Faithfulness

Lamentations 3:22 "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end: they are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness."
Hebrews 10:23: "For He is faithful that promised."

Picking up where we left off a couple of weeks ago, we were considering the Fruit of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5:22, 23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…". The fruit (or grape as we have referred to each of them) for this week is Faith, or Faithfulness. We use the word ‘faith’ to signify our confidence in God; the term ‘faithful’ is used to describe a person who is trustworthy. Some other characteristics of a person we call faithful would be reliable, loyal, dependable, one who keeps promises.

Jesus is our example of faithfulness. He promised not to leave His friends as orphans, and the Holy Spirit came, coming to each of us who are His children. He said "because I live, you shall live also." (John 14:19) and we have eternal life. In Hebrews 3:2 it states "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever". Jesus is dependable.

Faithfulness is one of God’s attributes, and it is an attribute He shares with us through the Holy Spirit. The book of Psalms is filled with thanksgiving of God’s faithfulness. We can manifest this Faithfulness also in each of our lives, as it is a ‘fruit of the Spirit.’

"Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God; He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train,
His truth forever stands secure;
He saves the oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain."
--Isaac Watts

"Great is Thy Faithfulness."

God's Indescribable Gift

II Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
This being the week of Christmas, I have decided to put my blogs on the "Fruit of the Spirit" on hold and blog on God’s unspeakable, amazing, beyond our comprehension, gift. This gift was Jesus, all wrapped up in love.

God’s ultimate gift to us was His Son, Jesus. Of Himself, Jesus said "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." (John 4:10)

Because of God’s wonderful gift, we can have other gifts such as the ‘gift of a relationship’. John 1:12 states that all who receive Him, those who believe in His name, He gives the right to be called the sons and daughters of God.

He also gives the ‘gift of His Grace’. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by Grace you have been saved…" We have received the ‘gift of Eternal Life’, as according to Romans 6:23 "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

One reason I think of God’s gift as ‘indescribable’ and perhaps part of Paul’s thinking in II Corinthians 9:15, is that it is greater than we can grasp with our finite minds. Jesus was God, 2nd person in the Trinity, totally God. Yet in order to become the propitiation for man’s sin, He had to take on a human body. In doing so He had to become a human being. Now we have something beyond our imagination, something incredible, indescribable. He was still God, just as though He had never been man; yet He was man as though He had never been God.

And He did this as a gift to each of us. "For God so loved the world that He gave (this indescribable gift) His only begotten son, that whosoever believes on Him will have eternal life." (John 3:16)

So at this Christmas Season, as we open all our wonderful, no doubt expensive gifts, remember the most unspeakable gift of all, ours for the taking. This Gift is Jesus!!

Goodness

Goodness is the last of the three ‘action’ words found in our ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ from Galatians 5:22, which indicates we are functioning. Jesus told His servant "well done, good and faithful servant." His servant was working and producing. Jesus said a good tree would produce good fruit, and so will we when we acquire the ‘grape’, the fruit of goodness.

Psalm 23 states "surely Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" Goodness is one of God’s attributes, yet it could also be said to be the total of God’s attributes. By this I mean it reveals His incomparable righteousness, holiness and perfect divine character.

God shares some of His attributes with us and one of these that He does share is "Goodness". As His children we should conduct ourselves in such a way that God’s goodness is easily seen, and allow the Holy Spirit to develop this character in us.

A.W.Tozer states "the goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us." It is God’s Divine goodness that causes Him to be kind, and as an attribute, it is self-caused, infinite, perfect and eternal.

Before my faith’s enlightened eyes
Make all thy gracious goodness pass.
Thy goodness is the sign I prize;
O might I see thy smiling face:
Thy nature in my soul proclaim.
Reveal Thy love, Thy glorious name!
---Charles Wesley

"O Taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Psalm 34:8)

Kindness

The second of the fruits (or ‘grapes’ as we are referring to them) in the category of Action, is ‘kindness’. In the King James Version of Galatians 5:22, it is referred to as ‘gentleness’. Gentleness is an aspect of kindness, but it does not adequately describe what the word ‘kindness’ fully implies.

In I Corinthians 13:4, Paul writes "Love suffers long", showing that love is patient. This is followed by "and is kind", showing that love and kindness work together. When an act is done in love it will show kindness. Or one could say if kindness is not shown no act is truly done in love.

To show acts of kindness does not cost money. It may cost in time and energy, but sometimes not even that. Maybe just a smile would be in order—how much time will that take? Have you ever noticed how many smiles you can bring by smiling as you pass people on the street or in the store? Or maybe just a word of encouragement, or a visit or a phone call. One never knows to what depths a simple act of kindness showing God’s love can go. It can even have a ripple effect in touching lives, where one little kindness will keep on spreading. It is a way of sowing seeds that can only bear good fruit.

God loves us and shows it through kindness. He asks us to do this also, as we learn to manifest the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’.

Patience

Another name for Patience is ‘long-suffering’, an old English word which is more picturesque than ‘patience’. This is the first of the three ‘grapes’ under the category of ‘Action’, found in our ‘Fruit of the Spirit’. These three action words are ‘patience, kindness; and goodness’, and are ways of reaching outward to others.

Patience is the will to endure and put up with others without complaining. Patience also is a quality of God, which we can appreciate, as He has been so patient with us. An example of Jesus patience with His disciples would be as He tried to get them to understand ‘faith’. He never gave up even when it seemed they just didn’t ‘get it’.

Romans 15:5 says: "Now may the God who gives the power of patient endurance…" So we know that our power to have patience comes from God, through the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:3 Paul says that hardship produces patience; and in 12:12 he says to be steadfast and patient in suffering.

In James 1:4 it states "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." We will receive patience when we rely on God alone. Even Paul had to learn this when he reached the end of his endurance with his ‘thorn’. God told him that His (God’s) Grace was sufficient. We need no one else but God through His Holy Spirit, and when we reach the point of relying entirely on Him, patience comes.

"And he said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for thee;
for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
(II Corinthians 12:9)

Peace

Peace—what is peace? In the dictionary it states that the peace is an undisturbed state of mind; absence of mental conflict, serenity. A true Peace, however, can only come as a gift from God and is made possible through the death of Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:7 states this peace passes all understanding, or as it says in the Amplified Version, it "transcends all understanding".

Peace as an attitude of the heart is given to us through the Holy Spirit. It is included as a ‘grape’ in our "Fruit of the Spirit". You have probably heard the saying that "ignorance is bliss." The peace we have in Jesus is not a peace caused by ignorance. It is a peace that comes even when we know life is hard, and everything seems to be collapsing around us. God’s peace is like a tree planted near a stream, where the roots go deep to receive underground water. Then when the storms come, the wind blows, the tree stands firm, and will have green leaves even in a drought.

When Jesus was preparing to leave His disciples and return to heaven, He told them He was going to leave His peace with them. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you…" (John 14:27).

Jesus is called the "Prince of Peace" and in Luke 16:33 Jesus says "in Me you may have peace". Isaiah 26:3 states "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee." (KJV)

When I make Peace WITH God, then I will have the Peace OF God,
and I will be AT Peace.

Joy

The Joy which comes to us as a result of the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ is much more than happiness. I always think of happiness or being happy as due to the happenings around us; but with joy, we can be joyful even when our heart is breaking.

Jesus said in John 15:11 that He wants His ‘joy’ to be in us; and in Nehemiah 8:10 "The Joy of the Lord is our strength."

Joy also is an ‘Attitude’ of the heart. When circumstances are tough, our happiness will cease, but we can still have joy. Our relationship with God is the foundation of our joy, it can be unending. Paul states in Philippians 4:4 (Amplified Version): "Rejoice in the Lord always (delight, gladden yourselves in Him); again I say, Rejoice!"

In I Peter 1:8 Peter says that the Joy for the Christian should be: "Without having seen Him, you love Him, though you do not (even) now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious joy!"

When we have the "Fruit of the Spirit", we will retain an attitude of Joy. Praise God!

Love

We often hear about the "fruits" of the Spirit, but did you know it is not ‘fruits’, but the "fruit" of the Spirit. The more we become like Christ, letting the Holy Spirit mold us and melt us, we will begin to demonstrate the Spirit’s ‘fruit’. This fruit comes with several manifestations; it is like a cluster of grapes, the fruit of the vine. For the next few weeks I am going to look at each ‘grape’ and how they fit to make a whole fruit, a healthy, Christ-like Child of God.

The Spirit Himself produces wonderful results in our lives as we obey Him. There are 9 qualities that are the natural product of the Holy Spirit, and these are listed in Galatians 5:22,23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self control.

