Meditation: September 4

“To whom He was not announced, they shall see; and those who have not heard shall understand.” Romans 15:21

God heals many who may have thought their situation was beyond hope. They might have come with their limited view of what God was able to do, but to be surprised by grace to receive beyond their level of expectation. Salvation has come to the Gentiles to whom it was not announced. There may have been some who would have settled for the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, but God invited them in to partake of the feast.  it is not always intelligent that are enabled to make sense of the God’s mysteries. It may not even be the one who has a history among fellow believers. They may see nor understand the life changing message of Jesus Christ. Yet an impoverished reject in society may rejoice immediately in hearing for the first time what they had heard time and time again. Why one is desperate in seeking the truth, God will open his eyes to see the Kingdom of God and his heart to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. God has made it available to all but it requires a contrite and humble spirit, We do not possess the ability independent of the Spirit to see and understand such blessed truths as these. When one is broken of his pride he realizes that there is a need much deeper than he alone is able to meet. Then Jesus is introduced and embraced as both Savior and Lord. If one can hear the voice of spiritual reason today and not permit the noise of entertainment or the confusing noise of the world to interfere, God will lead that one to the greatest level of understanding. He will understand and know His God, His purpose, and His destiny!

Meditation: September 1

“…. they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10

The motive behind one’s action is either truth or pleasure. Throughout our lifetimes we have made decisions on the basis of either of these factors. Usually it is pleasure and if truth can be found in pursuit of it, there is an added bonus. It gives one the sense of being right. The path of least resistance in pursuit of wholeness is a pursuit of pleasure and often requires the compromise of truth. The quest for truth must be deliberate unless a compromised version of it surfaces as a substitute for the real thing. The reason truth alone appears to be so unattractive is because it prohibits the full expression of free will. To follow ones heart is to allow the dictates of the world, the flesh, and the devil to dominate the life of the person. The heart unchanged will by nature violate the laws of God because of the nature of sin dwelling within the heart. “They did not receive the love of the truth,” they had not allowed their hearts to be changed by the Word of Truth. They found pleasure in other things which prohibited them from receiving the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit will make the Truth of God sensible thus bringing one to a place of receiving in the heart what the mind is yet to fully understand. It is saying yes to God before He thoroughly explains what one has agreed to. This is faith in God’s Word to take us where God desires for us to go rather than where we wish for Him to take us. The grace to be saved is the grace to accept God’s Word and to be passionate about it. Then our confidence in Him will position us to understand what is reserved, not for the wise and prudent but for His babes.    

Meditation: August 7

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, (2) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,  (3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:1-3

The passions and desires of a converted saint are different from the cravings of the sinner. Even though there is still that memory of a life without power driven by the force of sin, he is now free to make better and wiser choices. One must be fully aware of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to save everyone who believes. The tensions that exist between the bondage of the past and the freedoms that lie ahead in the future will be ever present. Yet they are now expendable. These things may try to attach themselves to you, but they have been expelled from within you. This is what Peter was addressing when he instructed believers to lay all these other things aside. They do not give expression to the new nature within you.  You are now in control and responsible for how these things affect you.

Allow your affections to be directed towards those things that add to your faith in Jesus Christ. This is the surrender offered to the believer, that is, to allow the Holy Spirit to give full expression of the character of Christ. This is not striving but resting and letting Him take full and complete control.

A babe is fed food that increases his growth and productivity. You will desire these things as evidence of a changed life within you.   He is telling you to set your affections on things above. The time spent in seeking them will have you too preoccupied to waste time in other areas. Being fed by the Lord will allow you to understand how gracious He is to you to allow you to partake of what is exclusively His.

Meditation: July 29

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5

When God is abstract, one must use his imagination in drawing a composite of Him. But when one is close enough to see Him, all they have to do is report to others what has been made known to them. What we hear of Him ought to wet the appetite of the hearer to be drawn closer by the Holy Spirit. When we are drawn close enough to see His features we see in Him what we so desperately need. Then it does not take any exaggerated language or overly dramatic expressions to convey to the heart of others the knowledge that has now become a part of us. It is as easy as breathing because we are reporting and not selling. He does the work in our hearts and imparts to us wisdom that is beyond their years. It is the personal experience that transforms us from seekers to saints. As eyewitnesses of His glory, we are changed. The change within us is sufficient to invoke the change in others. Once we have seen Him through the eyes of the Spirit, we have a story to tell and a message to deliver. He becomes greater than what we first thought of Him and we become diminish in size in our own eyes.

Meditation: July 19

“He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart” Psalm 15:1

The benefit of abiding with Christ is the motivation to act is governed by the Holy Spirit rather than merely our own minds. The thoughts generate from God and are transferred to the heart so that the will is to do His will rather than what previously occupied our time and attention. It is not a matter of consciously manipulating the mind to think right. There is a continual flow from the heart to the mind maintaining an awareness of God’s Presence at all times. Then it is not as much of a strain to make the right decisions in relation to our walk. Though temptations may come and trials may test our faith, we know that He is with us and we know that He working in us. Now when we speak, we speak from a changed heart. His Word is hidden in our hearts and no other language is our own other than what is being translated into life within us. What marvelous position to occupy when God is able to convey His truth boldly through an earthen vessel that has been transformed by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit!

