2 Corinthians 4:1-2 – “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”  NKJV

This is a subject that has long been on my radar and one that I could not possibly do justice to in a brief devotional but let’s hit the high points in an attempt to motivate you to study it further and more deeply.  I am always looking for anything that will help me see ‘imprisoned souls’ freed.  Most of those living in deep spiritual bondage have a root in ‘shame’.

In Genesis 2 as we consider God’s creation of man we find a most interesting statement regarding them – “They were not ashamed”.  In the very next chapter we find Adam and Eve hiding because of ‘shame’.  They were created unashamed but quickly learned shame and shame always brings fear.  One of the possible reasons is shame carries the prison of fear of exposure.  Shame is totally unable to be transparent and lives in fear.  I believe the first portion of 1 Corinthians 4 is a powerful remedy for the prison of shame.

Paul says, “We have renounced the ‘hidden things of shame’.”  Do not most try to ‘hide’ their shame?  Shame is virtually always ‘hopeless’.  So, if we have renounced the hidden things refuse to walk in craftiness or misapplying the Word of God in deceit and deception then and only then can we walk in the manifestation of truth.  I have no doubt there are more but I want to highlight three types of shame and either in this or the next devotional focusing on the third.  I want us to consider HOW and WHY we walk in shame of any kind, the consequences and the remedy.  I truly believe that ‘shame’ is at the root of the sin problem for at the root of shame is ‘unbelief.’

THE FIRST KIND OF SHAME – – Healthy.

This shame identifies to our hearts our limitations and understanding that we are not God but responsible to Him.  It is a ‘healthy guilt’.  It reveals our humanness and fallen nature and need of the work of Christ on the Cross.  This kind of shame is easily dealt with.  Romans 10:11 – “Whoever believes on Jesus will not be put to shame.”  Isaiah tells us that Messiah ‘endured the shame’.  Therefore, the guilt of sin is or can be dealt with at the Cross.  This is the opposite of ‘shamelessness’ where one has no sense of guilt or awareness of sin and therefore no godly sorrow.

THE SECOND KIND OF SHAME – – That Which We Cause To Others.

This can be, and often is, by words spoken or putting others in embarrassing situations, etc.  It may be incredibly subtle and may even be done well intentioned.  Ministers have long ‘shamed’ their children trying to move them to righteousness.  I knew a minister who repeatedly told his children, “If you ever get into drugs, alcohol, pregnant, I will leave the church and the ministry immediately even if I have to dig ditches.”  That is shame!   People shame others with jokes.  Proverbs 26:19 identifies that it is a sin if we do it then say, “I was just joking.”  There is a place for humor but not bringing shame.  This is also easily dealt with through repentance and confession of our sin.

THE THIRD KIND OF SHAME – – Unhealthy, Devastating, Destructive.

It is the kind of shame that was ‘given to us’ that was ‘not about us’.  The first kind of shame we take to the Cross and the result of our sins.  The second we take to the Cross and go to those shamed in repentance but this type does not say, “You made a mistake it says YOU ARE a mistake.”  I have heard parents tell their children, “you are worthless and will never amount to anything.”  I cringe when I hear that for that is this kind of SHAME and is birthed in the pit of hell.

I want to dig into this a bit deeper so I will hit the pause button and come back tomorrow with a little more on this type of shame.  God bless you richly is my desire and prayer!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”  KJV

Here we are at Valentine’s Day 2015 and the subject of love and its benefit comes into focus.  Much like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or many other days we celebrate, one day per year is certainly insufficient but it is good to be reminded.  Valentine’s Day elicits attention from youthful puppy love to the mutual sharing in marriage love.  Not to be left out we must never forget God’s love and our love for Him.

I know that this passage could rightly be applied to ‘friends’ but it is also very applicable for LOVE relationships and especially marriage.  We’ve all heard the old adage, “two can leave as cheaply as one” and the power of working in tandem with “a three-fold cord is not easily broken.”  (Do not think I am suggesting a love triangle for I believe strongly in monogamy.)  However do we consider the value of that ‘helper’ or ‘mate’ God has given us in the loving relationship of marriage?  Here the writer advises that ‘two are better than one’ then gives reasons for that statement.  That which they produce from works to children has incredible benefit.  Still further he informs us that if one stumble the other provides comfort, encouragement and assistance.  He also calls to light the incredible loneliness and danger for that person who has no one.  While I do not want to make anyone’s pain more severe because they are alone for whatever reason we know that having a friend or spouse is a God-given treasure.  If you are alone I pray that God will bring that special person into your life and allow you to enjoy the treasures of a loving marriage.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:25 that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her.  Likewise in the preceding verses we learn of the wife’s commitment to her husband.  The inserting of the relationship of the Body of Christ to the Lord Jesus is important for it conveys the image of commitment and fidelity.  We know the great love our Lord has for us and His incredible sacrifice so both husband and wife should invest everything in the development and strengthening of their marriage. The result of the two who have become one is described in the verses in our text.  The reward is great!