As we look at each of these qualities, or ‘grapes’, that makes up the Fruit of the Spirit, we see they could be put into three categories: Attitude, Action and Application. The three under ‘Attitude’: are love, joy, and peace. Love, being the first one would make it appear to be the most important one. Even though love is an ‘attitude’, it is also an action word. Jesus is our example, as He ‘loved’. When Jesus described ‘love’ in action, He said "Greater love has no one that this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Here is what Paul had to say about love, from I Corinthians 13: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not ‘love’, I become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not ‘love’, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not ‘love,’ it profiteth me nothing." And then in verse 13 he says: "And now abideth faith, hope, and ‘love’, these three; but the greatest of these is ‘love.’

An Attribute of God is ‘Love’. And because He is God, He is "All Love" just as he is ALL of any one of His attributes. God cannot be some of anything; He is ALL of each one of His attributes. The Holy Spirit, then, is ‘All Love’ and will produce ‘love’ in God’s children. God shares some of His attributes with us, and Love is one of these. This love which God shares with us is called ‘agape’ in the Greek. It is a God-given love and other believers in Christ will recognize us by our love.

"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another."
(John 13:35)

The Little Foxes

Am I the only one, or have others noticed how it's the little things that can set off anger, cause frustrations, erode marriages?

I find I can handle big things pretty well. Perhaps because I know I need God’s presence, His guidance with me. When my husband had Cancer Surgery, I was calm. When the doctor came in and told me his findings, I was still calm. When my sister was dying of Cancer, I felt I needed to be strong, as I was now the family ‘matriarch’. But give me a few little trials, a stubbed toe, a burned meal, a leaky faucet, a bunch of ‘little foxes’ and I may fly apart.

In Song of Solomon 2:15 it says: "catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vine…" Perhaps this is what it is speaking of in this verse. Give me some big problems, I willingly take them to the Father and lay them at His feet. But the everyday little nuisances, I often think ‘I can do it myself’. Then I get stuck in the mire, or as the verse says, I have had my vine spoiled.

My Prayer: O Lord, may we not forget, You are not only the God of the big things, the storms, and the bends in the road, but You are the God of the everyday nuisances, the little frets that come on ordinary days. Forgive me, Lord, and I give You now my day with its little trials and ‘little foxes’ and lay them at Your feet. You are such a great and awesome God, yet You care for my smallest needs. Thank You, Father, You are so good. Amen
　

Teacups

In my china cabinet I have several lovely china teacups. One of these I bought in Halifax, Nova Scotia some 25 years ago. Another one I bought in England at about that same time. The rest of them were given to me by my Aunt, who came from Scotland as a young woman, so I think they would be at least 75 years old.

They mostly just sit in my cabinet gathering dust, but a few years ago I used them every week for awhile. It was after I had retired, and during the day I was home alone most of the time. As I had my devotions one day, I was impressed with the well known verse from Revelation 3:20 that states Jesus said He would come in and ‘sup’ with me; so I decided to provide a place for this. I would set out a couple of my special teacups, fill them with coffee or tea and imagine my Lord sitting with me, to ‘sup’ with me. It was very easy to just tell Him my heart as we had our ‘tea party’.

This brings to mind ‘cups’ that our Savior mentioned in the Scripture. The first one, which stands out to me, was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He was crucified. He prayed "O Father if it be possible, let this ‘cup’ pass away from me." I have read different thoughts on this; some say He was afraid of the physical part. I do not believe it was physical at all. I believe it was my sin and your sin that He knew He would bear. He was not to just carry it as a load, He would drink this ‘cup’ of sin, and it would become a part of Him. He knew it was at this point of time when sin and God would clash, and God would have to turn away from His Son. Oh, what a bitter cup!

Jesus accepted that first ‘cup’, and now He can offer us a ‘cup’, the cup of communion as He says "this is my blood which was shed for you, drink ye all of it." Are you ready to drink of that cup? Am I ready to accept what He did on Calvary and give Him my life, and my all? Are you?

When we have given Him our life, we will then be able to do as He asks in Matthew 10:42: "whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is my disciple, surely I declare to you he shall not lose his reward."

I may have some lovely bone china teacups, probably valuable only to me, but

He provides the blessings to fill my spiritual cup, to last for all eternity.
"Fill my cup, Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more—
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!
(By Richard Blanchard)

Favorite Parts of the Bible

I was once asked what my favorite part of the Bible was. It is difficult to pick out a favorite section of the Bible. I have gone through it chapter by chapter, every day for the past several years, and each time I go through it again, I glean something new from the most unexpected areas.

These past few weeks I have been reading I Chronicles. In I Chronicles we learn about David’s life, but there are many chapters listing genealogies, names of warriors, and musicians, and tabernacle workers and all listing whose sons they were. This can get very boring, but right in the middle of all the ‘sons of’ may be a gem. Chapter 4 is an example that shows lists of names, and suddenly 2 verses about a fellow named Jabez, whom the Lord blessed.

Then after plodding through more lists of names, and sons of so and so, in chapter 26: 5 it says: ‘Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him." Then on it goes listing more names. I had to stop and think about this. At first I thought the person it was speaking of was this Peullethai, but as I reread it, and noticed the punctuation, I realized the one being blessed was in verse 4, Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom had been faithful to God in caring for the Ark when it had been dropped off back in 2 Samuel. Peullathai was one of Obed-edom’s sons, so was blessed, also, because his father had been faithful. This can be a lesson to us as parents. If we are faithful, our children will be blessed as well. Verse seven even mentions the grandchildren.

Elsewhere in this same book are words of David, sounding very much like a Psalm. Some examples are I Chron. 16: 8-10: O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name…Sing to Him, sing praises to Him…Glory in His Holy name." And in verses 31-34 of chapter 16 we have all nature singing: "Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice…Let the sea roar…let the fields rejoice. then shall the trees of the wood sing out for joy before the Lord…O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving kindness endure forever."

All this from what I thought was the very ‘boring’ book of I Chronicles. I once read that 'you may look lightly upon a Scripture and see nothing; meditate upon it often; there you shall see a light, like the light of the sun.' This must be what it means, as I have found that the more I read the Scriptures, the more nuggets I find and the more light comes through.

Another thing I have found with the Old Testament, it shows us the most base of human nature. God’s chosen nation did despicable things, turning away from God time after time. And then the Old Testament ends nearly 400 years before Christ is born. It would almost seem as though God had turned away from man, was just washing His hands of the whole human race.

But, as the New Testament begins, a baby is born just as predicted in the Old Testament. And as it tells in Isaiah, the baby became the Passover Lamb, and instead of God washing His hands of mankind, His Son paid the price of all the sin handed down through all these generations, that man can be washed in the blood of that Lamb. What a picture of Grace the New Testament gives. And without the Old Testament, we may not see the clear picture of Grace.
　

The Persecuted

For the past few weeks we have been looking at a Beatitude a week, from Matthew 5. The last of these eight Beatitudes on persecution is given a double blessing. "Blessed are the persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". Then Jesus enlarged upon this by saying "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me."

Some people think that if we are children of God, we should not have problems. If we do have problems then we aren’t praying right. But Jesus said, "the slave is not above his master." Did Jesus have problems? He had no place to really call home; He was badgered and made fun of everywhere He went. He also said, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…" John 15:20. So we will be treated as they treated Jesus, and in the end He was hung on a Cross. When we are able to say, "Not I-but Christ", and "not my will but thine be done." Then we will no doubt be persecuted in some way.

Paul states in II Corinthians 12:20 that he took pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. He felt Christ was worth the cost. Down through the centuries, up until and including our modern day, we have martyrs and those who have suffered for their faith because they knew Christ was worth it. They also knew there would be a day of reward when this life is over. Again, from Paul in II Timothy 4:7, he says: "in the future there is laid up for me the Crown of Righteousness…which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who loved His appearing."

Christ was persecuted, and we are blessed when we are willing to also be persecuted. To give a principle for this Beatitude, it would seem to be that of being identified with Christ. We share in His sufferings. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me…" (Galatians 2:20)

My Prayer:
O Lord, to suffer is something no one likes to think about, yet you have made it clear that if we "suffer with you we shall also reign with you." We know that a faithful witness is going to suffer. You suffered so for me, how can I do less than give of myself to you as a living sacrifice. Paul says he counts "all things but rubbish that he might gain Christ." I would do the same. You, Lord, are worth the cost.
In Jesus Precious Name, Amen

The Peacemaker

The seventh of the eight Beatitudes is talking about being a "Peacemaker." "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." In Webster’s Dictionary it states a peacemaker is "a person who makes peace, as by settling the disagreements or quarrels of others." In the Roget’s Thesaurus, it calls a peacemaker an ‘intercessor, interceder, mediator."

