Commit Your Way

Tuesday, December 23, 2014, 9:04 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Blessed Are You.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 37:1-24 (ESV).

No Worry

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

    be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass

    and wither like the green herb. ~ vv. 1-2

Until the Lord Jesus comes to judge this earth and the people on this earth and to take his bride to be with him, evil will reign on the earth because of sinful humans. People will lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, plot evil, murder, hate, rape, molest, take advantage of those weaker than them, envy, commit adultery, gossip, slander, rebel against authority, and speak evil against one another, etc. And, many of these evildoers will seem to prosper, be successful in business, be popular and well liked, and will seem to “get away with murder” over and over again and never get caught. As a result, we may cry out for justice.

Yet, we are not to let this get to us and to weigh us down with worry. Surely we should grieve over such sin, and we should pray for sinners to come to repentance, and for the church to be revived, and for our nations to turn to God in faith and in surrender to his will for their lives. Yet, we should not let this advancement of evil and the seeming slowness of God’s intervention to undo us. We must always keep in mind that God is absolutely sovereign over all things, and that he has all things under his command and control. Nothing can happen but what he allows it and he allows it for a purpose. As well, God will give us all we need to endure and to be victorious over any evil attacks against us.

Especially we should not envy those who do evil, wishing we had the success or popularity or possessions they have, thinking that will make us happy or that we are deserving of such, so why should they have it and not us. One day those who continue to do evil will perish from the earth and will be no more. All that they worked hard to achieve will also vanish like smoke. So, it is better to have little in the way of earthly possessions and fame and to have the peace and joy of knowing Christ and of walking in his ways. Amen!

Trust and Rest

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

    trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

    and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

    over the man who carries out evil devices! ~ vv. 3-7

We need to get our eyes off of worrying over our circumstances, and we need to fix our eyes on Jesus. This does not mean we should bury our heads in the sand and that we should close our minds off to what is going on in the world around us and/or that we should live in monasteries the rest of our lives. I believe God wants us to be aware of what is going on in the world around us so that we do not fall prey to deception, so we know how to pray, and so we can confront error, lies and deceptions, exposing them, and then tell about and follow after what is true, so that we help others to not fall for the lies, too. Yet, we need to see the world through God’s eyes, from his perspective, and in the correct frame of mind.

We should place our absolute trust in God, which means trusting him to do what is best for us, believing in his sovereignty, relying upon his love and grace, and having confidence in his wisdom, his judgment and in his perfect timing. And, we should continue to do the good we were created in Christ Jesus to do, and which God prepared in advance for us to do (See: Eph. 2:10), without fear of what humans may do to us. We should find our delight (enjoyment and pleasure) in the Lord instead of in worldly and sinful things. We do this by forsaking what we know is displeasing to God and that which leads us back into sin. And, we do this by yielding control of our lives to him, by abiding in him and in his word daily, by listening to what his word teaches us, and then by obeying what his word says.

Wicked Schemes

The wicked plots against the righteous

    and gnashes his teeth at him,

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

    for he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

    to bring down the poor and needy,

    to slay those whose way is upright;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

    and their bows shall be broken. ~ vv. 12-15

Some of what the wicked do is obvious, but much of it is not. Some of what we may think is obvious is really deception and trickery. This is why we need to see the world through God’s eyes, from his perspective, and in the correct frame of mind. We cannot trust our government leaders and even many of our church leaders to tell us the truth. We cannot trust the media to tell us the truth, because they are controlled by “the beast,” basically. We live in an age of deception so we can’t take much of anything at face value and trust that because it looks real that it is real. Most anything can be faked these days.

So, what do we do? I believe with all my heart that we need to test everything we hear, read and see before God in prayer and in his word, and also to do diligent research outside of main stream media to listen to what others are seeing and saying about what is really going on in the world, but to even take that to the Lord in prayer and to pray for much discernment. I used to buy into what I saw and heard, and I used to follow a particular political party, because I thought they were the “good guys.” I believed what I was taught in history class in school, too. I didn’t think to question any of it. I was wrong.

Then, one day God began to open my eyes to see the lies I was believing, and he began opening my eyes to see what is truly going on in the world and in our nation. I don’t have this all down pat, but I don’t just believe it now just because someone says it or because it appears to be real. I believe our government leaders here in America are plotting the downfall of America, that they are taking great strides to tear this nation apart at the seams, that they create chaos so that they can bring order out of chaos, and that this is all leading up to the rule of the beast (the New World Order). And, I believe they are targeting Christians, and that soon Christians in America are going to experience serious persecution.

