Genesis 22:1 -12 – Some time later God tested Abraham.  He said to him, “Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied.  Then God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”  Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.  He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.  When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.  On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”  “Yes my son?”  Abraham replied.  “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  And the two of them went on together.  When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.  He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham!  Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied.  “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said.  “Do not do anything to him.  Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

When God called Abraham, he did not hesitate.  He said “here I am”.  When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham did not question God.  He did not pray to God to send him in another direction, to spare his son’s life.  He listened and obeyed.  In obedience, he took his son to offer him as a sacrifice to God.  Just as Abraham was about to kill his son, his only son, God provided an alternative.  If God had blessed Abraham with an alternative ahead of time, there would have been no increase in his faith, no reason to obey, and no example for him to have left us on how much we can truly trust in and rely on God.

This story teaches us about faith in God.  Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Abraham had never seen God, but he reasoned that God could raise the dead.  After all, God had given him Isaac when his wife was barren and he was an old man. 

Another thing it teaches us about is His provision.  You don’t even have to read the entire story to find Abrahams belief in God’s provision in action – he said to the servants – wait here, we will return.  He also told Isaac that God Himself would provide the offering.

In His word, God promises to do His part as long as we obey Him, but obedience is essential.

1 Samuel 15:22 – But Samuel replied:  “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Acts 5:29 – Peter and the other apostles replied:  “We must obey God rather than men!” 

Over and over in the Bible, you can find instances where people would obey and they would be blessed by God, or they would disobey and be cursed.  That tells me that there is a reason for our obedience.  The entire chapter of Deuteronomy 28 is dedicated to what happens when you obey God and what happens when you don’t.  It says that if you obey God, everything you put your hand to will be blessed, if not, then everything you put your hand to will be cursed.  EVERYTHING!!!     Life is hard enough without curses raining down upon us because we choose to be disobedient.  God provides us with wonderful blessings that we are not even entitled to.  How much worse would life be if God cursed us in every way that we truly deserve? 

The more you obey God, the closer and more intimate your relationship with Him will be.

It is our imperative duty in life to obey the word of God.  Without obedience, we are unable to secure our entrance into God’s Kingdom.

His favor only comes through our active faith in Him.  Faith is believing and then acting.  Hebrews 11:6 says – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

a·venge –verb (used with object)

1.  to take vengeance or exact satisfaction for

2.  to take vengeance on behalf of

venge·ance –noun

1.  infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge

2.  an act or opportunity of inflicting such trouble

3.  the desire for revenge

There is a desire inside of us, a part of our flesh nature, that desires to inflict pain when we are pained. To bully when we are bullied. To hurt when we are hurt. To lash out when we are lashed out against.

We must allow God to take vengeance. When we choose to take revenge into our own hands, we are operating in our own wrath and are not walking in love.  What a truly amazing thing to have the love of God in us and choose to bless our enemies instead of harming them.

Mat 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more [than others]? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

What are you doing for your enemies? Do you hate people? Do you have a “list” of people you cannot stand?  What if you turned that list into your prayer list. We are told to love our enemies. Do good to those who hate us. Pray for those who persecute us. Love. Bless. Do good. Pray. THAT we would be sons of the Father in Heaven. WOW!

What a better example of doing that – than Jesus. The ManGod who chose to put vengeance in the hands of the Father. There will come a day when Jesus does take vengeance on His enemies. The enemies who have been unjust to Him AND unjust to His people. But Jesus chose to put that timing in God’s hands. He died a cruel, painful, torturous death and PRAYED for the very people who were doing it to Him. HE is our example.

No matter what we are going through, we are called to pray for those who do evil to us.

There may come a day when we are called to love, bless, do good, and pray for those who are inflicting pain upon our families and ourselves. Maybe you’re already in that time. Leave revenge in God’s hands. God’s justice is much more JUST than your’s. After all, He is the Keeper of Justice.

The Kingdom of God is like an escalator…..

So the last lap of my run/walk, I remembered my friend describing to me how she got a spiritual lesson out of every run.  I thought “What is my spiritual lesson, Lord?”
 
Here’s the lesson:
We think we are ready. We think we are spiritually “in shape.” We think because at one point, we ran hard after Him, that at a moment’s notice, we can pick it up again whenever we want to and have the endurance to run the race.  That, my friends, is a lie. Endurance and strength is only built up and given over time, and is only kept when maintained with frequent exercise. Our spirits must be kept in shape with spiritual exercise. The exercises of reading the Word, praying, fasting, denying our flesh, and denying the pleasures of this world. The exercises of renewing our minds, casting down argument that exalt themselves against the knowledge of Christ, saying yes to Jesus, and no to our flesh and the devil.
 
I don’t plan on quitting. I may only be able to run 3 minutes now, but I plan to keep trying to build up my endurance and strength.
 
You shouldn’t give up either. Keep running after Him. Keep trying. Don’t quit and you’ll win.
 
Hbr 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

(The following is taken from the devotional Our Daily Bread and was written by Phillip Yancey)

Psalm 50: 7-15,23 – “Hear O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! 8 – I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. 9 – I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. 10 – for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 – I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mind. 12 – “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 – Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14 – Offer to God thanksgiving.  And pay your vows to the Most High. 15 – Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”  23 – Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”

I used to view the worship service in church as a time for entertainment. Speaking of folks like me, Soren Kierkegaard said we tend to think of church as a kind of theater: We sit in the audience, attentively watching the actors onstage. If sufficiently entertained, we show our gratitude with applause. Church though, should be the opposite of the theater. GOD is the audience for our worship.

What matters most takes place within the hearts of the congregation-not onstage. We should leave a worship service asking ourselves not “What did I get out of it?” but rather “Was God pleased with what happened?” God took  pains to specify details of animal sacrifice for the ancient Israelites in their worship. Yet He said that He didn’t need their animals: “I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:9-10). What He wanted was their praise and obedience (v.23).

