Spiritual

YOU CAN’T STAND STILL AND BE STILL AND GO NINETY TO NOTHING AT THE SAME TIME……


Spiritual Blog - Stand Still

2 Chronicles 20:14-17 – “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus, says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” NKJV

As the darkness still hovers over my backyard there are the ever so faint signs of things beginning to spring to life for a new day. The stillness has a peace about it that is pleasant.   There is ice on the trees and the temperature is hovering just above freezing.  It is in this solitude I read God’s Word and am rejuvenated by the energy source that is God’s Word which inspires and empowers me.  As I sit meditating and musing on the things of God the thought of Standing Still and Going Ninety Miles an hour floods my spirit…

I believe that we are at a cross-road in our nation and in many of our lives today.  We are witnessing upheaval and trouble on every hand.  There is much debate, argument, and disagreement about what we need to and should do on many fronts.  We elect officials to govern and often they lose sight of what the real objective and purpose of the Republic are.  We do that in our personal lives as well as we try to “Stand Still and go, Ninety Miles, an Hour.”

On the spiritual front, in our individual lives and as a nation, there comes a time when we need to realize that we face battles that are far greater than we in our natural state.  We are surrounded by enemies on every hand who want to destroy us, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, politically and spiritually.  The enemy of our souls has and will show no mercy, he is the devil.  Yet, if we seek the face of the Lord in true repentant prayer and intercession there will come a time when the Lord says to us as he did to Jehoshaphat and Judah, “You do not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

I am taking that as a directive for life on every front.  I am hearing the Lord whisper in my spirit to STAND STILL and LISTEN rather than run ninety miles an hour doing, scurrying about and planning. Just STAND STILL and LISTEN to the voice of the Lord. Once you hear His voice THEN it is time to act!  That is in every arena of life!   WAIT on the LORD; HEAR His Voice, ACT upon His Word!

Blessings as you go through your day!

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YOUR BURNING BUSH EXPERIENCE……


Spiritual Blog - Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-6 – “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So, he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” NKJV

  

Most will never see what Moses saw but will have a “Burning Bush” experience where God clearly reveals His plan either for a particular moment or their life’s purpose.  Some will have more than one and there will be a few that never equate any experience to a “burning bush” event.  Many have and will use “fleeces” to try to determine the will of God, and that can be a very dangerous trend as would be flipping a coin or rolling the dice.

I have a friend, who several times tried to use the outcome of a Dallas Cowboys came as his fleece. He would say to the Lord, “If Dallas wins then I’ll know you want me to do this or that and if they lose I’ll know you don’t.”  I pointed out that his “fleece” was completely selfishly motivated, and He was asking God to become involved in producing a win for his favorite team rather than seeking God’s will.

Another told me that, she told God if He wanted her to give a certain amount to missions she would know it was His will if she was asked out by a certain co-worker before the week was out. Again, selfish motivation and even making God a ……, well I won’t use the term, but something other than God.

However, a “Burning Bush” experience would be, as with Moses something so out of the ordinary that it is impossible to miss.  You weren’t looking for it, but God set it before you and got your attention. Once He had your attention, He conveyed a message to your heart and you knew that you knew that you knew that God had said it.  I was at a crossroads in ministry several years ago and could not seem to settle in my spirit which direction to go. The power had gone out at our house as well as the phone service, nothing worked. This had been going on for hours and I was working to secure a generator to hook up to the refrigerator and freezer to keep food from spoiling when the phone rang.  I answered the phone, thinking that it had been repaired, to find that the person on the line was calling me from an area that I had thought about several times and carried a burden for but had never gone.  It was almost like the Macedonian Call of Paul, they were asking that I come and minister in their area and suddenly the phone went dead again.  I talked to the repairman and he assured me that it had not been working and would not be for several more hours. About, ten minutes later the same call came with the same results. That set me to praying and hearing God’s plan about that area and within two weeks I received a call from a church, in that area, asking me to come and consider being pastor of their church.  As I hung up the phone I knew in my spirit that God had given me advance notice that that was where I was going. I went, and it was one of the most rewarding times of my life.