I also believe that many of our church leaders here in America are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and that they are here for the purpose to destroy the church from within via deception, lies, manipulations and trickery. The most serious way in which they are destroying the church from within, I believe, is through the dilution of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They remove most all discussion about sin, repentance, hell, judgment and obedience from their gospel presentations, and they make salvation out to be merely a free ticket into heaven. They teach that God requires nothing of us at all, that he is pleased with us no matter what we do, and that he cannot even see when we sin, so he never gets upset with us, and thus we can continue in sin and still have our ticket into heaven. We are good to go! Not! (Read 1 Jn. 1-5)

Firm Steps

The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

    when he delights in his way;

though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

    for the Lord upholds his hand. ~ vv. 23-24

We read in the New Testament that we are to find out what pleases the Lord, and that we are to do what pleases him. We read about the things we are to forsake and to put off, and the kinds of things we are to do and to put on. Basically, when we come to faith in Christ, we die with Christ to sin and self, we are transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and we are given new lives in Christ to be lived in his righteousness and holiness. The Christian life is thus a life that no longer walks according to the sinful flesh, but walks according to the Spirit, daily putting off the things that hinder our walks with Christ, and daily following our Lord Jesus Christ in submission and surrender to his will for our lives. (See: Ro. 6-8; 2 Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; & 1 Pet. 2:24-25)

It is not a perfect life, but it is a life committed to following our Lord in submission to the cross and in surrender to his will. If we walk in the ways of the Lord, even if we fall, the Lord is there to lift us up again and to put us on solid footing so that we can continue to walk by faith in the power of his Spirit.

This walk of faith involves much joy, peace and spiritual blessings from the Lord, but along with that also comes times of hardship, persecution and rejection. When we are persecuted, though, we must leave vengeance in God’s hands, and we must love, pray for, bless and do good to those who mistreat us. We must forgive as God forgave us. In this way we are walking in obedience to our Lord in loving others as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. And thus we are blessed!

Blessed Are You / An Original Work / August 29, 2012

Based off Luke 6:20-49 NIV 1984

“Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who are poor

For God’s kingdom is yours.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who are hungry,

You’ll be satisfied.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you will laugh with joy.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you when men hate

And reject you because of Christ.”

“Rejoice in that;

Rejoice in that day and

Leap for joy; great your reward.

But I tell you;

But I tell you to love those

Who hate you; do them good.

Pray for those who;

Pray for those who treat you wrong

And say kind things of them.

Do to others;

Do to others as you would have

Them do; have them do to you.”

“If you love those;

If you love those who love you,

What praise is there for you?

Because Christ is;

Because Christ is kind,

Be merciful, just like He is.

Forgive others;

Forgive others their offense

Against you; be ye kind.

Hear My words and;

Hear My words and put them

Into practice, then you’ll be fulfilled.”

http://originalworks.info/blessed-are-you/

https://vimeo.com/115046573

The Lord is Good

Monday, December 22, 2014, 5:40 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 34:1-18 (NIV84).

His Praise

I will extol the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

How many of us can honestly say this is true of our lives? I don’t mean that we have to go around saying “Praise Jesus” all day long, but that our speech should consistently glorify God and should be that which would be for his praise, honor and glory. He should be uppermost in our minds and hearts, and we should have a continual attitude of praise and rejoicing for all that he is and for all that he has done for us. I still need to grow in this area.

As well, he should be foremost in what we regularly give praise to and in what we rejoice over. How many times are we guilty of giving praise to other people or to things or situations in our lives which bring us comfort and pleasure, but we are lacking in praise and adoration of our Lord except for maybe on Sunday mornings during a worship service where we sing praise and worship songs? And, then we could just be mouthing words.

Every day we should be praising our Lord, not just in private, but when we are with our friends, family members, neighbors and/or coworkers. We should talk about him and what he means to us, and/or share what he is teaching us each day, and/or else we should give a word of comfort, encouragement, hope or counsel to a brother or sister in the Lord. Yet, all of our words should be that which would bring honor to our Lord, and not what would bring dishonor to him. This definitely gives cause for reflection.

My Deliverance

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

I can remember a time in my life when this passage here was most meaningful to me. I had grown up under the authority of an abusive father, so I also grew up feeling afraid most all the time, too. I hugged myself and cried myself to sleep much when I still lived at home with my parents. I built emotional walls around myself to protect myself from further hurt, too. So, I came across to some people as one who appeared to have it all together. They misjudged me, which then only added more pain and suffering into my life. But, then one day, at God’s prompting, I was trying to get to the bottom of all this when my friend felt God told her what it was. She said it was a “spirit of fear.” So, we prayed for deliverance, and God delivered me. I was free! I truly was now radiant!

Then, memories of past hurts began to flood my mind and I relived those memories as though I was currently going through them. I soon learned that I just needed to cry them out to God and give them over to him, and allow him to heal me, but the healing was a process over time, but it did come as I cried out to my Lord, and I let go of the hurt, and I trusted him more and more with my life. The main thing I had to learn was to trust in the absolute sovereignty of God over my life, to believe that he had my best in mind, and that he would work all things out for good in my life, which I believe he did. I am still tempted to be afraid sometimes, but I just have to submit to God, trust him, and believe that he is in control, and that he will accomplish his purposes in and through it all for his glory.