It is easy to become so accustomed to one another that we take our spouses for granted and that is always negative.  Marriage is not 50-50 it is 100-100 and on this day it is wonderful to invest the effort to rekindle the spark that you knew in the beginning.  Someone told me once, ‘giving flowers is a waste of time and money.’  I have never agreed with that and although flowers are not something one would want to eat and will wither in time they convey the message, “I care, I love you and you are worth this.” 

When we think of our love for each other in marriage or courtship we should be reminded of the greatness and beauty of God’s love for us.  Marriages made in heaven do not live in hell and any marriage can deteriorate if we fail to invest ourselves in the other person.  LOVE is worth LOVING.

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

John 10:9 – “I am the door…”  NASU

I have heard in the past few years some well-known preachers suggest that there are many avenues or doors to God and salvation.  I really do not know what motivated or motivates them to make such statements but if flies in the face of scripture, in my view.  Before we address this passage let me remind you that Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”   He did not say, “I am A way, A truth, or A life but THE.”  He further declared that NO ONE has access to the Father but through Him.  That does not sound like many avenues or doors to God.

In John 10 Jesus addresses those who attempt to lead the flock of God and come in any other way than the DOOR is a ‘thief and robber’.  Jesus clearly stated, “I AM THE DOOR OF THE SHEEP…”  If entry is made through Him salvation and life results and that life will be abundant.  The thieves have a different objective and their leadership leads to death and destruction.  In our politically correct world with an incessant push for tolerance and understanding some have abandoned the simple and clear message of our Lord that there is one way to God through the power of the Cross.  There are not many roads leading to heaven.  There are not many doors to God.  There is ONLY ONE DOOR, Jesus Christ!

Those who do not come through the door are hirelings rather than shepherds and their concern for the sheep is more commercial than principled.  A hireling seeing the wolf coming will abandon the sheep but a shepherd will give his life for the sheep.  My heart grieves for many of God’s sheep today who are under the care of those Jeremiah identified in Chapter 23 and their false doctrines and political correctness are placing the sheep at great risk.  Do we not remember how Jesus responded to the ‘money changers’ in the temple?  He was incensed over merchandising taking place declaring as he overturned the tables, “My house shall be called a House of Prayer; but you are making it a robber’s den.” 

Jesus declared in John 3 that “Whosoever will, could come.”  Never would I want to be exclusive and make my faith or particular brand of Christianity the ONLY BRAND for WHOSOEVER covers a lot of territory and people.  However, we dare not be as those in Athens to whom Paul preached on Mars Hill who were willing to add Christ to their list of gods.  Paul made it clear as did our Lord and the disciples that Jesus is the WAY not a way.  He is the DOOR not a door.  In Him we live and move and have our being.  The life we now live in the flesh we live by the faith of or in the Son of God.  It is by grace we are saved through faith not works.

Any gospel that offers hope of receiving God’s mercy and grace other than through the shed blood of Jesus Christ is a false doctrine.  There is a teaching that everyone will go to heaven for a loving God would never send anyone to hell and that is not what the Bible declares.  Jesus said that we MUST be born again and He taught that the only way for this to happen is through Him.  He is the DOOR!  Thankfully the DOOR is open and His promise remains intact that “if anyone will come to Him, He will not cast them out…”  But come to Him they must not try to earn it, climb the fence, or find some other way into the Family of God.

            God bless you as you go through your day!

Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”  NASU

Keeping the passages from Jeremiah we used yesterday in mind (Jeremiah 32:17;27) I want you to consider the message of Luke.  It is an answer to Mary’s question concerning her conception.  The angel said – “You are going to have a child.”  Mary’s response – “How can this be?  I am a virgin!”  Simply, “That is IMPOSSIBLE!”  Then the answer comes.  Now replace the word NOTHING with whatever you are facing.  NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with God!