By focusing on the externals of worship, we too miss the point: The Lord is interested in a sacrifice of the heart, an internal attitude of submission and thanksgiving. The goal of worship is nothing less than to meet and please our God.

One of those things is fear.  Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined.  It causes your heart rate to increase and your blood pressure to rise.  You may begin sweating or breathing rapidly.  But 2 Timothy 1:7 says – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Deuteronomy 31:8 says – “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

We’re not to carry around fear because of our faith in God.  Fear is caused by doubt and unbelief.  And what do we have to fear?  If God be for us, who can be against us?

Another bag we seem to carry is doubt.  To doubt is to be uncertain or hesitate to believe.  Remember when Jesus walked on water?  He told Peter to come to Him.  Peter stepped out of the boat and was walking on water toward Jesus.  Then doubt crept into his heart, he began to sink, and he cried out of Jesus to save him.  Matthew 14:31 – And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In addition to fear and doubt, we also carry worry.  Worry is defined as the tormenting of oneself with disturbing thoughts.  Worry is also caused by doubt and unbelief.  Jesus specifically tells us not to worry.  And if you’re a child of God, why wouldn’t you want to do what Jesus says?

Matthew 6:25 – 26 – “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Some of us also carry a lot of regret.  Regret is something that I feel is caused by satan himself.  He constantly tries to remind us of the things we’ve done in our past.  He does this so we will worry and be afraid, but once we have been cleansed by Jesus’ blood, we no longer have to regret our past and we are no longer condemned to death.

Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

What baggage are you carrying?  Fear, doubt, worry and regret are tools that the enemy uses to keep you from God.  If satan can get you to feel these things, then you are not feeling the love, joy, peace, rest, power, authority and clarity that God has to offer.

In Matthew 11:28 – 30 Jesus says – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Check your bags at the gate and allow God to be your baggage handler.

What is sometimes placed in our path seems insurmountable.  The battle belongs to the Lord, but we must stay the course, not turning to the right nor the left.  Staying the course means life.  Staying the course strengthens our faith.

Deuteronomy 5:33 says “You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

In Deuteronomy chapter 2, we find the Israelites are wandering through the desert to get to their promised land.  Moses sends messengers asking Sihon, king of Heshbon to allow them to pass through, but Sihon’s heart was stubborn and he would not allow them to pass.

The Israelites stayed the course and God delivered Heshbon into their hands.  All the people of Hesbon were destroyed.  They were delivered into the hands of God for Him to deal with.

If you are walking with God, He has placed you on a certain path for a certain reason.  It is not always ours to know why, but it is ours to know that He has us in the palm of His hand.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we read that the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are coming against God’s people.  These are people and nations that God had previously forbid Israel to destroy.  We find Jehoshaphat is faced with a great multitude of people who are wanting to invade and take over the land God had given His people.  What does he do?  What would you do?

2 Chronicles 20:12  says – O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Jehoshaphat and all of Israel kept their eyes on God.  They did not worry about what they were up against.  They did not doubt that God would deliver them from the great multitude that was coming against them.

If you veer from the path God has placed you on, you go through many more difficulties than you would have it you had just stayed the course.  Once you get back on that path, you discover deliverance was right in front of you, but you couldn’t see it because you were looking for another path.

Is there something in your path?  Where are you eyes?  Are they viewing the circumstances or are they on God? Even though it may seem as if the enemy is at your feet ready to pounce, stay the course for God is there and His timing is perfect.

I’ve always wanted to be like David.  I wanted to be strong, courageous, victorious, a writer, God’s beloved, the apple of God’s eye, delighted in and by God, obedient, hearing God’s voice louder than my own.  You get the point.  I’ve never felt like I could be any of these things.  After all, why would God delight in a lowly sinner like me, or in someone who’s made some of the mistakes I’ve made, who’s had the kind of past I’ve had?

As I’ve studied more about David, I’ve learned that he was all the things I stated above, but he was also a liar, thief, murderer, extortionist, traitor, adulterer, and polygamist.  These are qualities that I did not want to share with him, but it got me thinking…David didn’t beat himself up for his faults, why do we?  How can David be all these horrible things and still be the apple of God’s eye?  How could God think that David was a man after His own heart?

This is because when David was confronted (convicted) of what he had done; he immediately repented and refused to fall into that sin again.  He made things right.  It was his heart of obedience and repentance that God loved.  It was how he dealt with his sin: by embracing God’s love and mercy through faith, that God loved.

Philipians 4:8 says – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

It doesn’t say – whatever is false, whatever your past, whatever your wrongs, think of these things.  It doesn’t say forgive yourself today and 3 months later beat yourself up over it again.

Not only did God forgive David, but David forgave himself.  That is something we all struggle with.  Why?  Why do we condemn ourselves and live in unforgiveness toward ourselves when God doesn’t?  He doesn’t bring up your past mistakes just when you’re finally getting closer to Him than ever before.  He doesn’t beat us up over our transgressions, so why do we?

The same love and mercy that David was given is ours for the taking.  So often, satan brings our past sins into the forefront of our minds and tries to use them against us, making us feel shame, guilt, condemnation, unloved, unwanted, and depressed.  This is one of satans goals:  to move us away from the love of God.  Fortunately for us, God’s love never fails.  It is with us wherever we go and whatever we do.  Unlike with humans, there is nothing we can ever do or say, and nothing anyone else can do or say that would move us away from the awesome, all encompassing love that God has for His children.  That includes all His children, not just those who are saved.

My challenge to you today:  take the boxing gloves off and quit beating yourself up over your past, over the things you’ve done or said.  That was yesterday.  This is today.  God’s grace and mercy are new every single day and both are sufficient to meet all of your needs.  Repent and turn away from your sins and let God’s love and mercy heal your heart, your mind, your body, and your soul.

The division of light and darkness is such a powerful thing. In describing that division one almost has no words to describe that thin separation where darkness ends and light begins. While reading verse 4 of Genesis 1, I realized why. It’s because God divides that light from the darkness. God Himself is that unforeseen element that divides the light from the darkness.