Fear the Lord

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

There is a bad kind of fear, and there is a good kind of fear. The bad kind is what I described above. It cripples us and it keeps us from moving forward in faith and in trust with our Lord. It is the opposite of faith, and it binds us instead of releases us.

The good kind of fear, though, works in the opposite way. It is a kind of fear which is healthy and which exercises wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment and respect. For instance, I have a healthy respect of fire and of cars driving down the street. I am not going to play with fire, and I will not walk out in the street in front of a moving vehicle. This kind of fear is wise. It does not paralyze but it energizes.

And, this is the kind of fear that believers in Jesus Christ should have toward God. We should not take him and his word lightly or casually. We should show him great honor, respect and value by listening to what he tells us and then by doing what his word teaches us. It is not the kind of fear I grew up under where I felt there was a hammer hanging over my head all the time waiting to bop me in the head when I didn’t get something right. It is a healthy fear which respects reasonable boundaries and which does not test the limits to see how much we can get away with. This fear of the Lord comes from a heart which also loves the Lord and which desires to please him.

This fear of the Lord is not being taught much at all in today’s modern church here in America, and as a result so many who call themselves Christians treat sin so casually and treat God with much disregard and disrespect. If we truly fear the Lord, we should turn from our sin to the light of God’s Word, and from the power of Satan to God, and we should submit ourselves to the cross of Christ, and in all humility, love, serve, honor and obey our Lord in the power and strength of his Spirit within us. We should walk daily in fellowship with him, his praise should be on our lips, and our desire should be for him above all else.

The Brokenhearted

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

As we go through this life, there will be situations in our lives and people in our lives who will break our hearts in one way or another. We are all human. Not one of us is perfect. We are bound to hurt or to disappoint someone at some time or another. Yet, it is in these times when we should call upon our Lord to heal our hurts and to give us the grace we need to forgive those who have injured us. We need to allow God to make us better, and for us not to become bitter. We must forgive as God forgave us. And, we must release the pain to our Lord and trust him to work all things out for our good.

Our Lord may or may not deliver us out of suffering and pain, as his word says that suffering and pain are what we must go through in this life, and that, as the Lord’s servants, we should expect to be hated and persecuted. So, these kinds of situations should not take us by surprise when they happen to us, and we should not allow them to unsettle us, either, or to make us afraid again. God will deliver us spiritually and emotionally from the effects of the affliction on our minds and on our hearts, so we give it all to him, we submit to his Lordship, we trust in his grace, and we believe in his promises, and we are healed!

Full Release / An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus;

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence,

oh, what peace.

From my self-life

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort,

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully,

oh, what love

That He gives me

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above.

Loving Father; precious Jesus,

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit,

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered

So that we might be alive.

http://originalworks.info/full-release/

https://vimeo.com/115169203

You Healed Me

Sunday, December 21, 2014, 7:20 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Unless You Are Born Again.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 30 (NIV84).

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David

Out of the Depths

I will exalt you, O Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O Lord my God, I called to you for help

and you healed me.

O Lord, you brought me up from the grave;

you spared me from going down into the pit. ~ vv. 1-3

When God created man and woman they were sinless creatures who lived in perfect fellowship with Almighty God in the Garden of Eden. Yet, they sinned against God by eating of a forbidden tree. Ever since that time human beings have been born into sin with a sin nature, separated from God, and destined to spend eternity in hell and in eternal torment.

Yet God had a plan for our salvation. He sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins so that we could go free of the punishment of sin, be free of the control of sin over our lives, and be free to now walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness. By God’s grace through faith we can now be saved and have eternal life with God in heaven. Amen!

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ we die with Christ to our old lives of living for sin and self, we are transformed of the Spirit of God in heart and mind away from sin and to God, and we are given new lives in Christ to be lived in the power and working of the Spirit of God within us – “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Ro. 6-8). This is awesome! This is grace! This is freedom in Christ!

So, when Jesus delivers us out of the bondage to sin and he sets us free to walk daily in his righteousness and holiness, no longer controlled by sin but guided and directed by the Spirit of God now living within us, we should shout praises to him from the rooftops! We should be so excited that we have been set free, and that we are no longer under the control of sin. Amen? It is a lot like being buried alive in a sealed casket and someone comes along and opens the way so we can be rescued from death, and so we can live. We should rejoice!

