“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Prov 3:5-6). The words “trust”, “lean”, “acknowledge”, and “direct” illustrate to us the Lord’s mode of operation. Trust is not a mere accent to the existence of God. Even though we must believe on the Lord to be saved, but to accept His Lordship, we must lean on Him. That is, to place the weight of our lives upon Him. To believe on the Lord is to have confidence in what He is able to do. But to lean on the Lord is to believe that He will be engaged in our personal experiences and do what He is able to do for us. Our understanding is limited. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. It is when we learn from Him His ways and paths that they become our own ways and our paths. We must be convinced that He knows what is best for us. He does not lead us in a direction away from His ultimate intentions. He looks ahead and directs us towards those…
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“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him” (Heb 2:1-3). To “give the most earnest heed” is stretching in order to understand what has been spoken. It is to hasten and to fasten one’s eyes upon the truths revealed. To commit ones heart to them. The reason this is necessary is because our minds alone cannot contain all that is needed. Without a heart commitment, it will appear as if there had been no exposure to such life-transforming truths. God does not judge on the basis of what one avails oneself to hear. He judges on the basis of the availability of knowledge at that time. If one is privileged to know the truth but decides to opt out of being where truth is imparted, the neglect on his part would be the criteria on which he is…
- August 15, 2018
“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 and to be governed by the Holy Spirit rather than merely our own minds. The thoughts which 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…
- July 19, 2018
“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah17:10 The Lord looks at the heart of every person and does not merely see its present condition. He looks into the heart at every contributing factor that motivates both mind and heart. We see the world and people through the lenses of past experiences whether good or bad. Our heart is set in a particular direction while our mind searches out new things to explore. God searches the heart in order to remove the debris that hinders our minds from thinking on things which are just, lovely, pure, and or a good report. Our thoughts will determine our action. Our truest motives are from either a pure or an impure heart. What God has ordained will continue to affect the lives of others bringing them to deeper and greater levels of understanding Jesus Christ. He must be seen in all that we do. When He is glorified through our efforts, our work will have eternal rewards rather than merely producing temporary relief. He rewards the fruit of our doings and not our deeds…
- July 15, 2018
“Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” Revelations 1:19 The revelation of Jesus Christ gave John the insight to write His testimony describing the past, the present, and the future. Time and space no longer exist as divided in His presence. He takes us beyond the moment and brings all things into an eternal perspective. When we are facing current challenges, it is impossible for us to see into the future. It appears as if the bulls of Bashan had encircles around us awaiting their moment to attack and destroy us. He tells us to write what we have seen. Those moments when viewed from eternity were not there for our defeat but rather for our deliverance and future victory. “God Provides” became our testimony. He showed up in the midst of our deepest woe in order to prove Himself strong on our behalf when were at our weakest point. It was His strength made perfect when all that we attempted had failed. He said to John, “Write it down!” In other words, He asked him to mark the spot where he is standing today and…
- July 12, 2018
“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” Ps 68:1 The very presence of the Lord confounds the enemy. The light of His glory shines so brightly that anything that is contrary to His nature melts and fades away. We are drawn to His light. We are perfected in order to reflect the beauty of holiness. The defects as result of sin are first exposed, and then vanquished. It was the gravitational pull of sin that kept us earthbound and creatures with no desire other than the things of this world. The only sense of beauty was the aesthetics of His creation. Nature provided beauty but only as a reflection of true beauty. It is only when our sights are set on things above where Christ is will we be enabled to see that God alone creates in beauty, but makes all things beautiful in its own time. In the light of His glory all things give full expression of their being. What they attempt to express is fully expressed without any hindrances or reservations. We will then understand the beauty of holiness and the beauty of worshiping the One who…
- July 11, 2018
“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…
- July 10, 2018
“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 The posture of the follower of Jesus Christ is anticipation for what lies ahead. The word of God received has lifted his sights above the persecution of trials and the tests that come against him. It has the ability to stabilize us even when the circumstances remain the same. It is word upon word that increases faith and raises the level of expectation for the return of our Lord. Nothing could be more valuable than this. Jesus, whom He raised from the dead provide for us a model of what awaits our future. He was delivered from death through death. The wrath of man measured against us in this world is nothing in comparison to the wrath of God. We must endure the intermediate in order to experience the ultimate. He has delivered us from the wrath to come against all unrighteousness and now we are a part of His kingdom where righteousness reigns. Our deliverance is as result of hearing and obeying the message delivered to us from heaven. It was delivered…
- July 6, 2018
“Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthews 7:14 The way that leads to life remains as the road less travelled. There are rabbit-trails along the way often taken by wayward travelers who get sidetracked by some petty issue. Then there are dazzling streetlights with flashing signposts captivating the attention of those who follow after crowds. Without thought it would be much easier to flow with the traffic. But who are the ones who pause long enough to ask the question, “Where are we headed?” The way which leads to life must be deliberately chosen. It does not just happen by chance. With eyes wide open one is enabled to see from a distance a sight that heals blindness and is a sight for sore eyes. The life of God through Jesus Christ our Lord awakens one from the deadness of a zombie-like state to a clear discernment of all things. We have entered through the narrow gate, not as a thief but as a welcomed traveler. Then the Holy Spirit can continuously guide us throughout the journey from new life to eternal life.
- July 5, 2018
“I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely.” Leviticus 26:13 (MSG) God identifies with us and calls us His own. In order for us to experience the blessings of communion, there had to be a divine rescue. The attachments of old held us as slaves to another. It was our condition and geographical location. We were in our Egypt and joined to the culture of Egypt. What we once were was so much a part of us that our objective was to further conform to what we were able to see but God’s love sought us out and reminded us that we were in a place that we did not belong. The dissatisfaction within our souls not to settle was His mercy and grace reaching down to the lowest parts in order to lift us up above the slavery of Egypt. Then He ripped the harness off our necks enabling us to move about freely. Now that we have been set free after having been given the will to be free,…
- July 3, 2018