In areas where the darkness is strong and stark, it is much easier to see the power of that light. The division of light and darkness becomes extreme and clearly visible. But in areas of low light and faded darkness, it isn’t quite as easy to see that line where the divisions of light and darkness takes affect.

What a picture of how we should live. When we allow no darkness into our lives then God, or the division of light and darkness, becomes clear and powerful and concise. That makes our witness so much easier to see for those living in darkness. Even though darkness can not comprehend the light (John 1:5), it doesn’t mean they do not see the light.

When your deeds are righteous you can not dwell in darkness, but if you dwell in darkness it is because your deeds are evil. (John 3:19-21) Evil deeds require darkness and those who practice evil hate the light.

When you’re dealing with a heart that loves darkness and that person dwells there it easy to identify. When you’re dealing with a person who loves the light and dwells there it is just as easy to identify as one who dwells in the dark. God is the dividing line of light and dark. Let Him live strong in your life that you can show people the light.

1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Psalm 18:28 – “For you will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”

Psalm 37:6 – “He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

Psalm 97:11 – Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”

Proverbs 13:9 – “The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe to those call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Isaiah 58 – “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”

There is a need in this time, now, for us to see God as our Hiding Place.  He is our shelter, our safety, our strong tower of refuge. He will preserve us from trouble. And oh … here comes my favorite part — “You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.”

I have felt a need for songs of deliverance to come forth. There is nothing like being in a storm of life and having a song to cling to — a song that the Lord seems to give for YOU.  A song that you can cling to and hum or sing when you are feeling shaken by the storm.

I recognize this is a short blog – but my prayer for each one of you is that God will show Himself as the Hiding Place to you.  That you will find safety in His arms. That we will run to Him alone for our comfort and protection. And that He would preserve us in the upcoming trials and tribulations.  And that the Giver of Songs would fill and surround us with songs of deliverance.

Rev 22:7 & 12 says “Look, I am coming soon!  Blessed are those who obey the words or prophecy written in this book.” 12 – “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.

Just because God’s grace can cover all your sins doesn’t mean you should live like the devil because Jesus (or is that Santa) will forgive you everytime. 

Romans 5:20-21 says God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.  But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became  more abundant.  21 – So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Romans 6:1-2 – Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us  more and more of His wonderful grace?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Now that you know God and He knows you, how can you return to sin? 

Galatians 4:9 – So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

We were called to be free, but not called to use our freedom to sin. Live by the spirit of God not by your flesh.

Galatians 5:13-26 -For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  14 – For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  15 – But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out!  Beware of destroying one another.  16 – So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  17 – The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  18 – But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.  19 – When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:  sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 – idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 – envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.  Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  22 – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 – gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!  24 – Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.  25 – Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  26 – Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

By living for Christ the world may not be the easiest place to live. It may be coming to this point that causes us American Christians to truly and whole-heartedly pray, Jesus come quickly!

So much has been mis-said regarding the end times over the last 100 years and an appropriate understanding of what God says is vital to our participation and cooperation with God through this next great season of mankind.

The church has held too long to the belief that if we just have faith in God then everything will work out in the end. While the underlying principle of trust in God in that statement is true, the belief that if we just blindly hold onto God is not in keeping with the many passages that speak to our preparedness for this exact season.

It is high time that we altar our perception and approach to what God says about the end times for He has said much. Surely God did not speak the hundreds of passages that are found in the Bible for human kind to just put our heads between our legs and verbalize that we trust Him.

A posture of trust is much more powerful when we are working in cooperation with Him and are able to lead people to Him when everything around us is being shaken.

My life has been greatly impacted by what I believe about the End Times. And guess what? So has yours. You live the way you live at this exact moment according to what you really believe about the end times. If you believe that Jesus is soon to blow a trumpet and you will be suddenly jerked from earth to escape all the birth pangs, travail and crushing judgments that Revelations speaks about then you are probably living a pretty easy going Christian life.

However if you have any small amount of understanding that things will get even a little bit bad before He returns then you know like the ant, that you better be preparing for winter while we still have the summer harvest season. Even if you do think that the church will be here through some, most, or all of the tribulation and the great tribulation, then certainly you can read Matthew 24 with any sense of context and know the simple fact that before He returns things will get really, really, really bad.

There has been so much released by men and women who have meant well but just is not true regarding the end times. My desire for writing this is to encourage you to get involved in this process of understanding. Jump on board and begin studying so you wont be left behind, not from the rapture but from the lack of understanding, for we, His people perish from a lack of knowledge.

All of this evaluating has got me meditating so much on God’s mercy and His grace: words that we hear so often and take so lightly, but really impact our lives and our walks with Christ. I’m reminded of a song by the Newsboys that says “When we dont get what we deserve, its a real good thing. When we get what we dont deserve, its a real good thing.” That’s exactly what mercy and grace are: a REAL good thing.

Mercy is not receiving the judgments that we so deserve. Christ’s death on the cross was an act of mercy. Because of His death, we have a way to come to God and be forgiven of our sin. God’s mercy is our only means to get to Him. It has paved our path to life and not death, which is exactly what we deserve. Grace is receiving God’s favor when we clearly do not deserve it. It is by God’s grace that we are healed and set free from addictions. Freedom in itself is because of grace but mercy plays such a big part in freedom as well. Mercy and grace are not the same but are intertwined. God’s mercy kept His judgment from us and His grace pulls us to Him.

Grace and mercy are all about fresh starts and that is also what the new year is all about. Shake off the old. Make new promises for this year. Put the past behind you. This is all great but think about the past year and all of the mistakes you have made. If you had to wait until the new year to get a fresh start, it would be a rough life full of shame and guilt. But God demonstrates His grace by allowing us to start new every morning!  His mercy endures forever and everyday, His mercies for us are new.

Psalm 59:16 says, “But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.” Sing of His mercy for He is good! Don’t wait until a new year to straighten out your relationship, but do what Romans says and be transformed daily by renewing your mind.

