We are all facing the last vestiges and the onslaught of a defeated enemy, pent upon stealing our joy, causing us to be deflated such that we miss our opportunities for victory.  Don’t forget that this battle has been won.  Hear the clarion call, not the darkened musings of despair.  We are filled with Spirit, changing us, sustaining us, providing for us in the midst of the world’s entropy.  Yes, there is tribulation, but it is a good thing as the fire increases many who were silent are now forced to cry out for help from God.  Fortunately, since the clock is also expiring the importance of our daily commitment increases in value.  We now have the opportunity to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable and to love even our enemies as we remember what they do not yet know.  That God is Sovereign over all and that He loves them with all of His heart, right up to the end of time.

Is my day filled with events, am I working without experiencing joy as if this life is filled with a bunch of tasks that must be done in the prescribed, but short time each day.  Perhaps, it is my perspective that needs refreshing.  What if I viewed each task as an opportunity to meet someone new, encourage them and show them an example of overcoming this world through Spirit and Love?  How would my day change if I welcomed each event for its pregnancy?  What would be born in my own life if I sought each Divine Event in Life, knowing that time is short?  How would my life differ if I remembered that there are enemies seeking to steal my joy and that I must be mindful in my preparation and practice?  But praise God that I serve the Almighty God who has already overcome these enemies.  These enemies are living on borrowed time awaiting the Return of the King of Everything.  They know that they will be thrown out of power and used frankly to bring more souls to Christ.  How would my life differ if I remembered these things?

Don’t forget today to Praise and Love God.  Don’t forget the extent to which He is willing to go in order to return us to His Good Graces.  He came here, lived this life as a mortal, so that He could experience our pains and share our joyful moments.  He came so that He could die for us, in perfection, fulfilling the requirements of forgiveness for all mortal sin.  We live this life in freedom.  Not the freedom of the man driven by his stomach or his urges.  The freedom that comes with not being a prisoner to this life and our mistakes.  We have the freedom to be forgiven, refreshed, washed and start anew, created in the image of God without the stains of our past.  Don’t forget who lives with you, alongside you, within you.  Don’t forget the changes are being made, even as the battles are being waged outside of the eyes of our mortality.  For this has been a war waged in the Heavenly Realms by God’s Servants, a great number for us and a smaller number against us.  But remember what it means to be on the winning side in any war.  Victory is yours, won’t you live it today?

Praise Almighty God in all His Mercy Grace and Glory, for ever and ever.  In Jesus’ Name.

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 1Peter1:17-21

Does God give you the Grace to understand these Words?  Is it particularly important that you do understand them or might you claim  them obtuse and look away in disinterested boredom?  All this has been done out of love for you.  Does it interest you now to know that this passage is about how much you matter to God?  Is your faith and hope in God or has God’s intention failed to win your heart?

Christ was made manifest in these times for you so that in His resurrection and subsequent Glory that you might have faith and hope in God.  The price of my ransom was not mere silver, gold, paper or rustible content nor braggadocio of inheritance from worldly fathers, but the incorruptible material of the Holy Lamb of God, unblemished, un-spotted, perfect.  See God didn’t just give enough to buy us back from our captors, He gave the greatest treasure known to man or heaven to buy us back for eternity.  He infinitely overpaid for each of us, unworthy sinners, in order that there is no shadow of misunderstanding as to Whom we belong.  He cleansed us by the incorruptible blood of this Perfect Lamb, giving us the inheritance to the same said incorruptibility.  This is miracle, this astounds angels.

Again we are faced with the principle of fearing God in our travails through this world.  Do each of us fear God, really, truly?  Does it bother you resoundingly each time you let Him down, do something untoward or walk away from His direction in self-service?  I sin against Him daily.  I wish I didn’t, but it still shows its face every day of my life.  That is made whole by my reverence for God and my surrender to His hand of discipline and reformation.  He is changing me, often so steadily and stealthily that I fail to see it until each iteration has transpired.  Will you fear Him and meet wisdom?  Will you Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength so that you might truly begin to know Him personally?  I pray that you begin to understand, adhere to exhibit a reverent fear for Almighty God so that you might stay beneath the shadow of His Awesome, Almighty Wings.

May He speak clearly to your heart this very night and you find the will to listen and follow.  In Jesus Holy Name.

We must digest and understand Prophecy.  Take a fresh look at Ezekiel 38 &39 to see why this is so relevant and important to the current global landscape.  Study, pray and act for the Kingdom of God is here.

