"I Can't!"

The Lord Jesus led me to read Psalm 1 (vv. 1-3 ESV).

When I was a child, I had few people, if any, to encourage me that I could do anything other than maybe sing. I was the middle child of five children in my family. And, I had a father who didn’t think much of my intellectual abilities. He even told me one day, when I was an adult, that he could probably find something to talk with me about, even though “you are not as intelligent as my other children,” he said. I chuckle at that now.

I had little confidence in my scholastic abilities, though early on I seemed to do well in math and English, until English became more about reading and reading comprehension than it was about grammar and spelling. I was a slow reader. In fact, I started my first year of college reading on a 4^th grade level. I just didn’t have much confidence that I could learn much at all, and I was especially horrible in social studies and science. So, I wasn’t particularly motivated to excel in school, and so I graduated high school in 1968 with a 1.4/4.0 GPA. After that, I completed 4 years of college in 1972 with a 2.5/4.0 GPA, but I never graduated from college.

Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.

Fast forward… Now I was 52 years old (in 2002), and I decided to go back to school at our local 2-year technical college. I was not even sure if I could pass the entrance exam, but I did, and with flying colors, at that. That was a God thing, for sure!

So, I began with taking just one class, “Accounting,” to see how I would do. But, with each homework assignment I found that I said to myself, “I can’t do this.” I had convinced myself that I just could not learn. But God said, “Here, I will walk with you, and you’ll do fine.” He is so amazing!

So, I stayed the course, and I got an A in the class, by the grace of God. Then, after 4 years of taking classes at this school, maybe 2 or 3 classes a semester, I ended up with a 4.0/4.0 GPA, all glory to God. I received an Entrepreneur Certificate, just a few classes shy of a 2-year degree. But, that was my goal, so I was good with just that.

Some people encouraged me to continue taking classes in order to get a college degree, but the Lord encouraged me that I wasn’t there to get a college degree, but to learn that I could learn, and it was because he had an assignment for me, which I was to learn about a few years later.

So, what does this have to do with not walking in the counsel of the wicked and delighting myself in the Word of the Lord? I finally stopped listening to my dad who had told me, in essence, that I was incapable of producing anything which he might regard as intelligent, and so he devalued me. I finally listened to the Lord in that respect, and believed that God could do the impossible in my life, and that I could learn. So, why should this matter?

It is because God had a plan for my life of which I wasn’t even aware until two years later, in 2004. And, he needed to convince me that I could learn anything he wanted me to learn if I just trusted in him, and in what he said, and if I relied on his power and strength, and not on my own, which wasn’t much. So, I found my delight in the truths of God’s Word and I no longer accepted the idea that I could not learn things I felt were too hard for me.

He is like a tree

    planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

    and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

At some point in my life, I’m not exactly sure when, the Lord Jesus used the call of Jeremiah to place a similar call on my life. I think this took place in the late 1970s. I make no claims to being a prophet, though, but only that I am the Lord’s servant, and that I am here on this earth to do whatever it is that he has called me to do. I knew then that he was calling me to go to whomever he would send me and to say whatever he commanded me to say, and that I was not to be afraid of them.

I, like Jeremiah, didn’t think I qualified for such a task, not that God was not capable of performing miracles in my life, but that I had so many people throughout my life, beyond just my dad, some of whom were pastors, who only solidified in my mind that I wasn’t worth much, that I had little value, and that what I had to say was not really important, or that I should not speak at all, because I was too young, or because I was a woman, or whatever. So, there were times in my life when I questioned that calling on my life. But, God’s answer back to me was the story of the woman who washed his feet with her tears (Lu. 7:36-48). I, too, was that woman.

So, in order to prepare me for this present calling of God on my life, “for such a time as this,” my Lord took me through many years of adversity, suffering, rejection and persecution, much of it at the hands of those who were supposed to be my spiritual leaders. This was so that, when God said, “Write what I tell you, and place it on the internet,” I obeyed, but not because I thought I could do it. I knew I couldn’t. I still know I can’t in my own strength, wisdom or power, but I can in the power and strength of the Lord, and in his wisdom and understanding.

The reason that I needed to learn that I could learn, though, was that God had planned for me that he was going to teach me so much way beyond my natural ability to learn. Since I accepted this present call on my life in 2004, the Lord has shown me so many amazing things, but not just from his Word. He has opened my eyes to see so much of what is going on in our world at this present time, and how that fits with prophecy of scripture regarding these last days, though I make no claims to perfect understanding. And, this was so that I could be used of God to help open the eyes, not just of the spiritually blind, but of those who had been deceived by master manipulators and clever enchanters who are still leading God’s people astray.

So, if you are where I was, and you are listening to the voices of other people telling you that “you can’t,” and so you convince yourself that God can’t use you in ways you thought not possible, then stop listening to those voices inside your head, and listen to God’s voice speaking his truths into your heart and mind, and then obey him and do what he has called you to do, for his purposes and for his glory, and in his power and strength.