Why, oh why do little boys have such an obsession with dirt? It is unexplainable and there is no real logic behind it. No one has a reason why they love it but every one knows that they do. Give a little boy a dirt pile and he is set for life. He will never be bored. This is so parallel to God loving us.

We are made of dust. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground…” God delights in our dust as a little boy delights in dirt. There is no way to understand why He loves us or delights in us, but He does. He wants to spend eternity with us, with dust. If we stop trying to understand what does not have an explanation, we will better understand God’s love for us. When we fall, God does not push us away. Psalm 103:14 says, “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” He knows that we will fall and yet delights in us anyway!

God is also the master creator and can mold us and shape us just as a little boy molds and shapes the dirt to make a castle. God is fully capable of shaping us into exactly what He wants us to be, the exact shape that will complete His Kingdom. Give God free reign and let Him mold you. As He delights in you, delight in Him as well. There’s no greater love than His inexplainable, merciful and wonderful love.

We promise ourselves that we’re going to do things better or different than we did last year.  And why not?  It’s a new year, a new beginning.  A fresh start.  It’s like getting a do-over, a new roll of the dice.

I remember making entire lists of things I would resolve to do in the new year and rarely did I complete them all.  Rarely did my resolutions make it through the month of January, much less the entire year.  When I made the list, I was determined, I had resolve, but as time would wear on, it would be harder and harder to keep my resolutions.  Why?  Usually because other things in life got in the way.  Work, school, church, family, friends.  Slowly but surely, my resolutions would get pushed to the back burner and I would try again the next year.  It’s easy to make resolutions during that week between Christmas and New Year’s when there doesn’t seem to be as many time constraints as the rest of the year.  After all, who would make resolutions in June with summer trips, vacations, and fun times laid out before them?

I think that most resolutions are personal.  Between us and God.  As teenagers, we would proudly recite our resolutions to friends when school started again.  At that point, we were still determined to make it work.  As I’ve gotten older, I tend to keep them to myself.  Why?  As a new year rolled around, and I would make new resolutions, I would reflect on the ones I had made the previous year and see my failures.  Of course, none of my friends would ever remember the resolutions that I had made, but I did, and was ashamed that I had not followed through.

God sees all these things.  He sees our success and failures.  He sees our desires to be better this year than last.  He sees us strive to be a new man.

Where am I going with this?  God makes promises, but He always keeps them.  Maybe as the new year rolled around, you reflected on the promises you made to God as well as the promises He has made to you.  You’re wondering why His promises have not yet been fulfilled in your life.  I can’t tell you why His promise has not yet been fulfilled, but I can tell you this:  Numbers 23:19 says – God is not a man that He should lie, not a son of man that He should change His mind.  Does He speak and then not act?  Does He promise and not fulfill?

While waiting on God’s promise to be fulfilled in your life, do like Psalm 119:162 says – I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.  He has made you a promise and He will fulfill it.  There is no longer a need for you to worry or wonder about that particular thing because He doesn’t forget, He doesn’t get too busy and push you to a back burner, He doesn’t have good intentions that seem to dissipate when life gets hectic.  Rejoice in His promise for it is yours!

         After Wednesday night’s service and the words that the students who lead bible studies at their high schools gave, and the testimony on what they’ve experienced at those bible studies. It really got me thinking about the upcoming blend and probably the biggest obstacle most students will face, and that’s family members. Don’t get me wrong friends are huge obstacles also when trying to live for God but the biggest influence that we have in our lives are our parents. Our parents or parent or even older brother or sister have been there for all of our lives. They’ve learned our personalities likes and dislikes and after a trip like the Blend where you will get rocked and experience God, one of two things will happen; those family members will either see that God is working in you and let that work be complete or advertently or inadvertently hinder you, and don’t hold it against them it’s like I said earlier they’ve gotten used to the old you, the new you might seem a little weird. Don’t worry if it causes division because that’s meant to happen because he didn’t come for a happy family he came for individuals who are willing to lay down relationships no matter how long or special that relationship maybe.

Luke 14:25-27 If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Lately, the Lord has been dealing with me about giving up certain things.  Specific things that I love and don’t want to do without, for certain lengths of time I am not to touch or even ask why.  I think the Lord is always asking us to give up things (specific or not) to lead us into a lifestyle of prayer and fasting.  In my prayer time, I’ve been doing my usual complaining of why God why and the thought came to me that Jesus did something for me that He did not want to do.  Maybe this is a huge leap to make, but I would say from the above passage that since Jesus asked the Father three times for an alternative to dying on the cross, it probably wasn’t something He was looking forward to doing.  I was beginning to feel convicted at the thought that my sacrifice pales in comparison to that of my Savior.  I may be completely off base here, but from my small bit of understanding of this passage, Jesus did not want to die.  He did it with one goal in mind and that was to prove His love to us, to set us free from the power of sin, and unite us with the Father.

i was talking to a friend who was discouraged with school and she said, “You know when you have those moments like Ah ha!  This is why I’m here!  This is why I’m going through all this difficulty!  The path is clear and I have strength to move forward!  Those moments are amazing.  But there comes a point in time when the feeling goes away and you have to keep walking.”

1 Cor. 1:25 – This foolish plan of God’s is wiser then the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

2 Peter 1:3-4 – By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a Godly life.  We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises.  These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

This can be equated with school and work also.  Why is it that those who cheat, steal, or are late everyday get good grades, promotion or raises and those who don’t, don’t?  It can sometimes be hard to look at your neighbor’s brand new car and know that the clunker in your driveway may not start the next time you get in it.

Unfortunately, satan sees what we are doing.  Satan sees that we are following God and not him, so he does everything he can to discourage us.  He’s the one who plants the ideas in our heads that it’s too hard to follow God, or that the suffering is not worth it.

The following scriptures should give us comfort in these types of situations.  God knows what’s going on, even when we think He doesn’t.  He know what we need and when we need it.  After all, His timing is perfect.  And though it would be nice to have a nicer car or better clothes to wear, our treasure is not to be items of this world that rust and wither away, but are to be stored up in Heaven.