Ezekiel 38-39

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.   

*Those who will attack Israel. Do you know who they are? If not, you cannot determine the signs leading up to this event.

Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

*Who will be attacked. This defines Israel as the People who will be besieged.

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

*Who will turn their backs on Israel when the attack comes?

Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.

*God’s Proclamation to satan and all his minions as to what God will do in response to this assault upon His people.

Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.

*The effects of God’s overwhelming and swift reaction. The enemy becomes a sacrifice.

And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

*God’s Glory is undeniable throughout the Globe, not just Israel but even unbelievers will know that God is there and that His promise to defend Israel is everlasting.

You doubt that judgement must come because things are in disarray and God, having the power to set them right refrains from intervention.  This is blatant disregard of understanding, logic and God’s proclaimed Love for mankind.  He said that He sent His beloved son to die for all of us, so that we might be set free, reintroduced to the Holy God who made us.  Why then would He cut that opportunity short to enforce a final judgement when to do so would dissolve the coming turn of hearts back to Him, chased home by the tragic events He said must and certainly will soon come upon us all.  You see many will find the heat unbearable, realizing in the midst of their plight that God had been there always, waiting patiently for their arrival.  That is the extent of God’s Love for humanity, in waiting He must watch our suffering, knowing that to eradicate sin from the world would nullify the salvation of millions, perhaps billions of souls.  That is Love.

Do not believe in lesser gods when the One who Loves us so dearly is the origin of Awe.  We do not serve or wait upon an imaginary god, or something crafted in man’s imagination.  God is something that surpasses our imagination, because we paint everything with our own frail faith and our worldly wounds at the hands of corruptible man.  I pity your wounded imagination which cannot perceive an incorruptible God, outside the stains and blotches of humanity.  This makes Him no less real because we lack the capacity to perceive, comprehend or believe.  Nor does it free the world from His coming Wrath and Judgement simply because we refuse in rebellion or disbelief to prepare for the inevitable.  See He does not need my understanding or my imagination to exist nor does He need my permission or compliance to enforce His order, His discipline upon a world that He created and sustains out of patient Love for those people who He cares for dearly.

I love you, but if you will not listen to God, then you most likely will consider me fool.  No matter my concern for you, no matter the truth and love of my words, though they be filled with wisdom, insight and irrefutable logic, you will ignore them all.  For this exercise, this life is about one choice.  Not a simple choice made without consideration, but one encoded within the DNA of each man and woman.  A choice to hear, obey and accept God’s Truth or to deny it, serve ourselves and face the horrors of our imagination, because that is what awaits us all if we fail to choose wisely.  My care for you, my softly chosen words, my regard and respect for your spirit will mean nothing, except to solder my tears in catharsis.  But this is why I speak to You in His Words, because they unlike my own may raise the dead and save the innocent.  That is why I speak in scripture, because His Word is the two edged sword sharp enough to the cleave bone from sinew and spirit from soul.  Did you ever wonder what that meant, separating spirit from soul?  Or do these grand mysteries the greatest treasures of this life leave you bothered and bored?  I pray in the Mighty Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that some words I give you spark your curiosity such that you are forced to ask for answers, seek to unfold the riddles and eventually find the Truth at the foot of God’s Throne.  For that is where He waits for you as a kind, loving Father would for His children to come Home.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/player/gods-presence-in-the-hour-of-death-517508.html

What are you afraid of, is it man’s unfavorable opinion of you, the loss of wealth, coming inevitable old age and death or is it God’s Wrath upon the ungodly?  Doesn’t that fear govern your possibility?  Isn’t fear the single largest barrier to your victory in whatever endeavor?  What you fear you will not pursue, you will not challenge but rather avoid, conceal or ignore until it once again changes your course and destiny.

Do you believe that you can be free of all these virtual prisons?  They are virtual because they fool the senses into belief in their reality even to the extent of raising the blood pressure and causing panic.  They mimic reality and utilize the natural instinctive alert systems telling us to fight or flee in order to cause panic, flight or paralysis.  Don’t you think that satan knows this factor and continues to play the heart strings of our nervous systems?  What then must a believer do to be free?  The answer, nothing.  We are not works performers, we are believers in the power of the Holy Spirit and the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ in cleansing us, freeing us and leading us into assured victory.  Fear is the enemy, reverence in God is the key to our pardon.