Sing Praises

Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;

praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning. ~ vv. 4-5

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. ~ vv. 11-12

You know, the way so many people today are preaching salvation they totally miss this. They short-circuit God, his grace, his salvation and genuine faith in favor of a “get rich quick” scheme which bypasses genuine sorrow over sin, repentance, and transformation of the inner human’s mind, heart and soul away from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. There is a reason that Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. We are not saved merely so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. We are saved so our lives can be radically transformed while we still walk the face of this earth. In fact, Jesus died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us (See: 2 Co. 5:15; cf. Tit. 2:11-14).

When we were born the first time we were born of the flesh and we were born with a flesh nature. When we are “born again,” we first of all die to our old lives of walking in the flesh, and then we are born of the Spirit of God. When we were born the first time we started from the beginning, learning to crawl, walk, talk, etc. Every day was new – new adventures and new learning experiences. It is the same when we are born spiritually. We don’t just clean up the old us. We start fresh – the old has gone, the new has come. It is not that we become perfect all of a sudden, but there should be an about face, i.e. we should begin walking according to the Spirit now instead of walking according to the flesh. Then we can truly rejoice in God’s favor, his grace, and that we are no longer walking in darkness but we are walking in the light of Christ’s love. Amen! Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! I am free!!

True Security

When I felt secure, I said,

“I will never be shaken.”

O Lord, when you favored me,

you made my mountain stand firm;

but when you hid your face,

I was dismayed. ~ vv. 6-7

There are many people, though, who are arrogant and who rest in their own security and self-will, and who have not truly put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. Many of these, though, think they are saved because they prayed a prayer, and they were given assurance of heaven, but they never truly humbled themselves before God in repentance and in submission to the cross and in surrender to God and to his will for their lives. In other words, they are not born again. They never truly died with Christ to their old lives of living for sin and self, and thus they were never transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God. They bought into a lie that said that all they had to do was “believe,” although this belief is absent of repentance, and is absent of the fear of the Lord, and is absent of submission and surrender to God. So, that is not true belief.

These same people believe that because they “believed” that they will never be shaken, i.e. that they have their ticket into heaven guaranteed and that nothing bad will ever happen to them. There is no fear of God in their hearts but only an arrogance that says because they said some magic words that God is now pleased with them whatever they do, so it doesn’t really matter what they do – sin doesn’t matter. Yet, that is not Biblical. We are taught in scripture what to do to please God, and that we are to live lives pleasing to God, so obviously God is not pleased with us all the time, especially when we are sinning against him.

We are also taught that if we say we love God but we don’t do what he says we are liars, and if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue in sinful lifestyles, we are liars.

One day you may stand before God and he may tell you to depart from him because he never knew you. Make sure you know him. Make sure you have truly been born again. Being born again means death to sin, turning from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God so that you can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified and made holy in Christ Jesus our Lord (See: Ac. 26:16-18; cf. Lu. 9:23-25). Then we can truly stand secure in our faith in Jesus Christ and have the assurance and hope of eternal life with God from this point on and forevermore, not because of works of the flesh, but because of the grace of God, and because of the transformation of the Spirit of God brought about in our lives via the shed blood of Christ on the cross for our sins. Amen!

Unless You Are Born Again

An Original Work / November 3, 2013

Based off John 3:1-21

Nicodemus came to Jesus.

He acknowledged God was with Him.

Jesus said, “You can’t see heaven

Unless you are born again.”

“How can a man be born when he’s old?

Can he enter into his mother’s womb?”

Jesus answered, “Flesh is flesh,

So of the Spirit, you must be.”

Jesus said to Nicodemus,

“You’re a teacher, and yet you don’t

Understand of what I tell you,

Because you will not believe.

“For God so loved the world that He gave

His one and His only Son for your sin.

So, whoever believes in Him

Has eternal life in heav’n.

“Light has come into the world,

But human beings love the darkness,

Because their deeds are so evil,

So in truth, they stand condemned.

“Everyone who practices evil

Fears that the Light will expose his sin.

Yet, whoever lives his life by the Light

Does so through his God.”

http://originalworks.info/unless-you-are-born-again/

https://vimeo.com/114686371

In You I Trust

Saturday, December 20, 2014, 7:12 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “All My Life.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 25 (ESV).

I Trust

Of David.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in you I trust;

    let me not be put to shame;

    let not my enemies exult over me.

Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;

    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. ~ vv. 1-3

Who are our enemies? Primarily, as followers of Christ, our enemy is Satan, as well as are all spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Satan will use humans, too, as his servants to do his bidding, but ultimately he is the one behind their actions. What would you say is Satan’s greatest weapon against us? I believe it is lies. If Satan can get us to doubt God or his word and to fear humans or our circumstances, then he has accomplished his goal. If he can get us down and discouraged, or feeling as though God is not really there, then he has us where he wants us. If he can get us to believe that we lack the necessary resources to do what God has called us to do, then his battle plan has had some temporary success. And, if he can get us to live by our feelings instead of to walk by faith, then he rejoices in a small victory (skirmish), but he will never defeat God/Jesus or his purposes or his word.