Mary was covenant conscious otherwise she would have found it impossible to respond positively.  She had a settled confidence in God’s character as demonstrated in her words and actions.  Her response was faith in the Word of God.  She, like all Hebrews, knew that Messiah would come and He would be born of a virgin.  They knew that word (logos) but this was a specific word (rhema) to her and her response was rooted in her covenantal understanding.  She received and obeyed that word and the Christ child was born in Bethlehem.

Luke 18:27 – “Jesus said:  ‘The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

Now let’s try something a little different.  I want you to close your eyes and bring to mind some situation you are facing in which to you and by you is IMPOSSIBLE.  Each of the four passages we have used in Jeremiah and Luke say virtually the same thing that NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with God.  So, bring that situation to the forefront of your consciousness.  It is impossible for you and that is important that you see that.  Now ask, “How would the Lord handle this situation?”  Once you have answered that then roll it over onto Him and refuse to pick it up again.  Leave it in His hands!

Follow me in this please:  Do you believe that HE IS?  Do you believe that HE CAN?  Do you believe that HE CAN BE TRUSTED?  If you answered yes to all three and have seen the revelation that He is, can and can be trusted then you can confidently leave it in His hands without fretting.  I encourage you to do it right now!

John Chapter Six gives us a beautiful picture worth considering in our discussion.  It is the only miracle mentioned in all four gospels.  It is the only event in which Jesus asked the advice of someone else.  It was an unquestioned miracle.  It is not some natural thing altered on a sliding scale, it was IMPOSSIBLE.  The account begins, “after these things…”  After what things?  After the events of this chapter!  What happened in the preceding chapters?  Jesus had chosen his disciples and sent them out in ministry.  They have returned, tired and weary.  They were emotionally and physically drained and Jesus has drawn them aside to rest.

Picture the scene in John 6:1-3 – – They are on a mountainside for some R&R and in verse 5 Jesus looked up and saw the multitude.  Get the picture; these disciples are sitting around worn out from ministry and longing to rest. They wanted to be left alone!  According to verse 10 the number was at least 5,000 and Matthew 14 tells us that it was 5,000 plus women and children so it was a huge crowd.  They are in a remote area and a huge crowd is approaching. There is no HEB or Kroger nearby.  There is no McDonald’s or Burger King to grab something to eat and they are hungry.  It is an IMPOSSIBLE situation, just like Jesus liked it.  Remember the question of the disciples:  “What are we going to do?”  That was more than a question it was an exclamation of despair.

Jesus had taught them that He was God’s Son, God in the flesh, MESSIAH and now He would demonstrate that NOTHNG was IMPOSSIBLE with God.   Jesus gave them a little exam and Philip was the first and Jesus asked, “Where are we going to buy food that these may eat?”  Consider the next verse, next verse and you’ll understand better, “And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.”  God brings us face to face with our IMPOSSIBILITIES to demonstrated His POSSIBILITIES.   Philip did not really answer but exclaimed:  “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient…”  Jesus asked WHERE and Philip answered HOW MUCH.  Philip focused on the IMPOSSIBLE and Jesus was demonstrating the POSSIBLE.  When Andrew came to the testing room his response was that a boy there had a lunch with five barley loaves and two fish.  The issue is not HOW MUCH but WHO?  Then we know the miracle how Jesus fed the 5,000 with five pancakes and two sardines.  Not only did He feed them but verse 11 says they ate AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED.

Impossible is not in God’s vocabulary and should not be in ours for He is, He can, and He can be trusted!   May God be with you as you go through your day!  God with God and He will assuredly go with you!  Blessings!

Jeremiah 32:17 – “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”  

Jeremiah 32:27 – “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? “  NKJV

Have you discovered that you occasionally find yourself facing situations which appear or are IMPOSSIBLE?  Have you ever encountered circumstances so totally beyond your control that you were reduced to despair?  Welcome to the real world.  You just came to the banks of one of the uncrossable rivers of life.  That reminds me of the chorus from an old gospel song:

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable; 

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?           

God specializes in things tho’t impossible;

And He can do what no other can do!

             It is simply a reality that if you are not ‘now’ in a seemingly impossible situation you have been in one and are headed toward one.  If things are difficult right now wait for the impossible, or as a man I know likes to say, “Cheer up it will get worse.”  Difficulties are a natural part of life.  The issue is not IF we will face seemingly impossible situations but HOW we will handle them.  The question is WHERE will we find the faith, character and strength to deal with them?