God does not always move in such unusual ways, sometimes He just nudges the heart. If we are people who seek His face and keep our hearts open to His voice and Spirit, we will know His voice. If we “seek first, His kingdom and His will”, we will recognize His direction.  It may be something that was in our hearts or might be something new, but He will bear witness to it and give us PERFECT PEACE. Moses had a literal “burning bush”.   We may have them in our hearts, but we can be assured that God is directing our steps and our lives if we will allow Him to do so.

What is the burning desire in your heart today? Have you considered that it just might be what God is wanting to talk to you about doing?  The vision of my heart will not go away, it has not been fulfilled, but I believe that it will be before I depart this world.  I continue to see bits and pieces of it come together year after year and, at times, I grow impatient but stop and realize that God doesn’t wear a watch or watch a calendar, He is Eternal and Infinite, we operate differently.

May God reveal to you His desire for your life and give you the Grace and Strength to carry out that plan. Blessings!

 

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THE HOPE AND CHANGE NEEDED…


Spiritual Blog - Hope

Psalms 38:15 – “For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.” NKJV

Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. ” NKJV

Romans 4:18 – “who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” NKJV

Romans 5:5 – “Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” NKJV

Titus 2:13-14 – “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” NKJV

 

What a beautiful beginning to a new day. The Lord spoke to me this morning about HOPE!  In the 2008 and 2012 elections, the catchy sign and phrase were “Hope & Change”. The change many hoped for did not transpire but in many ways became a nightmare.  However, though the winds may blow foul in the political areas of the world in the Kingdom of God there is TRUE HOPE.  That Hope is something that we rest upon and depends upon. It is life-giving and refreshing!

God’s HOPE does not disappoint! However, the Scripture warns us that HOPE deferred makes the heart sick and as a nation, we are sick in more ways than one.  But, in Christ there is HOPE!  We need to be like Abraham whom when he was old against HOPE believed in HOPE that he would become the father of many nations as the Lord promised.

We are looking for the BLESSED HOPE of the return of the Lord and that HOPE keeps us motivated to endure hardships, overcome difficulties, hold steadfast in our convictions and live lives that exemplify the Lord Jesus Christ.  Today I find that the HOPE of my soul is strong, and, in that HOPE, I pray for my country, my countrymen and the world to hear the Good News that Jesus Saves!  We must maintain our HOPE.  We dare not lose our HOPE! If we lose our HOPE in Christ we will be miserably lost, individually and nationally!

Look up for your redemption draws near!  I pray the Blessings of the Lord upon you as you go through your day! I conclude saying, “May the Lord Bless & Keep you and make His face to Shine upon you and give you Peace today!

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DON’T PANIC IT’LL MAKE MATTERS WORSE…


Spiritual Blog - Light

Psalms 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” NASU

What an absolutely beautiful beginning to a new day here in Texas.  The sun has not yet peaked its head fully over the horizon so as I drink my coffee, meditate on God’s goodness, and read His wonderful Word, I am at peace.  The following event came to mind with insight from the Lord.

When I was about 9 years old, my family and my mother’s sister & brother’s families all went to the creek fishing and spent the day and for some reason, everyone stayed to run the lines that had been set, that night.  Imagine if you will, 3 husbands, 3 wives and about 10+ kids all walking along a creek bank on a hot summer night. There were not enough flashlights or lanterns, so some walked in the dark. One of my uncles decided he would lead the way and we got lost.  He was carrying an old kerosene lantern and it gave good light to the immediate area around your feet but not to the path ahead.  Although he was born in the country he had lived in Houston for many decades and was certainly no longer a country boy but stubborn and determined. Finally, after about an hour of going in circles and coming back to the same place on the creek he declared that the creek was flowing the wrong direction. Even, at 9 I thought, that’s not possible, and wondered why we didn’t just follow the creek?  He argued that he knew the way and why my dad allowed him to lead, I still don’t know, but he did.  The wives and some of the children began to panic and the wives began to say: “let’s just wait until daylight and then we can get out of here.” But, no we walked and walked and walked and walked mostly around in circles for hours. The kids knew better than to complain but with the light situation there was the occasional tree limb that would be pulled back and then let go smacking someone in the face or chest and a yelp, but no whining.  Through that event and others, I learned to read the stars, the terrain and have a keen sense of my surroundings that proved valuable later in Vietnam and at other times in life.