So, if we don’t want our enemy to exult or to gloat over us, because he has had some minor success in defeating us, what must we do? We read in Eph. 6:10-20 that we must be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, and we must put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes. So, what does that mean exactly? I believe it means that when Satan hurls his lies at us that we respond back with the word of truth, with confidence and faith in our Lord and in what he has done for us in defeating Satan and sin, and we don’t give the devil a foothold in our lives through us yielding to our flesh.

For instance, right now I am still feeling the effects of the flu bug I had for a week. I am weak and I lack physical strength and mental agility. I feel like my head is in a fog. It takes great effort to read and to understand anything right now. It is times like these when Satan loves to attack us and to try to get us to just follow our feelings instead of to walk by faith. Yet, it is in these times when we need to draw on the strength of the Lord the most, even when we don’t feel like it, i.e. even when we would just like to check out (crash; sleep) until our bodies return to “normal.” Yet, the Lord is still there encouraging and strengthening, and he is reminding me to keep trusting in him and to not let “brain fog” keep me from following him in obedience. He will give me all that I need when I need it. Amen!

Your Ways

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

    teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are the God of my salvation;

    for you I wait all the day long. ~ vv. 4-5

If we want the Lord Jesus to show us HIS ways, then we have to be listening for him to show us, we have to not resist his voice, and we have to obey what he shows us, even when our emotions or our bodies or our minds may be struggling to cooperate, for whatever reason. We can’t have our minds made up a different direction, either, or have decided ourselves what we are going to do and then choose only to listen to our Lord when it fits with our schedules or when it is convenient for us. We have to have the mindset that we work for the Lord 24/7, which includes our secular jobs, housework, kids, spouses, etc. And, we have to commit our ways to him, allowing him to show us what he has for us each day. We can’t put God in a box or confine him to only a certain space in our lives. We need to give him full and free reign to do with us what he wants when he wants and how he wants.

He Confides

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,

    and he makes known to them his covenant.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

    for he will pluck my feet out of the net. ~ vv. 14-15

Literally this should read something more like, “The secret of the Lord is for those fearing Him…” Some have translated this as “secret counsel” or “intimate counsel” or that the Lord confides in those who fear him. What I believe this is saying here is that the Lord will talk intimately with those of us who honor, value, respect, and obey him. He will teach us his ways, and will give us insight into his word, and he will also show us his more specific will and purposes for our individual lives. He will have intimate conversations with us like a friend would have with another friend, or most especially like a husband would have with the bride he loves and adores. I believe he will also reveal to us how his word is being lived out in our world today and how it is to be applied to the situations we are presently facing.

Yet, this is not “secret” in the sense of some new revelation for the church not revealed before, but he will teach us his word and he will make that word practical to our real world and to our individual lives if we will listen to him and if we will obey. In other words, I believe he will open our eyes to discern deception, and he will show us the truth behind the lies. I believe he will give us understanding into world events and how they fit with prophecy of scripture with regard to these last days. I believe he will open our eyes to see the spiritual condition of today’s church so that we can pray, and so we can warn those who are complacent to turn from their idols and to follow Christ instead. And, I believe he will show us each day just what he has for us, and how he wants to use us in the lives of others. He amazes me all the time just watching how he works in people’s lives.

Deliver Me

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

    bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

    and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes,

    and with what violent hatred they hate me.

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

    for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel, O God,

    out of all his troubles. ~ vv. 16-22

When we decide to put our trust in the Lord, and to walk in his ways, and to sit at his feet and to listen to him speak; and when he confides in us, and we get to know his heart and his mind, and we respond to him in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives, Satan will not be happy. He will plot how to attack us and to try to bring us down. We may be rejected and hated by others and experience times of great loneliness and affliction. Or, we may go through some difficult trials intended to test our resolve and our faith. Or, we may be physically down and it may impact our emotions and we may be tempted to drift away and/or to fall into complacency. So, it is in these times when we must call upon God, rest in his love, rely upon his strength, and put on our armor of God so that Satan does not defeat us. And, we must keep on keeping on, strengthened in the faith, and committed to following our Lord no matter what may come our way.

All My Life / Ralph Carmichael

All my life

Through the good and bad of life

Whether I should gain or lose

Still I choose to live my life

Every moment all for Thee

Walking, oh, so close to Thee

While I’m learning every day

Come what may to trust in Thee…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8XdxQ-CyA

He Restores My Soul

Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10:16 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 23 (ESV).

My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

    He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

A little over a week ago I got the flu, just two days after my husband. I got past the worst of it after the first few days, but the kicker with this flu bug has been that it has sapped me of my strength, physically and mentally. I get tired very easily now and have to sit and rest even after a little bit of physical exertion. I will even sit and look at a passage of scripture and draw an absolute blank. So, I am definitely completely dependent on the Lord to give me all that I need.