I believe that the outcome depends largely if not entirely on your OUTLOOK or PERSPECTIVE.  Are you viewing your circumstances from strictly an earthly perspective or are you seated with Christ looking down on it from a heavenly one?  I have found four key scriptures that deal with the issue of the IMPOSSIBLE and two of them are listed above with the other two being in Luke’s gospel.

In Jeremiah 32:17 we read that NOTHING is too difficult for God and almost everyone would agree.  If that is true, and it is, then ALL that we have been calling IMPOSSIBLE are POSSIBLE with God.  This passage in the Hebrew is incredibly emphatic and could rightly be rendered:  “No, nothing, absolutely nothing for you (Oh God) is extraordinary.  Nothing is outside the realm of your ability!”   Then, why do we worry and fret as much as we do?  The answer to that question will determine much.

The bottom line is WHO God is and that involves far more than just His power but refers to His character.  IF we are to walk in faith then God’s character must become a settle issue.  IF we rest in God’s character we can trust His promises and experience His power.  We will no longer be tossed about by circumstances but stand firmly on the revelation of His character.  It is when we resolve the issue of character with God that we find peace with WHO God is and WHO we are in Him.  It is there that the issue of faith moves from HOW MUCH to HE IS.  The life of faith is not a merchant-shopper relationship it is covenant.  Mark said: Have the faith of God.  Paul said:  The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.  We read:  I live, but it is not I, it is Christ…  We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God so the more developed we are in our relationship with God the more we realize the absence of fear and doubt.  We become secure in our relationship and confident in times of trouble because we KNOW HIM.

Fretting is an evidence of our insecurity in WHO God is and WHO we are in Him.  Therefore we must quickly and completely settle the issue of God’s existence, character and ability.   Jeremiah 32:27 brings us the proposal of God to substitute the word IMPOSSIBLE with ANYTHING and then fill in the blank.  Is (whatever we face) too difficult for me?  Only if I am going in my strength is it too difficult.  The issue is and will be: “Is anything too difficult for God?” 

I want to do just a little more on this so we will pause here and ask God’s blessings upon you as you meet this day with the Joy of the Lord!  Blessings!

Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”  NKJV

In considering the Life of Faith and when Jesus died on the Cross He departed this world with the words, “IT IS FINISHED!”  That is the very reason the Gospel is not a list of rules but a proclamation!  The Gospel means:  “Good news!”  It is not me coming to you and telling you what you must do in order to achieve it is a proclamation of what has been done!  The love of God proclaims IT IS DONE.  You have been pardoned now come and receive.

We have to change targets and stop believing the Lie.  Thus the first word in the Gospel is REPENT!  But, what does repent mean?  In the Hebrew and Greek it meant – “A radical change of mind.”  It involves a complete rethinking of what we have called life.  The entire bent or focus of man has been wrong.  It means that we come into agreement with God’s judgment of our lives.  It means there is nothing salvageable in our old lives and the only thing left to do is crucify it.

God said, “I love you so much that I took your life, put it on Jesus and killed it.”  Now you and I can look at our lives and say, “My life died with Jesus.”  Repentance is not simply being sorry and certainly not sorry that you were caught or exposed.  Repentance is to ‘radically change your thinking.’  Repentance is to do a ‘180 degree turn’ and head the other direction.  It is not turning over a new leaf it is receiving a new life.

Here’s the problem, WE CAN’T CHANGE!  Yes I said it.  In our selves we cannot change it requires the work of the Spirit of God in our lives to ‘transform us.’  Repentance is not repenting of this or that sin it is repenting of the false life that was inspired of the devil in the Garden of Eden.  It is to turn from going the wrong direction to heading the right direction as the Spirit of God leads.  It is to do a 180 degree turn not as I heard one preacher waxing eloquent say, “When we repent we do a 360 degree turn!”  I sure hope not for that would be going the same direction.  Too often attempt ‘reformation’ rather than ‘repentance’ and fail miserably.  True repentance says: “I’m finished!  I’m wrong and I will continue to be wrong unless you Oh Lord step in and change me.” 

It involves a radical change in my thought processes.  No wonder the Bible tells us to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.   We were created to be filled with God and allow Him to live His life through us.  We were created to be indwelt by Him and live in union with Him.  Without God we are totally and completely dysfunctional and repentance is saying:  “Amen!  I agree!” 