That night two things were needed: We needed more light because we had a carbide headlamp that my dad wore and the kerosene lantern that my uncle carried and little more light. We needed a better guide, one who could read the stars, knew the terrain and wasn’t so headstrong that they would insist and believe that the creek had somehow started flowing in the wrong direction.  When we finally came upon a landmark that we recognized, we realized that we had been only a few hundred yards from camp the entire time and had we followed the creek in the beginning we’d have made it safely back to camp hours earlier without all the frustration, confusion and even fear in the hearts of some of the wives and children.

In life, we need a light that will clearly show where we are placing our feet and a light that will reveal the entire pathway ahead.  That light is the Word of God.  If we have the Word of God filling our hearts and minds and we walk according to that Word, we do not have to fear because we walk in the light even in the darkness. We see the pitfalls, the turns, the possible dangers and the guiding landmarks!  Thank you, Lord, for your Word that gives us light to enable us to see!  As you walk through your day and even your darkest hours always trust the light of the word to give you a clear picture of the path. Remember God’s promise that He will NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE US!

Blessings as you enjoy this Monday!

 

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IF YOU WANT A HARVEST……


Spiritual Blog - Harvest

Ecclesiastes 11:1-4 – “Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. 2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. 4 He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.”  NKJV

Another beautiful day is beginning to unfold here in North Texas.  The stillness of the morning invokes memories of my childhood as we would prepare for the field before daylight.  Today in my time of Coffee and Conversation with the Lord, He brought this to my mind.

Troubled times are upon us in this great country and throughout the world.  We see America being dismantled before our very eyes.  The attack on freedom and liberty are such that even the most stout-hearted are facing moments of weakness, distress and almost despair.  The church and Christianity are under assault from forces that want to negate our message and reduce our influence in government and life.  Yet, when I go to the above-listed passage I am comforted that God has given us clear direction and warning.

  1. CONTINUE TO DO GOOD…  Don’t stop doing the work of the Kingdom.  Keep casting your bread upon the waters.  It will return to you.  Be generous don’t withhold the good that is in your hand to give.
  2. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW EVIL THE EVIL WILL BE BUT WE KNOW IT WILL BE EVIL…  We don’t know the extent or the speed with which it will overtake this planet and people but we know that the attack of the evil one is a sure thing.  It will be and already is.  We, believers, must remain vigilant and “Having done all to stand, stand therefore….”
  3. DON’T LET CIRCUMSTANCES AND PRESENT CONDITIONS, ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY, OR SPIRITUALLY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE TRUE OBJECTIVE – – THE KINGDOM OF GOD…   Truly, if the clouds are full of rain it will rain.  If the earth is filled with evil, evil will manifest itself.  Likewise, if the earth becomes filled with the Spirit of God, God will be manifest.
  4. IF WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE ONE TO WHOM WE ARE TO LOOK AND LOSE SIGHT OF THE OBJECTIVE, THEN WE WILL BECOME GUILTY OF BEING THOSE, “who observes the wind and will not sow, and regards the clouds and will not reap.” Jesus promised a harvest and there will be one.  The only question is will we be a part of it?

As I contemplate the condition of this country, this world and my life personally I have trepidation about where this country is going as well as the world in general.  I look inside myself and my cry is, Psalms 139:23-24 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” NKJV

I urge you to “Keep the faith, keep the focus.”  Do what you know to do and no matter what happens keep your eye on the prize of the high calling of God!  We will not only survive but thrive in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Blessings as you go through your day!

