John 14:15 – “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a singular thought kept reverberating in my heart and mind: the heart.  Scripture teaches that the heart, attitude, and motive are more important than the deeds.   That’s not to say acts are unimportant, but they are the fruit of the heart, not the source.  We tend to focus on the visible, but God always goes to the root, the core, or the source.

In Matthew 5, a chapter filled with invaluable life guidance revelations, we confront this reality of the heart vs. the hand (deeds).  Various sectors of religious thought have interpreted Matthew 5:20 to emphasize works, acts, or deeds. While that is included, true righteousness flows from the heart, not the hand.

Jesus addressed angry words and deeds as revealed in the law.   He then went to the root, the heart, the true source.  Anger in the heart is the source of murder and abuse.

He addressed immoral acts in light of the commandments of the law and then went to the source, the heart. Out of the heart, proceed the stimulus for the acts.  We are told to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is All Encompassing!

The Church and the world tend to major on Actions and even try to legislate right behavior.  Then, they are frustrated when human behavior does not get better.   If we chop off weeds, they grow back more prolifically; actions are weeds.  If we go to the root, we rid ourselves of the weed problem.  What is the root?  It is the heart.  Until Jesus becomes LORD of the heart, there will be an ongoing problem with deeds.

Dying to self could be rendered, surrendering to Jesus, or being transformed in our hearts and minds.   The core of who we are must be completely yielded to Him.   Our feelings are often weeds, and trying to reform feelings will not result in a transformed heart but a frustrated mind.

If we want to have a righteousness that surpasses the Scribes and Pharisees, we have to have a transformed heart.   Too many only give Jesus their heart, theoretically and religiously, not in reality.  We continue to allow our emotions to produce unwholesome actions rather than our hearts producing the fruit of righteousness that exhibits and expresses the heart and mind of Christ.

It’s the heart, not the hand, which needs to be redeemed!  Acts are evidence of the condition of the heart.  They do not change their heart. They reflect the heart.  What’s in our hearts? Our deeds portray it!

LORD, please transform our hearts so that what is in our hands matches our hearts!

Deuteronomy 8:4 – “Your clothes did not wear out upon you, neither did your feet go bare during those forty years.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the Awesomeness of God filled my mind and overflowed in my heart. In Deuteronomy 8, we have the recounting by Moses regarding Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan.   Many miracles were rehearsed.  But one captured my attention, that was Deuteronomy 8:4.

That is astounding!  Think about the aging process, weight gain and loss, and the day-to-day dealings with the elements.  They had clothing that renewed itself!  I realize that this may be an expression depicting God’s detailed care, but the expression alone speaks to God’s awesomeness.  At the least, we can say, “They had no lack!”   That is amazing!

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses spoke of their past and future deliverance, where they would defeat giants.   That was literal, but for us, it may be figurative.   If we take God’s promises to heart, we, too, know that we can live without lack and with the confidence that no giant can stand and gain victory over us!  We can live unconquerable lives!

The warning Moses gave is germane today.  Deuteronomy 9:4 – “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has defeated them from before you, it is because of my righteousness that the LORD brought me in to possess this land…”   What I heard in my heart was, “Say no to pride!”

Israel was instructed to diligently keep God’s commandments and to fill their hearts with love for Him.   They were to circumcise their hearts (surrender fully) and resist the Spirit and Word of God.

He made it clear that they had a choice.  If they chose God in total surrender, His Blessings would be their constant companion.  But if they did not, the curses would come!

Revelation 22:14 is our ambition: “Blessed are those who do (keep) His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Heaven is beyond my finite ability even to imagine!  Serving God is a struggle UNLESS and UNTIL we give Him our All.   If He is LORD of All, All the time, His commandments are not difficult because our heart’s deepest desire is to please Him, and Christ in us makes obedience easy and natural.

If it is not natural and is a constant struggle, maybe we should examine our surrender or lack thereof!  LORD, help us die to self and surrender ALL to You.   Help us cease trying to DO and just BE, living in total surrender.  The Awesome God is our God!  Life without Lack is His Provision!

May the LORD help each of us to learn to live with no sense of lack, knowing that He is our provision!

Numbers 22:55-56 – “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.  ⁵⁶ And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.’”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the thought of “co-existence” kept tugging at my heart.  As believers in God, followers of Jesus, and adherents of the Bible, we struggle with “co-existence.” That struggle is often because we interpret “God is LOVE” to mean tolerance of sin.  God IS love, and He is also Holy and Just. 

A warning of trying to be “tolerant” of wickedness is found in Numbers 33:55-56.  God told Israel to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan.  There are many reasons, including the hybridization of the race, which dates back to the cohabitation of angels with humans.  The worship of Baal, Molech, Ishtar, and the many demon gods would pollute the seed line through which redemption would come.

There is more, but time and space prohibit me from an in-depth discussion.  But the warning that transcends eras is clear.  The warning pertains to “co-existence.”   You can’t have a non-aggression pact with the devil.  We are to be holy because God is holy.  We are to seek purity of heart.  Trying to “co-exist” with wickedness creates a condition that either permeates us with the sin or becomes, as the verses declare, “splinters in our eyes, and spears in our sides, and will trouble us in the land.”

Gross wickedness that believers try to “co-exist” with becomes negative leaven in us and society.  We must love the sinners, but we must separate ourselves from the wickedness.  We cannot ignore the evil and sit in silence, allowing the followers of evil to remain comfortable in their condition.

