Meditation: September 13

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”  Songs of Solomon 2:15

The tender grapes are the daily benefits provided to us by God. It is the knowledge of God’s love producing within us a confidence that is not easily shaken. When we are confident that we are loved, then we are empowered to love others without pretense. True friendships can be forged to last a lifetime and the expectation of a future hope of eternity burns brightly within our hearts. How delicate the balance is between our faith and our love. We can now love because we by faith can see beyond the shortcoming and limitations of the misguided and the misinformed. We can see good intentions even when bad habits inhibit positive action. We can also see the possibility of change among those whose lives appear to be hopeless and they may be blind to the true remedy of their souls. But when careless and immature foxes enter into a well cultivated vineyard, they have the tendency of destroying the very vines on which the fruit is being developed. One mishap can raise such doubt as to cause one to abandon all of the beauty once experienced. One unkind word may throw out of balance the intricate details of a well ordered life. We must be aware of those little things that can make such a devastating difference. It is not always the most dynamic or earth-shattering experiences that destroy the lives of many and leave them shipwrecked. It is those little things that appear to be so benign. We must be on guard and guard the entrance of little foxes. They destroy all that is in their path merely to feast upon immediate gain. Catch them before they invade more prohibited territories. Our Beloved will produce within our lives precious fruit that is reserved for those who wish to grow in grace and knowledge and not those whose will is to take advantage of others. Catch the foxes in order for a future harvest to be made ready for the forthcoming generation.

Meditation: August 29

“So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'” Luke 10:27

God gives us the strength to love. The heart is guided in a direction and the soul agrees to give full expression to that particular emotion. To love is not a miracle. It is a part of man’s nature to love. Without guidance the heart gravitates by default away from God. Loving then is not deliberate, but the result of some forceful habit that captures the mind and heart in order to condemn the soul. The passions must be harnessed by an object that is capable of containing all that is offered and reciprocate by providing what is desperately needed in return. When love gives but does not provide the person with what is needed, he eventually becomes bankrupt and bitter having been taken advantage of. Then love is inverted and transforms into hatred that is primarily directed towards the true Lover of his soul.  They feel shortchanged having not received from Him what they needed, but refused to give Him what He commanded. When God is loved with the whole heart, the heart is made whole. Then the heart guides the soul with every emotion towards what is good. One will engage in activities using his strength to glorify Him alone. Thought and action is unified when the Word and Spirit are experienced. They empower us to do what we will and will to please the One who provide both will and ability to do for His good pleasure. Then He will show us our neighbor in a different light. We see him through God’s eyes. He directs our affection towards them in ways far beyond the levels of selfishness and competition. We see ourselves in him, thus loving him as we love ourselves.

Meditation: August 16

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

There is much about God that is attractive. His attributes will have an appeal to every part of our being if we are made aware of them. The Holy Spirit will provide the faith to see and understand what is missing.  The necessary things are offered to us to fulfill us providing both life and godliness. Without this faith we are left empty, reaching out for things around us and slipping deeper into despair. It is the distractions that allure us away from being drawn near to God. To be drawn to God is : empowered to resist the devil in all of his deceptive ways. The world, the flesh, and the devil no longer will control you once the beauty of God’s holiness is realized. He is the Lover of your soul and your soul with know this perfectly well. He draws us with cords of love. We are drawn in response with the assurance of faith. He restores us with a confidence that all is well because we abide in the secret place of God.

Meditation: November 6

“God’s Way (the Kingdom) is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 (MSG)

The power to live according to the Word must be released to us by the Spirit of God if we are ever to become a witness of Christ to the world. A powerless speech may be impressive and even convincing, but once it is realized as being mere talk disappoints as surely as it once produced hope. It is God’s will for individuals to become partakers of His divine nature; the extension of His rule over those things that otherwise would dominate the earth. It was never to be an experience of diminishing returns, but an expansion of the Kingdom over all stubborn resistance.  His rule must first be established within the heart of the believer in order that for him to be empowered with the authority to use heavenly language as a weapon against external forces. What a tragedy exists when all we have is mere talk. Who would look any further into the matter if all we had was a good conversation? God releases His power among those whose hearts are perfect towards Him. This is His way of demonstrating the effect of the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. “He went about do good….” His miraculous work provides evidence that the Kingdom of Heaven has come and God now dwells among men!