 

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DEAD MEN DON’T REACT AND AREN’T TEMPTED….


Spiritual Blog - Dead But Alive

Romans 6:1-7 – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also being the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”  NASU

 

I had a preacher say to me recently, “I’m dead to sin.”  In the course of the conversation, he began to complain about how some situation was troubling him with the temptation to sin and how another situation was causing him grief and offense.  I waited until the conversation had continued a bit more and said to him, “You said you are dead to sin, right?”  He very piously said, “ABSOLUTELY!”  I asked, “How many dead people have you seen tempted, offended, or grieved?”  He looked stunned and I continued, “If you are truly DEAD TO SIN then temptation should have no impact on you nor should things offend.”   Before you question me, let me say, I am fully aware that we are all tempted and we all struggle in life but there is a place in God where we can run into and find protection and in that place, the normal reactions to those things lose their power.

The problem is that this is a goal or prize that we should shoot for and attain but much of the time for most of us it is just that, a goal.  We are ‘pressing toward the mark’ but we have not arrived or my experience in my own life and with others is that we are aiming for it, striving for it, working toward it but too often we find that it is not a fulfilled reality in our lives at least on some level.  Rather than allowing the things of this life overwhelm us, let’s PRESS TOWARD THE MARK and learn to REST IN JESUS!  If we are what the Bible says we are in Christ then let’s LIVE DEAD.  By that, I mean Live in Christ and remain dead to transgressions and the power of sin…

Maybe we need to rethink our understanding of salvation and begin to ask the Holy Spirit for discipline and determination to actually walk out in life what the Bible declares about us.  Once we come to Christ and have our sins forgiven we enter into the newness of life.  We are not, at that point, perfect but find that our spiritual life is a progression and growth experience.  We mature, we develop, we encounter, we overcome, we fail, we succeed, and we become more like Christ as we move through this dimension called time. 

We should not now or in the future be ‘slaves to sin’ because we have been set free from its bondage and chains through the Blood of Jesus.  When we find that we are not quite as dead as we professed it is time to head to the prayer closet, shut the door, and cry out to God for His help.  It is time to allow the Holy Spirit to identify those areas of our life that need to have radical spiritual surgery done on and those areas in which we are anything but dead so we can through death to sin rise to newness of life in Jesus.

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

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I TOOK THIS ONE FOR YOU MOTHER!!!!


Spiritual Blog - Love

Proverbs 25:28 – “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.” NKJV
James 1:19-21 – “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” NASU

Valentine’s Day!  Thinking of ways, I can make this a special day for my earthly treasure my wonderful wife and sweetheart.  As I began this day my mind went back to an event that transpired in my senior year of high school and my mother.

To say that I was a rebel as a teenager would be somewhat fair, but unfair when it came to my word or commitment to my mother I was resolute in determination to keep my word.  If I promised her something I fulfilled that promise even if it took every ounce of willpower that I possessed to stand true to that promise.

The summer before my senior year, 5 of us decided that we would go to the last fling of summer held by college kids at Garner State Park South of San Antonio, which took place the weekend after Labor Day and two days after our senior year of High School began. We had planned it all summer. Foolishly we went to school rather than simply playing hooky.  It was planned that after the morning assembly, we would leave school and head out, picking up a 5th person on the way. The assembly introduced the new principal, who felt that things had been too lax at the school for a few years and he promised to run a tight ship. He broke down how the corporal punishment would be administered:

First Trip – 3 licks with the paddle.
Second Trip – 5 licks with the paddle.
Third Trip – 10 licks with the paddle.
Fourth Trip – 3 Day Suspension
Fifth Trip – You are done Expelled.