Psalm 37

1. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2. for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:
6. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.
9. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10. A little while, and the wicked will be nor more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
11. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
12. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
13. but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.
14. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
15. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
17. for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18. The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever.
19. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20. But the wicked will perish; the Lord’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish – vanish like smoke.
21. The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
22. those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those He curses will be cut off.
23. If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm;
24. though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.
27. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.
28. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones.  They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
29. the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
30. The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.
31. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.
32. The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives;
33. but the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34. Wait for the Lord and keep His way.  He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36. but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.
38. But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, bcause they take refuge in Him.

I had this thought a couple months ago while on a fast in the the middle of making my soup.  Then as I sat down to eat that soup, I felt encouragement from the Ultimate Encouager – God.

I could hear Him say “You are shaking things unseen.”

It is in the moment that I sense things like that – that new strength fills me.  I’m ready!  If God assures me that what I am doing is not in vain, I can continue.  I have learned that things move when I pray and fast.  It is a discipline that God has given us as a holy tool of warfare.  Not to mention it greatly softens our own hearts!

I challenge you to make prayer and fasting a part of your daily routine.  It moves and shakes things in the Heavenly realm – even when it is unseen.

Even Christians can do this.  You see them in church and because you’re not living up to their standards, all  of a sudden, they act like you’ve never met.

We are not to live by mans or even the worlds perceptions, but by the way God mandates.

We won’t always get it right, after all, we are human.  However; we are suppose to try.

Hebrews 10:14 – because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

We are “being” made holy.  We’re not there yet.  God is constantly working on us to make us like Him, not like others.

We’re not suppose to assume that just because people aren’t living the way we think they should that they’re not walking with God.

Conviction is not ours, it is Gods.  John 16:8 – when He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.

Judgement is not ours, it is Gods.  Psalm 50:6 – and the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God himself is judge.

1 Timothy 2:9 – I want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety…

God has just been putting a check in my spirit.  He is showing me that I need Him more than anything and I need to put Him first.  He has helped me cut so much out of my life, now I am just waiting for Him to open new doors.

Dear God, can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve next ; )

Think about that for a minute.  Have you ever been “in love” with someone?  You know the emotions, the excitement, the thoughts of that person constantly in your mind throughout the day.  Have you ever decided to turn off the love for that person?  Just flip the switch and it’s gone right?  Of course not!  In the same way it is impossible to will yourself to immediately turn on your emotions toward someone.  Jesus described this truth in a different context in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 6.  He told us that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Your heart will lean in the direction of your treasure, or the things on which you place priority.  You see, you cannot set your eyes on the riches of this world and expect your heart to follow after God.

As a husband, I cannot set my eyes on other women and expect to remain in love with my wife.  True love is a choice and not merely an emotion.  However, most marriages and even many Christian marriages lack the passionate emotional side of love that God intended us to have.  My heart will follow what I set my mind upon.  Though I can and must choose to love my wife, my heart will not be for her unless I set my mind upon her and refrain from setting my mind upon other women.

In the same way, loving God is a choice.  We choose to love God and we choose to show our love by obeying His word.  However, if we try to love God and obey Him but set our minds continually on other things, our hearts will follow those things.  Where is your treasure?  What do you spend your time, energy and money doing?  Americans watch an average of 5 hours of television per day.  Teenagers spend a large part of their day surfing the web.  We spend most of our money on fancy gadgets that we don’t really need while somewhere between 16,000 and 25,000 people die EVERY DAY from starvation and hunger related causes.  Ask a Christian the score of the football game Saturday and they will talk 10 minutes about it.  Ask them what they read in the Bible that same day and most likely they will admit to not reading the word at all or at least not getting much out of what they read.

The truth is, you cannot directly control your heart.  You can indirectly control your heart by directly controlling what you look at, what you listen to and watch, the things that you fill your mind with, the things that you set as priorities or idols in your life, and how you spend your time, energy and resources.  Turn the tv off, shut down the computer, talk to your friends some other time, and spend some time with your Father in heaven who jealously desires your affections.  Fill your mind with the word of God.  God isn’t boring, you are!  God is love, and if you abide in Him, filling your mind with the things of the spirit, your love for Him will never grow cold.

However; the thing that surprised me most was what came across my mind after this normal response.  I thought to myself I could save this whole word, but my life means nothing if I have not loved.

WOW that was big!!!  I’m amazed at God’s gift.  He gave to us the ability to hide His word in our hearts, which he brings forth when necessary.  This was also a big wow moment, because I’m zealous to acquire the right perspective on life.  Not the “right” in terms of what I consider right or what the world’s standard of right is, but God’s right.  I want a Godly perspective when it comes to everything.  I’m not content on just living life at the Christian status quo, to my churches stands, nor to my pastor’s opinions.  We flesh and blood are flawed.  We don’t know full well yet, and that’s totally fine!  However; I want to as much as possible obtain an un-flawed perspective rather than one that is flawed.

So back to the thought that crossed my head; I know it’s one of those well-known passages, but I think we read it with a weak emphasis on love.  We read it substituting in descriptions like:  kindness, try to live a good Christian life, doing charity, reading the Bible.  I think the love that the passage is calling for is agape love, pure love, a pursuit of becoming one with the Lord, a transforming love.

That type of love is a goal to be pursued, it is a mission of life, and it is an accomplishment above all the rest.

You see, my whole life, especially when I was younger, I would look at kids who’d accomplished great things at a young age or people who’d made insurmountable accomplishments in their lives.  I always felt like I should be one of those pepole.  I would always think about the different areas I was passionate about and how I could focus on those things and make great changes.  Before I met the Lord and was introduced to the fact that there was a whole different un-flawed perfect perspective out there which happened to be totally contrary to that of the worlds and mine; I was so accomplishment driven.

I am a dreamer!  I dream big!  Yet, I think realistically, I’m a planner and I’m an organizer.  These attributes combined make up blue prints for the best of accomplishments.  There is a war that rages on the inside of me though.  I know that I can do great things and make great effects.  I can accomplish the great! so to speak, but my inner man longs for more.