If we want to have a principle for this Beatitude, it would seem to be that of ‘reconciling’. When we are reconcilers we are showing that we are ‘sons of God’, and then we are like Jesus, with a family resemblance.

As a ‘peacemaker,’ Jesus is our peacemaker with God the Father. I Timothy 2:5 states there is "one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus." Jesus took on Himself the body of a man, and paid the price of sin on Mt. Calvary. Now according to Mark 16:19 He is seated at the right hand of the Father. When we accept Him as our substitute, He stands as our mediator, interceding for us, and the Father sees us as He sees His Son, pure and joint heirs with Christ.

We also will find ourselves in a position of being a peacemaker in our every day lives. It may be with brothers and sisters in Christ, of a different denomination, or it may be a different culture. As long as Christ’s diety, humanity, and keeping Christ as the central figure, is not compromised, we can be peacemakers, and can have fellowship with others through our submission to Christ.

Here is what Paul tells us about Jesus, our Peacemaker- example:
"And (He designed) to reconcile to God both (Jew and Gentile united) in a single body by means of His Cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bring the feud to an end.
"For it is through Him that we both (Jew or Gentile-far off or near) now have an introduction (access) by one (Holy) Spirit to the Father (so that we are able to approach Him.) (Ephesians 2:16,18 Amplified)

My Prayer:
O Lord, Help me to not put on airs or be judgmental, but to submit wholly to You, accepting all our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, no matter their creed or ethnic group or culture. In You all barriers have been removed and You are our bond of unity and harmony. We are all fellow heirs, members of the same body, and share in the same promise of You through our acceptance of the Gospel. Thank You for showing me how to be a peacemaker. Amen

The Pure

The second Beatitude of the last four, (so actually the sixth one in Christ’s sermon) is "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This is what it says in the amplified version: "Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!"

In the Old Testament, in Psalm 24, David asks the question in verse 3: "…who shall stand in His (God’s) Holy Place?" And he answers it with (verse 4) "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or to what is false, nor sworn deceitfully."

How can we, mere human beings have a pure heart? The principle for being pure would seem to be giving one’s heart wholly to God! Even then it makes one wonder how it is possible.

In I Kings 11:4 it states David’s heart was "wholly devoted to the Lord his God." We know from reading all about the life of David that he did not always act pure. He had committed murder as well as adultery, yet it says he had a ‘wholly devoted heart’. As we think about David’s life, however, we see that he always had a song. When he was a shepherd boy, he sang; running from his enemies, he had a song. When he sinned, he wrote the most beautiful and heartbroken hymn of repentance (see Psalm 51). So, he sinned, yet in his heart he was praiseworthy. No man or woman will have a totally "pure" performance, but when we give the Lord our God our heart, He sees us as "pure".

When we are pure, the way we treat others will come from our love for God. The way the sixth Beatitude reads in The Message helps to explain this. "You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." And not only will we see God in the outside world, but also the outside world will see God in us. He is not looking for a perfect performance, but He does look for a heart wholly devoted to Him.

A.W. Tozer tells us how to have our minds "wholly on the Lord". It is "by faith and obedience, by constant meditation on the holiness of God, by loving righteousness and hating iniquity, by a growing acquaintance with the Spirit of holiness." Proverbs 23:26 states "my son (daughter), give me your heart and let your eyes observe and delight in my ways."

My daily prayer is that I will have a heart wholly devoted to the Lord; He will see me as "pure", and others will see Jesus in me.

The Merciful

For the past few weeks we have looked at the first four Beatitudes as found in Matthew 5. Each of these has shown us we have a "need". Each of them is all about what we need, and that need is for God and others.

The last four Beatitudes also have something in common, and that is, how we are to show Christ to the world through Christ-like qualities, by going beyond ourselves and reaching out to others.

The first Christ-like quality is to be "merciful". In Christ’s sermon He said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." This is an interesting remark in that we can’t really ‘give’ mercy or be merciful unless we have received that mercy through Grace from God. Then, we in turn are to reach out to others by showing mercy, and God in turn will bless us and show us mercy. It has the principle here of ‘reciprocity." (my spell checker even took this word!). He gives us mercy through salvation, we show mercy to others, and He gives us blessings.

To show mercy is to be merciful and show compassion. Jesus showed compassion in His healings. He showed compassion when it says He bore the ‘infirmities’ of the weak in Matthew 8:17. He showed compassion at Lazarus’ tomb when it says He wept. He shared in the feelings of Mary and Martha even though He knew what He was about to do. It was Jesus compassion and merciful spirit that was so forgiving and from the Cross He said "Father forgive them."

To be merciful is to learn from Jesus example and what He has done for us, and have compassion and be forgiving to others, even those who wrong us.

My Prayer (part of a prayer by A.W.Tozer in "The Knowledge of the Holy"):
"Holy Father...How can we thank thee enough for thy mercy which comes down to the lowest part of our need to give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and for the spirit of heaviness a garment of praise? We bless and magnify thy mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord." May I too, show mercy as Your ambassador in this world. In Jesus name, Amen

Those Who Hunger and Thirst

Jesus said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied. Only Jesus can satisfy. Psalm 42:1 states "As the deer pants for the water brook, so my soul pants for you." Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4 that whoever drank the water that He would give would never thirst. A person who is thirsty craves water; a soul thirsty for God craves or yearns for Him.

Jesus also likens Himself to giving us food for our souls. In John 6:35 He says "I am the Bread of life, He who comes to me will never be hungry…" Psalm 107:9 states "He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." The hunger of our souls and the thirst for more can only be satisfied in Jesus.

The principle we find here is that of ‘yearning’. We are yearning for righteousness, and since Christ is our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6) we are desiring and yearning for Christ Himself.

I would like to quote a part of a prayer by A.W. Tozer; it fits the longing and yearning of my own soul: "O God, the Triune God, I want to want thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be more thirsty still. Show me thy glory I pray thee, that so I may know thee indeed." Just give me Jesus, and I will be satisfied. Amen

The Meek

In Matthew 5:5 we read "Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the earth." A true meekness is humility coupled with strength. The principle that is behind the blessing of meekness would be submission. We have learned that the poor in spirit are submissive to God. To be ‘meek’ is to be first submissive to God, but then we are to be submissive to our leaders, our spouse and to others in the family of God. In other words, we are to be submissive to each other.

In the New Testament, we have only one person who is called "meek" and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Of Himself He says He is "meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). In the Old Testament, Moses was the only person with this distinction. In Numbers 12:3 it states "Now the man Moses was very meek (gentle, kind and humble) above all men on the face of the earth" (Amplified Version). Neither one of these men were weak; not in their character and not in their physical being; yet they were meek in their submission to God.

The opposite of meekness would be arrogance. Jesus was never arrogant. And Moses was said to be more humble than any man.

When we admit we need God and others, we will be showing meekness. This is not weakness but submitting to God’s strength. Paul said "When I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor. 12:10). The Amplified says it this way: "…for when I am weak (in human strength), then am I (truly) strong (able, powerful in divine strength)." And why? Because he was submitting to God’s strength.

My Prayer: O Lord, my desire is to know You better, to go deeper into Your Word and deeper into submission to You. You have said that my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I say with Paul "I will glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ will rest on me". Meekness is truly having the Mind of Christ. Amen

Those Who Mourn

According to Webster’s Dictionary, "mourn" means: ‘ To feel sorrow, grieve.’ Jesus words were: "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted". The principle of this beatitude is brokenness. A broken person will be open to God’s will.

What does a ‘mourner’ need? He needs to be comforted. In II Corinthians 1:3,4 we read that God is the Father of Comfort. Verse 4 from the Amplified Version reads: "Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

When we desire to become more spiritual, brokenness is the key to a deeper work and understanding of God. He uses this as a means of taking us deeper into our need for Him, it teaches, and purifies and brings us into a deeper relationship with Him.

We may see such breakings in a Christian that will lead to bitterness, but if we desire to be more spiritual, God will turn the trials into blessings. He is seeking to help us learn to depend on Him, see our need for God, and bless us in doing this.

My Prayer: Oh Lord, I desire to have the mind of Christ. If it takes brokenness for me to learn this, then I accept it as a means of teaching me new insights and new blessings from Your Hand. You are my Comfort and my Joy. Amen

Poor in Spirit

I think just about everyone has heard of the Sermon on the Mount…even the non-believer. This sermon, found in Matthew 5, is begun with 8 blessings called beatitudes. These beatitudes are actually principles for us to follow in learning how to please God.

For the next few weeks I plan to look at one of the beatitudes each week and see how it can be applied to each of us. The first four are related to each other in that they show our dependence on God and our need for God. The last 4 Beatitudes are related to each other by showing us as ‘giving’ to others.

The first Beatitude in Matthew 5:3 is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Amplified Version gives it this way: "Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life—joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!" The poverty spoken of here is spiritual. Without God we are totally helpless.