Even with the speech we gave it little thought, 3 licks didn’t seem too high a price for a wild weekend at Garner with COLLEGE GIRLS! Oh, the minds and hormones of teenage boys! Therefore, we departed as planned, had a memorable weekend and 2 of us came back to school on Monday to face the music, the other two skipped feigning sickness (more like cowardice).

The principal was red-faced and the veins were popping out of his neck as he talked to us.  He had been given the information on what we had done by some of the other students and he was livid!  He asked my partner in crime, where he had gone, and he told him that he just went out of town to visit family & friends. He lied, and the principal gave him 10 licks without much ado, not hard but this guy jumped around all over the room hollering as though he was being killed and that seemed to be what the principal wanted. Then he came to me and asked where I had gone. I told him the truth and he almost had a stroke. The veins popped out on his neck, his face turned red then ashen, his hands began trembling and with a voice that shook he had me bend over, grab his desk and he hit me 10 times as hard as he could with the paddle.  Being the headstrong teen that I was at that time I never flinched and that made him even madder. We skipped phase 1 & 2 going straight to phase 3, which would mean another trip to the office and it was a suspension.

I went home that afternoon and showed my mother the black and blue marks on my behind and said to her, “Mother I took this one for you, but you have to know I won’t take that again.” Today, the man would have lost his job and possibly faced prison time for abuse but back then it was different.  Mother never told my dad for fear of his response.  She did go to the Superintendent and he apologized and asked if we wanted an apology from the principal. I told mother NO!

Was I right in what I did? NO! Was he right in what he did? NO! But the thing that the Lord reminded me of was this: I did manage to rule over my spirit and refrain from what action I wanted to take and although I was not slow to anger, I was slow to speak. Not a justification for my actions, I deserved punishment, just not quite that extent.

As an addendum, that principal developed a respect for me because of how I handled the action and told me so at the end of the year. He expected me to react physically and verbally, which I did not do. He even defended me in a false accusation later in the year which almost cost him his job.

After I came to know the Lord, I found that there are times when things happen that infuriate the flesh and make you want to lash out, but the heart of Jesus is to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Many times, what has happened is not about you or them, it’s about the spirit behind, the action or reaction. It’s a heart condition! I’ve had people get really angry at me, not because of what I had done or said but because of the Spirit of God within me. God has helped me to see that and give a soft answer! I’ve fallen short of that at times and would quickly run to the woodshed to repent.

But, even as a lost, rebellious teenager my love and honor for my mother were stronger than my desire to retaliate!  Love will enable you to do things, endure things and be what you would not be or do otherwise. The love that I had for her was great but, my love for the Lord is magnified by an untold exponent in comparison. Don’t let anger rule you! Don’t let words separate or destroy you. Walk away and allow the Holy Spirit to bring peace to your heart.

I’ve shared a dark side of my youth only to point out the power of LOVE! If you have children, LOVE will guide their lives in a more powerful manner than anything else you can offer! My mother’s love for me and mine for her kept me alive long enough for God to draw me out of the darkness into His marvelous light! Let love rule your hearts! Walk in Love!

Blessings and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to one and all!

 

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BORN FOR ADVERSITY


Spiritual Blog - Adversity

Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 18:24 – “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” NKJV

 

What a beautiful winter morning here in North Texas as I have my coffee and conversation with the Lord.  I Love mornings.  I am an early riser and like to see the beginning of the day and lay out the strategy for the day in the early hours of the morning.  This morning my heart turned to many incidences that prompted these verses and this thought.

I’ve been blessed to have some very good friends in my life and some are absolute treasures.  I’ve had those who would and have gone to the mat for me anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances and I for them.  I had a couple of those in High School and about six or seven in Vietnam that would have, and a couple almost did, die for me.  We put our lives in each other’s hands and there was complete trust. In the ministry, I’ve enjoyed friends of the same character and level.