Our God / Chris Tomlin / Jesse Reeves

Jonas Myrin / Matt Redman

Our God is greater; our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome in power

Our God, Our God

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

https://vimeo.com/43594965

Saturday, November 18, 2017, 10:47 p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for placing this song in my mind, and for teaching me what you wanted me to learn this evening through your Word. I thank you, and I praise you!

One with God

The Lord Jesus led me to read John 17 (vv. 20-26 NIV).

Continuing with Jesus’ prayer for those who were already his, by faith, and for those who would yet come to know him as their Lord and Savior…

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Our Lord’s primary goal in saving us from our sins is that we be united (like-minded) with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For, if we are of one mind with God, then we will hate what he hates and love what he loves. We will willingly leave our lives of sin behind us, turn around (repent), and then follow him in a walk of obedience to his Word. We will want to submit to him in all his ways, and we won’t want to continue in our sins, floundering, having no direction for life, and wasting our lives on what is meaningless.

If we are one in mind and heart with God, we won’t see God’s grace to us as liberty (license) to continue on a sinful course, nor will we go about trying to prove that God does not require repentance or obedience of us. We will not promote the idea that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, or that God no longer sees when we sin against him. Instead, we will see that God’s grace instructs us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, godly and upright lives while we await his return.

When we are united with Christ, and with the Father, in thought, word, and deed, which will be evidenced by how we live our lives, day in and day out, then the world will know that Jesus Christ came from the Father, and that he is our Savior Messiah. How will the world know? They will know it by the fact that we love and obey our Lord, and that we love one another, as Christ loved us, and gave his life up for us. They will also know it, because, if truly we are united with Christ and with the Father, we will be telling people about Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation, so they can be saved from sin, too.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we die with Christ to sin that we may live with him to righteousness. We are reborn of the Spirit of God, spiritually speaking, to new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

The Holy Spirit of God then comes to live within us, to teach us all things, to counsel us in the way we should go, and to empower us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God. This “new birth,” i.e. this new life we have in Christ Jesus is eternal. Thus, eternal life begins the moment we are born again of the Spirit of God, it continues throughout our lives on this earth, and it is also what we have to look forward to when we leave this earth.

Yet, according to God’s Word, this eternal life with God is not based on a one-time event in our lives, in which we believe in Jesus Christ, at which time we are given the promise (hope) of eternal life with God. But, it is based on a lifestyle of faith and commitment to Christ which endures to the end. For, you see, believing in Jesus Christ must be continuous, not just past. And, our lifestyles must reflect that true faith in Jesus Christ actually is evident in our lives (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Not only was this true of Jesus Christ, that he made God the Father known to the world, so that the people of this world might have the love of God, and Jesus Christ, in the person of his Holy Spirit, living within them, but this must be true of us, as well. We must reflect God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in all that we are, do, think and say. We must make God known to the people of this world, too. We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we must proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. If we don’t tell them, who will?

But, we can’t do this if our lifestyles don’t reflect Christ, but the world. We can’t be the light of the world if we are still walking in darkness. We can’t help other people to be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, if we haven’t turned (repented of our sins). We can’t help them to come out from the world and to be separate (unlike, different) from the world, if we haven’t done this, and if we are still engaging ourselves in the same sinful practices the world is engrossing themselves in. So, we have to change. We have to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God if we are going to help anyone else to be free from sin and to walk in holiness and righteousness.

We also can’t make God known to the world if we are lukewarm about our own faith, or if we have accepted a diluted gospel as true, so that we can continue in sin without guilt. If we are going to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, in making God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – known to the world around us, then we need to follow Jesus’ example for how he did this. We also need to follow the example of the NT apostles and other godly men and women in the scriptures who followed Jesus, who followed God with their lives, and who told others about him, too. We can’t soft sell the gospel in order to make friends with the world, and then expect to impact lives for eternity.

Yet, if we do follow in our Lord’s footsteps, and we do choose to obey him in doing what he says, and in saying what he tells us to say, then we should expect that we will also be treated like Jesus was treated. We should be prepared to be hated, rejected, mistreated, falsely accused, mocked, gossiped about, and even killed for our faith in Jesus Christ. But, we must also be ready for some of that mistreatment to come, not from the world, but from the worldly church, and from its leaders. For, if you stand strong on the Word of God, and you proclaim the truth of the gospel, you will make enemies, even within the church.

But, our God is all powerful, completely sovereign, and able to accomplish his will and purposes even in our worst set of circumstances. For, if God is for us, then really, who can stand against us? It doesn’t mean that they won’t, for they will, but that God’s purposes will always prevail. Amen!

Our God / Chris Tomlin / Jesse Reeves

Jonas Myrin / Matt Redman

Our God is greater; our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome in power

Our God, Our God

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

https://vimeo.com/43594965

Saturday, November 18, 2017, 12:22 p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for bringing this song to my mind this afternoon, and for speaking your words to my heart through this passage of scripture. I thank you, and I praise you.

