Peter grabbed a sword, somehow missing all that the Lord had tried to teach him in the preceding three years.  We as Christian’s, look at Peter’s passion as if somehow we would behave differently.  I assert that the majority of us would and will give in to our own fears when confronted with the same pressures to which the Apostles found themselves subject.  Fear is the enemy’s primary weapon of choice.  We are not taught to employ fear in our discipleship, though we know that fear is the beginning of wisdom does present a foothold from which unbelieving theorist’s seek purchase.  How are we to separate the enemy’s use of fear from the reverent fear which produces discernment and wisdom? Lord, how are we to react, reflect or demonstrate our love for You and for the humans You have created without the use of enemy tools, devices and tactics?  How do we overcome them without becoming them?  How do we protect ourselves, forgive those who harm us and proceed boldly into a future we know by Your Word will carry regular and horrific tragedy as norm?  How do we live a life that reflects the faith of Stephen rather than the doubtful shame of Thomas?

We don’t want to accept the answer, because to do so requires that we surrender all to God’s Will for our lives.  I hear Pastors say we need to give God Sovereignty, control or authority over our lives in order to achieve this or that objective.  I pray that they see how this leading/teaching may produce wrong thinking in their flocks.  This is simply blind logic.  God is sovereign over our lives regardless of our choices or surrender level.  It is an entirely different idea to “accept” that sovereignty rather than ignoring, resisting or fighting against it.  Yes Stephen surrendered to God’s Will for his life and thus was filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment when the predestined events arrived for which he was designed.  Each of us must have personal conversation with the Lord where we accept His sovereignty and surrender to His will or decide to remain in our own/enemy guidance, authority and direction.

Stephen accepted God’s Sovereignty and surrendered to the guidance, authority and direction of the Holy Spirit of God, even unto death.  That is such a tough concept for us to fathom, that I doubt many of us reflect upon it unless reminded.  The answer that we are loathe to accept is that we cannot overcome anything in and of ourselves.  It is through our testimony of how GOD came to our rescue, providing forgiveness, salvation and shelter that frees us from the wiles of the enemy.  It is through the Blood of the Lamb, JESUS the CHRIST by which we are redeemed, sanctified, made whole and protected from the powers of the principalities of the air.  It is by our love and trust in Jesus that we are indwelt by the HOLY SPIRIT, sealed for eternity, empowered to overcome fear, capable of discerning truth from ignorance and deception.

Lord, I pray that You indwell me in such a way, that if I am ever provided that Stephen Moment, I will allow You to overcome the circumstances, forces and fears.  Let me realize my humanity to the point where I fully accept to rely upon myself in that moment would produce nothing but shame, failure and regret.  I will never overcome the enemy, but Praise Be to God in Jesus Christ that the enemy has been stripped of all authority by Jesus Christ Himself.  I need not fear that Moment for You have seen it before the beginning of time and provided the strength and guidance to carry me through, producing results commensurate to Your Glory.  If my death even in humility, embarrassment and shame somehow furthers Your Kingdom then let me accept Your Sovereignty as Truth.  Praise You Father.  Live Your Will through Me.  Forgive them for me even when I cannot.  Stand when my legs will not support my weight, give me the Right Words when my mind and tongue are paralyzed by fear.  I remain protected, armored by Your Character, where nothing can move me without Your willing it so.  Thank You for choosing me, it is the greatest honor of my life.  Amen.

Why the silence?  Has the Holy Spirit bid all dutiful Christians to hold their tongues?  This world is teetering.  You know I know it and yet the Church powerful remain silent.  The Lord our God states clearly that homosexuality is an abomination, a contortion.  The Bible makes it plain what the Lord thinks of people and nations who wickedly sacrifice their children upon the altars of false gods or convenience.  A government that was dedicated to God at its inception cannot turn away from His counsel, evoking practices and policies in conflict with His law without, expecting lasting consequence.  Our leaders are lawyers, historians and doctors they should know what has happened historically to EVERY nation that has traveled this path.  Why then is the Christian population roughly silent as our foundations are stripped away.  It is obvious we are afraid of losing our worldly possessions.  Power, influence, the seat at a table of the ungodly, these are the treasures to which we find ourselves in service.

