“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?  Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.  We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers.  Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.  O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.  I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.  All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent.  And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.  O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Issac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.  And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”  Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.”  So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers, they bowed low and fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.  1 Chronicles 29:10

How do I understand God’s awesomeness by looking in to the words and deeds of David?  Re-read, if you would please the passage above and see a man, not a god or demigod.  A man who had done his best to live his life for God, knowing fully well that he had failed but in that failure found humility.  A man who is said to be after God’s heart, who is himself apparently amazed that God would find any pleasure in being given, as homage, objects we deem treasure in order to demonstrate our willingness to honor his name.  Then we see God’s true awesomeness in David’s prayer to keep our hearts faithful to the Almighty and that his son would be faithful in fulfillment of his duties to build the temple for God.

I see in this moment the precarious nature of this life, its glory and its folly.  That we humans can for instants shine in our likeness to God and then quickly depart from that attention to once again fall into disloyalty, false pride and idle workings.  How can we maintain such understanding and as David live to a good old age ever mindful of God’s generosity, kindness and love?  It is all his and he gives to us freely for the asking, if we will only believe.  He even provides for the unbeliever, not just the ones who will eventual seek truth, but for those who have no intention of choosing righteousness.  This is the God that we serve, the lover of all and sustainer of life.  Lest we forget his holiness and our feet fall on insubstantial ground, let us remember David’s last words to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.”  David may have doubted his people but he still had faith, faith that the Lord our God would deliver us even from our own misgivings into lives of righteousness and subsequent works of Spirit and Truth.

Lord, with all that you have given me, even to this life, I praise you.  Come Lord Jesus, come.  Amen

Do not despair, now may not be the time for play but we shall frolic in the hereafter.  There is work to be done and although neither of us feel the energy, commitment nor inclination, this is our purpose, to lay the groundwork for the coming King.  If we shirk our work then others will be employed, perhaps even the rocks, trees and sky will sing of His glory if we neglect it.  We have always doubted if we had the gumption to stand up when it meant losing something or maybe everything.  Isn’t it great that we get to find out the truth?

I was not born to give into whimsical torture or threats against my person or property.  I see now that I have been trained so that when the opportunity arises I will be given the choice to declare the name of Jesus, perhaps for last time or cower in frailty accepting my worldly citizenship.  We both know that there is no thought more distasteful then the silence of my tongue when given opportunity to shout for the King of Everything.  How have we become so palsied, prideful and dispassionate?  We chase blossom with no bouquet, feast without flavor, treasure with no taste.  Just a hand full of cloud we are left empty after each sexual encounter, counted coin or vanquished competitor.  Our story amounts to nothing but myth told to eighth graders hoping to somehow justify lifetimes lost.  There is no substance without eternity.  We are left in the dirt our lives turned-out pockets with not but lint memories, soon forgotten as one less mouth to feed or one more competitor with which to contend.

But that is not the hope of Christians, the Bride of Christ, betrothed to the Lord of Glory for for eternal marriage.  Does it seem odd to think of the fulfillment of service to a righteous King?  That is the death throw of the sinful nature, writhing, attempting escape, wanting nothing to do with anything but self-service.  I am tired of self, does it not bother you as well?  A nest-bound baby bird with a ravenous appetite for salaciousness that never matures, never leaves, never stands alone or takes care of others, existing only to feed, feed and feed again then sleep.  I yearn to yearn no more.

I will find rest in You my Lord.  I await You and humbly ask Your forgiveness for my painfully slow maturation.  Thank You for Your Patience.  It is such an oddity to me that the only reason I deserve Your mercy is because You find some worth in what You have created.  Praise be to God, I am thankful that You find my faith in You acceptable offering because I have naught else to give but the love that You first gave me.  In Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name.

http://youtu.be/iIMaj944cqc There is no avoiding the common sense of a man guided by the Holy Spirit of God.

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

— Alexis de Tocqueville, quoted in The Spirit of America

I am greatful to have lived in this period of American history.  We have seen the evil and the good and know that something tangible has been lost.  America of the 20th and 21st Centuries has been a case study of how a blessed nation of people loses God’s hand of grace by turning their faces away from the Lord toward “other” interests.  You see God is jealous for our fealty and worship and considers these alternate interests as other gods.