I’ve tried to be the same to them.  What would you do if you received a call from someone you did not know but found that person was the daughter of a very dear friend and that friend was in dire need?  Let me relate this story and you react in your own heart how you deem appropriate.   The call came and as the conversation developed you realized that the person on the phone was the daughter of a fellow comrade in Vietnam.  She recounted the situation was that when he returned home, his wife, the mother of his two daughters, informed him that she no longer wanted to be married to him. She informed him that she had found someone else during the year he was gone. He worshiped the ground she walked on and that was one of the things that kept him going while in Vietnam. He talked about his plans for the family, going back to school so he could make a better life for them and his dreams for their wonderful life that he anticipated they would live. This situation so devastated him that he turned to drink and then to drugs and had destroyed his liver and was killing himself.  His daughter’s plea of desperation was, “Can you come and see him?”  The problem was that he lived over 1,000 miles away and with personal financial struggles it was not realistic to make the trip.  However, the bond between friends who have shared combat was so strong that as the daughter began to sob almost uncontrollably saying, “You are the only possible person he will listen to and if you don’t come he is probably going to kill himself.”   What would you do?  Sadly, the presence of an old friend helped only momentarily.  His friend was unable to lead him to Christ but he promised he would give thought to Jesus and seek help.  He did not and seemed to decline even more.   There was joy about two months later, when the call came from his daughter that he had found a church, committed his life to the Lord, stopped drinking and had only done drugs once during that time.  There was rejoicing in heaven and in the heart of an old friend.  The investment was worth the prize!

If the story had ended there it would be wonderful, but the day before he had gone to a local convenience store to pick up some things and was mugged by a gang and beaten to death.  They had brutally beaten him to death in the parking lot of the store with people watching and no one came to his aid.  To this I say, “Thank God, he had a friend faithful enough and loving God enough they shared the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ with him before it was too late.” His daughter said, her dad felt he only had one true friend in this world and that friend’s coming so moved him he could not shake the message conveyed.

Unfortunately, too often we fail to cultivate that kind of friendships and never let them reach the level of Covenant.  How many friends do you have that you would sacrifice yourself to go to their aid? How many would come to yours?  I am blessed to have some friends who would drop everything to come to my aid if I had a need and I theirs.  Yet, no matter how much we would be willing to do for our friends, we have a friend who is ALWAYS THERE and will ALWAYS BE THERE and His name is JESUS!  He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother and He has the power to save! We need to look to Him personally and point all our friends and acquaintance to Him, for truly He is the Answer to what we need!

BLESSINGS as you enjoy this wonderful winter day in Him!

 

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THE GOLDEN RULE Not SUGGESTION…


Spiritual Blog - Golden Rule

Matthew 7:12 – ” Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” NKJV

 

As I prayed, meditated, and listened to the Lord remind me of some events and misunderstood or misinterpreted principles for Scripture I came away invigorated, energized, and inspired.  He began at this passaged and asked me how many times I had heard that quoted with different words inserted. I remembered immediately a time in church years ago that there was a man there who quoted it, “Do unto others before they can do unto you.” Sadly, that was the man’s philosophy and yet he named the name of Christ and was a regular attendee at church. He had even sat on the church board at one time. When asked about it he told me, “Well the Bible says you have to look out for number one first!”  I asked him to research that and give me the chapter and verse, but he never did. Instead, he would say, “Well it’s biblical.”

Then, I remembered a retired military man that would always say, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” I asked him about forgiveness and he said, “Oh they usually forgive me in time.” That wasn’t the question or issue, “what about you forgiving them.” He said, “well the bible says to not let the sun go down on your wrath and I never go to sleep without figuring out a way to get even.” Again, missing the concept and principle. He actually practiced that philosophy and yet was a regular attendee at church and believed that all was well with his soul and his attitude.

A few years later, I was called to the police station to collect one of my church members who had been arrested. He was a big burly guy that normally was just a big teddy bear of a man but had been arrested for almost taking a man’s head off with his fist. When I got there and managed to get him released, I asked as we were driving home, “What happened?” He said, “Well that guy kept bugging me and I decided I would do what you have preached, and I offered him my cheek and he hit me. I remembered that you told me to turn the other cheek and I did and he hit me again. I couldn’t remember anything after that and I hit him.” I spent the next hour talking to him about that principle and about forgiveness and suggested that maybe he should have walked away instead of sticking his chin out to be hit.