His Goodness to Us

The Lord Jesus led me to read John 17 (vv. 1-19 ESV).

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when he walked this earth, was fully God yet fully man. He suffered just like we suffer, and he was tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin. Although, when on the earth, he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, cast out demons, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, and performed all sorts of miracles, still many hated him and rejected him. They hated him because he told them the truth about their sins. He told them that they must come to him in faith, and that they must leave their lives of sin behind them. And, they didn’t like that. So, they plotted his death, which they then carried out.

Yet, before his death on the cross, Jesus spent some time with his disciples, talking with them about what was coming, and preparing them for his departure. He comforted them with the knowledge that, after he left the earth, he would send the Holy Spirit to live within them. He told them that they must remain in him and that his words must remain in them. He predicted Peter’s denial and Judas’ betrayal, and that all of them would desert him. And, he told them that, if they loved him, they would obey him. But, he also told them that they would be hated just like he was hated. And, when he had finished talking with them, then he prayed to the Father in heaven.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

The hour had now come for Jesus Christ to be crucified on a cross for our sins, and then to be resurrected from the dead in order to give us new life in him. So, he prayed that God the Father would honor him, that he would exalt him, and that he would show the world who he truly was, revealing his divine character, as Jesus also did and would do for the Father. And, Jesus did this, i.e. he gave glory to the Father through the ministry he had while he was on this earth. He, at one time, said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” For, Jesus was the exact representation of his being.

The whole purpose for Jesus leaving his throne in heaven, humbling himself, coming to earth, and taking on human flesh, was that he might die for us and be resurrected back to life, that we might die with him to sin and be given new lives in him to be lived to his righteousness. Our eternal life in him is not just about us escaping hell and going to heaven when we die. The life he gives us, he gives us now, to be lived for him. This eternal life which he gives us, too, is Christ Jesus living in us, and living his life out through us. It is us getting to know God intimately, so that we can walk in his ways and in his truth, and so that we can know his power in our lives, too.

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

Jesus was describing his followers, those whom the Father had given him out of the world. Those of us who are his followers, he has called to come out of the world and to be separate (unlike, different), because we are being made into his likeness. This does not mean we don’t associate with the people of the world, for God has sent us into the world, to love the people of this world, and to be a light to them, showing them the way to Christ and to his salvation from sin. But, we aren’t supposed to be like the world in thought, behavior, attitudes, values or speech. We are not supposed to join in with the world in their sinful addictions nor adopt their morals and values.

He also described his followers as those who keep (obey) his word. They were not perfect people, though, so it isn’t as though they always obeyed. If we could keep the whole law perfectly, Jesus would not have had to die for our sins, but we couldn’t, because we still live in these flesh bodies. This, nonetheless, is never to be used as an excuse for continued willful sin. For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in lifestyle) no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live with Christ for eternity.

And, he described his followers as those who have received (accepted) his words, which the Father had given him, and that they had come to know, in truth, that Jesus Christ did, indeed, come from the Father. Yet, this was not mere intellectual assent to who Jesus was, nor is it now, nor is it mere belief that he died on a cross to save us from our sins. To receive Jesus Christ, and to receive his words, is to apply what he did on that cross to our lives by dying with him to sin, and by living with him to righteousness. And, it is to apply his teachings to our daily lives, to do what they say, and to put them into our daily practice, and it is not to ignore the ones we don’t like, either.

“I am praying for them… (not quoting vv. 9b-13)

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

When we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in truth and not in name only, and we walk in obedience to his Word, and we are not of this world, in the sense in which we don’t participate with the world in its sinful practices, the world will hate us, and they will not love us as its own. But, the sad reality of this is all is that the worldly church will also hate us. The more that we are not of this sinful world in thought, values, behaviors and speech, and the closer we get to Christ and to following in his ways and in his truth, the more we will be hated and rejected, even by the worldly church, which has adopted many of the ways, values, morals and philosophies of this world.

If the world hates and rejects us, though, I think it is a whole lot easier to accept. But, when those who claim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ hate and reject us, because we are following Jesus Christ in obedience, and because we are standing on the Word of truth, and we don’t compromise with the world, then that is a whole lot harder to take. Then, it cuts to the heart. It wounds our spirits, for they, the family of God, are supposed to love, support, protect, build up, encourage and strengthen us in our faith, not shoot us down and kick us to the curb because we dare to stand on God’s Word and to walk in the ways of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

So, we need our Lord God to protect us from the evil one, not that we will never be tempted by evil nor attacked by Satan and his hordes, but we need him to carry us through it all, and we need to know his love and grace to help us in our time of need. We also need for him to continue to sanctify (purify, make us holy) in truth (in his Word, his righteousness). What this means is that we continue to grow in him, in his salvation, and in holiness, despite being hated, attacked, and persecuted even by those who are supposed to love and encourage us in our walks of faith. Our trust has to be solely in God, and not in man, for humans will fail us, but God is ever faithful to do all that he has said he would do. So, we can trust in his goodness to us, that he has our best interest at heart, and his purposes will be fulfilled.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Adelaide A. Pollard / George C. Stebbins

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSnBbgsecD4

Saturday, November 18, 2017, 12:45 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for putting this song in my mind this morning as I awoke, and thank you, too, for speaking your words to my heart. I praise you, and I thank you.  