Since 1859, when Darwin released his theories of alternate explanation for our origin, we have been grasping at those postulates as hopeful proof of an escape route from coming judgment.  It is no rare coincidence that De Tocqueville died that same year, proclaiming that what made us great is the goodness and righteousness preached from American pulpits.  With all our power and might we’ve proclaimed evolution, truth and proceeded down the dangerous path leading away from God’s sovereignty and protection.  Living in this nation where people have “progressively” gone from enlightened truth to veiled ignorance has been an awesome challenge in remaining on the narrow path to God.

What awaits us on our present course?  We like to say that we don’t know and in our best fatalist/naturalist understanding we say something whitty about “survival of the fittest” or predict some kharmic enlightenment of mankind.  When the exact reason we resolve to these ill-fated attempts at prognostication is that we have exchanged the only real truth for a lie and thus been turned over to our decadence as reward.  If in fact the fittest survive then we should expect something akin to Hitler’s determination to do the world a favor and root out the weak through genocide.  Isn’t that what is coming with our new attempt at health care, an effective culling of the sick and weak by declaring it fiscally imprudent to provide them care in a timely manner?  Let us not allow evil’s mask to obfuscate the founding principles of wickedness which are to corrupt, conceal and consume.  It is easy to challenge the nobility of this widesweeping power grab by asking, will it affect the wealthy in any way?  Of course not, they will simply continue to pay for good care, that is why they may opt out in the grand new plan, because they never needed it in the first place.  Those who will suffer will be the weak, sick, elderly, infant and poor and of course who ever challenges the emperor’s authority.

I will not challenge the authority because it has been God Himself who has set the crown upon the heads of current kings.  This movement is not beyond God’s sovereign authority but rather, exactly that which God is allowing to happen as result of exercising our free will.  We have turned away from Grace, forgotten goodness, left the churches or turned them into social clubs delivering tickled-ear preaching, killed over fifty million innocent fetuses in the interest of self-service, sent men to war without God’s lead or blessing, spent our great grand-childrens inheritance, entertained every violent notion, ravenously pursued the dark sexual oddities of our imaginations and left nothing Holy, sacred or innocent.  This is the obvious outcome of our national practices.  Our only hope was God, without Him we have none.  For those who refuse to seek the Bible’s historical lessons we now see them repeated for us to learn experientially.

This was a great nation because it embraced goodness as its guide to prosperity in perpetuity.  No program, no waiting patience, renewed vigor or sacrifice will staunch its ebbing wound.  Our only salvation is to be found through humility, repentence and return to God’s saving grace and healing.  I do not see us bowing in humility but rather shouting louder in our prideful ignorance that we shall rebuild, overcome, solve our problems by programs, passion or financial manipulation.  These have all been tried and the results are firmly recorded in history that none of them will deliver us from the resounding peril of eventual collapse.  God is the only answer, His forgiveness the only key to unlock the chains of our self created captivity.  That forgiveness may only be found through Jesus Christ in repentence, faith and obedience to God’s Will.  I just don’t see it happening, but that is the wonderful thing about faith in God is that He alone can do the impossible as an answer to our prayers for this nation.  So I will continue to embrace the hope He has given me by asking Him to save this nation for His good pleasure.  I pray, that we Christians humble ourselves before God and ask His forgiveness for our transgressions, then repent of our practices.  I hope that He may hear our cries for mercy and turn His face back to us in favor, healing this land and returning us to the goodness we once held dear.

Praise the Lord God for all His Works.  Lord, Jesus, intervene in our plight and heal this land.

Can you see the Lord at work?  Only if you are aware of the signs and look closely.  Have you studied what must soon come to pass?  Only if you have dispelled fear and sought the truth of prophecy in God’s Word.  Do you know how important it is that we are currently discussing nuclear issues with Iran?  Only if you have read the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah that tell of Persia’s importance on the unfurling scrolls of prophecy.  Can you explain why Syria and Egypt are presently embroiled in turmoil from which it appears that will not arise?  Only if you know what must happen to these two ancients foes when Israel’s sovereignty is threatened.  Do you see Russia and China rising to preeminence on the global political stage?  Only if you understand that these things must come to pass as they will be drawn by the Lord to battle in the valley of Armageddon.