I would rather learn to love and follow the route God has for me, coming upon greatness in His eyes.  Rather than accomplishing things where the world and I look upon it saying “that’s good”.  Why?  My life is not given its worth by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  I want to hear a job well done from Him, not just from everyone else.

This pose is not at all meaning to diminish the great and wonderful things people have done.  I simply think we are all those people!  Inside us is the potential for greatness!!!  But we must remember in whose eyes we seek to be great and how we go about it.  God’s way is so different from ours and His greatness may look like weakness to us and His accomplishment defeat.

I could find a cure for AIDS (which would be great), but if I have not loved…I could bring an end to the sex slave industry, but if I have not loved…I could open my own orphanage, but if I have not loved…

I could do a lot of things, but I want to learn how to love.  While I’m learning how to love, greatness will come out of me, my love will shake those around me, my nation/the nations will know my love, because that is what God’s love does.

The very longing of accomplishment is accomplished in learning how to love.  God’s love accomplishes things!  And He has things specifically that He wants to accomplish through us, but it all comes out of love.

In the past 4 weeks, we have discussed the following topics within the theme of “Sharing Your Faith”.

1. Shining your light
2. A study on the word witness
3. Being a witness through a consecrated lifestyle

Tonight we will be discussing being a witness through love.

Last week we talked about our witness and tesimony of Jesus Christ through a consecrated or set apart lifestyle.  1Peter2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (peculiar comes from the Greek word that means preserved) that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

It’s our peculiarity that He uses to cause us to stand out and be a witness for Him as well as using our peculiarity as our preservative as well as a preservative for the ever darkening world ruled by sin and human reasoning.

But what’s at the core of our uniqueness or what makes us peculiar?  What makes us different than everyone else?  What makes us different than other religious people?  At the heart of the gospel, at its most centered core, we find:  love.  Jesus Christ came because of love.  John 15:13 quotes Jesus saying :Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  Jesus came to sacrifice Himself for us, driven by the power of His love for the Father and for humanity.

There are 3 commandments of love that I believe we are to cover tonight that are essential for all of us if we are to be, first, obedient and second, to be found faithful.

A.  Love God – loving God with your total being is a commandment.  Nothing short of wholeheartedness.  Exhausting your love towards Him.

1. A commandment – Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear O Israel:  The Lord our God, The Lord is one!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
2. Matthew 22:37 – “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your Heart, with all your sould, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.”
3. Mark 12:30 – “And you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your sould, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.
4. Luke 10:27 – “So He answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your sould, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
5. An example – 1Samuel 13:14 “But now your kingdom shall not continue.  The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”      (Acts 13:22 “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom He also gave testimony and said ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will’”.

B.  Love one another.

1. John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
2. John 15:12,17 – “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
3. Romans 13:8-10

C.  Love your enemies – it’s easy to love those who love you back but the power of the gospel is much deeper than that; it requires strength to love when the conditions are not conducive to your emotional health.

1. There is no greater demonstration of power in the life of a Christian than the demonstration of love.
2. Matthew 5:11-12 – “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
3. Luke 6:27 – “But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you.”
4. Luke 6:35-36 – “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
5. Romans 12:14,17-21 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do note curse” Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written:  “it is mine to avenge; I will repay”, says the Lord.  On the contrary; if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
6. 1Peter 2:20 – For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently?  But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”
7. 1Peter 3:9 – Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

 Think about it.  What did Paul mean when he said – pray continually?

 If we were to pray out loud continually, not only would the noise of people all over the world praying continually be deafening, but how would we carry on conversation with those we’re suppose to be in relationship with?  Or how could we hear the pastor while they were teaching?  Would the noise be too loud for us to hear God?  So how are we to pray continually?

 If we were to pray continually on our knees, or prostrate before God, why did He give us legs?  So how are we to pray continually?

 If we were to pray continually in our prayer closet, how would we ever get anything done?  We wouldn’t be able to go to school, work, grocery shopping, or even to church.  So how are we to pray continually?

 What is required to pray continually and how are we to do it?  What we must have is the desire to communicate with God at all possible times.  After all, that is what prayer is – communication with God.  We must have heart.  Someone once said – “In prayer, it is better to have heart without words, than words without heart.”  This tells me that we don’t have to have the “right” words, we don’t have to sound like the pastor, we just have to have the right heart.  We gotta have thought control.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I pray, thoughts pop into my head and my mind starts to wander.  When this happens, I ask God to forgive me for my weakness and I get back on track.  We must control those thoughts and concentrate on what we’re doing to do it effectively.  We gotta have the right attitude.  We can approach God any way at any time, but how effective are we if our attitude stinks?  We must be in the right location.  Since good and evil cannot occupy the same space, you cannot view porn on the internet and pray continually.  Your human mind, will continually wander to what you’re viewing.

 Praying continually is a way of life.  It makes us open to the Spirit and His leading, keeps us connected with God.

 Praying continually does NOT take the place of time alone with God.

 To pray continually, our heart, mind and soul must be in the right position – lined up with God!!!

Recently the Lord allowed me to hang out with my old man again. Face to face we squared off and she won the first draw, the second and the third. Down and injured she threw at me the law bound in leather. I could have voluntarily chose to breathe my last breath of this life that I voluntarily bought into. Giving up however was not an option my innermost was willing to make; she would have to strike me to the death. As I lay wounded, bruised, confused, death clinging to my throat: I remembered something . . .

” Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me “. Romans 7:20

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Romans 7:23

I remembered a sword that I’d girded on my side and weapons of wisdom and understanding I’d stashed on me.

I have been liberated from the law, I am not in the flesh, I am in the Spirit!

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . .” Romans 7:24 &25

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit . . .” Romans 8:9

Being in the Spirit I can not live by the law, I must live by the Spirit. Identity: a white washed tomb, I wish not.