My Jonah Story

The Lord Jesus led me to read Psalm 119:105-112 ESV.

Back in the early 1980s, when my children were still quite young, and I was a young mother of four, I had a situation in a church with the leadership misjudging me, and honestly, not being very nice about it, either. The pastor said to me, “Would you say that you have been crucified with Christ?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Well I say that you haven’t.”

Wow! That hit me like a ton of bricks. My heart was broken. It was crushed, in fact. So, what did I do? I ran! I mean, what else could I do? He had sealed my fate, and there was no other way around it, right? I felt I had no other recourse. So, I just played the game “I’m ok.” “You’re ok.” And, then everything was fine. They were happy with me, but I wasn’t happy with me.

Your word is a lamp to my feet

    and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

    to keep your righteous rules.

Then, one day I was reading the story of Jonah to my children, and God spoke so clearly to my heart that that was me, that I was running from God, not for the same reasons Jonah ran, mind you, but still I was running from the situation. So, he told me to get back in there and to fight this thing through.

And, then I said, “But God, you don’t understand!” The thing of it is, I really believed that. I believed God had no power over my situation, but that this pastor did, and that there was nothing I could do to change it. I was doomed!

But, the Lord kept encouraging me to get in there and to fight this thing through, so I went and talked with a good friend of mine, who was also the wife of one of the church elders. I told her my situation, and she told me that I came across too much like I “had it all together.” So, she tried to help me identify where that was coming from. But, I kept saying, “No, that isn’t it.” It wasn’t until she said, “I know what it is. It is a spirit of fear,” that I knew this was it. So, we prayed for God to deliver me, and he did.

I am severely afflicted;

    give me life, O Lord, according to your word!

Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,

    and teach me your rules.

But, what came next was something I would not have ever imagined. I had been severely abused by my dad in my childhood, but I was told I just needed to stuff my pain, basically, i.e. to forget it. I had no one I could talk with about it, so I thought I was doing the right thing by just trying to forget it. But, I wasn’t forgetting it. I was just hiding the hurt deep inside me.

So, when God delivered me from this spirit of fear, all these memories and hurts began to come to the surface, and I began to weep out loud to God. I didn’t know what to do with what I was feeling, and my friend didn’t know either, so she suggested I talk with the pastor. “Oh, no, I couldn’t do that”, I said. “He hates me.” So, she talked with him for me, with permission from me, and she told him what my deal was, i.e. about my childhood.

I hold my life in my hand continually,

    but I do not forget your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

    but I do not stray from your precepts.

Well, this same pastor who had been so cruel to me now called me on the phone. He told me he was sorry. He told me that, as my pastor, he is supposed to be a spiritual father to me, but that he hadn’t been a very good one, and he asked me to forgive him and to give him a second chance. And, so I did. I did cry, though, when he told me that. I couldn’t hold back the tears. No man had ever said such words to me, that I recalled.

So, I told him about all these memories that were surfacing, and I asked him what to do with them. He told me to cry them out to God, and then to just release them to God and let him have them, rather than to stuff them back inside, so that is what I did, and God began to heal me.

Then, this pastor gave me an assignment within the church to observe another woman in the church teaching a class, and to see what I could learn from her. I submitted to his request, did what he said, and then he and I met a few times to talk about what I was learning, and to see how things were progressing with me and with my healing process.

Just think of it, if I had hung in there with the whole Jonah thing, I would have totally missed out on all that, and so would have this pastor.

Well, to make a long story short, the Lord took me through a long healing process, because there was so much damage done to my heart and emotions and mind, but this pastor was there to help me through the beginning stages of it, anyway, until we moved away from there, and through it all we actually developed a friendship. Weird, huh?

Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

    for they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform your statutes

    forever, to the end.

Anyway, when we run from things God has allowed in our lives, for his purposes, we miss out on all the blessings he has for us through them, and so do many other people for whom the Lord wants to do marvelous things in their lives, too.

For example, this pastor finally admitted to me that he was threatened by me because when I shared during group Bible study discussion, I spoke with too much authority for a young woman. He told me, at one time, that I should wait until I had gray hairs on my head, and then people would listen to me. But, now he was admitting to me that he had misjudged me; that they, the elders had misjudged me. Now he could truly see my heart.

So, instead of running, we need to see what God wants to do through our circumstances, and believe that he is completely sovereign, and that he does truly understand what we are going through, and that he has a plan.