Until one realizes he or she is poor in spirit, one can not repent; but to repent is to be poor in spirit. It is then that one realizes redemption depends on God alone.

Even after we have repented and received salvation, we are poor, in that we still have a tendency to sin. We have to realize that even as a believer we can do nothing unless we depend on God. If we want to live a spiritual life and a righteous life, we must realize how helpless we are on our own, and depend completely on the Lord.

Being ‘poor in spirit’ is our first step in helping us become a spiritual being. When we are poor in spirit, things of the spirit will become more important to us than the material world.

The poor in spirit know they need God.

My Prayer: Dear Lord, You say the ‘poor in spirit’ is blessed as he is the one who is humble before You. He is the one who realizes that he is nothing in himself, and yet in You he has everything. Here is my heart, Lord. I bow humbly before You; I know that without You I can do nothing. I offer You my worship and my praise. Amen

Inspiration From the Psalms

So many Psalms have spoken to God’s children’s hearts down through the ages. The Children of Israel sang them; they were sung by the early Church in the First Century AD. We don’t know the tunes from those long ago days, but many have put them into song in recent years, or been inspired to create new verse from some of them.

My mother was blessed with the ability to write both words inspired by the Psalms, and some she put to music, either the Psalm as written in the Bible, or her own inspired words from the Psalm. The following is one she wrote from Psalm 121:1 & 2 entitled
"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes":

"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills,"
The mighty ageless mountains.
The towering rocks,
The wooded hills,
The streamlets tumbling down the rills;
The rushing falls,
The lakes serene,
The mighty peaks that I have seen.

"I will flee as a bird to the hills,"
My anguished heart once said.
In them find joy
Where troubles cease,
Amongst the hills there’s surely peace.
But lo, there was no peace of mind,
No ease from sorrow could I find.

Then a question clear I heard,
"From whence shall my help come?"
From towering rocks?
From wooded hills?
From streamlets rushing down the rills?
I pondered long,
And dark my way—
Till God revealed Himself one day.

Yea, my help cometh from the LORD,
The ONE who made the mountains.
His Mighty Word,
His loving Hand
Did make these hills on which I stand.
In HIM alone I now can see
Is perfect peace and VICTORY.
-- By Marjorie S. Paton

Praise to God

Why should we praise God?
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you." In II Samuel 22:4 is says "I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…" In Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…" Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: "…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…" From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.

By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.

How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 "I will praise thee with my whole heart…." Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.

When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him "all day long." Psalm 63: 4 states the "I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name." In Psalm 84:4 we find that "they will be singing Your praises all the day". Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him "from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised." We never stop praising the Lord!

My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my "Sacrifice of Prayer." Amen

The Word of God

Besides being my Prayer Partner (as last week’s blog pointed out), the Holy Spirit is also the ‘Spirit of the Word’. It is the Holy Spirit who will cause the Word to become a joy to our hearts and help us to understand it. In order to have a healthy spiritual life one must take in the Word of God as well as prayer, each and every day.

Jesus loved the Word and treasured it in His heart. He used it for victory over Satan when in the wilderness. He had a habit of going to the synagogue every Sabbath and reading from the Scripture, see Luke 4:16. When He was but a youth He sat among the teachers, both hearing them and asking questions of them. Luke 2:47 states that all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. He even quoted from the Word while on the Cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (See Psalm 22:1)

In Isaiah 55:10-11 we read: "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." We must feed upon God’s Word to give us strength and life, each and every day.

My Prayer: Your Word, Lord, gives light to my path, so I need to use it every day. When I am in doubt, I go to Your Word; when I need comfort, I go to Your Word. When I want to hear You speak to me, I go to Your Word. But still my heart longs, yea yearns, to actually sit at Your feet and hear the timbre of Your voice, the ‘love-words’ you will speak to me. It will be like the oil on the head, to run down over my garments, speaking peace and love to my soul. Your "mouth is full of sweetness" (Song of Solomon 5:16) Your Word is like a refreshing spring rain. Amen

My Prayer Partner

The Holy Spirit was given to us when Jesus went back into Heaven. Jesus told His disciples that He would not leave them as orphans, but the Father would send them ‘another’ counselor to be with them forever. (John 14:18) Anne Graham Lotz calls Him "Another Jesus" because He is just like Jesus, only without a human body.

The Holy Spirit is so many things to us. He is our counselor, our comforter; He is our Helper, our advocate, and our strengthener, helping us to grow. The Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Prayer". In Zech. 12:10 He is called "The Spirit of grace and supplications."

He is our Intercessor, and thereby He is our Prayer Partner. "The Spirit…makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:27).
I personally do not know how to pray, but from this verse I see that I am not alone in my praying. God knew I would be this way, and in His all-wise love He stooped to meet my helplessness by giving me and each of His children the Holy Spirit Himself to pray for us. With the help of our Prayer Partner, this Sweet Holy Spirit, we can with confidence lay our desires and heart-needs before God.

In every prayer we bring before God, we have the Triune God, the whole Trinity, taking part. We have God the Father who hears our prayers; the Son, our Lord Jesus in whose name we pray; and we have the Holy Spirit who prays in us and for us, and presents our prayers to the Father according to His Will. This Holy Spirit, our own special Prayer Partner, will lead us in our prayers to teach us to be intercessors who cry to Him day and night.

Father, Help me to know and reverence my Prayer Partner, this Sweet Holy ‘Spirit of Prayer!’ In Jesus name I pray, Amen

Do You Hear Me?

Do You hear me?
Do You see me?
Have you ever asked this of God? I think David felt this way on occasion. In Psalm 55:1 he pleads with God, "listen to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my supplications." And in Psalm 61, verse one, it sounds as though he is pleading "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer."

There was a time when I thought of God’s knowing me about the way a speaker knows the person in the back row of a large auditorium full of people. Yes, I was in the crowd, I was in the door, but I was only one of the masses. Of course this also gave me reason to feel that if I did something not becoming a child of God, no one knew. Wow! Was this ever putting God into a box! I was bringing Him down to our very human level.

When Jesus Christ came to earth some 2000 years ago, and ultimately gave His life on Calvary’s Cross to pay the wages of sin, He tore away the veil separating God and man. We are now one with God if we have accepted Christ as our Savior. He states in John 17:21 "That they all may be one, (just) as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, and they also may be one in Us…" and in verse 23 "I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one…"

Ephesians 3:17 makes it very clear that Christ dwells within me. From the Amplified version we read "May Christ through your faith (actually) dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts!"

And read what it says in Colossians 2:9 & 10 (again from the amplified): "For in Him the whole fullness of diety (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form (giving complete expression of the divine nature). And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life (in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,--and reach full spiritual stature.)"

So I ask again, "do You hear me? Do You see me?" And the answer is "of course

my child, behold, I am with you always, as we are one."

"He knows my name,
He knows my every thought,
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call!"
(Words by Tommy Walker)

Thank You Father, for hearing me, seeing me, and knowing all about me. You are so Good! Amen

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

For the past few years I have been reading the Bible, verse by verse, chapter by chapter; a chapter from the Old Testament along with a chapter from the New Testament each day. I seem to get through the New Testament two times, for each time through the Old Testament. It’s amazing what nuggets I find, even in the Old Testament, that I haven’t seen previously. I also vary my reading by using different versions each time. This time through the New Testament I have decided to use The Message, which is the New Testament in contemporary language, compiled by Eugene H. Peterson. Right away, in Matthew 6, I was thrilled by the plainness, everyday language of Jesus talking about our God-Worship. I have decided that for this week I will just copy verses 25 through 34 as it is written in this very down-to-earth language.

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Wow! Could anyone say it better? That’s Jesus talking in our everyday, simple language. Don’t Worry, be happy! God is in Control!!!
　
　
　
　
　

A Worm to a Butterfly

"Strip yourselves of your former nature (put off and discard your old unrenewed self) which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion: And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude), And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, (Godlike) in true righteousness and holiness."Ephesians 4:22-24 (Amplified)

For years I had the prayer that God would take me, this worm of a human being, and turn me into a butterfly. Make me what Ephesians 4:24 states, "created in God’s image, in true righteousness and holiness." Then as I began studying God’s Word, I realized, I already am a butterfly. The day I accepted Christ as my Savior, I became a new being. Isaiah 61:3 tells me, He took my ashes and gave me beauty. In Isaiah 61:10 it states "(You) clothed me with garments of salvation, (You) have wrapped me in a robe of righteousness…as a bride adorned with her jewels." II Corinthians 5:17 says, "if any person is in Christ he is a new creation." And in Colossians 3:10 (amplified) "And have clothed yourself with the new spiritual self, which is renewed and remolded into...knowledge after the image of Him who created it."