Repentance is always linked to faith.  Remember Jesus said that if we want to enter the kingdom of God we must do so as little children.  Imagine having to start all over again!  We have to abandon ourselves and trust Him.  Faith believes and trusts that God has taken action and achieved my pardon and He now invites me to come and take it.  He has opened the way that Christ may live His life inside and through me.  I therefore leap into the arms of God and change kingdoms!

That is the reason for baptism.  It is announcing, “I am dead!”  The old me that was me is no longer me that old me is dead and now I bury him.  I have a new life and that new life does not have its source in me it is in Christ so somebody bury me please!  The New Birth is the beginning of the process not the be all to end all.  Maturity involves discovering the wrong ways to live and discarding them resting in God.  Let me illustrate it this way:  “Why do you pay a doctor a $100 for one pill?”  Actually you don’t.  What you do is pay the doctor $100 for the knowledge of all the pills not to give you.  We trust the doctor but sometimes have a difficult time trusting God who knows all the ways for us not to go.

Repent!   Do an about face and cease going in your own strength and begin walking in His!  God bless you as you go through this day!

Mark 11:22-24 – “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.  23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”  NKJV

In many ways this is a perplexing passage and one that many Christians have attempted and failed miserably.  All of us face mountains from time to time and all of us would like to be able to remove those barriers that hinder our progress in life, right?  To the people of Judah, in Jesus’ day, a mountain represented any hindrance to their progress.  Therefore, when Jesus told them they could have whatever they said and included the visual of the mountain they could readily, identify with what He was teaching.  How many actually believed Him is quite another story.

I would suggest there are some rules or serious considerations for ‘moving a mountain’ in our lives.  I believe it is important to understand the hindrance we are trying to remove or move and how it came to be.  For example, if you have created a financial mountain by lack of wisdom and discipline you will find it quite stubborn in its resistance to your commands to be removed.  If your mountain is physical sickness and you have maintained an unhealthy lifestyle failing to eat, exercise and rest properly that mountain will be quite stubborn when you speak to it.  In fact, I would suggest that UNTIL you take proper steps to correct those root problems you may not be successful in removing it.

Let me give you a few simple rules regarding ‘Moving a Mountain.” 

• Do Not Build The Mountain In The First Place.

God is not likely to allow us to be mountain movers if we are continuously in the process and habit of mountain building.  Praying for the mountain to move won’t work if we are, at the same time, responsible for their creation.  I have witnessed some get healed physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually when the removed resentment and bitterness from their hearts.  (The Lord removed them).  I have witnessed financial miracles when the root of jealousy, greed, covetousness and envy were rooted out.  I have seen lives move from struggle to spiritual peace when bad company was eliminated from the associations.

• It Is Critical To Know That What You Are Saying Is Correct.

Jesus did not say that we were to pray and then hope God removes the mountain.  No, he said we are to believe and expect the mountain to be removed.  I am reminded of the story of the woman who heard the preacher preach on this passage and there was a mountain near her house that she had to go around to get to town so she went home and commanded the mountain to be removed.  The next morning and said, “Just as I thought, still here!”   That is expectation but wrongly applied!

Jesus said that the person who says to the mountain ‘be removed’ will get what he speaks if he does not doubt ‘in his heart’.  Therein is the rub.  We have the promises of God and proclaim and claim them but in our hearts we ‘doubt.’  The heart is the residence of doubt.  Doubt can be dealt with and overcome with knowledge.  The more I know the less I doubt. It is valuable for us to examine our hearts and lives to see if we are creating the very mountains we are trying to remove and if so take steps to correct our actions.  Then, believe God’s promise that we can identify that mountain, speak to it through His authority and see it crumble before us.

I am not suggesting that whatever you say you get without fail but that if you face mountains, not of your creation, God gives you a promise that if you trust Him that mountain can be and will be removed!

            God bless you as you go through this day!

Hebrews 11:6-7 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  NASU

I have long desired for myself, my family, my friends, and the Body of Christ to rise above the theoretical into the realized experience of the victorious plateau of KNOWING who we are in Christ and FULLY enjoying our inheritance in the Kingdom of God.  I would think it obvious that faith is an essential element in that objective.  Just as faith is an essential for the Christian Life, doubt and unbelief are enemies.  If we are to ‘know’ who we are in Christ and move from the theoretical into the experienced reality there are some things that must happen.