But, to be perfectly honest, that is not the last time I ran from God. You would think that I would have learned my lesson, and I did for a long while. But, there were other times in my life when the pressures of life got me down, and instead of running to God, I ran from him, again.

Some of those situations had to do with other pastors or church leaders misjudging or mistreating me. There were many of them, in fact, more than one could possibly imagine would happen to just one person. Some of these situations had to do with other people abusing, betraying and/or using me for their advantage. So, God had to heal me of those heartaches, too. I had to learn to trust fully in his sovereignty, and to rest in his promises, to rely fully on his grace to help me in my time of need, and to keep pressing on, in his strength, in being the woman of God he created me to be.

Praise the Lord, I stopped running from God quite a few years ago. Now I run INTO his arms, which is the ONLY place to be ever!

Jesus, I am Resting, Resting 

Jean Sophia Pigott

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power,

Thou hast made me whole.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

O, how marvelous Thy goodness,

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings:

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting ‘neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth’s dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father’s glory,

Sunshine of my Father’s face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting,

Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Friday, November 17, 2017, 9:45 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for how you spoke your words to my heart this morning, and thank you for putting this song in my mind when I awoke. I praise you, and I thank you. Love, Sue

Heavy of Heart

I read Psalm 119:17-24 ESV

Do you ever feel an overwhelming sadness in your heart which you just can’t quite put into words? You have the heart of God, and you feel deeply what he feels, but these feelings also come from your own experiences in life, the things God has taken you through, and the lessons you have learned through them. So, it was for your good that you went through them, or that you are still going through these trials, and yet the circumstances are sad in and of themselves, and thus they burden your heart, and they bring tears to your eyes.

You know God has it all worked out for good, so you know good is going to come from it, but, in the meanwhile, it makes you sad to see what you see and to feel what you feel, especially if, sometimes, you feel you are all alone, with no other human beside you, though you know God is with you.

Deal bountifully with your servant,
    that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
    wondrous things out of your law.

I believe the psalmist here is heavy of heart over some things he is seeing, feeling or experiencing. And, so he is asking God to be gracious to him, God’s servant.

Although it is good to feel what God feels, and to be burdened over the things he is burdened over, it is not good if we remain in that state of sadness, for it can overwhelm us. And, it can bring us down to the point to where we lose hope, and that is not the place we want to be. So, when we are in this state of sadness, we need to look up to God, call on him in our sadness, and ask for his favor (his grace) to meet us in our time of need. And, he knows exactly what we need even before we ask.

The psalmist asked for God’s favor, for God’s grace to help him in his time of need, in order that he might live and keep (obey) God’s Word.

We can get so sad, at times, that we may even despair of life, and that is not good! Or, it may be that we just get depressed, and we lose all interest in the things which use to bring us joy and fulfillment. Or, maybe we just give up on our dreams and our hopes altogether, because we decide they are not going to happen anyway. Do you identify?

So, in essence, if this is where we are, we are not really living, not in the way God intended, with the fullness of God’s Spirit living the life of Christ out through us. So, we need the Lord to refresh our spirits, to open our eyes to his truths, to fill us with hope, and to assure us of his promises, so that we can live in the power of God’s Spirit within us, despite our circumstances, and so that we continue to walk in faithful obedience to his commands.

I am a sojourner on the earth;
    hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
    for your rules at all times.

Part of this sadness, I believe, is based in the reality that we are sojourners on this earth, i.e. that we are aliens, strangers and outsiders. We don’t fit in. Yet, we are not supposed to fit in with the world. We are to come out from among them and be separate, and not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. So, why should this make us sad? It is because many of us don’t fit in with the church, either. So, we don’t fit anywhere. We are like outsiders even among other believers (or professing believers) in Jesus Christ, and that is really sad! So, why is this happening, do you think?

I believe it is because so much of today’s church has adopted the ways, customs, values, philosophies, attitudes, teachings and behaviors of the world, so that it is indistinguishable between the church and the world, for the most part, at least here in America. Much of the church of today has turned the church into a man-made business, and is running it just like a business, with man as its head, instead of Christ. And, so their goal is often to please their customer base, rather than to please the Lord.

So, if our souls are consumed with longing for God’s precepts, i.e. for his Word, i.e. for his instructions, encouragements, and warnings, and for his righteousness and holiness, then we won’t fit in with today’s modern church, and they will be all too glad, sometimes, to point this out to us, and to help us find someplace where we will be a “better fit,” they say. So, what about the fact that we are not supposed to say to another part of the body, “I have no need of you”? They don’t care. They want us out, because they don’t want people with “strong convictions,” although biblical convictions, at that.

You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
    who wander from your commandments.
Take away from me scorn and contempt,
    for I have kept your testimonies.