Wow! I already am a beautiful new creation in God’s sight! I have a new spiritual self! And someday I shall even have a new body, a glorified body, and one like Christ’s glorified body. David is one who realized this when he stated in Psalm 17:15 "I shall be satisfied when I wake in thy likeness." Paul tells us in Philippians 3:21 "(Lord Jesus Christ) shall change our lowly body that it may be fashioned like his glorious body…"

You see, I am already a butterfly, what more could I ask for. My soul is a new creation, and soon my body will be also.

"Like developing butterflies,
We are to shed the cocoon
Of our sinful nature that we might
Emerge into the beauty of Christ."
(Unknown)

Thank you, Lord, for taking this worm and making me into a butterfly! Amen

I Do Not Understand

I do not understand why Jesus had to come to earth to die that I might have life. Why couldn’t God have found an easier way to give us salvation? I do not understand why God’s children on earth suffer pain, and persecution. I cannot understand why I must constantly battle with Satan and his helpers. I have often said things like "why did God allow this" or "if God loves me why did such and such happen?" Job 42:3 gives Job’s answer: "Therefore I have rashly uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."


You’ve no doubt seen the quote: "We make plans and Life happens." And here is another one that I just recently heard: "If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans." Proverbs 16:9 states "A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure." And in Proverbs 20:24: "Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?" We have no idea what the future holds for us, and God does, so why not trust Him, instead of telling Him we don’t understand so we’d rather do it ourselves.

Here is what God’s Word tells us about understanding the ways of God from Isaiah 55:8,9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." "As the heavens are higher than the earth" Wow! That is a big spread. So what makes me think I can know what God’s reasons are? In Psalm 139:6 it says "Your infinite knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high above me. I cannot reach it."
　
I may not understand the workings of the Lord, but this one thing I do know: "our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." 2 Cor. 4:17, 18

My Prayer: No, Lord, I do not understand why You had to suffer and die that I might have life; or why we suffer in this life. You could have put a hedge around all Your children, but we would then become weak; we would not have learned how to use Your armor. You say in I Peter 4:13 that our suffering is working for us and will make us rejoice even more when we see Your glory. David said that before he was afflicted, he went astray. I know that all that comes my way is allowed for my good, and I pray I will not waste the trials You allow for me. I also know that nothing touches me that has not gone through You first. You have a design for me, and though I may not understand it, You will use it for my good. You said in John 13:7 "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." Thank you Lord for all You do for me, even if I do not understand it now. Amen

Can We Really Know God?

Can we as mere mortals, really have knowledge of God? Back in ancient times the Children of Israel would not even say His name, Yahweh; they felt it an irreverence to be on such friendly terms as to call Him by name.

But Jesus changed all of that when He died on the Cross in our place, and rose from the grave so that we might have life everlasting. He wants us to know God. Here is what He told His disciples: "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

With the thought I am writing of today, I am not thinking of finding out what God is like (we covered that a few months ago when I discussed some of God’s attributes). My concern today is that we have some knowledge of thinking rightly about God in our personal association. Jesus says that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father, and we are in Him. If we are so close to God as being one with Him, we should not be afraid of Him. In John 17 verses 20 through 26 Jesus is praying for each of us to know we are loved by God.

In I Corinthians 2 it is made clear that we have been given the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself (God) to us. I like the way verse 10 is written in "The Message" translation: "But you’ve seen and heard it because God by His Spirit has brought it all out into the open for you."

To get to know God, however, we must spend time with Him. You don’t get to know someone if you never speak to him or her. This only comes by being often and long with Him, reading the Word, praying. By doing this we learn to trust His dealings with us. Prayer is not coming to God to ask for favors, it is fellowship with Him until He actually has possession of us. When we actually ‘know’ our God, we will not even ask why, or ask about dark days, or ask for petty material things. We will just know God will bring all out according to His will. In John 14:1 Jesus says "Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on God;"

My Prayer: O Lord, I know of no greater pleasure than to be called Your friend, and to know that I have the Spirit within me to make known to me the things of the Father. May I be open to the Spirit, eager to learn, ready to receive all there is for me. With Paul, "I bow my knees"; yea, I even fall on my face before the Father, asking for an anointing of knowledge from the Spirit, and to know the love of Christ as a fire in my soul. Amen

A quote: "the Christian life is knowing God in a personal love-relationship"

CROWNS

Man makes a lifetime of running around, trying to lay up for himself riches. Psalm 39:6 states: "…every man walks about like a shadow, he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them."

In Proverbs 27:24 it states "Riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations." Wow! That is a truism. I have just been reading II Kings and very seldom did a kingdom go from father to son, to son. Someone, maybe a Captain of the Guard, or an outside villain would have a ‘coup’ and kill the king, then take over the throne.

We may never receive a crown while here on earth. Some of us may never receive any kind of reward or medal for accomplishments or great leadership; but the Bible says there is a ‘crown’ waiting for each of God’s children when we get to Heaven. Paul states in II Timothy 4:8 "Henceforth there is laid up for me the "Crown of Righteousness" which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing." So here we have a "Crown of Righteousness".

Another Crown we will receive is the "Crown of Life". James 1:12 says "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the "Crown of Life" which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

In I Thess. 2:19 we hear about the "Crown of Rejoicing." In the KJV it is Crown of Rejoicing, and in the Amplified Version from which I have been studying lately, it is called "a Victor’s wreath of excellent triumph when we stand in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming."

Here is one I am really looking forward to, found in I Peter 5:4 (KJV): "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a "Crown of Glory" that fadeth not away…"

The only reason we are able to even claim such crowns is because of the crown our Savior wore while here on earth, namely, the "Crown of Thorns". Matthew 27:29 states: "they plaited a ‘crown of thorns’, they put it on His head."
When I was in Israel we were shown the kind of thorny bush from which they took the branches to make the crown. The thorns were an inch, to an inch and a half long. These they twisted together and put on His head, no doubt forcing it down so the thorns pierced his skin.

When I think of the crown Jesus wore, knowing it was part of the curse He took for me, so that someday I can stand before Him wearing my "Crown of Righteousness", I feel so humbled, so very unworthy. How can anyone refuse to accept Him, knowing what He did for each of us.

My Prayer: The Crowns You give Your children, Lord, are incorruptible, they will last forever and ever. And these Crowns are mine only because of what you did on Calvary. I have done nothing to deserve them. You are so good! You are the Life in me! You are my All and my Salvation. Holy Lord, You are my treasure and it is at Your feet where I will lay down my heart and my crown! Amen
　

What is 'Faith'?

The definition of Faith from Webster's Dictionary is: "(a) unquestionable belief that does not require proof or evidence. (b) Complete trust, confidence, or reliance." Not too many of us can say that we even have this kind of Faith.

The following are some examples of Faith from the Bible.
1. Matthew 9:22 tells of the woman who touched Jesus garment, and He said, "thy faith hath made thee well."
2. Also in Matthew 9, verse 29, two blind men followed Jesus and He touched their eyes and said "according to your faith be it unto you."
3. Matthew 17:20 tells us that all we need is 'faith as a grain of mustard seed' to remove mountains, or the huge difficulties in our lives.
4. Mark 9:24 tells the story of the father whose son had been possessed by an evil spirit. The father cried to Jesus "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."
5. Hebrews 11:6 says "without faith it is impossible to please Him."

As Christians, we seem to get the idea that if we have enough faith, we will be rewarded, and if things don't work out we didn't have enough faith. (i.e. a friend dying of cancer and having friends tell her she would be healed if she had more faith.) I know I have felt this way, and I have wept and prayed for more faith, saying "Lord, my faith is so weak, help me to have more faith, help my unbelief."

Some time ago I was reading the biography of Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission. He was a great man of God who gave his life to Christ for China, and to help in sending others to China. He was what we call "literally "living by faith." His Mission (CIM) also 'lived by faith'. Yet he never felt he had enough 'faith'. The more he would see the grace of Jesus, the more his helplessness increased. He felt he was burdened by the sin of unbelief in not being able to have faith enough for joy in the Lord. One day he received a letter from a fellow missionary who had been struggling with this same question. The missionary, John McCarthy, wrote of his struggling and what he had been learning. In short, he said he had found how to have his faith increased--by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us, His life, His death, His work, He Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be the subject of constant thoughts. Not a striving to have faith...but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; and resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and for eternity. As Mr. Taylor read this he says he saw it all! Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One. If we believe not, he still abides faithful. Jesus has said "I will never leave thee."