Has God stripped away the prophets in these last days?  Has the Holy Spirit muffled all those who know the truth and would speak plainly the Word of God?  Has the Lord Jesus Christ’s work become nil so that we may follow the path of wickedness and sin?  Are we only a remnant too weak in our faith, too empty of Spirit, powerless against the coming storm, that we huddle inside our churches keeping the truth to breast as a winning hand of cards?  What has become of God’s Glory lived out through the walk of His children?  Have we sold our inheritance for a fancy truck, a vacation at the shore and a comfortable nest egg?  Are we so afraid of the enemy’s authority here that we shudder at the thought of losing our tax status for speaking truth?  There are too many of these questions to which the answer is a declarative Yes.  That my friends is the nature of my fetid stomach.  I too am afraid, too afraid to stand with God in His righteousness, befriending the lost for ill gain.  Oh, what a pitiless man I have become.

God restore us to our honor, courage and pure living so that we may serve Your Will and not our own.  Give us that measure of faith as a mustard seed and let it blossom demonstrating Your Authority to this World You Have Created.  Let each of us stand up, step forward and declare the Words, Spirit Provides, that we will not stand with the forsaken.  To allow this nation or even one man, woman or child to go down our present path without attempting to stop them is complicity.  Would you allow anyone to step over a crevasse, step into oncoming traffic or stand up in a barrage of bullets?  That is exactly what we are currently doing by not calling them back from their path toward eternity separated from God.  This path leads directly to hell, the place designed for satan and his angels.  Man was not meant to join him in his damnation, we do it by choice.  We, as Christians are the Living Word of Christ.  It is our responsibility to inform them and then let God mold and shape their hearts.  If we will not speak that is flagrant disobedience.  For this we should be humbled and seek God’s forgiveness.  But then we must repent of this sin and stand up for God’s Word, His Glory and His Coming.  He deserves no less.  In His name I pray.  Jesus is God.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/player/what-is-the-good-life-335586.html  Is today your day?

So much is said about wishy-washy Christians, we often forget to reflect upon God’s Sovereign capacity to sponsor change.  I have been reflecting upon those times in Biblical History at which God either sent warning, tragedy or even limited judgment in order to wake people up and return them to a righteous path.  My journey has taken me to the events leading up to the Flood, Sodom, Nineveh, Jerusalem, Babylon and Egypt.  I am impassioned by the consistency.  God does not change His stance nor does He transform in Righteousness.  He warns, offers solace to those who would escape, warns again, sends judgment, offers solace to those who sincerely turn their faces back to Him and then pronounces final judgment without mercy.  Where are we currently in that modeled paradigm?

Perhaps we are at the beginning where we have received cursory warning about our wickedness.  In which case we should be seeing at least a cadre “coming out” in an attempt to find safety within God’s reflection.  Is that what we are seeing?  Have many heard or seen the sign and flown from coming judgment?  I haven’t seen it.  Then maybe we are at the second warning in which case we should see many turning their faces back to Him, humbly, demonstrating repentance and renewed righteous living.  Nope, don’t see that either.  Then we have to either be at a period before this sequence of events has begun or sadly, currently or about to receive the “Waking Judgments”.  Judgments designed to shake us from slumber, returning us to worship and right living before God’s Wrath outweighs His mercy.

How do we know something is true?  Do we accept only facts, sticking our fingers in the holes on his palms or in His side?  Or do we take this on faith knowing that God’s Word is always true, never errant, seeing that we have reached the denouement and are rapidly approaching conclusive action?  I think to whichever position you subscribe the results are identical.  The evidence shows that we have been repeatedly warned and have seen scant humility or life change.  Faith tells us that God is reaching that point where His patience will expire.  Both tell us to expect severe judgment as a last attempt to rouse us from our trance. Unfortunately, for those that refuse to listen the worst is yet to come.  From the appearance of the facts it appears to be close and those facts are confirmed by God’s Word and my faith.  What does this knowing create in you?

God be praised for His Mercy, Patience and Glory.  In Jesus’ Holy Name.

Where do we run to when it just seems to be too much?  Turning to exercise, drink, entertainment, sensory gratification (of any order), the emotional edification of others, anger, politics or depression, although temporarily effective, never quite give the lasting relief we need.  There are some things so painful they are meant to drive us to find shelter in the Lord.  Some pain is so internally irreconcilable there is no band aid to staunch the flow of our energy, wellness and tranquility.  The wounds and tears of an abused or hungry child, watching a friend die or agonizing for those whom are caught up in sin and tragedy with no understanding of safe harbor.

