1 Peter 1:6-9 – “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls.”  NKJV

The life that we have been called to through the Blood of Jesus is based on Faith and that Faith is the most precious possession we have on planet earth.  It is more precious than gold and it is only when we are exercising faith that we are at our fullest potential as human beings.  That is why we are here on planet earth!  We are to demonstrate and manifest the fullness of God in our lives.

That faith is always ‘tested’ and ‘tried’.  It is not a sideline hobby but a life!  Faith, in reality, is ‘my response’ to the revelation of God.  It never initiates anything new it responds to God.  God is the initiator and when He comes with a revelation of Himself and we respond, trust and rest in that revelation we manifest the demonstrated character of God who cannot lie!  Man was created to walk in faith.  It is as natural to human life as breathing.  It is not a ‘work’ it is a ‘demonstration of life’.  Remember we are made in the ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ of God and God is faith so if we are created in Him image and likeness we have the deposit of faith He has placed in our hearts.  It is our responsibility to ‘respond’, ‘trust’ and ‘rest’ in His word and it is there we operate in faith!  We are to live ‘in His presence’ and that is the atmosphere of faith!

Faith is life and that was the goal or target toward which man was created.  We were created so that we could be filled with the fullness of God’s Glory or filled with the fullness of God!  God is love and as we are filled with Him we are filled with love and out of that flows God’s love to the world.  That is a life of faith!  That was the goal but a problem occurred along the way.  It happened in the Garden of Eden and the problem is called SIN.

We use the words ‘sin’ and ‘sinner’ and sadly they are old English words that few truly understand in our modern world.  Too often I have heard church people looking down their noses as others say, “Sinner!”  The word SIN means ‘to miss the mark’.  There is an obscure verse in Judges where is says the men of Benjamin were says that the men of Benjamin were left handed but they were ‘experts’ with the sling and they never ‘missed the mark.’  Therefore since they always hit the target they were not sinners or mark missers!

Unfortunately for many it is not they we have been trying desperately to ‘hit the mark’ and just keep missing.  It isn’t that the target has been set up and no matter how hard we try we ‘miss the mark’.  NO! NO!  The problem is that man set up an alternate target.  It isn’t just that he missed God’s mark but he set up a completely different target.  So we are missing the mark because we are shooting at the wrong target.  The devil inspired man to set up a different target thinking he could live independently of God in his own strength.  It is not that he does not believe God exists it is that he believes God is over there doing His thing and man over here doing his thing and occasionally they will get together and discuss things then off you go again on your own.  He is ‘up there’ and we are ‘down here’.  We might not admit it but too often we view Him as an ‘absentee landlord.’  Man believed THE LIE and exhibited faith in that lie rather than faith in God.

When Jesus went to the Cross He ripped down the veil and not only exposed our sin and opened the door to forgiveness but opened the door to access to God.  Now through the work of the Cross we have access to the presence of God and a life of faith!

I want to address this area a little more but for now I pause and say, “May God bless you and be with you as you go through this day!”  

Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”  NKJV

Some time back as I was driving a preacher on the radio said, “People have about as much of God as they want.”  That hit me like a ton of bricks and as I mused on that statement I knew it was true.  I hesitate to take one portion of the Beatitudes for I seem them all interrelated and connected but I will for the purpose of addressing the thought of ‘hungering and thirsting’ for righteous which is for God.

Most of us have declared that we are HUNGRY for God but are we really HUNGRY?  Before you turn me off and disregard what I’m saying consider being hungry in the natural.  Most of us have been hungry and there may have been times we were really hungry but how many have faced the grim prospects of starvation?  That’s the imagery in this statement of Jesus.  This is like the hunger of someone crossing a barren wasteland with no food or water.  They search everywhere for even the slightest morsel and droplet of water and would do anything to get it.  Nothing would be more important than finding nourishment and the water that will sustain life.  Have we been that hungry for God?  Are we that hungry for God?  Before you contend that you do give it a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to address that in your heart and then reflect on your priorities, habits, actions and life.