This sounded like what I, myself, was looking for, but I still found myself struggling with this simple insight. I thought, "well that was good for Hudson Taylor and John McCarthy, they were both great men of God, and were so learned in the Scripture. I asked: "Lord, how do I have this faith? How do I feel this rest in You?" One morning during my devotions as I was reading and praying and, yes, weeping over this very question, the Lord seemed to give me a flash of a vision, (if I may call it such) but it was just enough for me to understand. I like to write down thoughts and insights that come to me, and this is what I wrote that morning:
"Dear Faithful Lord--It suddenly came to me! I have been trying for
weeks to grasp Hudson Taylor's insight of not struggling with "Faith" but to rest on the Faithful one. Just this morning as I was praying, I saw myself
lean over on Jesus and His arms went around me and I felt Peace. Now I
know, Lord, what he meant! Oh Jesus, thank you! Now I know--I who am
weak in my faith--have only to lean on and rest on You--the ever-faithful
one. This means literally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, just lean on
Jesus." Andrew Murray puts it this way: "Faith will find its strength..in the
changeless faithfulness and love of Christ." Amen

And I have proven this to be the key for me, when I am troubled or find I am fearful or doubting, I just visualize myself leaning over on Jesus--He is then between me and the problem, and I have peace.

This to me is FAITH.

Breastplate of Righteousness

The New World Dictionary of American English gives two meanings for the word "Breastplate". (1) It is a piece of armor for the breast and (2) In ancient times, an embroidered cloth worn on the breast of the Jewish High Priest. It was set with 12 jewels representing the 12 tribes of Israel.


We have a ‘breastplate’ and this one is of Righteousness. When we speak of the Breastplate of Righteousness, we are saying that the Lord is our Righteousness. "Righteousness" is one of His attributes, He is ‘All Righteous’ and when we receive Christ as Savior He clothes us in His righteousness. Part of our complete armor, found in Ephesians 6:14 is the Breastplate of Righteousness (or as in the Amplified it is called the Breastplate of Integrity.) In I Thess. 5:8 it is called the Breastplate of faith and love.

Not only does this covering of Righteousness protect us from Satan’s fiery darts, but when the Father looks at us, He sees us as Righteous. He sees us covered with the Righteousness of His Son. Then we can stand before the Father and truly say "Search me O God, and know my heart…" Psalm 139:23.

Prayer: Lord, when I became your child, I received your covering of Righteousness. I am covered by You with a Breastplate of Righteousness and thereby protected from the darts of Satan. Thank You for preserving me in Your Righteousness. Amen

The Two-Edged Sword

"...these are the words of Him who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword." In Revelation 2:12 Christ discribes Himself as the one who has the sharp sword with two edges. The Sword is the Word of God with power to convict all men and to convert all who believe on Him.

Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God who made the heavens and the earth from absolutely nothing. He spoke and they came into being. John 1:1 states "In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This same Word divides between those who are born from above and those who are not.

The Written Word is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God that we can use as our weapon against Satan and all his principalities and powers against whom we wrestle.

In Hebrews 4:12 the author writes "the Word of God is quick, and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Prayer: There are answers to everything "under the sun" in your Word, dear Lord. Your Word is right and true. Your truth and mercy still endures. Your Word have I hidden in my heart so that I might not sin, and I will be faithful to You. Use Your Word through me to draw lost souls to you, I pray in Jesus name. Amen

My Shield

In the New World Dictionary of American English, the word ‘shield’ is: "a flat, usually broad, piece of metal, wood, etc., carried in the hand or worn on the forearm to ward off blows or missiles." It is also: "any person or thing that guards, protects, or defends."

God told Abraham, the one who was to become the father of the race of Israel, that he should not fear because "I am thy shield" (Genesis 15:1). David called God his shield in many of the Psalms. Here are just a few examples:
Psalm 3:3: "But You, O Lord are a ‘shield’ to me...".
Psalm 28:7 he says the Lord is his "strength and shield".
And in Psalm 33:20: "He is our help and our shield."
Paul says to "take up the Shield of Faith…"

The Lord, as our Shield, is both our shield to ward off the fiery missiles of Satan, and also He stands guard, He protects, and defends. He comes between each of His children and all of life, no matter what is happening. It may be the scorn given you by someone, or a group; it may be something very tragic happening in one’s life; it may be an illness or death of a loved one. It may even be a wrong choice, or a sin, yet He is still there to guard and protect. We may feel our faith is too weak, but He, as our Shield, is the Faithful one, and He never leaves us. Whatever it is, He is our Shield.


Prayer: O Lord, you are my strong shield for everything. You will help me through your Holy Spirit, to be an ‘overcomer’ as I learn with confidence that nothing can harm me when I have Your protective Shield of Faith around me. You are my Shield now, and will be until I am with You in Glory. Amen

Spiritual Armor (Part II)

Last week we talked about the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, and your feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace.

The rest of the armor is found in Ephesians 6:16 and 17: "In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

In the Amplified version it says: "lift up over all the (covering) shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one." What a word picture this gives us. The wicked one, or Satan, is always trying to catch us. He not only throws darts, but they are life threatening fiery missiles. We must cloth ourselves with the life saving faith, which is our shield.

The next item is a Helmet. Helmets are worn for many reasons, in fact in many cases it is the law, such as construction sites, riding bikes, skateboards, even roller skates. Soldiers in the war zones wear helmets; the reason is of course to protect the head. Salvation is our Helmet, protecting us from a lost eternity and assuring us of our Hope for the future.

The last mentioned, by no means being the least, is the Sword of the Spirit. This is self-explanatory as it says it is The Word of God. The best place for the Word is to be hidden in one’s heart. In Psalm 119:11 it says, "the Word of God hidden in my heart that I might not sin against God." It is God’s Word that will cause Satan to turn and run. In the front of my Bible given to me when I was a little girl, is written "Sin will keep you from this book, but this book will keep you from sin."

The Sword of the Spirit is our weapon of defense, and our weapon of choice. "I will not forget your Word" (Psalm 119:16)

Prayer: Thank You for providing me with Armor, Lord, that I may stand against the wiles and schemes of the devil. You give me all I need; I must just use it. Amen

Spiritual Armor (Part I)

Paul has been telling his Ephesus believers about the battle all believers are in, that of fighting against principalities and powers of the darkness of this world. But he encourages them by telling them that God gives us Spiritual armor to put on, all we have to do is put it on.

So to continue in Ephesians 6, Paul says in verse 14 and 15 that we are to "stand firm with the Belt of Truth buckled around your waist, with the Breastplate of Righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace." This is quoted from the New International Version. To read it in the Amplified Version: "Stand therefore (hold your ground), having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God. And having shod your feet in preparation (to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news) of the Gospel of Peace."

Paul is telling us just what a good soldier of Jesus Christ needs to wear. First of all, it is important to have a belt. Belts can be used for many things, but one, and probably the most common use, is to hold ones clothing together and keep it from falling. Our spiritual belt is called the "Belt of Truth". In Jude 24 it says "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling…" The Holy Spirit, also known as the ‘Spirit of Truth’ is given to us to keep us from falling.

Next we have the Breastplate of Righteousness. This is a protection for our heart and vital organs. It is like a ‘bullet proof vest’ used today to protect from bullets. Should a bullet strike, one will be bruised, but not broken. In Isaiah 61:10 we are told that "He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…" When the Father looks at us and sees us covered in the robe or Breastplate of Righteousness, He knows we are protected and whole, and yes, Holy.

Verse 15 states our feet should be shod in readiness to go; readiness to carry the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, to others. In Isaiah 52:7 it says, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tiding, who publishes peace…"

My Prayer: O my Lord! With my mind stayed on You I am covered with Your truth, Your righteousness and Your Peace. Thank you for helping me to stand firm. Amen

Preparing for Battle

In Ephesians 6: 10, 11, Paul tells us that we need to prepare for a battle. We are warriors in a battle, and we are to be strong. Paul says: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." In the amplified version it gives more detail: "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord (be empowered through your union with Him); draw your strength from Him (that strength which His boundless might provides). Put on God’s whole armor (the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies), that you may be able successfully to stand up against (all) the strategies and the deceits of the devil."

We are at war, a battle every day. Though it is unseen by our human sight, it is a very real battle. In verse 12 (again from the Amplified version) Paul says: "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents), but against the despotisms, against the powers, against (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere."

If we are in such a great battle, how are we going to stand against the forces we cannot even see? As it said in verse 11, we are to put on God's whole armor, which He supplies us with. And then in verse 13 he tells us again: "Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day (of danger), and having done all (the crisis demands), to stand (firmly in your place)." We are given spiritual armor with which we can stand firm and fight against these evil powers that would like to destroy us. He has not left us helpless, but He has left us with a responsibility, and that is that we must pick up each piece of armor and make use of it. For the next few weeks I will go through each piece of this armor to help us know just how to use it and put it on.