How can a rudderless ship be deemed anything other than “out of control”?  It is not always the enemy’s efforts to deceive me that are the most effective, often I am the perpetrator of my own deception.  Powerlessness is the frailty of my impoverished humanity to which prayer is the cure.  I will not seek to escape the pain for the emotions are indication of circumstantial dis-alignment.  These feelings were designed to create a need within me, a need for which I must seek treatment.  It is up to me whether I seek temporary release from the discomfort of my nervous system stimulus or quest for long lasting resolution only found under the Wings of Almighty God.

This world hurts.  I would like to say that is a bad thing, but it isn’t.  Sin, sickness and death are the results of man’s disobedience to God’s Law.  It is all perfect, at least in its ability to drive us into the Arms of God.  Father, I don’t know how bad it will have to get here before You come again.  I don’t even know how much I am capable of handling.  This world has done its work and produced such emotion, tragedy and hurt that it is hard to imagine Your return could be far off.  Please forgive them Father they seem to have been somehow blinded to the stench of this reality.  I pray that You awake them before it is too late.  And for those who will eventually refuse You I ask mercy.  There is no plan but Yours.  Lord Jesus come quick.  Amen.

To what extent have I comprehend that the Lord is sovereign over all?  It is not that I gave Him control over my life, my things, my heart and actions.?  He had control already the realization was my understanding of my continued struggle against the goads.  When I gave up the ground was plowed, seed planted and harvest collected.  And each time that I fought against the light influences of the yoke upon my life, was when my crops withered, failed or diminished.  Harmony for me has been in the service through “free will”, the greatest gift any of us has been given.

Father, make me capable of performing those things I always wish I had been wise enough to have known back then.  Give me a heart for willing surrender to Your guidance, Will and grace.  Let me not miss one opportunity, one chance, one dance.  I have spent the bulk of this lifetime pursuing differing frivolities or struggling to assert my hopeless will over Your overwhelming Grace.  Let me finally “give up” for good and freely go with the tide, swimming only when Your path bids me ashore.  Your Word says that we will do great things for the Kingdom, let me not miss out on anything You have prepared for me.  Let my Brothers delight in the Glory we have mirrored into the world for Your Honor.  Give us an eternal understanding of your Trustworthiness.  For it is in Your name I pray.  Jesus, how sweet that sound.

What would He have me say?  That He loves us like a parent searching for a lost child, perhaps?  That He cares and is indifferent about our behavior and that He has no requirements for those whom He loves, probably not?  Do you think maybe that it is somewhere in the middle or is God pretty strict about those things which He said must be done and those things which must be avoided?  Jonah was disobedient yet eventually did what was asked of him.  Nineveh was wicked yet received Jonah’s proclamation of God’s coming judgment in time to humble themselves and seek God’s forgiveness, diverting His wrath.  There is no cry for such a collective debasing to avoid destruction.  There is no new world prophet heralding the arrival of God’s angels for our deserved destruction.  And unfortunately in my heart I doubt that we would listen to him, we would most likely murder him as the Jews did to God’s Prophets in the past.  I know that you agree for we have gone past the axis point and the scales no longer have balance, justice and judgment lies ahead.

Christians are the only people that can avert such a crisis, yet we stand unaffected, afraid, uninvolved.  The fate of our nation comes yet we remain silent, comfortable, proud of our own behaviors casting aspersions upon the wicked, blaming them for the current state of affairs.  We must model humility for it’s need to be understood.  We must fast and pray seeking God’s face, begging Him for intercession on behalf of humanity.  We must forgive, refusing to hold grudges against those without wisdom, knowledge and truth.  We must proclaim the Word, beseeching all to flee, turning from sin and coming judgment.  We must find God in our own hearts and lives, so that His life can be seen through our own.  We must strip ourselves of pride, tear our clothes, fall to our knees in hope that our obeisance will stem God’s welling anger against US all.