Do you fear what God could do to your eternal destination?  Then you have met wisdom.  Certainly we want to be assured in our salvation and that is entirely possible, in fact it is a reward that comes with our faith.  But in order to meet Wisdom, the Mind of Christ, we must first acknowledge God’s Sovereignty.  That includes God’s Sovereignty over our fears, fears dispelled in the certain knowledge that God Reigns and Rules even in the fearful factors that confront us.  Psalm 23, Davids proclamation of faith in God’s Sovereignty over his fear is the perfect place to begin the practice of turning over our worldly fears, exchanged for reverence in God’s Faithfulness, Power and Trustworthiness.

The sense of fear running up and down my spine is a electrical communication signal.  What I do in response to those signals must then fall within my reasoned or determined reaction.  If not, then I am simply a puppet to this world’s stimuli to be manipulated by whatever impetus blows by on tonight’s chilly wind.  I am not ruled by the stimuli, signals and impetus of the night, the devil or my own recollection.  I have been set free by the Holy Spirit of God, set free for eternity, anchored to the immovable Rock of Ages, The Lord God.  When fears come I appreciate their stimuli, their indication of potential danger, but I will not be governed by those electronic and illusory signals.  I will not continue to leave an open door for the enemy to control my access to victory.  I will pray to God to close that door and give me wisdom and discernment to determine what is real and what is virtual.  I will fear God and be filled with wisdom rather than fear man and the devil and be relegated to the prison of the unreal or emotion.  I will believe in the Power of God, the Freedom of Faith in the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ to set me free from sin, death and the devil.  In God I trust.  Thank you Jesus.

Being content with what we have received is a lynch pin in growth and opportunity.  It is hard to go to God with a thankful heart when I do not truly believe that I am blessed with what I have already been given, materially, relationally, and Spiritually.  I am not advocating or indicating that we shall place a goofy smile upon our faces and ignore the pain in our hearts surrounding our circumstances, although my goofy grin is indelible.  What I am saying is that the unfavorable circumstances we have been placed in are most frequently the exact training material for our edification.  That doesn’t make it more pleasant but we must remember that God is still in control, even within our arduous situation.

I do not like the pain, but I respect and understand that the pain will build my patience and if I stand my ground, conscious of my gratitude and attitude that at some point my faith will grow and my walk mature.  It seems that I am offering small consolation, but this is no small thing, this is learning to Trust God’s Plan vs. holding fast to my own concepts and understanding.  This is often so difficult for me that it nears the impossible, fortunately that is the point where I know that any resolution must come from God.  When we have reached the end of our tolerance, energy, assets, talents, abilities, creativity and cleverness we are exactly where God may use each of us.  What will I do when confronted with that moment, the point where I am empty?  Well I certainly cannot depend on myself, so I can either give up or wait upon God.  I wish I had gotten to that mind state prior to using up all my God given blessings.  Maybe next time I will trust God and thank Him for the opportunity to struggle through the mire.

I acknowledge Him right where I am.  That does not mean that I may just wander, willy nilly up ever hill and dale looking to serve my strategies.  What it does mean is that if I am surrendered to God’s Will for my life, having studied to show myself approved in rightly dividing the Word, then I will be given peace regarding the obstacles, battles and disasters as they arrive.  None of us is incident free.  No one lives a life of no challenge.  For if we do then it is extremely likely that the growth opportunity quotient, the sword sharpening will never come.  I desperately want peace and I may have it as I accept Life in its abundance.  I must not fall pray to the worldly ideals that if I have troubles then I cannot have peace, for often that is exactly when I find the kind of Peace offered by Jesus Christ.  In the midst of circumstance, when it makes no common sense, when it confounds the human idea, that is exactly when this type of peace changes hearts and minds.  I love you Lord and I love those who Love You.  In Your Name I pray.

What is the quickest way that God draws you back to Him?  Is it pain as with my separation, perhaps tragedy, loneliness, distance or shame?  You know that state that you cannot withstand, that predicament that will cause you to cry out for mercy, salvation and deliverance.  Do you feel the longing, a barrier or space between you and God?  Does it make you queezy, uneasy or sad?