When I read these words this morning, “He makes me lie down,” the word “makes” stood out to me. “What does that mean?” I thought to myself. From what I can understand, it means to cause to lie down, i.e. he brings it about. Literally, he makes us rest in him. This flu bug is definitely doing that, i.e. it is causing me to rest physically, but it is also causing me to have to totally depend upon the Lord for the strength to do whatever he would have me do, because I don’t have it in myself at all. I feel like someone just pulled the plug.

I believe what the Lord Jesus is showing me here this morning is that God allows or he brings about these times of illness or trial in our lives sometimes as a means of getting us to be still before him, to remind us of our absolute dependence upon him, and upon him alone, and so that he can lead us in the direction he wants us to go.

Sometimes we just get so busy with life’s activities or with cranking through whatever work we have to do each day that we fail to just be still and to know that he is God. So, we need these times for our bodies to rest, but also for our souls to be refreshed and renewed, and for us to be quieted before our Lord in the stillness of the moment so that we can hear from him all that he has for us.

No Evil

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

So, even though I (we) go through times of sickness, sadness, grief or pain, I (we) must know that I am (we are) not lacking in any good thing, for the Lord will supply me (us) with all that I (we) need to make it through these difficult times.

Yet, this isn’t just about getting through the sickness so I (we) can return to “business as usual.” I believe he allows or causes to happen these times in our lives so that he can get us to find our dependency in him, and in him alone, and so that he can move us in a particular direction, or remind us that he is the one to direct our paths, when we begin to get off course or we get distracted by all the cares of this life. So, rather than just enduring the trial, whatever it may be, we should allow him to grow us, teach us and restore us during these times so that we walk away from them different from what we were before.

Thus, we should not fear these times, although they may not be pleasant when we are going through them, but we should submit ourselves to God, rest in our Lord Jesus, trust in his love and care, commit our ways to him, and ask him to teach us what we need to learn. He will not leave us or forsake us, even though we may not feel him present at all times. He also has a plan and a purpose for all that we are going through. And, he will use it for good in our lives. We just have to learn to rest in him and allow him to teach us what he wants us to learn during these times when he has pulled us aside. These are teachable moments if we will allow ourselves to be taught by the master shepherd.

A Table

You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we will have enemies, i.e. those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Some of these enemies may even be in among the church and may even be shepherds of the people. They are those who oppose the full gospel message and who oppose those who proclaim the full gospel message. And, what I mean by the full gospel is the gospel as taught by Jesus and by the apostles, that we must die with Christ to our old lives of living for sin and self, that we must be transformed in heart of mind of the Spirit of God, and that we must now walk in the Spirit in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and no longer according to the flesh (See: Luke 9:23-25; Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; 2 Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; & 1 Jn. 1-5). This is why Jesus Christ died. And, this is the true meaning of his grace which saves us.

Yet, we should also not fear those who come against us. God is absolutely sovereign over all things in our lives. He has a plan and a purpose for it all, and he will see us through all attacks from our enemy Satan and from humans who serve his purposes. They are not more powerful than God! They cannot take our Lord from us, and they cannot rob us of our joy unless we let them. They cannot thwart God’s purposes, either. So, we should never give in to fear, thinking that our enemy has the upper hand.

God will continue to provide all that we need, even in the face of our enemies. If our enemies are within the church, and they say to us “We have no need of you,” that does not alter God’s plans or purposes for our lives. He will still use us. God did this with me many times. When humans reject us, God still receives us. When humans lay us aside and decide they have no need of us, God already has a plan for how he is going to use us despite them. This is how I ended up on the internet sharing my quiet times I have with the Lord each day, and how the Lord ended up giving me over 100 songs to write in a period of 3 years.

The church said, “We don’t need you,” but God, in his great love and mercy, already had the table spread for me, and he anointed me for his service. Again, our enemies cannot thwart God’s purposes. Sometimes their rejection of us actually serves to advance God’s kingdom work through our lives. So, don’t ever give up! Just trust the Lord! He will work it all out for good for those of us who love him and who have been called according to his purposes.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

http://originalworks.info/for-our-nation/

https://vimeo.com/112351857

Intimacy with God

Friday, December 19, 2014, 6:03 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Abide In Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 19:7-14 (NASB).

The Word

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

What does the Word of God mean to you? I can remember when I was young that on one particular day my father saw me open my Bible, and he asked me what I was looking up. For him, I believe, it was head knowledge and something to argue about or to dissect. I suspect that he was not alone in his hunger for knowledge, though, nor would he be now as I see many people who find great pleasure out of arguing theology (words) with others.