If we love people with the love of God, we will warn them and point them to Jesus.  We do that with humility, gentleness, compassion, and overflowing love.  Our desire is restoration, not condemnation.  As Christians, we are different.  Ignoring evil does not make it less evil or less destructive.  It emboldens it.

John 3:17-18 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved.  He who believes in Him will not be condemned; but he who does not believe has already been condemned for not believing in the Name of the only begotten Son of God.”  

John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; and he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God shall remain on him.”

If we love God and love people, we will not seek “co-existence” with wickedness.   We will present the Truth, the Way, and the Life to them, living separate from their practices.  Being good is not a ticket to heaven, but being born again is.  “If a man is not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” John 3:3.

We walk a complicated line living in a world of wickedness.  We struggle with the seeming conflict of God’s love and judgment.  But, allowing the wicked to live unconfronted, thinking all roads lead to heaven, is not an option.  Love demands we warn of destruction and reveal the Truth and Life in Jesus!

Remember, we are not called to co-exist but to resist and be transformed into the Image of Christ Jesus our Lord!

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 – “For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, ⁴ for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds.  We tear down arguments ⁵ and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.  ⁶ We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I was drawn to the power, purpose, and principle of prayer – Effective Fervent Prayer.

In Matthew 6:1-15, we find Jesus giving the disciples a simple yet complex pattern of prayer.  He gave them insight into prayer warfare.

Jesus promises that we will NEVER be forsaken or left defenseless.   We have a formidable enemy, far more powerful than us (in the natural).  That enemy HAS BEEN defeated but not annihilated.   Jesus authorized us to use the Word of God, the Spirit of God, the Blood of Jesus, and the Name of Jesus.   Authorization is not ability.   Ability is developed and learned.

We must reach the place where we believe Jesus has the ability.  We must reach the place where we believe He has granted us authority.  Then, we begin the process of learning to use the weapons.  If we focus on the wrong things, we will not prevail.  2 Corinthians 10:3-6 reveals the necessary truth that, if grasped, will enable us to become the overcomers Jesus said we are.

The flesh is not the enemy.   The enemy is the influencer, not the flesh.

Our weapons are not earthly.  They are not enhanced by human wisdom or talent but by total surrender to the living God.  True Victory begins in heaven, not on earth.

If we truly see the victory of Jesus and believe that we are authorized to use His weapons, we discover the courage to enforce Calvary’s victory.

• According to Eph. 1:7, by the Blood of Jesus, we are redeemed.
• According to Eph. 1:7, by the Blood of Jesus, ALL our sins are forgiven.
• According to 1 John 1:7, the Blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from ALL sin.
• According to Rom. 5:9, by the Blood of Jesus, we are justified, made righteous, just as if we had never sinned.
• According to Hebrews 13:12, by the Blood of Jesus, we are sanctified, made holy, and set apart.
• According to 1 Cor. 16:19-20, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the devil has no place in us and no power over us.

The development of any ability in the natural requires F.I.T.

F = frequency.   (We have to regularly attempt to try.  Practice.)

I = Intensity.  (We do not become proficient trying between commercials or on coffee breaks.  It requires devoted effort.)

T = Time.  (We do not learn and develop abilities instantly.)

Therefore, in this warfare, to be effective requires knowledge of who God is, what He promised, and what He provided.  It requires the belief that we are authorized.   It requires commitment to Him.  It requires a willingness to fail repeatedly until we become Strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might!

We are commissioned, but are we convinced and committed?    F.I.T.  don’t quit, F.I.T.

May the energia of the Holy Spirit permeate your entire being!

Exodus 13:21 – “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, two words kept echoing in my spirit: Faith and Follow.   Follow?   Follow what?  Follow Who?   As I read in the Book of Numbers and recalled from the Book of Exodus, I noticed a pattern in Israel’s movement through the wilderness.  They followed the cloud.

When the cloud settled, they stopped, set up camp, and occupied that place.  When the cloud lifted, they broke camp and moved to wherever the cloud moved.  That required faith and obedience.

The cloud was visible to them.  In the New Testament, they followed the Holy Spirit (the cloud).   He spoke through the prophets, visions, dreams, and impressions.   We have many examples of that – Paul going to Macedonia, Peter to Cornelius, Philip to Samaria, and then the desert to meet the Ethiopian.

Following the cloud (Holy Spirit) requires faith.  Without unwavering faith, we can easily become like the ten spies who brought a bad report to Israel.   Faith allows us to SEE beyond what our natural eyes see, and our minds perceive.   

• They SAW the land; it was good.
• They also SAW the giants (obstacles).   

Their faith was in themselves rather than the promises of God.  They forgot what God had done and failed to see the cloud.  They failed.  Joshua and Caleb SAW the cloud and said, “Those giants will be like bread to us.”   Faith in God was more powerful than the fear of man.

We are entering a season where we must either follow the cloud (the Holy Spirit) or perish in the wilderness.  Using my best East Texas vernacular, “We ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”   Troublesome times are coming.   

Over 45 years ago, I declared to a congregation that I saw a time coming when God’s people would have to trust God for EVERYTHING!  For food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, EVERYTHING!  We will have to follow the Cloud in Faith or Perish.

The Book of Revelation is about to become a reality.  But even before those cataclysmic events, the Last Days will be filled with the fruit of depravity and the manifestation of a society that has abandoned God.  Nations will crumble, and men’s hearts will stop out of fear of the terror prevalent.

We must follow the Cloud in unshakable Faith.  God will not fail.

Follow the Cloud every day!