Sometimes, we quote half scriptures as our proof texts to validate what we want to do. There are other times when people truly do not understand the principle and concept taught by Jesus and the Word and act upon what they think they know. Then there are times when people just do what they want to do and look for an excuse or justification later. I cannot tell you how many times I have had someone try to use the Bible as a justification for their actions or indiscretions, even in adultery.

Yet, if we truly make the words of Matthew 7:12 a cornerstone in our lives with Jesus as the Lord of all we will be able to truly die to self. It’s time that all of us resign as regent of our universe and allow God to reclaim that spot. If we make ourselves, our desires, our feelings, our rights, our wants, our will the center of our universe we will fail miserably every time. If we make HIM, the CENTER of our universe (lives) we will walk in victory and find that He makes a way where there often seems to be no way! It really is not about you or me, it’s about Him! When it’s about Him it becomes about others!

May the Lord bless you as you go through your day!

 

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PARALYZED BY FEAR…


Spiritual Blog - Fear

Psalms 55:4-5 – “My heart is in… anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.” NASU

Beautiful morning this Saturday morning.  As my day began and in my prayer time, I was reminded of an event that happened when I was a child regarding FEAR.  As a child, we had a pet that was a treasured member of the family.  A smaller than normal Cocker Spaniel with satin black hair. My dad was a raccoon (coon) hunter and would take his hounds out at night and hunt raccoons or “coons” as he called them with his coon dogs. This little Cocker always tried to go, and one-night dad allowed me to take her with us. A few hours later we had treed a raccoon with his 2 blue tick hounds named “Rough” & “Rowdy” and in the process of trying to get the raccoon to jump out of the tree, dad killed it with his rifle.  As soon as the raccoon fell to the ground the little Cocker ran up and grabbed it in her mouth and just as she did SHE FROZE in FEAR. The look on her face and in her eyes was priceless and nothing I could do would get her to release the dead animal. Dad made us walk away and leave her there while we continued to hunt. I was fearful that she would get lost or not overcome her fear and we’d lose her, but he assured me that she’d be okay. Well, about 30 minutes later she sheepishly came walking up to where we were sitting listening to the dogs, trail and laid down beside me. She never again grabbed a fallen raccoon and that night didn’t stray more than a few feet from me.

FEAR had paralyzed her!  We are like that in our lives.  FEAR can either paralyze us or motivate us to move beyond our fears into trust and faith. David said in Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” Isaiah said in Isaiah 12:2 – “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid….” Luke 21 speaks of men’s hearts failing them for fear of what they see coming on the earth.

We are told in Hebrews 11 that without faith it is impossible to please God but when paralyzed by fear we cannot have faith because fear negates trust.  Fear could be argued, is a greater enemy of faith than doubt or at least as great.  Paralyzing fear immobilizes and imprisons one whereas the fear of the Lord inspires us because it leads us and at times drives us to Him. I’ve known both kinds of fear in my life and although the paralyzing fear caused me to never want to be in that situation again and made me cautious it did not produce faith or trust but terror. On the other hand, the fear that directed me to the Lord, and as I beheld Him found my trust level being elevated and my faith level rising, is a fear that I value.

Therefore, even in the most horrifying of situations if we have conditioned our hearts to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and have learned as David & Isaiah to trust we will find ourselves walking in an attitude of quiet confidence KNOWING that God is IN CONTROL and therefore our fears will dissipate in the presence of His Power! My prayer today is that we move from the paralyzing type of fear into the trust producing fear of the Lord and in any situation, that would cause fear or dread be met with His assurance to bring PEACE.

Blessings upon you as you enjoy your weekend!

 

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