Meditation: July 10

“But He is unique, and who can make Him change?  And whatever His soul desires, that He does.”  Job 23:13

God is complete in and of Himself. He is not like us with needs that may cause our focus to shift from one thing to another. Those are the limits placed upon the human experience. We navigate through time not knowing the things that lie ahead of us. But God knows the end before the beginning. He is light and in Him are no shifting shadows. Why would He change His mind for such things that may be a fleeting thought within our minds? Instead of His mind being changed by us, our minds are to be renewed by Him.  True humility is exercised when we are willing to forgo our will what another wills. When we trust Him in areas not completely understood, He will give us the will and desire to please Him. We will experience His goodness and grow in our understanding of dimensions of His love. What a blessing it is to find pleasure in what pleases Him! His uniqueness can then be celebrated rather than loathed. Some may wish to wrestle out of His hands what is exclusively His.  He is God alone and infinite. We are but instruments of clay and finite. It is His life within us that sets us apart from the rest of the world. Nothing can be compared to the joy that is experienced when our ways please the Lord. He gives us His joy, a joy that the world cannot receive nor comprehend.

Meditation: July 2

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Philippians 3:7

What a marvelous work must have taken place in the life of Apostle Paul to now be at a place of devaluing what once was measure of his boasting. Now things had changed for him. Things that were measured as advantages had now become deficits. If they remained his central focus or if he took pride in any other thing, it would diminish the opportunity of knowing Christ as being far more superior to any other thing. It is a matter of prioritizing our lives where Christ becomes all and other things are subordinate to our seeking to know more of Him. This can only happen among those who once knew that they were boastful. Pride has many disguises. Some would say that they are proud of the fact that they are not proud. This oxymoron hides behind a thin veneer of humility. When we become aware of our pride, we then give the Holy Spirit opportunity to free us from it. The test of true humility is when we determine not to know anything but Christ and Him crucified. There we harness the energy used to project a positive image and radiate Christ as being our life. When we know Him by revelation, who His glory is revealed in and through us.

June 2017 Article: “Generations”

Psalm 145:4 “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.”

We have been assigned to make a difference in this generation and leave a legacy for all the generations that come after us. What matters most is not what we may have enjoyed in our lifetime, but what we leave behind for others. Today, we are either reaping the benefits or suffering the consequences of former generations. However, these conditions do not just develop, as there were people who set the stage that we currently occupy. In a sense, they were our fathers, for we are the products of their investments and efforts. Consequently as fathers, there are many things to consider—since we give birth to sons and daughters, what kind of world would we wish for them? Fathers of families, fathers of movements, and fathers of nations share this one thing in common; they all set the pace and rhythm for their generation. As time advances, the objective is for the progression of people commensurate to the progression of time. We are growing older, but we must also grow better.

Although God works within the framework of time, He is not confined to its limitations. He invades time with miracles, signs, and wonders, and His works are from an eternal perspective. They come down from the Father of Lights, where there is no variation or shadow of turning. He establishes His creative order in heaven and descends upon the earth. These works are our gifts from Him to us. If you would just take the time to consider all that God has provided, you would be overwhelmed. The work of creation and of maintaining all things created by Him is worthy of praise, but that praise is not a private and personal expression. It is meant to be proclaimed to all who will hear it. We were not born in this generation by coincidence, for God has brought us and His work together for such a time as this. If this generation is to ever know and understand who fathered all that we presently enjoy, the light of His glory must shine for through us. Much is being lost in this generation, and many people are taking matters into their own hands with the idea that things just appear and circumstances just occur randomly. By God’s design, we are given the privilege of participating in the works of God when we acknowledge what He has already done.

Then comes the declaration where we then declare His mighty acts. The acts of God reference God’s intervention in the affairs of mankind. He can change the climate and reset the atmosphere in an environment where His mighty acts are declared. We are to make the declaration to this generation, and there are words that help us understand its meaning. Ori(gen)—there is a beginning to what was generated. There was a foundation established from its beginning that should be maintained. De(generate)—just as something is generated, if not properly maintained, it will degenerate. Re(generate)—the second chance given to that which has lost its way.

We live in an orphaned society that is a product of a fatherless generation. The criminal element among us is merely symptomatic of what happens when the role of fatherhood is either absent or abandoned. If this generation is to proclaim His praise and declare His mighty works, it requires the father’s heart to be restored to the Father of creation. Then the heart of the fathers restored to the children. Then the glory of the Lord can pass from generation to generation.

Meditation: March 14

“For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Romans 3:3

God is determined to fulfill every one of His promises. Too much is at stake for Him to fail. Yet there are many who doubt Him and question His authority and abandon their post defecting from the faith. Does unbelief negate God’s faithfulness? He allows the rain to fall on the unjust as well as the righteous. He provides for believers as well as unbelievers. Seasons of the year that change for all to receive the benefits of change. Yet God is determined to raise up a remnant among His people who will obey Him and receive the full benefit of His promises. They will hear His voice and heed to His call. If not the parents, He may reach some of their children. What is rejected by one generation may have been embraced by their successors. God will provide future evidence of His truth. When all else is shaken and crumbles to the earth, His Word will remain. And what was once cast down and rejected will be raised by and through what God has already spoken.

Meditation: February 22

“And yet I show you a more excellent way.” 1 Corinthians 12:31

The order of the Church and our lives is to be arranged by the Holy Spirit. He guides us through the gifts that were given to the Church on the Day of Pentecost. Though many gifted people have not fully understood what it would take in order to get the most out of what was left after Jesus’ ascent into heaven. We are to earnestly desire to be endowed with the blessings, which are the extension of His work on the earth. He works through His Body, which is the Church. When gifts are given, the potential for change is present. The gifted are the called, which are endowed to be a blessing to others. But the way they are used may be to the best of their abilities yet they may still fall short of the intended results of God. When the gifts are given, the way to exercise them must be shown. A way that is more excellent than the best we are within ourselves able to offer. It is the way of love. Only then can we flow in the gifts without trying to take ownership of them. It is then God working in us to do what He alone is able to do. He loves through us and reaches the hearts and lives of people that He is willing to touch. There are ways known and unknown to us, but we must allow ourselves to be shown a more excellent way.