They shall be filled is the promise!  This word ‘filled’ carries with it the idea of being satisfied and successful is woven into its fabric.  There is a complete dissatisfaction and uneasiness in a person that realizes that they must find food or perish and they become singular in their focus and devote their efforts to that cause.  That is the approach of someone fighting to live but there are those that ‘give up’ and resign themselves to perishing.  Jesus is telling us that if we develop that kind of ‘driving hunger’ for God and His Righteousness we WILL BE SATISFIED. 

There have been times in my life when I had such a driving desire to press into God’s presence that life itself was unimportant and times when I was much less driven.  I have never been faced with starvation in the natural but have seen it and know the preciousness of food to those so affected.  The words of our Lord here and elsewhere are not designed to condemn us but to inspire us to press in to the promise.  Many, including me, are very concerned about the condition of our world socially, morally, politically, economically and spiritually.  That being said I am 100% convinced that along with all our other efforts the MOST IMPORTANT and MOST PRODUCTIVE is making this passage a reality in our lives.  If we so press in to God the resulting transformation in our lives will affect change around us even in the face of opposition.

Nationally the call should be 2 Chronicles 7:14.  Personally the call should be Matthew 6:33 and Matthew 5:6.  I cannot escape the reality that I and we have about as much of God as we truly want.  If we do not there should be such an unsettling in our hearts that nothing can keep us from HUNGERING and THIRSTING as a person facing starvation.  No wonder David said in Psalms 42:1-2 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” NKJV

             Let this be the hour, day, month and year that we become consumed with HUNGER FOR GOD!   May God bless you is my sincere prayer!

2 Timothy 1:12 – “…I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”  NKJV

I believe in God and Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior!  I am troubled over what I perceive to be a lack of commitment in much of the Christian community today.  I know that sounds judgmental but I honestly do not mean it to be.  I just question and do not understand some of what I see.  I am startled by the lack of vision for the whole and the abundance of vision for self that I hear in churches and from believers.

I could allow myself to think as I used to think before I experienced the Christ of the Cross but I will not.  I have an option to either blend in with the crowd and popular thinking or I can opt to swim upstream against the current of much popular thinking.  I choose to invite the Holy Spirit to enable me to think God’s thoughts!

I have been amazed at how many people come into local fellowships declaring that God has called them to be there and then depart over frivolous things.  I have witnessed people starting churches only to find it difficult and declare that God said shut it down.  My question is always, “Did God instruct, you to do it initially?”  If so does that mean God is fickle and changes His mind at the first sign of difficulty?  If difficulty is a justification to quit, how did the early church survive?  James suggested we both expect trouble and respond to trials with joy for it is helping develop our faith and courage.

I declare today that I do not have all the answers and sometimes wonder if I have any but I do not have to have all the answers.  I know the one who does!  I can trust God to be who He declared He was and is and rest confidently in the fact that He knows my need before I even pray.  I trust Jesus to be Lord!

I make the choice to think according to the Word of God and base my thinking on what God says not how I feel, desire, wish for, or prefer.  I choose to adjust my life to fit what He says rather than try to adjust His word to fit my life.  I choose even when I cannot see in the natural and it seems the promise is delayed or will not come. I choose to believe and trust God.

I choose to stand against the powers of darkness, not in my strength but on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus and His Covenant revealed in His word.  I choose to roll myself onto God and trust Him in all things and at all times.  I choose to allow God’s word adjust my thought processes bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  I confess that I have had a lot of practice in wrong thinking and now invite the Holy Spirit to reprogram my thought life.  I ask that He convict me every time I drift toward the old thought patterns and bring me into conformity with the Word and thereby transform my life.

That is my declaration today!  What is yours?   May God be with you as you go through your day!

Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  NKJV

Let’s pick up again on considering the Law of Harvest.  We considered five things regarding harvest in our previous devotional:

• Seed Must Be Sown Before You Can Have Any Harvest.
• That Sown Seed Must Be Rendered Useless To The Sower.
• The Seed Sown Determines the Type of Harvest.
• The Size of the Harvest is Determined at the Time of Sowing.
• The Seed Must Be Sown in Good Soil.