Can you see the Lord at work?  Only if you have sought Him and learned the truth which has prepared you for all that must quickly come to pass.  Do you know what will happen in the years leading up to the return of Christ?  Only if you have studied Daniel, Isaiah and garnered the special blessing to those who have listened to Revelation and kept its commands.  Do you know where you will be on the day Christ returns, seated upon white horse or scattered seeking refuge from the wrath of the Lamb?  Does prophecy speak of the United States?  If it doesn’t do you know what this portends for American believers and the lost?

Can you see the Lord at work?  If you cannot, there is great cause for concern.  Praise God there are Pastors and Teachers around who can lead you to the Cross and the saving knowledge of Grace.  Then they can show you what the Lord says must surely and quickly come to pass.  If you don’t see the Lord at work, and you want to know why not please reach out to me or one of my Brothers and Sisters, as this is the most important information you would ever wish to learn.  Praise God in His Glory and Might.  Jesus Come Soon, Please.

Prepare my heart for prayer Lord.  Cleanse it, soften it, open it to hear and store Your Word and Commands.  This world loses luster, blighted almost to snow blindness, color fades to tans and grays.  Teach me that new song I heard upon the night, promising joy in spite of upset, persecution or assumed loss.  Show me that they cannot take that which is held tightly against Your bosom, safely in the palm of Your Almighty Hand.  Let Your Kingdom rise and may we soon delight in the Righteous Rule of the One True King.  I am so eager to learn that which is presently beyond my understanding.  Courage, peace and a fulfillment of belonging where I have been placed.  Show me.

Peel from me the layers of soot, ash and pollution that have hardened upon my skin.  Purify my soul so that nothing ill may reside within this temple.  Let me be a proper vessel for the Waters of Everlasting Life promised by Your Word.  They cannot doubt health, nor love nor true forgiveness.  Let me use these tools of discipleship in place of my insufficient programs and intentions.  You are the source of salvation, let me find that well within my spirit so that I may fill this cup from which others may drink and be saved.  Teach me to step aside and shine Your light upon the path leading to the Good Shepherd.  Let me not view my work through commercial, political or idol eyes.  Make me a slave to Your Sovereignty and commit my heart and each sub atomic particle of my soul to Your Perfect Will.  Lead me.

This path does not fall away beneath my feet, my footfalls finding sturdy granite to bear all that must be carried.  My fear washed away like the soil, fallen from my clothes, hair and heart returned from whence it came in the world of possibility and illusion.  If my greatest fear was of death which no longer has dominion in this life or the next then what supports its worthiness as an inhibitor or barrier to my victory?  How can something that cannot suffer the second death be frightened by loss of first life?  Certainly I will miss people, places and harmony I have seen in this journey, but it shall not compare to what awaits me.  I will do the best in this life to be prepared for the next and show as many treasured souls the way to eternity in the presence of God.  This world was created by Him for His Good Pleasure, my life shall not be spent in vain, earthly pursuit, but as kindling prepared for the quenching fire of the Lord God Almighty.  Set me aflame.

God be Praised in all that we say and do.  In the Everlasting name of Jesus.  Amen.

I would surely like to tell you that God will answer all prayers.  It would be a joy to see you go to the Lord in prayer and have all of them answered.  My job is speak in truth and love to you regardless of the circumstances or outcome.  God will do what He promises and has promised to do.  Therefore, I have to say that God has not answered all my prayers.  His will, understanding and vision is beyond my own.  There are those prayers for the people in this world, His return, the millennium and eternity that have not yet come to pass or fall in that “yet” to be answered category.  However, there are prayers that I have delivered to ear of God and He has said No.  Can I be all right with that and still trust Him?  Yes, in fact Him not answering my prayers of limited understanding builds my faith.  For I know that He knows better than I do what is good for me in this life and the next.  And if He has chosen not to answer my prayers in the affirmative then there is a “Divine” reason for not doing so.

God is not a vending machine of favor.  He is not a one-stop shop or phantasmal genie where I rub the bottle, spin three times, spit to the east and my every wish comes to pass.  This type of wish granting is akin to the promises of the devil which always come with a warning, be careful what you wish for or watch for the catch.  The Lord has given us grace enough to escape our deserved outcome of eternal death and punishment.  I ask you isn’t that enough?  Does He have to make our lives easy and comfortable in this life when He has promised us those blessings in the next, especially when this one is so short and the next eternal?  However, let us not overlook the fact that He promised to give us whatever we ask for in His name.  What does that mean to ask for something in God’s name?  Does that mean if I say His name alongside the prayer that it will be granted?  Kind of sounds like the rub the bottle thing doesn’t it?  Could it be that since this life has been purchased at the price of the Savior’s Sacrifice that we must truly mean it when we say, “Thy Will Be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven?”