Abortion, egregious dis-concern for the suffering, weak or non existent faith and a proclivity toward worship of glittering gold, violence, sexual promiscuity and self aggrandizement.  Rome styled wickedness tied to the overindulgence of the senses leading to a call to obesity, sexual oddity and wealth beyond sensibility.  False cries toward nationalistic unity where those in power tell everyone that we must rise to the challenges of the many when those needs have no boundaries.  Consumption our national motto where the wealthy who recycle are somehow perceived as evolved, removing reflection upon their frail foundations and the wickedness of their private practices.  God knows our hearts.

The nation cries out to God for a King instead of receiving our rightful Savior.  Without repentance we will be given such a leader far worse than Saul had ever been.  This man will require worship, spread death, blasphemy and false peace.  He will be an answer to our present requests for God to stay out of our business and let us follow our own desires.  We have become a nation where just doing it, and be yourself at any cost and follow your heart have created a national amnesia toward the source of our blessings.  It has become personally difficult and socially dangerous to live a righteous life, yet this is the life to which God beckons US.  Will you be a counter-cultural Christan knowing fully that friendship with this world is hate toward God?  Or will you continue to fall in lock step with the wicked, secretly mentioning your dismay once a week for about an hour?  The folly must end.  Christians and Jews must return to our knees before God in order to quell His fury.  There is no other path but the fulfillment of His prophetic wrath upon this planet for we all are sinners and have gone astray.

Lord save US all.  Return US to a quest for Your Face and Righteousness.  Let US be examples to a world bent on testing Your patience which nears its end.  Praise You in Your Fairness and Truth.  Your ways are Right.  Lord Jesus, thank You for defining forgiveness.

Are yours the dreams of fame and fortune that you have lain aside to serve the Lord?  Which family did the Lord place you in, knowing fully the weaknesses, obstacles and wisdom you would gain through that life?  Can you see the skinny path before you somehow knowing where it leads by the road previously traveled?  Are you delaying, avoiding or sabotaging what God has planned for you because you do know His will and are “unwilling” to accommodate?  Will you grab His ankle, sacrifice what He has asked for or go to Nineveh because that is what God’s Blessing requires?  Are you living the abundant life?  You know that answer right now and also know how to change it.

Give in to God, give to God but also accept from God those things He has planned for you before time immemorial.  Most I have spoken with play a nasty game of charades with God.  They say that they want to hear God’s voice, knowing His Will for their lives.  When in actuality that is the last thing their actions indicate.  Most have either heard the Spirit’s Leading or know God’s Will from reading His Word and they either ignore, avoid, deny or claim they are waiting for a sign.  These are evil times, only those of little faith will wait for a sign or must feel the holes in His hands and side.  I want you to know that I see God’s Will for your lives and if I can see it then God most certainly does.  The question remains, will you step forward to accept God’s challenges and blessings for your life?

This day we celebrate life and rebirth of our Savior into the Kingdom of God.  We honor what He did for us, remembering the sacrifice made on behalf of ALL humankind.  We also look forward to the sanctification of our lives and His eventual return to set things straight.  We should remain true to the memory but also to the prophecy of things to come.  We were made to do great things for the Kingdom to demonstrate His Glory in our words and works.  Celebrate this day in memory of what was done but also challenge yourself to embrace that which is yet to come.  For the resurrection demonstrated His authority to put away and take up His own life, but it also seated Him at the right hand of the Father where He lives in each of our lives.  He “is” alive which differentiates Him from any false god.  Ours is a relationship in celebration of life, the life that Christ Lives through us right now and the life He will spend with us throughout eternity.  Look forward knowing where the path leads for “not knowing” is denial, indecision or worse yet disobedience.  Serve His will and await His return.  Praise You Father in the Name of the Son through the guidance of Spirit.  Amen.

Even the devil knows the word of God and believes.  However like all the wicked, he must refute that Word in any manner or else be revealed for the hopeless case that he remains.  Lest we forget how powerful God’s nemesis is, we must look at how incredibly subtle his assaults upon humanity.  It is not a shock and awe campaign that humans would expect because of our lack of longevity, but rather a well planned and executed battle strategy perpetrated over thousands of years.  One of those subtleties is using Bible verses without the corresponding context.  This ploy delivers only that portion of the Word which empowers the hearer without the cautions, wisdoms and conviction carried through contextual delivery of the entire passage.  This battle stratagem has been most effective, especially when the lost believe that they wield the power of God by using verses such as “the truth shall set you free”, without understanding the preceding lines of that passage which declare how to receive the truth.