             Each of those is critical to obtaining a good harvest.  Now we move on to further elements involved in the harvest in our lives.

• The Crop Must Be Cared For to Have a Full Harvest.   Matthew 13:7 – “…and the thorns sprung up, and choked them…”   In the natural and spiritual you cannot leave the seed unprotected against the ravages of a hostile environment – – [bugs, birds, weeds, drought, etc.]  Jesus commanded us in Matthew 6:33 to ‘seek first’ the kingdom of God and His righteousness with the promise that ALL THESE THINGS would then be added to us.  If we place God first in our lives we will find the sown seed protected.

• The Sowing Is Always To Harvest Size Not From Harvest Size.  Genesis 26:12 – “…Isaac sowed in the land, and received… an hundredfold…”   There was a famine in the land and the world’s way would be to have gone to Egypt but he stayed in the land and saw the harvest.  Farmers understand this principle in agriculture, but most miss it in finance or most anything else.  We normally sow ‘from’ our need rather than ‘to’ our need.  Why?   Fear of insufficiency. 

Remember the biblical account of Elijah in 1 Kings 17?  God told the prophet He had prepared a widow in Zarephath to SUSTAIN him.  The widow had not heard that word and when the prophet asked for food she resisted telling him that she had only enough to prepare one meager meal for herself and her child then they would die.  HOLD THE PHONE…  Didn’t God say He had commanded her to SUSTAIN the prophet?  She relented and obeyed and the miracle (harvest) happened.  Disobedience would mean death but obedience meant harvest.   Blessing or death is our choice!  

• Expenses Are Always Greatest At Harvest Time.  Matthew 20:1 – “…a man that is an householder… went out early in the morning to hire laborers…”   When the harvest is ripe there is unction, in your spirit that says: “It is time for harvest.”  That is the time to give (whatever it is) in a greater measure.  In the natural you have to hire laborers, bring in the equipment, etc.   It is expensive to gather the harvest!  In the spiritual why not let the laborers loose in your fields.  That just might be the key you have been looking for.

• A Portion of Every Harvest is For Sowing.  2 Corinthians 9:10 – “For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant.”  (TLB)  You never want a ONE TIME harvest!

• A Portion of Every Harvest is For Eating.  1 Corinthians 9:7 – “…who plants a vineyard, and eats not the fruit thereof?”

• Every Harvest is a Miracle.  1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

2 Corinthians 9:6 advises that if we give little we reap little.  The size of the planting directly affects the size of the harvest for the law of multiplication comes into play.  That is never questioned in farming but frequently not understood in spiritual things.

 Luke 6:38 – “Give and IT shall be will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

IT – – is not just money it is everything!   May God be with you as you go through this day!

Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  NKJV

           Sowing and reaping is a very real truth in life.  I would venture that not one person who reads this could not use a positive harvest of some kind in their lives.  The reality is that a harvest is coming because we have sown seeds in our lives that will produce a good harvest or a bad one.  That fact makes it vital that we understand harvest.

In the natural we can readily understand the laws of harvest. So why is it that we sometimes fail to understand them in the spiritual?  The more I study the Laws of Harvest the more I realize that those laws are universal and affect the believer and unbeliever.  However, believers have a greater promise and hope but the principles apply to both.  I would like you to engage in a brief consideration of the Law of Harvest and see if it can prove beneficial in your life.  I will mention a number of things in passing and trust that if the resonate with you they will be pursued in greater depth in your studies.

• Seed Must Be Sown Before You Can Expect A Harvest.

John 12:24 – “…except a grain of wheat falls into the ground… it abides alone…”  Remembering a basic principle that we reap what we so, more than we sow and later than we sow it is easy to realize this applies to every dimension of our lives.  If we do not sow we do not reap.

• The Seed Sown Must Be Rendered Useless.

John 12:24 – “…except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies… it abides alone.”

The seed enters into a state of uselessness to the planter once it is sown.  It cannot be eaten or otherwise used.  IT DIES!  At that point the process of multiplication begins.  It leaves your control once sown.