Should our wishes be consistent with His Will for this life in order for them to be granted?  Wow, that is a novel and ideal concept.  I do not wholly know the answer to this question, meaning that the Holy Spirit has not given me clear guidance on this issue.  However, I do know that the Lord has delivered me from circumstances from which I could not have found escape.  I know that He has blessed me beyond reason or understanding, not only in material things but also in friendships, ministry opportunities, insights, talents and health.  The closer I become to God the more my prayers begin to resemble requests for His completed Will in my life and through my life.  I see my prayers changing to be about health for others, salvation for the multitude of the lost, blessing His mighty name and eternal reign and for His hand upon this world to be a catalyst for grand movement toward belief in His immeasurable Grace.  I never know which prayers the Lord will answer, but I do know that the ones He chooses to answer will always be the best for my life and for His Will.  And beneath that tree of trust and faith in the Lord I find my shade and rest.

Praise You Lord God.  Forgive me for doing those things that demonstrate a preference for anything over the moments and relationship with You.  I am not worthy of Your Grace and that is what makes it so amazing that You could love me this much.  I bask in the light of Your Love, Grace and favor.  Please never let me go astray even for a moment.  Jesus my King.

If the data you are taking in daily is reserved to the network or cable news then you are ingesting, some lies, a little obfuscation and a whole lot of misdirection/misinformation.  If you aren’t taking the information you hear and see to the Word and Holy Spirit for discernment and confirmation, then you are simply trusting where trust has not been earned or deserved.  Currently about seven large companies own all the major news outlets.  These large companies are headed by owners who have specific ideological and political affiliations.  Most of these affiliations are consistently liberal, subsequently the information they provide to the public is restricted, repackaged and published with a penchant for social and government superiority.

The same is true for those networks that are of the conservative vein.  Although, they label themselves fair or balanced, you will not hear the Gospel truth as they seek to garner ratings or fulfill political initiatives determined by board members.  Trust God, take all information to Him in prayer and He will show you the truth in any situation, even revealing that which is currently unknown as a benefit of being the son or daughter of Almighty God.

These are dangerous and soon to be desperate times.  It is imperative that we as Christians maintain level thinking so that we may practice good planning and make sound decisions when called upon to do so.  There is no secret, but God.  There is no truth, besides God.  If you are putting your faith hope and trust in any source, resource or foundation other than the Most High God through Jesus Christ then when that foundation crumbles your world will fall.  Build your house upon the Rock of Ages, Christ Jesus the King.  I shall not be moved for my hope is in Christ where it shall never be shaken.  That does not mean that I do not make attempts to get the right information on which to base decisions, but I just know that if that information does not match the Word or the Spirit of Gods Will it is worthless.  Praise God in All His Glory.

Amen

Why do you fear doing what God has placed upon your heart?  Does it look like something that is beyond your level of authority, skill, knowledge?  Is it only some weird and divine practice reserved for Bible Laureates and people willing to humble themselves to live in the jungle and protect orphans while teaching English?  Let us not be captured by fears spun of our own misunderstanding.  Ministry is loving a person when they need it for no other reason than God loved you when you needed it.

Is loving people that hard?  Maybe if you think that people are not that loveable.  But let us remember that God loved them so much He sent His perfect Son to die for each of them.  If God loved them that much than I obviously am committed to overcome whatever resistance I internally possess in order to give them what they need most, a little love, compassion and the offer of a helping hand or ear.  Ministry is no arcane ritual that requires hours of study to reproduce or practice.  It is the sensitivity of heart to know that this world is broken and that others are seeking peace and restoration just as we are.  Ministry is using whatever particular talent you have to comfort and encourage someone to the point where they understand that they are not alone and that someone loves them enough to reach past their circumstances to try and understand.

Ministry is sowing hope where this world had seeded despair.  Ministry is a cold glass of water to someone so parched that they believed their thirst could not be slaked.  Ministry is a reminder of purpose, inclusion, direction and degree.  Ministry is rescue from the whirling dust storms on the horizon, the strafing heat or the searing cold.  Ministry is obedience and becoming.  It is execution of purpose as pitcher, vase or chalice.  Ministry is finding a new way to show Christ to the world by using your character, humor, kindness and care.  It is not hard it is exactly the opposite.  Ministry is allowing the Holy Spirit of God to lead you to a place where He does the work and provides the words that you must say.  Ministry does depend on you for one thing and that is willingness.