In my experience, it is not just the unsaved who are insolent and who wander from God’s commands, but it is some of those who say they are saved, and it is some of those who are saved, and who believe in Jesus Christ, who are insulting God’s grace by their attitudes, words and behaviors. I’ve been there, done that, so I know from experience. We can show disrespect to God’s commandments when we choose to ignore them and to go our own way, especially if we then make excuses for our sin, claiming God’s grace covers it all, so it doesn’t matter what we do.

So, if you are presently wandering from his commandments (his teachings; his instructions), God wants to bring you back. Thus, if you are truly his, he will discipline (rebuke, chastise) you in order that you may share in his holiness, and so that, when you have been trained by his disciplines, you will bear fruit in keeping with his righteousness (See: Heb. 12:1-13).

And, if this is where you are, then I pray today that you will yield control of your life over to God – to Jesus Christ – and that you will submit to his will for your life, and that you will walk in obedience to his Word from this moment on. This is not to say that you will never sin again (1 Jn. 2:1-2), but that sin should no longer have mastery over your life. Jesus Christ should be your ONLY Lord (master-owner).

Even though princes sit plotting against me,
    your servant will meditate on your statutes.
Your testimonies are my delight;
    they are my counselors.

Yet, it isn’t just inside the modern man-driven church that we will face rejection, if we are truly consumed with longing for God’s Word. World leaders are against many of us, too, because we hold to the truths of God’s Word, and we don’t compromise with the world. And, they are definitely plotting evil against us, because they want to bring the whole world together as one, under one totalitarian regime and a one-world religion.

So, they are making a strong case against what they term as “religious extremism,” which includes those of us who teach the full gospel message, i.e. the whole counsel of God, and who hold on to Christ’s righteousness and holiness to guide what we do, think, say and are. They are, thus, calling us “extremists, bigoted, hateful, and intolerant” because we don’t bow to their humanistic philosophies, and because we hold that God’s Word is truth, and that it is the rule of life by which we should pattern our lives.

I am not saying, nonetheless, that we should have to obey all the Old Testament laws, but that we should follow the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles, which are summarized for us in two laws: 1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself. This love, though, is not human love, but it is divine love, which prefers what God prefers, which is what is upright, moral, pure, honest, decent, faithful, honorable and righteous, etc. So, if we love God, we will do what he says, and if we love others, we will do them no harm, but good.

My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith

My Jesus, My Savior,

Lord there is no one like you,

All of my days, I want to praise

The wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,

Tower of refuge and strength

Let every breath, all that I am

Never cease to worship You…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSQvoinDE4

Thursday, November 16, 2017, 7:03 a.m. - Thank you, Jesus, for these words which you have spoken to my heart today, and for bringing this song to my mind as I awoke this morning. I praise you, and I thank you!

Words

I read Psalm 119:137-144 NIV

You are righteous, Lord,

    and your laws are right.

The statutes you have laid down are righteous;

    they are fully trustworthy.

So, what are these statutes that God has laid down for us which are righteous and fully trustworthy? When we talk about the “Word of God,” what do we mean? For some people it is one thing, and for another, something else. So, who is right and who is wrong? How do we know?

Well, for one thing, it appears to me that, for most believers in Jesus Christ, the Word of God is the Bible (OT: Genesis to Malachi, NT: Matthew to Revelation). That is the Word of God for me, too, as a follower of Jesus Christ. Yet, since it has so many different translations, including in many different languages, then which translation is correct?

Well, the only inerrant Word of God was written in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. These were the original manuscripts penned by men of God as God breathed his words into their hearts and minds. From what I understand, from the originals came many copies, and from these copies, perhaps as well as from some of the original manuscripts, the Bible was then translated into other languages. And, even from some of these translations came more translations in multiple different languages, although they may have also used copies of or the original texts themselves.

For over 400 years, the King James Version (in English) was the primary English translation of the Bible accepted by most protestant churches, it would appear. But, there were others, too. And, then, in the 1970s, I believe it was, came the NASB, then the NIV84, the ESV and many others. So, for English readers, we then have to choose which translation we believe is the closest to the original manuscripts, but how do we do that if we don’t know Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic? And, does that really matter?

Well, for me, I read the KJV the first 27 years of my life. Since it is written in 17^th Century King James English, and I speak in 20^th and 21^st Century American English, it was like reading a foreign language, though not entirely. Still, I had great difficulty understanding what I was reading. Then, in 1977 my pastor introduced us to the NASB, and the Word of God truly came alive to me for the first time in my life. I imagine that is what it must be like for people who don’t have the Bible written in their language, and who have to rely on their leaders to tell them what it says. To be able to read the Word of God and to understand what it says is just awesome!

So, if there were all these copies of the originals, and then it was translated into other languages using these copies, or even using other translations, how can we be certain that what we are reading is completely righteous and fully trustworthy? We know it by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. And, we have to trust God that he guided even these who made the copies, and even these who made these translations, even if they were ungodly men, and trust God that they held on to the integrity of the original manuscripts, even though there will be slight variations from translation to translation. For some of you, only one translation may exist, and you have no other choice.