I crave that thing which brings me immediately into God’s Presence.  Unfortunately for those around me it is usually a reminder of my inadequacy brought on by a much needed lesson in humility delivered to my doorstep, because He loves me enough to do so.  God doesn’t like being away from me.  I know, I cannot know the mind or heart of God.  I am simply assuming, because every time I walk away from Him doing my own thing, He gives me the exact pitch I cannot hit, the relationship I cannot resolve or the difficulty I cannot overcome.  And zam zoom, I am right back where I should have been all along, on my knees asking the Lord for assistance.  The problem with my behavior is that if I had listened in the first place and recognized my consuming desire for God’s Love and Approval, I never would have had to force His hand into teaching me the lesson.  I know that is probably backwards logic, because He knew before the beginning of time that He was going to have to provide me the opportunity to once again learn the same lesson I had missed the last, it seems one-hundred thousand times.   But it does bring me some comfort in my idiocy to think that God loves me that much.

I cannot bear my brokenness, hard head and heartedness, heck sometimes I cannot even test the waters of thinking I am in any small measure useful for God’s Good Pleasure.  But that is exactly where I should have been in the first place, because it was never my talent that He found useful.  I am most appealing as an empty vase, tarnished, chipped, cracked and half lacquered.  The irony for man is that we matter so much to Him that He came to save us then use as vessels and conduits for His majesty.  That is so deep it is a bottom I cannot fathom.  All I know is that I need Him.  Not just ever day, but ever moment of every day.  And the most painful idea is that I ever wasted a moment thinking that I could do it on my own, because I cannot.  I admit it.  I need God even more than air for air simply sustains me in life where God will be my foundation through eternity.  Please Lord don’t let me wander far and allow me to escape the pain that it apparently requires to keep me conscious of my place in the universe.  But, my worst fear is that you just let me go and for that I would suffer all the promptings, however painful if they always brought me back to the place I belong, under the shadow and shelter of Your Mighty Wings.  Praise You Father in the Awesome Name of Jesus.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalms 1 & 2

What is blessed and why would it benefit a man to abstain from walking by the advice of ungodly counsel?  How is it beneficial to stand apart from sinners or refrain from participation in round tables that mock or scorn God?  What are the traits that make a man who perpetually ponders God’s Law, delightful?  How may he be likened to a tree that is well planted and sufficiently watered to point of bearing good fruit, in due time?  What makes ungodly folks like dry stalk that is easily disbursed by the wind?  Why are the ungodly precluded from standing against or for righteous judgment?  Why are sinners not accepted in a righteous congregation?  Why do the righteous withstand the scrutiny of God’s knowledge while the same review of ungodly behavior enforces death?  So many seek answers to all their self initiated questions, but they seldom take time to contemplate the questions that arise naturally from contemplation of God’s Word.  These questions are important, defining and their answers Earth Shaking, why then would we skip the opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit for these crucial answers?

Please take a few minutes to review and meditate upon Psalms 2 and you will see that many of the answers point firmly and undeniably toward God’s Love for Jesus and His resolution toward punishing the ungodly for their defiance to His command and for chastising believers.  This is the repeated theme that relativists, self-servers, atheists and those established servants of darkness must at all costs proclaim illusion.  This belief that God is sovereign, all powerful and that His righteous Law applies to everyone is absolutely unfathomable to man who would be his own king.  They prefer illusion to truth and hide in the darkness of self-righteousness to avoid the reality that God is in charge, makes the rules and is the only wielder of judgment for man’s behavior.  Therefore having no mechanism or vehicle to battle against an Almighty God they do what any other coward would and attack those who believe in and serve that Almighty God.  Cowardice preys upon innocence, just as wolves love to eat defenseless sheep.  But the day will come when the Good Shepherd avenges this devastation of the innocent and enforces judgment and justice upon all who wrongly believe that there is no price for sinful action.  The wages of sin is death and God’s death proclaimed for this unbelief lasts eternally and burns indefinitely.  God is fair giving us all the choice to either obey or defy, that type of conscious decision comes with no excuse or logical defense.  God is Just, Right and True.  I will not stand against His Sovereign Authority for a few years of living my own lie.

Lord Jesus come soon, but if You don’t, give us strength to joyously accept our individual and collective purpose within Your Great Plan for humanity.

Face this day with the knowledge that God fights for you and it will lose its sting.  This is not our home, hard word to comprehend.  How then may I become embroiled in circumstance, being pulled into the details of episodes that are meant for my training and His Glory?  I do not like the way this loss, this hate, this missing love feels, but I know what it breeds within my spirit, a craving.  That craving for home, the garden, walking with God in the cool of the day.  There is no other purpose here but to practice for eternity and play some part, even a small one in pulling others from the unconscious and desperate fray.  This is the day, and like it or not I will rejoice in it as the only one I have been given that leads to the next and the next eventually to Him.