Acceptance of forgiveness I threw back at her, with a shield of red I covered myself, and the keys of death I shook in her direction. She coward; I waged war with my sword while the One who looked on waived the banner of victory.

So I am very humbled by this recent experience, though God could have revealed this to me in itself I’m glad that even upon taking the hard road God still allowed me to learn it.

We are reborn into the spirit and we are spiritual beings who have been liberated from the law. We can not use the law to pull us out of complacency or as directions to every step of life. We must live by the spirit no longer are we in the flesh. We all are broken and we all fall short; only in the coming day will we fully see face to face. A lot of people have fallen short and instead of embracing the spirit they beat themselves with the law. Those choosing to try to go onward usually do so in the little strength they have left clinging to the law they strive to perform.

There is a Father who loves us and when we as His children fall or mess up that does not change His love for us. His love is unconditional! He looks for us to turn to Him, to accept His forgiveness, to seek Him for direction, to willingly take correction that He gives. We must press onward towards the upward call of God.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

This continuing journey with the Lord has not only given me a greater understanding of my Father’s love, mercy and grace; I have also acquired more humility in an area I did not know I was lacking. That area is: judgment. We so easily judge others; I’m not speaking in the right way we are told to judge, because that is laid out in the word. Even subconsciously we are constantly judging others. A lot of times yes to the right standards yet if we do not take into account the spirit we are doing nothing, but propelling the law bound in leather towards them even if done subconsciously.

We must have the right perspective. That of the spirit. We when looking at others lives must take into account their heart and where they are. They may be in the place of needing to shake off trying to live by the law and understanding how to live by the spirit therefore their outward falls may be a result in “doing that, that they will not to do”. And yes I know some people are purposefully rebelling fully aware of what they are doing and wanting to do. There are many different cases, scenarios and people.

That’s just it though we try to throw the standard law at everyone in the form of judgment. Yet we do not know their heart, what their talks are with the Lord, God’s grace in their lives, and etc. We see only what people show us and sometimes the little that God reveals to us.

Instead of having a spiritual perspective our result is to bash and judge with the law. Having a spiritual perspective would result in discernment, judging (the correct way), praying, encouraging that person in their upward call. They too are called. When we go around judging, basically counting them as dead, because the word says the wages of sin is death right. Yet they also were reborn, they have a call, and God unconditionally loves them. We forget this many times, because are fallen nature is so harsh. The joke is always we’re glad God is not like man or that man is not God! I am so thankful for that.

We must regain our right perspective.

Joshua 1:5 – …as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee:  I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  God would never forget us.  Could never forget us!!!  After all, He got down off His throne and formed us.  Breathed His life into our bodies!!!  We are His precious children.

We mean so much to Him that He sent His son to be crucified and die for us, so that we could rule and reign with Him over all the earth.  So that He could spend eternity with us!!!  US!!!  John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  

If you think about it, He could spend eternity with whoever He wanted.  He’s got angels surrounding Him that worship Him at all times.  He doesn’t really need us, but He WANTS us.  He would and does, move heaven and earth to protect us and spend time with us, but we tend to forget that, just like people sometimes forget us.

Think about a time when you’ve been forgotten.  Now think about a time when you’ve forgotten God.  Does it hurt God when we forget Him?  Yeah.  It does.  Just as much as we hurt when someone forgets us.  He wants nothing more than to spend time with us.  Be encouraged:  He loves us more than we are capable of imagining.  And know that even when humans forget us, He never could.  He doesn’t forget us, let us not forget Him.

One of the attributes that Adam and Eve enjoyed as a result of creation was significance.

It seems as if everyone now searches for their significance in the world.  We rely on what others say about us to elevate our moods and minds to a higher level, but we should not do this, we should look to Him to define us and give us significance.

If we would rely solely on the significance that God has given us and rely solely on His words about us, then there would be no one in or of this world who could change they way we see or feel about ourselves.

Here is who God says we are:

John 1:12 – we are children of God

John 15:15 – we are friends of Christ

1 Cor. 6:17 – we are united with the Lord and are one Spirit with Him

1 Cor. 6:20 – we have been bought with a price and we belong to God

1Cor. 12:27 – we are members of Christ’s Body

Eph. 1:1 – we are saints

Phil. 3:20 – we are citizens of heaven

Matt 5:13-14 – we are the salt and light of the earth

Acts 1:8 – we are a personal witness of Christ

1Cor. 3:16 – we are God’s temple

2Cor. 6:1 – we are ministers of reconciliation for God

Eph. 2:10 – we are God’s workmanship

Rom. 8:17 – we are joint heirs with Christ

Eph. 4:24 – we are righteous and holy

1Pet. 5:8 – we are enemies of the devil

Heb. 3:1 – we are holy partakers of a heavenly calling

1Thes. 5:5 – we are children of light and not of darkness

Rom. 5:1 – we are justified, completely forgiven and made righteous

1Cor. 2:16 – we have been given the mind of Christ

Eph. 1:17 – we have been redeemed and forgiven and are recipients of His lavish grace

This list is not exhaustive.  In reading God’s word, we find it full of clues as to who we are – in Him.  And knowing who we are in Christ is essential to defeating the enemy.

We have probably all been called in at some time or another to be a special witness for or against our brother or sister in matters being judged by our mom or dad. There is nothing worse than being called upon as a witness and have to give an account of the wrong done by your sibling right there in their presence.