Meditation: November 2

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

What a resolve! What a tremendous position one is placed in when his pursuit for Christ outweighs all the accolades of his past. He is then privileged to know Christ in a way in which he has never known Him before! Whatever value we place on any effort or accomplishment diminishes our view of Christ. It becomes difficult to see Him in the fullness of His glory when we have become so large in our own eyes and feel so important in comparison to the smallness of others who are around. We must decrease if He is ever to increase. When we have gained Christ, He is then given full permission to be Himself in us. We have the confidence that we are known by Him and will be with Him forever. If we are to be with Him forever, that implies we will live forever as He lives. To surrender what we currently have is a small thing in comparison to all we will gain as we count all other things as loss. They have no eternal value therefore they should not hold the most prominent place within our hearts. To know Him is to love Him exclusively. And with His love we are empowered to love others. We have so much to gain and so little to sacrifice when we give our all to Him.  

Meditation: October 25

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

The host of heaven gives witness to our challenge. All of the saints that have gone before us give witness to our challenge. They are awaiting us to finish well what we have been assigned to accomplish. Therefore all of the impediments of heart and mind must be dispensed of unless they restrict our mobility and entrap us, holding us as slaves to old habits. Our minds must constantly be renewed in order for us to know what the will of the Lord is. Never should our pursuit fall short of those that have gone before us. We are to build upon the foundation that has already been established by them. The weights are spurned from the sin that would remain as a stronghold. Whatever is our greatest weakness is the sin awaiting the opportunity to be given full expression. Only when we maintain our focus on the Jesus Christ could we be empowered to resist it.

Meditation: August 29

“So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'” Luke 10:27

God gives us the strength to love. The heart is guided in a direction and the soul agrees to give full expression to that particular emotion. To love is not a miracle. It is a part of man’s nature to love. Without guidance the heart gravitates by default away from God. Loving then is not deliberate, but the result of some forceful habit that captures the mind and heart in order to condemn the soul. The passions must be harnessed by an object that is capable of containing all that is offered and reciprocate by providing what is desperately needed in return. When love gives but does not provide the person with what is needed, he eventually becomes bankrupt and bitter having been taken advantage of. Then love is inverted and transforms into hatred that is primarily directed towards the true Lover of his soul.  They feel shortchanged having not received from Him what they needed, but refused to give Him what He commanded. When God is loved with the whole heart, the heart is made whole. Then the heart guides the soul with every emotion towards what is good. One will engage in activities using his strength to glorify Him alone. Thought and action is unified when the Word and Spirit are experienced. They empower us to do what we will and will to please the One who provide both will and ability to do for His good pleasure. Then He will show us our neighbor in a different light. We see him through God’s eyes. He directs our affection towards them in ways far beyond the levels of selfishness and competition. We see ourselves in him, thus loving him as we love ourselves.

Meditation: August 16

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

There is much about God that is attractive. His attributes will have an appeal to every part of our being if we are made aware of them. The Holy Spirit will provide the faith to see and understand what is missing.  The necessary things are offered to us to fulfill us providing both life and godliness. Without this faith we are left empty, reaching out for things around us and slipping deeper into despair. It is the distractions that allure us away from being drawn near to God. To be drawn to God is : empowered to resist the devil in all of his deceptive ways. The world, the flesh, and the devil no longer will control you once the beauty of God’s holiness is realized. He is the Lover of your soul and your soul with know this perfectly well. He draws us with cords of love. We are drawn in response with the assurance of faith. He restores us with a confidence that all is well because we abide in the secret place of God.