• The Seed Sown Determines The Type of Harvest.

Genesis 1:12 – “…herb yielding seed AFTER HIS KIND.”  What you plant determines what you harvest.

• The Size of the Harvest is Determined at the Time of Sowing.

2 Corinthians 9:6 – “…a farmer who plants just a few seed will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.”  (TLB)

Simply, you cannot wait until the day of harvest or need to determine the size of your harvest.  That determination is made at the time of planting.  Now I don’t know about you but it would seem that abundance is better than shortage so let that be your sowing rule.

• The Seed Must Be Sown in Good Soil.

Matthew 13:8 – “…other (seed) fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”

In agriculture only good ground produces good crops.  Why would we think that anything but ‘good ground’ spiritually would produce good crops?  Remember Luke 6:38 that what we give we get in kind and in abundance.

• Harvest Is Always After Sowing and Never Before.

In Mark 4:26-27 we are taught that we sow then the seed sprouts and grows even if we do not understand how.  I am convinced that about the only ‘instant harvest’ is received by planting a big smile, all others seem to take time.   Ecclesiastes 11:1 tells us that if we cast our bread upon the waters; we will find it after many days.  Patience is essential.  If we become impatient and dig up our seed to see what is happening we will negate the harvest.

Galatians 6:9 – “…let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”   That is a key component in your harvest – – DON’T QUIT!  DON’T GIVE UP! 

We will pause there and pick up tomorrow with a further look at the Law of Harvest and how it applies to us and our part in the process.   May the Lord bless you richly is my prayer!

Luke 6:31 – “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. “  NASU

Luke 6:31 – “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” NKJV

Okay “Doas” is not a word but the message is clear we are to “Do As” in our dealings with others.  Through the years of counseling, ministering and dealing with people in general I continually hear complaints about how people are being treated by ‘others’ and almost always there is no implementation of this directive from Jesus.

While truth in Scripture can stand alone all the Bible from Genesis to Revelation are interrelated and interconnected.  Each directive is interwoven in the principles of every other directive from the Lord especially on our interpersonal relations.  It is truly tragic when we internalize wounds and focus on what someone has ‘done to us’ rather than addressing the principle advanced by the Lord in this passage.  We all want to be treated right and most of us, at some time or other, fail the test on how we treat others.

If you make a ‘mistake’ that was not malicious but hurt someone badly do you want them to viciously come after you verbally or physically?  NO!  Well, has there ever been a time when someone made a mistake that harmed you?  YES?  How did you respond or react?  Has there ever been a time when you lodged a complaint with a customer service representative over an error that caused you pain, problems or loss?  Has there ever been a time when you angrily responded to something that happened?  It may not have been intentional but the pain was there, the problem it caused may have been colossal.  If the shoe was on the other foot and you were the CS representative how would you want to be treated?

I addressed that once and had a person say, “Well if I do they will treat me like a doormat.”  That may be true that they will try, but that is not the directive.  If they treat you badly, consider you weak or a pushover as a result of you applying what is called “The Golden Rule” who is your defense?  It may make you feel better temporarily but will open the door to a deadly poison in your spirit if you respond out of your hurt and in anger.  Have I failed in this?  Not that I am proud of it or justify it but yes.  I did it once and the CS representative asked, “Do you feel better now?”  She did not say it in anger or even with sarcasm for in her voice I could hear genuine pain and concern.  It stopped me in my tracks and immediately I repented and apologized.  She did not cause the problem and could not resolve the issue but was able to direct me to a source that could rectify the error.

Sometimes when those we love do things that upset us we react and give ‘tit for tat’ which usually escalates into iciness if not a battle royal.  Can we commit to trying to apply the Golden Rule to our life situations?  May the Lord richly bless you as you go through your day!

RULE NOT TO FOLLOW:

Romans 10:8-13 – “…The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”   12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”   NKJV

Although I have not personally counted the occurrences of the word ‘IF’ in the Bible some research revealed that in the KJV it appears 1,595 times in 1,420 passages.  It appears more in versions like the NIV but almost 1,600 times should cause more than a passing view of the word in the Bible.