When I was young we also spent much time in scripture memory, but I am not sure then that I truly understood what the words meant, though those scriptures have remained with me to this day. We also did Bible quizzing, and so we had to memorize whole passages of scripture so that we could quiz with other teenagers. Again, I am not so sure that I really understood what I was memorizing, though, or that I really knew what to do with it other than use it to answer questions in a quiz, but I am sure the word was planted in my heart.

I did read my Bible and I prayed, because I knew that is what I was supposed to do, and I was beginning to learn what it said and how it was to be applied to my life, but I don’t believe it really became personal to me until after I had my first child, and until I had in my possession an English translation which I could understand. I was probably in my mid to late 20’s (40 years ago) when the Word of God really became alive to me and I began to hear God speak his words to my heart personally and practically, as applied to my life.

Ever since then, the word of God has been God/Jesus right there with me talking with me, like a friend speaks with another friend. It has been God speaking words of hope, encouragement, counsel, correction, instruction, conviction, comfort and healing to my heart. It has been him giving me guidance and direction for each day, answering my questions, and giving me insight into his thoughts and feelings. When I am down, his word lifts me up. When I am feeling empty and lifeless, his word gives me purpose and meaning for my life. When I begin to feel afraid, his word strengthens me and gives me what I need to persevere. When I am sad, it comforts me and I am filled with joy.

When I am lacking wisdom, from the Word I gain understanding. When I need discernment, through the Word I am given insight. I have had many “Aha” moments when the lights turned on inside my head and I saw something I never saw before, or at least that I never saw quite in that light before. I learn godly living and holiness from the Word. Sometimes God warns me about going in a particular direction or about a wrong attitude about something. Yet, no matter what the message God has for me for any particular day, what is a sure thing is that he is speaking to me, his word is true, that I can depend on it, and that in obeying his word there is great spiritual reward. God’s words to me are very precious. They are his love letter to his bride. And, His Word is the best love letter ever!

Pleasing You

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I will be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

When we spend time with God/Jesus each day in his word, these times should be intimate between us and our Lord. These should be the times when we truly get to know him better, desire more of him, and from which we go out and obey what his word teaches us. We should feel his arms around us, and him gently speaking his words in our ears and into our hearts. We should sense his love and his nurturing of us, and his watch and care over us. In these times of intimacy with our Lord we should grow in our love for him. And, as we grow we should desire even more of him and his word.

Also during these intimate times with our Lord in prayer and in his word we should examine our hearts, confess (repent of) any sin he pinpoints in our lives and also pray that the Lord keep us from willful sin (premeditated). This means, though, that we have to be willing to have him show us how we are playing with sin or with temptation and how we are feeding sin or how we are opening ourselves up to temptation by the things we allow into our minds and hearts each day. For instance, we are not going to get victory over lust if we are spending every evening watching TV shows or movies which entertain us with sexual promiscuity or with sensuality. If we want to be satisfied with our own husbands and not have straying thoughts to other men, we need to stop watching romantic movies which often involve romantic affairs between people who are married to other people.

Spending time in the Word and in prayer each day should never be something we do just so we can say we did it and can check it off our list. We should long for these times with our Lord like a young man or a young woman longs to be with and talk with his or her boyfriend or girlfriend. And, we should want to get to know him, find out what he likes and what he doesn’t like, and then we should live our lives to please him in all that we do, in the power and working of the Spirit within us, as we cooperate fully with that work. In other words, if we are having QTs with the Lord each day, but then we are going around and we are doing just the opposite of what his word teaches us, then we are just like that man who looked at himself in the mirror, but then walked away and forgot what he looked like.

The Word of God will only become precious to us when we decide to do what it says, and when we decide to listen to the Spirit within us and heed his counsel to us, even when we don’t feel like it, or even or most especially when we don’t have it within ourselves to do it in our own strength, but we must entirely depend upon the strength of the Lord in order to obey.

I want to live my life pleasing to my Lord in all that I do, even if it means giving up things I may enjoy doing or having, if those things are hindering my walk of faith, if they are distracting me and are keeping me from doing the will of God, and/or if they are leading me into sin. I want my thoughts, my attitudes, my behaviors and my words to be pleasing in God’s sight, because I love him; because he is my Lord, my Savior, and my first love, and because he is my very best friend.

Abide in Him / An Original Work / July 31, 2013

Based off Ps. 27:14; Is. 40:31; Jn. 14-15

If you wait for the Lord,

Put your hope now in Him,

He will give you His strength

And endurance within.

He will renew your strength,

So you will not lose heart.

You will soar on wings like eagles,

Never depart.

“If you abide in Me,

And My words live in you,

You will walk with Me daily

And follow what’s true.

I will live now in you;

Give you peace now within,

If you obey My teachings

And turn from your sin.”

“If you listen to Me,

And do all that I say,

I will give you My comfort;

Be with you always.

I will heal all your pain;

Life with Me now you’ll gain,

If in fellowship with Me

You always remain.”

http://originalworks.info/abide-in-him/

https://vimeo.com/115029858

Communion with God

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 6:47 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 17 (NASB).

