Meditation: November 10, 2013

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” Proverbs 20:27

Our spirits have full knowledge of our true selves. It is not what we project, but who we are that the light of the spirit searches out. Experiences of the past are registered in the heart thus carving out our personalities. Our spirits reveal many of them as places in need of healing once it is awakened by the Holy Spirit of God. It is made anew for the saving of the soul. No longer are wayward behavior justified, for the awakened spirit can receive the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit  as necessary for completing the inward work that He has begun. What a blessing to have the searchlight of God turned our way! Not only does He convict, but His grace is dispensed everywhere the light shines. He delivers us from those vices that beforehand we were incapable of seeing. No longer blind but now we can praise and worship Him from the depths of a changed heart. We are no longer who we once were. We are now becoming who we were meant to be!

Meditation: October 8, 2013

“My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” Psalm 45:1

The tongue is engaged as a result of the overflow of the heart. As we meditate on the goodness of the Lord, our speech is not restricted to the thoughts that immediately come to mind. But there is a buildup of thoughts awaiting expression as Mary, the mother of Jesus, pondered in her heart all that the Angel of the Lord made known to her. When she finally spoke, the Magnification which was a bursting forth of praise and adoration began to flow from the deepest recesses of her soul. How many times have we had to strain in offering praise when we have not gathered in enough within for the rivers of living water to flow from the innermost portions of our heart? Yet when we silently wait before Him and allow our minds to slowly reflect upon all which He has done, then when we speak, we have more to say than time will allow. We must be swift to hear and slow to speak. In hearing what God has said, His Word must be applied to every part of us. Then our tongues will be employed to recite our composition concerning our King.

 

Meditation: May 30, 2013

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:6

Faith is placed on trial when you are given a seemingly legitimate reason to rebel against God as the result of current circumstances and the decisions of others. Logically the thing to do would be to disobey God and partake of the forbidden, or curse God for relief that does not seem to be on the horizon or even a part of the plan. One is for self-gratification and the other is to remedy the effect of constant misery. Faith rises in the midst of trials as being more precious than whatever the outcome would have been if you had relented in the midst of your greatest and most fierce battles. It is precious because in the end, God will prove Himself to be faithful. He will reward those who do not cave in under pressure, and will avenge them from their enemies. It is also the proof of character to further convince you of the Holy Spirit yet working in you in spite of the challenges you may be facing. You will see Jesus Christ in a way that would otherwise be impossible unless you had passed the test. It is worth it to maintain your focus in the midst of trials. There will be great rejoicing on the part of the faithful. 

Meditation: May 24, 2013

“God, my strength, my stronghold, my safe retreat when trouble descends.” Jeremiah 16:19 (MSG)

God does more than provide strength thus leaving us with the responsibility of knowing how to apply the pressure where most needed. He is our strength, upholding us when we are in our most weakened state, and warding off the enemies lurking around to take advantage of our vulnerabilities. As long as we maintain our focus on Jesus, He will fight our battles. And He upholds us with the right hand of His righteousness. When we enter into battle alone, we are prey to be devoured by one more force and shrewdness with experience in deceiving the self-confident. Bur when we humbly submit to the Lord, we are in the safest place we could possibly be. Trouble may bear down upon us as a storm that is out of control. Yet our God is our refuge in the time of trouble. God is my strength and security and my sanctuary. I praise Him as my weapon of war, and worship Him as my place of rest.

Meditation: March 3, 2013

 “ For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; (8) but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” Hebrews 6:7-8

What we have experienced and participated in with God is not merely for ourselves. He allows us to experience His goodness in order to provide healing for others. Either we will bear healing herbs for wounded, restless, and reckless souls, or we bear thorns and briers to further wound them. The deepest wound is wielded by sword-handlers who are unskilled in spiritual warfare. They cannot effectively interpret God’s grace in ways to benefit the wayward. We have been enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Therefore we are the ones that are to bear herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated. The fruit of our lives is for those who wish to know the Source and purpose for our being alive. Then we are able to live our lives has a blessing to others and a praise unto the Lord.

November 2012 Article: “Lip Service or Life Service?”

Hebrews 13:15-16 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

Although our lips possess the potential of bearing good fruit, deep within our souls lies the memory of a life much different than that to which we are accustomed. We were not there, but God’s original intention for all of humanity is yet the yearning that continues to create a crisis that resides deep within. Even though we do not see it around us, the tensions continue to surmount within us. We are not condemned to merely regurgitate the information made available that gives expression to the ideals of our current environment. Nor are we sentenced to the fate of saying what is right while the heart remains divorced from truth and words becoming nothing but meaningless flattery. There is a truth that exists outside of our familiar references. It appears to be so strange to our system that it must pierce the darkness of the soul, causing a reaction to all that we once held true. Then it can penetrate the heart with a reality of the wrongness of our reasoning based upon our limited understanding. Only then can we embrace what is real with a reference that surpasses things that are soon to be proven false.

Have you ever said what you thought was right, or what you thought you meant merely to reach a point where you had to take your words back? Some say that you had reached a point where you had to eat your own words. The heart is radically joined to the lips in order to express the deepest feelings of the soul. Even with the art of training the lips to speak idealistically, there are those times when there is a slip of the tongue. Before the words are carefully and strategically crafted, you say what you really mean. However, the objective is to mean what you say and to say what you mean…but to be right in both thinking and saying. It requires the humility of admitting that you are wrong even when you think that you are right. Truth resides in a distance that is much higher than perceptions. The knowledge of the truth comes from above where Christ is seated. To comprehend the truth requires a heart transplant. God takes out the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh and He will make your heart pliable to correction and teachable so it can receive Godly instructions.

Not that you will always speak the right words at the right time. But a reference is there to correct idle words or expressions void of the knowledge that takes all factors into account. God knows the end before the beginning and all that exists between the two. When wisdom guides your heart and your words express the truth, then continuous praise is offered as a sacrifice unto the Lord. God has given you His word in the Person of Jesus Christ. You have been privileged to participate in His life and love that are directed towards His Father. What a tremendous opportunity for one so deserving! Your lips possess the potential to bear good fruit as your heart is full of praise giving thanks to His Name! This is life-service and not just lip-service, for you are now saying what you mean and meaning what you say through a life that reinforces your words!