The word is a conditional word and I fear that we sometimes quote passages and claim promises from God without regard to the ‘condition’ that ‘if’ places on it.  I joyously cite passages containing promises but even when the word ‘if’ is not present there is an obvious condition contained in the promise.  I love the passage where Jesus declared that we will ‘know the truth’ and the truth will make us free but there is an ‘if’ clause preceding, it that some miss.  In John 8:31 we find the words of our Lord, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”  Then the promise we quote in verse 32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  The “condition” is unavoidable.  IF we believe on Him as Messiah!  IF we commit our lives to Him as Savior!  IF we abide in His word and His word abides in us THEN…  Then we are disciples, recipients of truth that makes free.  

Old Testament Israel was given incredible promises but that pesky little word “if” continued to show up.  In Deuteronomy 7:12 we read, “IF you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant of love with you, as He swore to your forefathers.” (NIV) Then in 8:19 we find, “IF you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.”  Then in 11:26-28, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing IF you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse IF you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”  The ‘condition’ cannot be missed.

In the New Testament that pesky little critter continues to surface and we dare not miss it.   There is a most powerful positive and negative given by our LORD in John 15:6-7, “IF anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown in the fire and burned.  IF you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask what you wish, and it will be given you.”  Then what do we do with the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:2, “By this gospel you are saved, IF you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”  Remember the LORD’s words in John 15:10, “IF you obey my commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.”  In Romans 10:9 we find a powerful promise and hope, “…IF you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  The heart and mouth are both involved in the process.

IF in the Bible is an incredibly powerful word and while Grace is freely given and cannot be earned God’s places conditions on virtually all His promises which require our active participation in the process and life.

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

Matthew 16:24-27 – “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”  NASU

I have heard many sermons on ‘Cross Bearing’ and even preached a few and often wonder where we get some of our ideas of cross bearing.  Many biblical commentators will tell us that taking up the cross is a reference to ‘denying self.’  Jesus had been speaking about His cross and was teaching His followers the costliness of discipleship, which is an almost lost concept in today’s Christian world.  Notice what Jesus says:  “If anyone wishes to come after Me…”  So, if I want to follow Jesus and live the Christian life there is something I am going to be required to do.  Those things will not ‘earn’ me salvation but will be an ‘evidence’ of my salvation for it is ‘by grace’ that we are saved ‘not works.’

He mentions three things in this sentence:  Denial of Self, Taking up Our Cross and Following Him.  I do not want to split hairs and make this more complicated that is needed but what if those are three distinct items?  If they are then denial of self and cross bearing is not one in the same. However if they are extensions of each other, denial of self would result in cross bearing and following Jesus.

Jesus was going to die on His Cross for the sin of mankind.  He committed Himself to fulfilling the purposes and plans of the Father for man’s redemption and that would require His suffering and physical death on the cross.  If we are to follow Him then we must become willing to ‘die to self’ and ‘live to Him.’  We must come to the place in our commitment that even if everyone turns on us we will follow Him and that would truly be a very heavy cross to bear.  Sadly, some create their crosses and alienate others by being obnoxious in the presentation of their beliefs.  I would never ask anyone compromise their convictions but sometimes our opinions are presented as biblical mandates with no conviction of the Holy Spirit in another’s heart.

I remember hearing an elderly preacher say once, “Men will die for their convictions not their opinions.”  That has stuck with me through the years and I have struggled, at times, to distinguish between my opinions and genuine convictions.  If what I believe to be a Bible truth is just an opinion it must always be pliable and flexible open to modification.  If it is a God-given conviction then I must not move from it.  There are some things God has ‘convicted’ me of both to do and not do but in many of those cases the Holy Spirit has tugged at my heart that those things are for me not something I am to attempt to press upon others.  I am free to present them, explain them, and encourage them but not to make them Law and Gospel for everyone.  That in itself has, at times, been a Cross to bear.