The bottom line in all of this, I believe, is that we have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit of God, and trust that God’s Spirit will guide us into all truth, and that he will show us what is right and what is wrong. If we are blessed to have Bible helps which show us what the originals said, word for word, that is great, but not everyone has that. To me, having translations in my language has been a tremendous help! But, we do need to be discerning about this, because, at least here in America, we have many transliterations that are not real translations, and that do err in interpretation more so than what might happen in any actual translation. So, let the Holy Spirit lead you.

My zeal wears me out,

    for my enemies ignore your words.

Your promises have been thoroughly tested,

    and your servant loves them.

So, in light of what I just shared, this brings, perhaps, some new meaning to what is being said here. When words are translated from Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic into any other language, they may not retain the exact meaning of the word because the other language doesn’t have a word or even a verb tense that quite captures the original word. So, the translators have to do their best to find a word in the other language that best captures the original meaning, and these can vary from translation to translation. So, in these cases, it does help to know something about the original languages or to have Bible helps that reveal what these original words and their meanings (and verb tenses) actually are. But, if we don’t have that, then what?

Again, this is where we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. BUT, it is essential, I believe, that we read scriptures in their context, because the context, itself, gives much meaning to the words.

For example, there is a Greek verb tense, that when translated into English, word for word, ends up with “ing” on the end, but most translators do not include the “ing” at the end of these words. Thus, the word often captures the idea of a one-time event, whereas the original language intended that it capture the idea of a present and continuous event. Such as the case in John 3:16. It isn’t that he who believes (one time) in him, but it is who believing (present tense and ongoing) in him who has the hope of eternal life.

So, how do we know this fact without the use of the Greek? We know it by the context of what is being said, not just in the book of John, but throughout the New Testament. The Bible teaches, in context, that genuine faith in Jesus Christ, which results in eternal life is both present tense and it is continuous, i.e. it must endure to the end if we are to have the hope of eternal life with God. It teaches us that we, who make a practice of following our Lord in obedience, have the hope of eternal life with God, but that those who make a practice of sin, i.e. who walk according to the flesh, have a fearful expectation of eternal punishment. If, by the Spirit, we are putting (not just put one time) to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live.

So, even if you don’t know Greek or Hebrew, that is not ever an excuse to ignore what the Word teaches, for we can know what it teaches by the Spirit living within us, and by the context in which it is written, but not just the immediate context, but the context of the whole Bible, but especially the New Testament, for that is where we find the teachings for Christians.

Though I am lowly and despised,

    I do not forget your precepts.

Your righteousness is everlasting

    and your law is true.

Trouble and distress have come upon me,

    but your commands give me delight.

Your statutes are always righteous;

    give me understanding that I may live.

When we teach what is true, not because we have Bible helps, but because we have the Spirit of God guiding us into all truth, and he guides us to read verses in context, and to compare scripture with scripture, so that we get its full meaning, there will be people who will oppose us because what we are saying does not jive with what they have always been taught.

So, even though the Bible clearly teaches us that faith in Jesus Christ has to endure to the end in order for us to have the hope of eternal life, many will reject that, because they have been taught that if you pray the prayer to receive Christ, you are in, guaranteed, and no one can take that away from you.

Even though the Bible clearly teaches that the Lord’s followers listen to him and they follow (obey) him, and it is these who can’t be snatched out of God’s hands, still many ignore the first part of this, and only hold on to the second part of this promise, and they apply it across the board to anyone who claims to believe in Jesus Christ, especially if they prayed the prayer.

And, even though the Bible clearly teaches that genuine faith in Jesus Christ is repentant and obedient, in lifestyle, though not necessarily in sinless perfection, many will reject this, too, because they have been taught that praying the prayer guarantees their entry into heaven, no matter what they do from that moment on. They believe that they can sin as much as they want, and still have their ticket into heaven. But, that is just WRONG!

So, what is the truth which we must understand and put into practice if we want to live with Christ for eternity? It is that Jesus Christ died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 6:1-23). It is that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in lifestyle), not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, for if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if, by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live with Christ for eternity (Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 2:20; Lu. 9:23-25).

And, it is, as well, that God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sinful lifestyles, making sin our practice, but it teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14; Gal. 5:19-21).

So, as followers of Jesus Christ, we should want to know this truth, and we should delight in this truth, and we should follow what is true, and not ignore the truth just because it doesn’t fit with what we have always been taught or have come to believe. So, know, delight and follow the truth.

My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith

My Jesus, My Saviour,

Lord there is no one like you,

All of my days, I want to praise

The wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,

Tower of refuge and strength

Let every breath, all that I am

Never cease to worship You…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSQvoinDE4

Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 7:06 a.m. - Thank you, Jesus, for these words which you have spoken to my heart today, and for bringing this song to my mind as I awoke this morning. I praise you, and I thank you!