As believers it is incumbent on each of us to learn the Word of God, not so that we can become a Bible scholar to garner ourselves accolade, but rather so that we can protect ourselves from the wiles of the enemy.  Satan will seek to warp or twist God’s Word at each provided opportunity in order to lead us astray.  It is our responsibility to armor ourselves with the Lord’s Word so that we may never be deceived.

One of the greatest deceptions has been perpetrated surrounding how a nation finds its way back into God’s graces after infraction.  This deception is especially common among believers who do not understand the circumstances and context at which God pronounced the directions to recovering from an errant path.  Let us look at 2 Chronicles 7 to see just how the enemy has misconstrued God’s direction.  I used the NIV version to make it easily readable to the widest level of maturity.  However, there are some concerns about adherence to truth by translating God’s Word to suit the audience.  I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of God’s Word to each of your hearts and to forgive me for potentially leading any astray.  Keep them safe Lord.

When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹² the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

What if there were no forgiveness?  What if we knew there was no second chance each mistake met with finality?  No redemption, no recovery from iniquity, no mercy, grace, each strike a “one and done” opportunity.  That is the price of sin.  That is the life of the unbeliever.  The first sin cost you everything as the wage you were paid was eternal separation from God, no quarter.  Like Akin, you disobeyed and according to the law of Moses there was no forgiveness only penalty for your transgression.  So, you forfeited all.  Your life, your family’s life, everything you owned including your beast of burden were stoned, set to flame, demolished for all to see.  That is each life without Christ.  There can be no remission of sin without the shed blood.

I don’t know about you but I tend to take it for granted.  Not everyday, but sometimes falling into a lull, being forgetful and not being mindful of the miracle of forgiveness.  Not the overwhelming fact that I am saved, set apart to spend eternity with God, but the “not so simple” fact that I am forgiven.  I get to know hope where without it that hope would have never existed.  I get to feel sorry for my transgressions because I know that I can ask for forgiveness and receive such a prize.  My life does not surround walking so cautiously that I am afraid to disturb a flower, offend a person or perhaps shame someone because the price would be “everything”.  These are blessings I own but do not fully comprehend.  This makes me morn for the lost.  To never know forgiveness.  I cannot even remember how that felt, perhaps it would be better if I somehow could remember.

The Angel’s awe begins to gain clarity.  They cannot fathom how God could be so merciful in offering forgiveness to the undeserving.  They were not forgiven when they transgressed, instead they fell. The price of their sin was infinity.  Instantaneous separation from God, doomed to live among a prideful people, a forgetful people, stubborn, immoral and spoiled.  A people who had zero understanding of the grace they were given.  They were allowed to grow in a sinful life and then freely choose righteousness through faith, with rewards or punishment to come “some day”.  No instantaneous banishment, shaming, imprisonment or death but a segment of time within which the gift was offered freely daily.  You see God doesn’t even need us, yet he offers me forgiveness.  Too grand for me to understand.  You Lord deserve my allegiance, obedience and praise.  I am sorry that I dishonor you repeatedly.  I am so thankful that You do and will forgive.

Have you ever been absolutely sure that you were right only to find that God had other plans?  Those times when the picture is so clear that you can already see yourself walking in those shoes and suddenly find that your path led elsewhere.  Achievement is a dream I whisper to myself on the way to volunteering for those the Lord has directed me to serve.  Day dreams and nightmares are all of self or Sheol.  It is funny how my imagination always leads me astray, trusting it is always my first mistake.  The second comes when I forget to trust in God alone.

Speaking with a young man today I realized to be thankful for the fire, struggle and heartbreak in my life as I always grow the most during those times.  The times when God loves me enough to stretch me, reminding me once again not to stray from the truly important.  You would think that a man can learn, but my repeated stumble at the same points on the road support the opposite.  Lord, give me only that which you want for me.  Forgive me for always messing it up by integrating my own screenplay.  Your way for me is the only truth, all else is false.  Save me from myself otherwise I am destined to play the fool at each night’s opening.  I want Your Dream lived through this life.  Don’t let me settle for my own understanding, sentencing me to second best or worse.  I love You Lord.