In the statement of verses 25-26 I believe we see the Cross Jesus is speaking of as focusing on TOTAL SURRENDER.  Possibly one of the greatest and most difficult crosses we will carry is ‘giving up control’ of our lives.  Nothing in the world is worth our soul and nothing in the world can purchase our soul.  Therefore, if you want to ‘follow’ Jesus dethrone self, accept that cross and begin the journey.  He will never leave or forsake you.

            God bless you as you enjoy and experience this wonderful day!

Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.“  NKJV

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has said to me, “If only I could serve the Lord full time” I’d be a very rich man.  However that is not the focus of what I want to convey in this devotional.  I have always had a question for people who said that to me, “When are you not serving the Lord full time?”  Most of the time I would get the look of a calf walking up to a new gate or a deer in the headlights look acting as if I had somehow fallen out of a well.  What?  That’s what I asked, “When are you not serving the Lord full time?”

The usual response is, “Well you know what I mean full time Christian service.”  I usually respond, “When are you not in full time Christian service?”  I was not and am not trying to be contentious and frustrate but if I understand the teachings of Scripture correctly we are to do ALL WE DO unto the Lord so if we are Christians we are Christians ALL THE TIME.  That means whether I am a pastor, evangelist or some other labor that is deemed Christian ministry or am a businessman, janitor, factory worker, fisherman, etc.  I am still a Christian ALL THE TIME, right?  If that is the case then whatever I do I am doing ‘as unto the Lord’ and doing it to bring honor to Him.  Therefore, I and you are in FULL TIME Christian service we just may not all serve as preachers yet we all preach through our lives and labors.

Rather than compartmentalizing your life let your life be your life and realize that whether at work or play, in the secular world or in a church function you are in FULL TIME Christian service.  You are both a representation and manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ to this world.  I suggest that if you do not consider what you do for a living a ‘service unto the Lord’ you might want to consider changing vocations.  If we, as believers, would strive to be the very best we can be as laborers and examples of godliness we will find that either our employers will find us too valuable to let go or launch a campaign against us because of the Christ in us and either way God will come to our rescue.  It may be His way of opening a new door for us and it may be His way of touching the hard hearts of those around us.

I know what it is like to have an employer or boss launch a campaign against me simply because the spirit in him and the spirit in me collided without a word being said.  The day he walked onto the job I knew he would seek to get rid of me.  He could not, for my performance endeared me to the owner and this man’s superiors but that did not prevent him from trying.  I sought to be an example of godliness in all that I said and did and one of his reasons for attacking me is I would not lie to customers although he demanded that I do so.

Do I fail?  Of course I am a flawed vessel but that is not a justification for failing and does not make me a failure it only serves to make me more aware of my need for the Spirit of God in my life.  I pray the prayer of David continuously:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” (Psalms 51:10-13)

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

Hebrews 4:14-16 – “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  NKJV

The Phillips translation renders it, “Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has entered the inmost Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith.  15 For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. ¹⁶ Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.”

If that doesn’t cock your pistol the hammer is broken! Jesus, our high priest, went to the Cross, died for our sins, arose from the dead and has ascended into heaven making intercession for us before the Father.  Knowing this and knowing that He was tempted ‘in all points’ like our confidence should soar that He ‘feels our pain’ and truly understands what we are going through.  He knows the frailty of our humanity and the pull of temptation.  He is our advocate with the Father and has extended an invitation for us to come ‘boldly’ before the throne seeking grace.

How many times have you said or been told, “I know what you are going through.”  The truth is you do not!  You may have experienced virtually the identical situation but you do not know that person’s heart or grid from which they view and feel but HE DOES!  You only see the ‘exterior’ He sees the ‘interior’.  You can only relate from your experience which is limited but He from an experience that is unlimited.  You can only empathize and offer condolences but He can work the work needed for victory.  You can see that I’m in pain but you cannot feel my pain but He can!

We have His promise that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.  We have His promise that we can ASK what we will and it will be done.  We have His promise that He has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, comfort us, and equip us for life here on planet earth.

Whatever you are now facing, He can!  Whatever you now need, He can!  He enables us to be more than conquerors and overcome all the power of the devil.  God bless you and guide your through your journey today!  Blessings!