• We Must Be Born Again. [ 1 Corinthians 2:14; John 3:3; John 10:27]
• We Must Apply Ourselves. [2 Timothy 2:15]
• We Must Discipline Ourselves to Do What God Instructs. [Romans 10:17; Luke 8:21; Matthew 21:29; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Psalm 119:11]

For faith to become a functional reality in my life it must move from the theoretical (mental) into my heart.  I must move from a general knowledge into an ultimate intimacy of becoming one with truth.  That brings several things into focus which I would call ‘Gates’. 

• The Eyes – – (Visual). What I see.
• The Ears – – (Audio). What I hear.
• The Mind – – (Imagination and Meditation). What I think on.
• The Will – – (Choice).

I readily acknowledge that everything that comes through the gate of my eyes and ears enters my mind and becomes subject to my will.  The question is:  “Do I give it place in my life?”  Paul instructs us in Ephesians 4:27 not to ‘give place’ to the devil.  Then Philippians 4 gives us a list of things to allow into our minds for meditation and ultimate entry into the heart.  If I think on these they will enter my heart and Proverbs 23:7 will become reality.

When something passes the Eye, Ear or Mind gate I can choose its disposition but for it to enter my heart it is only there by an exercise of my will.  I chose to allow it there.  They eyes and ears can only report what they see and hear. The mind meditates, contemplates, associates, connects and rationalizes but the will chooses according to its strongest foundation.  It is either the flesh or the spirit; the world or the word. 

 Psalm 141:3 is the Psalmist’s prayer for God to ‘set a guard’ over our mouths and Psalm 101:3 is a commitment to allow no wicked thing before our eyes.  It is making a choice! It is making a covenant with our eyes, ears and minds to be totally God’s.  Clearly, everything I see, hear and think has the potential to strengthen or weaken my faith.  Some things come into my sight, hearing and enter my thoughts but it is in the mind that I have the option and ability to cast it down and bring it captive to the obedience of Christ.

Thomas doubted and Jesus allowed him to see and touch the wounds which restored his faith.  The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were experiencing doubt and Jesus walking with them rehearsed the Word and events but it was not until that evening when he broke bread with them that the visual reignited their faith.  Gideon was a coward at the time the angel appeared to him but something happened.  God spoke a Word to him that passed through the gate of his ears into his mind and as he meditated on that word faith soared in his heart and he moved from the theoretical to the realized.  God gave Abraham a visual to constantly remind him of the covenant and keep his faith level high in the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

Understanding that our eyes, ears, minds and wills are Faith Gates can help us carefully guard what is allowed through those gates and help propel us from the theoretical to the realized.

            God bless you as you go through this day!

Psalm 139:7-10 – “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.”  NASU

I have used the phrase or made the declaration, “Wow!  God showed up this time.”  Did He?  Did He just suddenly show up as though He had been somewhere else?  Where was He previous to that moment in time?  What was He doing before that particular manifestation and demonstration of Himself?  I am quite serious! 

When we read about the experience of the early church in the upper room we think how wonderful it would be for God to show up like that again.  I am not trying to split hairs and speak in semantics but WHERE IS HE NOW?  Did not Jesus say in Matthew 18, “…where two or three are gathered in My name I am there in their midst”?   Did He not say, “Seek and you shall find”?  David in this Psalm identified that no matter where he turned God was there.  That theme is repeated time and again in Scripture so I must ask WHERE HAS GOD BEEN if He just SHOWED UP?

The problem is not God’s absence it is the lack of our willingness, determination and commitment to PRESS INTO HIS PRESENCE.  He never left and stands ready to manifest Himself anytime our hearts are open to His presence and lordship.  I had someone ask, “How frequently does God speak to His people?”  My response was, “He never stops but we do not always hear or listen.”  I see this, the same for God is ALWAYS PRESENT we are not always open and receptive to His presence.  The problem is not God’s absence it is our entrance into His presence.  Proverbs 15 declares that God’s eyes are in every place and if His eyes are there He is there.  Psalm 145:18 declares, “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”  David in Psalm 16:8 cried, “I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”  The problem is US.  The problem is the vessel.  If we open our vessel to the Holy Spirit HE IS THERE!

Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  If He dwells IN us how can he not be where we are and when we are?  So, while I am not being critical of anyone saying that God showed up or wanting God to show up I know what they mean.  I am suggesting that we shift the focus from looking for God to show up to preparing our hearts for His presence.  I am totally convinced when we do we will realize His presence in a way never experienced before and on a frequency we have not known.

It is time for us, as believers, to begin asking, seeking and knocking and not being satisfied until we are AWARE of His presence.   May God be with you as you go through your day!