a little more on this but will hit the pause button until the next post.  May the Lord be with you and help you Love as He loves as you journey through this maze we call life!  Blessings!

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 – “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”  NASU

Through the years I have had many interesting and frustrating conversations with people regarding God and gods.  There are some questions that are impossible to truly answer and to even attempt to often can frustrate one’s faith.  I want to emphasize these words – “LIVING AND TRUE GOD” and that God is ‘living and true’ in our experience.  Somehow that subject seems to have lost some of it ‘awesomeness’ in much of today’s church world.  He is THE LIVING GOD!

I have noticed that many talk about prayer in an ethereal way more as a theory than a reality.  Prayer is ‘discussed’ and ‘debated’ with little or no actual involvement and for much of the world Christianity is nothing more than a theory.  We tend to ‘discuss’ God and I contend that debating God is virtually impossible.  You cannot simply ‘discuss’ God you EXPERIENCE HIM.  We can talk about electricity but we are talking about ‘touching it’ and I suggest that it is IMPOSSIBLE to debate electricity when you are TOUCHING IT!

Christianity is a religion of ‘walking with God’ and ‘experiencing God’.  It is the religion in which you can talk to God and expect something to happen.  I heard someone use the illustration that you can no more debate God than two fish could sit on the table looking at an aquarium and debate water!  Fish do not debate or discuss water they LIVE IN and BY IT.  So to sit outside God and debate Him in the Ivory Towers of some seminary, church, parlor, or street corner is not what this is all about it is LIVING IN and BY HIM.  It is Christ IN US the hope of glory.  We experience God!

Look around you at CREATION and no matter what you call the world in which we live it was created by the hand of THE LIVING GOD.  Nature is nothing more than the footprints of God.  The sun rises and sets because THE LIVING GOD deemed it so.  Even in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus spoke of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air he was telling us that in creation you see the hand of God and He knows every minute detail.

In salvation God takes the initiative as Paul said in Philippians – “He that has begun a good work in you…”  Before man fell into sin in the Garden God had a plan in place for He is THE LIVING GOD!  At the Cross Jesus cried IT IS FINISHED so we find the culmination of God’s plan for man’s redemption, the price paid, the door open, the offer extended to ‘whosoever will’.  We declare, “I found the Lord” as though He was the one lost not us.  No, He found us!  Romans 2 tells us that the ‘goodness of God leads to salvation…”

The Hebrews always referred to Jehovah as THE LIVING GOD in contrast to all other gods of men.  He is not up for discussion or debate He is THE LIVING GOD!  Imagine sitting down at the breakfast table and telling those dining with you, ‘We are going to discuss and debate whether you are here or not.’  GOD IS and your debate won’t change that, enhance or detract from that.  HE IS!  All life is dependent upon Him – HE IS.  Without Him nothing was made that was made – HE IS!  He was there with Moses and Israel in the Exodus from Egypt. He was there with Daniel in the lion’s den.  He was there with David facing Goliath. He was there with Joshua at Jericho.  HE IS THE LIVING GOD!  It is not in our ability to ‘debate’ God but in our ‘experiencing’ God that produces life.  In Matthew 16 Jesus is called “… the Son of the Living God…”  He said, “I am the resurrection and the life…” 2 Corinthians 3:3 tells us, “You are the letter of Christ written in the Spirit of THE LIVING GOD.”

Prayer, real prayer believes there will be things in the world tomorrow that would not be there had we not prayed.  Ephesians 3:20 [Amplified] – “Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and to super abundantly, far over and above all we dare ask or think.  Infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams.”  THAT GOD instructs us to bring our ‘highest prayers’, ‘greatest desires’ and ‘wildest dreams’ and He will move on our behalf for He is THE LIVING GOD!  The world needs the church to be relevant manifesting THE LIVING GOD in our lives.  It needs to see people who go to their jobs, meetings, organizations and become known as that person who is the FRIEND of the Living God and a person who can TALK to Him and receive answers to their prayers.  He is THE LIVING GOD and if He is LIVING why would we not expect Him to work His works in our midst.

            May God be with you as you go through your day!