Testing Our Hearts

A Prayer of David.

Hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry;

Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.

Let my judgment come forth from Your presence;

Let Your eyes look with equity.

You have tried my heart;

You have visited me by night;

You have tested me and You find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips

I have kept from the paths of the violent.

My steps have held fast to Your paths.

My feet have not slipped.

As we enter into our times of fellowship with our Lord each day, in his word and in prayer, we should examine our own hearts before God, confessing any wrongs we have committed. Then we can enter into our times of communion with him with clear consciences and with purity of mind and heart, eager to hear from him, and ready to obey him fully.

Yet, if we are doing wrong, and we are holding on to that wrong, and we are running after other gods, and yet we think that God is still pleased with us and that he will hear us, and that he will join in communion with us, then we should think again. “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Co. 11:29).

Now, I know this verse is in reference to the literal taking of symbols in communion, and yet I believe there are spiritual parallels between this symbolic remembrance of our Lord in the taking of the bread and the juice to our daily times of communion with him in prayer and in his word.

What I mean is, the mere taking of symbols is not what constitutes genuine communion (fellowship; intimacy) with our Lord Jesus. When Jesus had his last supper with his disciples, he was not so concerned about the proper etiquette of the physical taking of these symbols, but rather he was concerned about what was in people’s hearts and how what was intended behind these symbols was to be applied to their lives. For instance, drinking the cup he drank is about us dying with him to sin and to self, and eating the bread, his body, is about us taking in his word and applying it to our lives and about our participation within the body of Christ in doing the parts God has assigned us to do and be.

Yet, we cannot enter into that time of fellowship with him if we are following after false gods and if we are ignoring his commands. When we participate in our times of communion (fellowship) with him each day we are participating with him in his life and in his death. Yet, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Co. 10:21-22). So, we must examine our hearts.

The Apple of Your Eye

I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;

Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand

From those who rise up against them.

Keep me as the apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

From the wicked who despoil me,

My deadly enemies who surround me.

They have closed their unfeeling heart,

With their mouth they speak proudly.

They have now surrounded us in our steps;

They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground.

He is like a lion that is eager to tear,

And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.

When we have clear consciences, and purity of heart and mind, we will also have confidence to come before the throne of grace to bring our requests before God and to find help in our time of need.

We all have enemies – not people we should regard as enemies, i.e. we should not act as enemies to others, but those who act as enemies to us. They may just dislike us because of where we live, how much in the way of wealth or possessions we have, our status in the world, the color of skin we wear, and/or how fortunate we may seem in talent, intelligence or whatever. They may just dislike our personalities, too. Not everyone will like us no matter who we are.

And, yet, if we are truly following Jesus Christ in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives, many will hate us for our stand for Christ and for his word, even many who call themselves Christians. And, they should hate us for many of the same reasons that they hated Jesus. Jesus was hated because he told the world the truth about their sin. He preached the true unadulterated gospel. Many who had been following him deserted him, never to return, because they found his teachings to be harder than what they wanted to obey. And, many will desert us, too, because what we stand on will make them uncomfortable, probably because they have bought into the lie that says that Christianity is to be fun and entertaining and that we should not say what makes people uncomfortable.

And, yet, though friend and foe alike desert us, reject us, persecute us and cast us aside, we can find comfort in knowing that we are precious and valuable to God, honored in his sight, and that he will watch over us, keep us safe from the enemy of our souls, who is out to destroy us, and that he will bring us all the comfort, healing, encouragement, hope, strength, power and endurance we need to keep moving forward and to keep fighting off these evil attacks of our true enemy, Satan. All glory to God!

Arise, O Lord

Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;

Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

From men with Your hand, O Lord,

From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,

And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;

They are satisfied with children,

And leave their abundance to their babes.

As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;

I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

God has a day in mind when he will judge the people of this earth and all those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. It is hard to stand back and watch all the evil that is going on in the world, and to see how it is growing more and more evil as the days go by. We cry out to God to intervene on the behalf of the innocent who are being maligned by those more powerful than them. We cry out to God for our unsaved family members and for the revival of his church, and for him to rescue his church out of the grasp of the evil one who has deceived them with lie upon lie. It is hard to watch as things go from bad to worse with seemingly no end in sight. We may even grow impatient with God, at times, and wonder why he is allowing all this to take place and why he doesn’t intervene.

Yet, he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. His slowness means the salvation of human souls. Praise God! His timing is perfect! One day he will judge and then maybe we will wish we had not been so anxious for him to do so. But, when he brings judgment, I believe his adulterous church will be revived and that many will be saved, and in that hope I rest, believing that God has all things under his control and that he will work all things out for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

http://originalworks.info/for-our-nation/

https://vimeo.com/112351857