My Prayer: David told Goliath: "…I come against you in the name of the Lord…" (I Samuel 17:45). Your name, Oh Lord, is above all names! Your Glory is above all the earth! Without You I am nothing, but with You I can do all things. With You, nothing is impossible! Satan may have his schemes and lies, but You have conquered Satan. You have crushed his head. Your armor will cover me. Psalm 27:1 states: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life…" I have confidence in You! I will wear Your armor! Amen

My Lord Is ...?

In Matthew 22:42 Jesus asked, "What do you think of Christ? In Matthew 16:15 He asked His disciples "Who do You say that I am?"

What does the Bible say about ‘who our Lord is?’ In Psalm 24 He is called the King of Glory. Verse 10 states "Who is (He then) this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory, Selah…" When He returns to set up His kingdom on earth, His name is written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16).

II Samuel 22:2, 3 says "The Lord is our rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer…He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my Savior." According to Psalm 28:7 He is my strength, and my shield. Psalm 59:9, He is my defense. Psalm 23, a familiar Psalm to many, the Lord is called ‘my Shepherd’. Also in I Peter 2:25 He is referred to as our Shepherd as well as our Bishop. Hebrews 7 and 8 calls Him our High Priest. Hebrews 8:1 "We have such a High Priest, One who is seated at the right hand of the majestic (God) in heaven."

Some nights when I have difficulty going to sleep, instead of counting sheep, I go through the alphabet using names describing my Lord. Not only does it help me fall asleep, but when I wake up, He is the first on my mind.

My Prayer: Lord, I love saying names for You. Throughout Scripture there are so many different names to describe You. You are my beloved and the One Whom my soul loves. You are worthy to be praised! You are precious to me, my Chief Cornerstone. Worthy are You O Lord, to receive Power, and Glory. You are all things; You created all things, and yet Your desire is to me. You know my name!! You know my every thought!! O Lord, How Great You are! Amen

Jeremiah 33

Young people of today will not remember this, but when I was very young, telephone numbers had an exchange name, followed by the number. You are no doubt familiar with the song from the 1940’s entitled Pennsylvania 6-5000. This is a good example of what I am talking about. In small towns, one gave the phone number to a ‘telephone operator’ instead of dialing it. All this reminiscing is said in order to explain a quote we used to say about the Bible verse Jeremiah 33:3. We called this God’s telephone number; Jeremiah 3-3-3. Here’s why—it says "Call to me and I will answer you…" The Lord tells us to call on Him, and He promises to answer. He doesn’t say he will give us the answer we desire, every parent knows this is not wise; but He does promise to answer.


The previous verse, verse 2, states "Thus says the Lord Who made (the earth), the Lord Who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name." Then he goes on to say "Call on me". To me this is a Wow! The maker of heaven and earth is telling us to just "call" on Him, just pick up the phone, just connect to Him, and He will answer.


There are other promises in this first part of Jeremiah 33 that have grabbed at my heart. I realize the Lord was speaking to the Israelites, but I feel these verses are given to us to show what a gracious God we have. We, too, have angered and saddened our Lord. In verse 5 he says "…I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:" But then our gracious Lord says "Behold I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth." Our Lord will ‘heal’ us from our sins; He will cure us and give us peace.

Verse 8 states "I will cleanse them from all the guilt and iniquity…and I will forgive all their guilt and iniquities by which they have sinned and rebelled against Me." All we have to do is call upon Him and He will ‘forgive’.


Verse 11 sounds to me like our "Sacrifice of Praise". "…the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord. Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good:"

Verses 15-17 talks about our Messiah, our Righteousness. Here are some excerpts…"at that time will I cause a righteous Branch (the Messiah) to grow up to David…" "The Lord is Our Righteousness (our Rightness, our Justice)."


To summarize the blessings I found in Jeremiah 33:1-17:
1. Just Call and God will answer
2. He will cure and give peace
3. He forgives our iniquities
4. We give our "Sacrifice of Praise"
5. The Messiah is our Righteousness
　
　
　

What Happens to My Sin?

A couple of Sundays ago, we sang the song "At the Cross". The words are:
"At the Cross, at the Cross
Where I first saw the light
And the burden of my heart rolled away…"

In the book entitled "Pilgrim’s Progress’ by John Bunyan, is the story of Christian, leaving his home in the City of Destruction. On the back of Christian was his heavy load of sin and causing much grief. His journey was to find relief of his load on his way to the Celestial City. Eventually he came to a place where the road was fenced on either side with a wall, called ‘salvation’. Up this road he ran encumbered by the load on his back. He came to a place where there stood the Cross, and a little below in the bottom a Sepulchre. When Christian reached the Cross, his burden came loose and fell off his shoulders, tumbling till it came to the sepulchre where it fell in, and was seen no more. It was the sight of the Cross that eased his Burden. It is at the Cross where through repentance and trust in the one who paid our ransom, we receive life. Where does our sin go when we come to Christ’s Cross? How can we know it is really cast away?

Micah 7:19 states "…you will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea."
Psalm 103:12 tells us that "As far as the East is from the West so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
In Jeremiah 31:34 we are told "…for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Also, in Isaiah 43:25 God says He is the one who blots out and cancels our transgressions. And in Isaiah 44:22 He says they are blotted out like a thick cloud.
In Peter’s message at Pentecost, he tells the crowd listening "So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return (to God) that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean…" (Acts 3:19 Amplified). These verses are only a few of the verses showing that our sins are gone. Some days when I am grousing about my past, and ask God again to forgive me, I can just imagine He is saying "What sin, my child? I have already forgotten!!."

Why did He do this! Go back to Isaiah 43:25b. He says "For my own sake…" Wow!! He wants us to be clean and pure…For His Own Sake! We are His children, so for His sake He forgets all about our past, all about our sins. What a gracious, merciful God!

He Satisfies

In our world today people are always trying to be satisfied. They feel if they could make more money, they would be satisfied. Or maybe a larger home would make them happier, more satisfied. Another person may even think a different spouse would make a difference. Man (humans) never seem to be satisfied.

The Bible states in Psalm 107:9 that "He (God) satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Jeremiah 31:14 states "My people shall be satisfied with My goodness' says the Lord."

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you..." (Psalm 41:1). The Lord is as important to our lives as water is for any living things. When we are thirsty we crave water; when our soul is 'dry' we need our Lord. Psalm 36:8 states "They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them to drink from the river of Your pleasures."

I am reminded of the story we call "The woman at the Well." Jesus told this Samaritan woman that He could give her living water. In John 4:14 He states "Whoever takes a drink of the water I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty anymore." That to me sounds very satisfying. In chapter 6 of John, verse 35 Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry..." That just seems as satisfied as one could be!

My prayer: O Lord, I long to be this satisfied. I long to feast upon You in Your Word. Help me to be filled by You and be abundantly satisfied. You alone, dear Lord, are food and water to my soul. You alone are the one whom my soul loves and longs for. "I have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (I Peter 2:3). Amen

Lift Up Your Hearts and Praise!

"Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; praise is becoming to the upright." (Psalm 33:1 NASB) Go on down to verse 3 and it states "...play skillfully with a shout of joy."

These verses really stood out for me recently. I was raised in a Christian home, and my father was a minister. Yet, when it came to showing our 'praise' in church, it was frowned on to speak out with a "Hallelujah", or to raise our hands, or even move our bodies to the music. We were very sedate and formal.

This verse says, "it is fitting for the upright to 'praise' Him." (By 'praise' I mean a showing of enthusiasm!) We are also told in I Timothy 2:8 to 'lift up holy hands', and in Psalm 141:2 the lifting up of the hands is the evening offering. We must lift up our hearts, and to be even more Scriptural, we should even lift up our hands.

This is hard for me to do, but I love seeing others do it. Their eyes may be closed and their hands raised, and I feel there is a certain beauty and glow when one worships in this way.

One song we sing occasionally in our church is called "Clap de hands, stomp de feet". I found these words in Ezekiel 6:11 where God told the people to get excited--show emotion: "Clap your hand, stamp your foot!" Up until a few years ago I even felt awkward clapping my hands in church following a special.

My Prayer: O Lord, this is how I am, and I may never change, but Lord, inside I holler and shout and Praise Your Holy name! I am lifting up my heart, and my hands, in response to You. Amen

Thankful in Everything!

Paul told us in Ephesians 5:20 that we should "always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." How can we do this? How can one be thankful for possibly losing a job? Having a sick child? Wrecking one's car? Or even being homeless?

Corrie ten Boom was a young Dutch woman during the time of the Nazi Holocaust. She and her family had been hiding Jews in their home when the Nazi's picked up the whole family, throwing them into Ravensbruck, a concentration camp in Germany. Here is what she had to say about being 'thankful in everything'.