Witnesses have been responsible for starting wars and ending presidencies. Witnesses have set guilty men free and condemned innocent men to death. Your tongue really does hold the power of life and death.(Proverbs 18:21)

1. The law of Moses says to let a matter be settled or established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:15-17; John 8:14-18; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19-21; Hebrews 10:28-29
   1. There is much power in a witness. There is much power in a false witness. So what kind of witness are you for Jesus, a true witness or a false witness?
   2. False witness – Exodus 20:16; 23:1; Deuteronomy 19:16-21
2. Dictionary Definition of witness
   1. attestation of a fact or event: testimony
   2. one that gives evidence; specifically : one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal
   3. one asked to present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place
   4. one who has personal knowledge of something
   5. something serving as evidence or proof
   6. public affirmation by word or example of usually religious faith or conviction
3. Synonyms – attestation, confirmation, corroboration, documentation, evidence, substantiation, testament, testimonial, testimony, validation, voucher, proof
4. Old Testament & New Testament- The testament jumps out at me in the list of synonyms for the word witness. The Bible is broken into two main sections called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The OT is the collection of canonized writings that were written as a testimony of Jesus Christ before he was born. While the NT is the collection of canonized writings that testify of Jesus during the time of his birth and after. Both sections are a testimony of Jesus Christ. In fact the Bible itself is a testimony or witness of Jesus Christ.
5. Jesus was a witness- Look what John 18:37 says, Jesus himself came to the earth to bear witness of the truth. This is the foundation for why Jesus came to the earth, to be a witness of the truth. John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
   1. John 18:37 goes on to say that “everyone who is of the truth hears my voice”.
6. Who’s going to tell them? Romans 10 says: they will not know unless you tell them.
7. You have been empowered to tell them.
   1. Acts 1:8 – “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth”.

 What would you do with a year free from worry.  Totally free.  Go to school, go to work, enjoy your friends, your family, life and not worry about a thing? 

 I know many of us have read the book Radical (and if you haven’t already you should).  At the end of that book there is a challenge.  For one year, dedicate your entire life, every area to God.  (There are more specific things detailed in the book but that’s what it boils down to.)  I also know the blend coming up is going to be focused on consecration and dedicating our lives to God and the purposes of His kingdom.  What would happen in your life if you let go of everything that doesn’t impact the kingdom of God and focused completely on making your heart and life conformed to his will. 

 Often times we allow worry and fear to consume so much of our thoughts that our intentions for the kingdom of God are hindered without our even realizing it.  Maybe it’s not even worry or fear, just life.  How will I ever learn all this material for this test?  What are my parents going to think of this?  Where will I go to college?  What will I major in?  I need a job!!  Life happens!!!

 When you think about it, this radical commitment has a two fold result.  On one hand we become more like Christ, and can impact this world for his kingdom in a way we never imagined.  On the other hand, as long as we are fully committed to the Lord and his purposes we are offered a life free from worry.  WHAT A RELIEF!!

With so many avenues to communicate to people, you’d think that our churches would be full of people.  We spend our day facebooking, texting, tweeting and talking to friends in and out of class.  Countless hours everyday are spent communicating with people, usually about people.  How many hours a day do you spend chatting, texting, tweeting, etc?  How many of those texts or tweets have to do with sharing your faith?

Instead of using todays methods of communicating just to be relevant, we should use every availble method within our personal social structures to share the love of Jesus Christ.  He is after all, the only way.

Jesus uses the lampstand as a powerful metaphor to demonstrate the purpose of the church in Revelation 1:20.  Any Jewish person reading or hearing these words would understand this as alluding to the lampstand in the tabernacle.

3 things we can learn from the lampstand in the tabernacle that will help us shine our light:

1.  The lampstand was to be of pure gold, hammered from one solid piece of gold.

a.  Exodus 25:31

2.  It was positioned directly across from the table of shewbread.

a.  Exodus 25:37  “You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it.”

3.  It’s oil must be kept so the flame never goes out.

a.  Exodus 27:20-21 “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.  In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord.  It shall be a statue forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.”

1.  Pure Gold

a.  The purest of gold can only be pure as it is tried by fire.  The heat purifies the precious metal and then the artisan hammered the gold into the shape he was commanded by God.

b.  1Peter 1:7 “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

c.  Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

d.  God demands purity and holiness in our lives.  Without it we can not shine pure light onto Him.

e.  1Peter 1:15-16 “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

f.  Heat purifies by bringing the impurities to the surface and through the process of smelting.

2.  Strategically Placed

a.  The lampstand was positioned directly across from the table of shewbread or the table that held the “bread of presence”.  The lampstand was positioned strategically to do one thing:  cast its light on the table and on the bread that represented God’s provision and presence.  For generations, the lampstand of the tabernacle stood to highlight the object that best represented God’s goodness and provision, the same object that Jesus would one day use to symbolize His own body.

b.  The Bread of Presence represented the body of Jesus Christ.  God’s total provision for humankind is found in His only son, Jesus Christ.  He is the answer for the entire world.  The total provision.  Your light must point to this.

c.  The church exists to shine light on the provision of God the Father in His only begotten son, Jesus Christ.  Everything we do in our personal and public lives is supposed to shine light on Him and our unified fellowship and communion with one another in Him.

d.  John wrote to the seven churches or the seven lampstands in the book of Revelation:  When you consider the purpose of the lampstand in the tabernacle the warmings that Jesus spoke to these churches makes more sense.  Jesus was addressing their out of position lampstand and telling them to get the light shining on the one thing that He had purposed their light to shine on:  Jesus.

e. Where have you been strategically placed for this season in your life?

3.  Continually burning

a.  The oil must be kept in order to provide fuel for the light to burn continuously.  Exodust 27:20-21 “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of rpessed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.  in the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord.  It shall be a statue forever to their gernations on behalf of the children of Israel.”

b.  The oil that was to be used must be pure olive oil.  This signifies yet again a pressing or testing that must come in order to produce oil.  Jesus was pressed while in the Garden of Gethsemene.  Luke 22:39-46

     i.  v.40 – With pressing comes temptation.

     ii.  v. 42 – Obedience is what brings the oil; oil is the Holy Spirit       and He comes to us through our obedience to God – John 14:15-17 “If you love me, keep my commandments.  And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither see Him nor knows him: but you know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

4.  Your life on the altar

a.  Your purity determines your position and your position determines what you light.

b.  Your current social environment is the strategic place that God has for you to shine your light.

c.  Is your heart being purified?

d.  Is your heart in the right posture for the stragtegic location God has you in?

e.  Are you keeping the oil and is your flame burning?