Praise God that He created You uniquely for a specific purpose that belongs to you alone.  That purpose is your ministry.  In Jesus Name Amen.

What happens when a person is not grateful?  Does it matter at all?  Are there costs for this behavior or do things just go on without change?  The Bible looks at gratefulness or its synonym thankfulness as a commanded response to the gifts and grace we are given.  Let us take a look at several Bible verses which support this view of significance.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  Psalms 100:4  It appears that as his children though we are blessed with the access to the throne room of God we are enter such circumstances with thankfulness and praise of God’s Name.  What happens when we come into this hallowed relationship without thanks and praise?  I will leave that up to your imagination, however my recommendation is that those who have approached God in a manner of irreverence have always received instant and swift justice.  My advice, do not trifle with God.  Do not for your own sake take this relationship lightly.  He may be our “Daddy” but He is also Holy and there is a price for nonchalance.

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Romans 1:21  This passage in Romans talks about the fact that “all” know the truth of God and choose to either accept or turn away from that truth to their own wickedness.  It appears that the price of not being grateful to God for the offer of Grace leads to vanity, imagination and darkness of the heart.  I am thankful for the gift of Grace and the amazing fact that God loved me enough to redeem me in relationship.  Anything else would be foolhardy.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Colossians 3:15  In this passage Paul admonishes us to be thankful for the peace and fellowship of the church.  These things are priceless and because we could not purchase them we should have hearts that are grateful that we have been given that beyond price.  Again we are faced with the spirit of reverence and appreciation for the gravity of God.  Being un-thankful leads to pride and we all know pride is the pathway to all sin.  My advice don’t take one step on a path that you know leads to darkness and separation from God.

Praise You Father for all that You have done.  Thank You.  Jesus a name above all.  Amen

Struggling with importance?  God gave Adam dominion.  God “custom designed” Eve to help Adam in this tasking.  Have you ever wondered what tending the Garden for God entailed?  What is it that Adam abdicated to satan that terrible first sin day?  What gifts, what authority, what joy, treasure and pleasure was vended in exchange for a lie about grand knowledge?  The measure of regret is what was given up and it intrigues me that very few ask what Adam gave in exchange for the lie.  The greatest of which was probably the priceless treasure of walking and talking with God every day of your life.

What have I abdicated to satan?  What has been handed to me through grace that I sell in exchange for worldly pleasure, lies or insignificant knowledge.  God owns it all.  Do you get that billions if not trillions of stars and planets?  Why then would anything on this earth hold any value, weight or comparison to that.  I heard Michael Youssef the other day speaking of the inheritance we as Christians can expect as joint heirs with Christ.  Contemplate that a bit, what does that mean to you?  The thoughts it creates in my mind make anything that this earth and its lies have to offer pale in comparison to my inheritance.  Perhaps I will be asked to tend the Garden on a solar system of planets.  I mean it all belongs to Him right?  And Paul did say that we cannot even comprehend the glory that awaits us.  Start thinking big about who your Father is and what righteous restoration of service for the King of Glory would look like in the new Heaven and the new Earth.

I choose to be content with what the Lord has given me and grow harvest where I have been given seed and lent the ground.  Remember that pleasure and peace you have felt next to the lake, upon the mountain or in the field just existing.  Knowing that you did today what God commanded and reaping the moments of silence and tranquility that come from being alive.  What measures up to that moment when you look upon your children as they run in joy, thankful to just be alive and playing with friends.  What pleasure or promise surpasses the pricelessness of these simple joys?  None.  Be with Christ in the Garden once again, walk with Him in the cool of the day.  There is no greater achievement then walking with God and enjoying what He provides.

Christ the King, King of Glory and Lord or Righteousness and Truth.  His Will shall be done in this life and the next.  Praise God, seek purity and discernment.

http://unitycoalitionforisrael.org/news/?p=10081  In order to speak the truth you must first choose Jesus Christ and then he will give you the truth in order to set you free.  Reading this column are you now ready to say that you have been living under the shadow of the propaganda and lies that we are fed by the restrictive/bias media in the United States?  Seek Christ and seek the truth or His word.