Tell the Truth

I read 1 Peter 3 (Select vv. NIV)

In this life, we live with real flesh and blood people, of whom we are also a part. Even though many of us have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and thus we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been made alive with God, in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we still live in these flesh bodies. We are still capable of sinning against God and against one another. And, we can still wound one another, if we are not careful.

Yet, this is not to say that we should alter the message so as not to offend people who don’t agree with us. Rather, we should treat others kindly and lovingly - in the same manner in which God (Jesus Christ) treats us.

Be Like-Minded (v. 8a)

Finally, all of you, be like-minded…

So, what does it mean to be “like-minded”? Is that even possible? And, whose mind should we be like? Who sets the standard, in other words?

We hear a lot these days, from our rulers in governments, and from world leaders, and including within the institutional church, on the subject of “unity.” But, what do they mean by “unity”? For, many of them are not speaking about unity with Christ, who is the one who sets the standard, and whose mind we are to be like. They are talking about like-mindedness with human beings, with a global government, and with a one-world religion, or else they are moving us in that direction. They are talking, too, about solidarity with business plans and goals and with the notion that this world can all come together as one united voice so that there can be world peace.

But, what does the Bible say about all that? It says, “They say ‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).

Jesus was speaking figuratively about how his gospel would be rejected by many, and how they would then turn against him and his followers, so, in essence, he did come to turn even family members, one against another, because by following him, it means we will be hated, rejected and mistreated by others, just because of what we believe and what we teach.

So, we must learn to distinguish between unity with Christ and unity with humans in their humanistic philosophies, values, and morals, etc. And, then, if we are going to be like-minded with other believers in Jesus Christ, we must first of all be of one mind with Christ. This means we need to be in the Word daily, listening to what our Savior is saying, and then we must do what he says. The more we get to know him, and the more we follow in his ways, the more we will be like him in our thinking, values, morals, beliefs, doctrines, behaviors, and attitudes. And, then we will be like-minded with other believers who are also of one mind with Christ Jesus, their Lord.

Be Compassionate (vv. 8b-9)

…be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Until we all become mature in Christ, and reach this unity of the faith, in becoming of one mind with Christ, and like-minded with one another, we need to be sympathetic and compassionate with one another and not grind each other up just because we have a difference of belief or opinion, one from the other.

This is not to say, though, that we should go soft on sin or water down the gospel so as not to offend people. NO! Rather, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph. 4:15-16).

For, you see, the truth, spoken in love, is kind and it is loving. Lies, on the other hand, are neither loving or kind.

But, speak the Truth (vv. 10-12)

For, “Whoever would love life

    and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

    and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;

    they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

So, we need to speak the truth, but we need to do so in love. So, how do we do that? How do we not compromise truth, and how are we to be the voice of reason, and the voice of God, to the world and to the church, and still be loving and kind? We can do this, if we truly understand what it means to be loving and kind. Jesus did it, but they hated him in return, so obviously “loving and kind” is not some kind of feel good mushy-gushy thing that makes people feel warm and fuzzy all over every time we open our mouths.

The word love is agape love, which is God-like love, which prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, honorable, just, righteous, pure and trustworthy. God loved us so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. So, love is giving of ourselves, self-sacrificially, to meet the legitimate needs of others. In this case, our need was for salvation (deliverance) from slavery to sin so that we could live with Christ for eternity.

So, if we truly love others as Christ loves us, we will willingly lay down our lives and our reputations in order to see them go free from sin addiction. And, this means that we will have to tell them the truth, but to do it in such a way that it demonstrates that our concern is for them to be delivered out of bondage to sin, and not to make the truth so watered down or so ambiguous that our listeners (or readers) are not moved to change at all.

Jesus didn’t mince words, which means he said what he meant clearly and directly, even if people got upset with him. Even though he used parables, too, for those who sought him out, he told them what they meant. And, a lot of his parables were very direct. He wasn’t nasty or hateful, but he was direct and honest, and he often cut to the chase and got right down to business rather than wasting a lot of time with niceties.

I think we have too many people these days “walking on eggshells” so as not to offend or upset other people, and we don’t have enough people who are willing to let go of their own reputations in order to speak the truth in love so that the idolatrous and adulterous church will wake up from her slumber and will follow Christ in surrender and in obedience.

Jesus spoke hard truths, and many rejected him because of it, and, as we know, eventually they killed him. Are we willing to be Jesus to the world and to the church by telling them the truth about their sins, and concerning what God requires of them in thought, word and deed? Even if they hate us?

I’ll Walk with God

Nikolaus Brodszky / Paul Francis Webster

I'll walk with God

From this day on

His helping hand I'll lean upon…

And I'll never walk alone

While I walk with God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-hjhePLVmE

Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 7:35 a.m. - Thank you, Jesus, for these words which you have spoken to my heart today, and for bringing this song to mind as I awoke this morning. I praise you, and I thank you!