"Conditions in our barracks in the concentration camp at Ravensbruck were terrible. When we first arrived, I told Betsie I could not bear the lice that lived in our filthy blankets and mattresses. She replied, "You must thank God for everything, even the lice."

Betsie was right. Because of the bugs which infested our barrack, the women guards and officers kept their distance, and we were able to hold our Bible studies without fear. God has a use for the vermin, after all!

Sometimes what we see as a curse one day becomes a blessing the next day. How much more simple it would be if we would learn to thank God for everything instead of using our own judgment."

Corrie's Prayer: "Lord, I need a miracle by Your Holy Spirit to thank You for my problem of today. Thank You that You are willing to make me willing."

My Prayer: What a blessing Corrie ten Boom became to the world, Lord; and what lessons she has taught us! She learned to know You best in the barracks of a concentration camp. She learned to thank You for her solitary conditions at first, then her lice infested conditions, and even when her dear sister died from starvation and illness, she thanked You. Oh Lord, forgive me for ever complaining. Thank You for each day You give me. I give thanks with a grateful heart. Amen

All Things!

I love reading the little book "31 Days of Praise" by Ruth Myers. If one doesn't know how to praise, this book will open up the path for you. It will help you verbalize your own feelings. Often when I have read it I think "that sounds just like my thoughts". It just causes my heart to be enlarged, as with joy I give God the praise that is His due. So for my blog this week, I am going to give you the Prayer that she prays on Day 24. It shows how our Lord can use "all things" to work out His perfect will. This prayer is a paraphrasing of certain verses from the Word, which I will list at the end. Any Italics you see will be my own adds.

"Thank You, my loving and sovereign God, that my failures and mistakes and sins are part of the "all things" You work together for good...as well as my tensions and stresses, my hostile and anxious feelings, my regrets, my trips into shame and self-blame--and the specific things that trigger them. I praise You that "all things," including these, can contribute to my spiritual growth and my experience of You...When my heart is overwhelmed, I'm more aware of my need to cry to You...to take refuge in You...to rely on You.

I rejoice that these things keep reminding me to depend on You with all my heart...that they prompt me to trust in Your love, Your forgiveness, Your power, Your sufficiency, Your ability to overrule, and Your transforming presence within me. Thank You for the ways that my shortcomings and failures, and illnesses of the flesh bring pressure on me to open myself to You more fully, and the way they let You show me deep and hidden needs: grief's and hurts that I've never poured out before You, that I've never exposed to Your healing touch, and sins that I've never faced and acknowledged, I give them all to you, My Jesus.
How grateful I am for Your constant cleansing as I confess each sin You make me aware of, and then turn back to You as my Lord. I praise You that I'm free from condemnation simply because Christ died for me and rose again...that it doesn't depend on how well I live. (This is a Wow!)

I praise You for how You use my sins and failures to humble me, and for how this opens me to the inflow of Your Grace (unmerited favor)--amazing Grace, that enables me to hold my head high, not in pride but in humble gratitude for Your undeserved, unchanging love and total cleansing!"

Par. 1 Romans 8:28,29; Psalm 61:2
Par. 2 Proverbs 3:5; Psalm 37:5; 2 Cor. 3:18; I John 1:9
Par. 3 I Peter 5:5; Romans 5:5 (LB)

Can we Lose our Salvation?

There are some dear christian folk that feel that if we sin, to where we walk away from the Lord, we will lose our Salvation. I have been giving some thought to this, as the reasoning given seems fallible, but I have a hard time accepting it.
First, here are some verses that to me shows this is a permanent event. Salvation is not an on-again, off-again situation.

John 10:28 from the Amplified Version reads "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages (to all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed). And no one is able to snatch (them) out of the Father's hands."
II Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) "Therefore if any person is (engrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old has passed away."
Romans 8:38, 39 (Amplified) "For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death or life; nor angels, nor principalities; nor things impending or threatening or things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else in all Creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

There are more, such as the well know John 3:16, where it tells us that "whoever believes in Him shall not perish by have eternal life." It doesn't say eternal life as long as you stay close to me, or give any other conditions. It is 'if you believe you have eternal life'!

A well known writer of today, Beth Moore, has this to say of when she 'fell away'. "I was a young child when I received Christ, and yet I have sinned and failed miserably in my life...every horrible sin I have ever committed has been with the Holy Spirit intact; I was as saved as could be."

A couple of analogies: one being that a child is born into a family. For some reason when the child grows up he leaves home and decides to have no more to do with his past or upbringing. The child and parents never see each other, seldom even know what the other is doing, yet he is still their child. There is no fellowship, no communication, but still there is the fact he is their child. A Biblical example of this is found in Luke 15 with the parable of "The Prodigal Son".

Another analogy is found in Matthew 18:12 and Luke 15, where the shepherd has 100 sheep. One decides to go its own way, wanders off, is lost; but the shepherd does not say, "that is not my sheep anymore". Instead he goes out and finds His sheep. That is His sheep, and He cares and brings it back.

I do not know if everyone we see who has made a profession and then seemingly forgets about God is in this category. Some people will acquiesce to what they are told, but never really accept Jesus as their master and Lord. Even the demons knew who Jesus was, but they did not have Salvation. We must leave this to our Lord who knows the heart.

As for myself, I was like Beth Moore said she was, and I dragged the Holy Spirit along with me. O how it must have grieved Him! This is part of what broke my heart and brought me back to the Savior. That and the fact that it was Jesus precious hands and feet that were pierced for me. It should have been my hands, it should have been my feet, but He took the fall, and gave His all for me.

Thank You Father, that even when I was away from You, You never left me. You have promised to never leave me, and I am held in the palm of Your hand. Amen

The Mind of Christ

I have often prayed that I would have "The Mind of Christ". This is a deep desire of mine. In II Corinthians 3:18 it states "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory just as from the Lord, the Spirit." I am to be transformed into the same image! And in Philippians 2:5 it says "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus". So it is telling me that I am able to have a 'mind like His' as well.

What is this 'mind of Christ?' How will I know if I have it? To answer these questions I have jotted down some adjectives to show how one will know they have the 'mind of Christ.

First of all, he will become "alive". He will feel alive and be joyful. In John 10:10 Jesus says: "I came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." Romans 8:6 states: "But the mind of the (Holy ) Spirit is Life and Peace (both now and forever)."

Another adjective is "peaceful". Using the same verse of Romans 8:6, we underscore the word 'peace'. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will cause 'rest'. In John 14:27 Jesus states He leaves us "His Peace".

Yet another word for the mind of Christ is "Single-minded". Jesus came to earth for the specific reason of doing the Father's will, and to go to the Cross to pay the penalty of sin. In John 17:4 He says in His prayer, "I have glorified You down here on the earth completing the work that You gave Me to do." In Luke 9:51 it shows Jesus had one goal, as it states: "He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

Jesus was always "lowly". We are told the true spirit of Jesus in Philippians 2:3: "...in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others better than and superior to himself (thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves)."

To have the 'mind of Christ' one must be "pure" as it talks about in Titus 1:15. "To the pure (in heart and conscience) all things are pure..." This should become my natural state, with my mind and imaginations on Him.

One who has the mind of Christ will be 'sensitive and responsive' to the things of God. In Luke 24:45 it says: "Then He (thoroughly) opened up their minds to understand the Scripture." And in Luke 11:1 the disciples desired to know more and asked Jesus to teach them to pray. We should be desirous of having Him continually renewing our minds as we seek to be more like Him.

So, to have the "Mind of Christ" we will be:
1. Alive, joyful
2 Peaceful
3. Single-minded
4. Lowly, humble
5. Pure
6. Responsive to Christ
He was our perfect example for life!

*All Scriptures quoted from Amplified Version of the Holy Bible

AMEN

The word, Amen, itself, expresses affirmation, equivalent to "so be it". It is also used at the end of a prayer, giving affirmation, and you will find it at the end of many Psalms. David often closed his Psalm with "Amen".

In the New Testament, we find in I Corinthians 14:16 that it is evident that the early church was expected to respond with the spoken "Amen". This is a tradition carried even into our modern day churches.

In Revelation the statement is made "these things saith The Amen." This is using the Hebrew word meaning fixed, truth, or unchangeable. In this verse, used with the article "the" it is another descriptive title of our Lord Jesus, the Son of God.

My Prayer:
You, O Lord, are the Great Amen. Revelation 3:14 calls You "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness..." You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. When I say "Amen" I am adding my agreement to what has been said, my way of saying, "may it be so". This is my prayer, may it be done. When David ends the Psalm 72 with a double Amen, he is adding an exclamation! You, the Blessed Lord God, are the "Amen", and to this I add, "Amen, so be it, Your name is glorious forever!"