Father I am sorry for refusing to let go of scenarios plaid out from my childhood, trying foolishly to work out the scenes that did not end in my favor or find the love that I was not given.  Surrounding myself with the exact same characters and scenery, again and again is insanity, hoping to somehow arrive at different, more favorable outcome.  That is never how this works.  Thank you that you will use these things for the good of your purpose, because I certainly am either incapable of letting go or this play is the one that will teach me what I must invariably learn.  Forgive me for not loving them to the fullest, for begrudging them gain upon which my own envy was set.  This is so distasteful, especially the rolls that have been repeated innumerably.  I pray that you finally set me free of these vestiges of a life gone bye, take them from me so that I may truly become that new creature You’ve intended.

Waiting has always been my greatest weakness for in waiting I find my greatest enemy, my impatience and desire to have things work out the way I have prescribed.  That is not what my heart truly wishes, yet I continue to play the role.  May I bow and leave the stage now Lord, please.  For I tire of myself, not in a hateful, loathing manner but rather in boredom of my incapacity to rise above this same mundane performance.  The secret is in the desire for accolade, notoriety, glory.  Set me free from these pursuits, let me simply serve and delight in the successes of those you love as they see Your Glory fulfilled.  Give me peace Father.  Lord Jesus, I do not doubt that I would make the same mistakes Your Apostles made, but that does not matter for I believe that it is in the living that our reward is fulfilled.  I love You and though I repeatedly fail, I know that You know my heart and love me dearly, so continue on I shall.  For my prizes are the people and the path that leads to the only destination I truly desire a day spent sitting in quiet with You.  Bless Your Name Lord God through Jesus Christ my King.

What is the danger of narcissism or political motivation within the Church Body?  When I am looking at me, I am not listening for God’s direction.  When I am manipulating people, assets and situations for my own intention then I am winnowing energy necessary to complete God’s Plans.  When I am segregating people and things toward achievements built within my own vision, I will naturally divide, segment and divert people, assets, time and energy such that I limit our over all potential.  We see the effects of this division in every city across our nation, where Churches are all trying to succeed on their own with no general cooperation.  This division of potential whether by denomination, color, ethnic origin or simply ego places the victory within our cities outside the realm of achievable goals, thus keeping us from the radical breakthroughs or miracles we know are possible in Christ.  This is America in my day, where the enemy has largely convinced us we must remain divided, fractured and mediocre instead of embracing the victory promised us by Almighty God.

The good thing is that He also uses all things for the good of His Good Purpose for them who love Him and walk according to that Purpose.  That means even when I have less than perfect intentions He intervenes through my actions and turns things to His desired results.  That is comforting, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all stopped in fighting, back biting, segregating, territorializing and setting up our own little religious fiefdoms instead cooperating to achieve His intentions for our cities, towns and counties?  That may be why Jesus hates the practice of separating the professional clergy from the laity.  For when we have a professional clergy they develop their own vision for their church with a little “c”, thus diverting from the overall vision of Jesus’ Church, with the big “C”.  Isn’t that what led satan to fight against God in the first place, his ego, his pride, clouding his judgement to the point where he actually believed he could lead successful rebellion?

I have had enough of my own rebellion.  Certainly I have a reasonable measure of ambition and vision, but that vision should never limit what is possible if I simply dedicated myself to giving God all the Glory by applying one hundred percent of my time, talent and influence to achievement of Kingdom directives.  Do you see the divisions in your own church, your community, your city, state or country?  How can you help heal these divisions and bring people together so that God may heal this land, build bridges and cooperative effort toward resolving some of our greatest problems.  We all know that if we do not work together that we cannot do what must be done.  Why then do we continue to settle for second best?  Lord, help me to bring you into every interaction today.  Please heal these wounds that have been festering for decades in our cities.  Give our leaders fresh vision of cooperation and self-sacrifice, a vision that may have been present in our God fearing past but has been forgotten or overlooked for our own pursuit of glory.  Let me be humble in my service so that you may hear my prayers and heal this land as I turn from my own understanding and embrace Your Vision for Creation.  Give me the power to overcome fear, division and ego to encourage a better world.  In Jesus’ Name.