Meditation: August 30

“The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”  Isaiah 52:10

The Lord has crowned His kings and princes throughout the earth. His strength has gone out to both defy the power of the enemy and to undo the enemy’s work. There are those who bear the mark of royalty and are destined for the throne to rule and rein with Him. The Kingdom of God dwells among men! The question the world is asking is where is the mark or seal borne by those that belong to Christ? There appears to be no distinction between them and others; in fact, those who rebel appear to have the advantage over the faithful. The mark that they bear is within their hearts. Their passion for their King and the desire to see Him rule in righteousness separates them from others. They have an undying hope directed towards the future. Their faith is not wrapped up into small packages limiting them to temporary pleasures. They want the whole thing and will not settle for anything less. As Dr. James Stewart puts it speaking of the coming first of the Lord Jesus Christ, not simply of the emergence in Galilee of One whose power matched His pity and whose pity matched His power.” He came on the scene to destroy all the works of the devil and to do and establish the works of God His Father. Those who fully have His mark carry His passion. The time will come when the Lord Himself will manifest His strength among the nations and all eyes shall see it. Things are growing more rebellious today and the hope of many has been shattered by the crises facing the entire world. But the stage is being set for the Light of the world to shine with the backdrop of the darkest of darkness. Salvation will be distinct and sure. It will not be shrouded by the pipe dreams of the ambitious who only wish for themselves the best. True salvation will come manifested in waves of power and glory. He will provide the solutions to resolves our deepest problems.

Meditation: August 28

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

Values are a means to equate the worth of thing in contrast to its usefulness or utility. Whether a thing is profitable or dispensable is determined by the individual. The question of Jesus was directed at the value one would place on his own soul. It has to do with ultimate importance, or to have one to stretch his thoughts beyond the immediate gain to consider the ultimate cost one would have to pay for it. Values fluctuate among the immature. True maturity is marked by the development of a value system that is unalterable. They become the center of our lives, standard of behavior, and the stimuli for thinking straight. Jesus asks them to make a value assessment of their lives. He asked them, “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world?” If the whole world as gain to him, would the gaining of it produce peace within the soul? Would the pleasures of the world squeeze you into a fixture that cannot escape the grip holding you tightly to it? The pursuit of acceptance and the trappings of success have the potential of robbing one of any desire for spiritual truth. The world defines the person rather than God giving him meaning for living. Has he really won or lost when his sole desire is to achieve greatness and all traces of humility have faded. The loss of one’s soul is a great loss where most people never recover. Jesus does not speak of receiving at all when one’s soul is at stake. He speaks of the loss of spiritual sensitivity as severe loss. Even though the person paying may not be aware of the price attached to it, he is still paying more than he would be willing to pay if he only knew the consequences of where his decision is leading. The entire soul is loss in exchange for whatever he thought to receive on his end of the bargain.

Meditation: August 12

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:25

The Foolishness of God

Contained within what we see is a truth that is much deeper than we have come to realize. From the surface, it does not make sense. There are many other things that appear to warrant more attention than this. To the fool, it appears as foolishness. He stumbles over his own thoughts and intellect. The Source of both true knowledge and life are hidden from him. He wonders why there would even remain those who would be so foolish as to waste their precious time on superstitious thoughts that would restrict his freedom of action. ‘Do what you feel’ is his motto. His idea of God is a permissive being allowing him to remain himself void of conviction. But God looks into our past and examines why we think the way we think and do the things we do. He looks ahead knowing where all actions lead. Fools rush to their demise. Their blindness causes them to throw caution to the wind. Yet one seemingly foolish word from the Lord is sufficient to save him. Are there any wise enough to listen?

Meditation: August 2

“SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away.”  Hebrews 2:1 ( AMP)

The things we neglect we forget. The things we give attention to are remembered. It is easy to have good intentions and resolve to apply great truths to various aspects our lives, but unless that commitment is immediately acted upon, the urgency of the moment will fade. Even if the thought returns, the zeal would have diminished. Obedience to God is to make Him the priority of your life. It is to make first things first at all times. Disobedience will dull the senses and the spirit becomes sluggish in its response to the Word of God. That person will eventually become a selective hearer and not be able to contain great truths when they are conveyed because the capacity to comprehend them has not been developed.

Pay attention to God’s Word, especially those truths that you do not understand. Your interest in the deep things of God will prompt your inquiring mind to search with all diligence. Then when you ask God through prayer, the answers to life’s most perplexing questions and the resolve to the most difficult challenges will be yours for aspects Jesus will be revealed to you and you will see and know Him in the midst of all that you encounter.

Meditation: July 18

“You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job 42:3

We all have spoken before we had given thought to what we should say.  Those words were merely from the top of heads and not words from the depth of our hearts. These words we live to regret if we ever develop a humble and a tender heart. It is the wisdom of God that tames our words enabling us to speak wisdom. When we have taken the time to seek the Lord in prayer and meditate over who He is and what He has done, we are more careful to think before we speak. Many a people have been misled by counsel that generated from the resources of the hearts of unregenerate men. They have listened to the counsel of the ungodly, even among the religious, and have followed the course that leads to destruction of the character and souls. God’s counsel is shrouded by the careless opinions and faulty interpretations of men. The Word of Truth is very precious. When we realize its true value we will seek it with greater diligence and treasure it above the value of silver and gold.

Meditation: July 17

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Jeremiah 15:16

It is not merely the exposure to the Word that will transform lives. The Word ingested is the cause for rejoicing. It is able to do its work of transformation remaking the individual into becoming a vessel of honor. It is the contrast from the old to the new that is so amazing. Before the Word was eaten, it was made available. There was no appetite to reach out and take it in. But God allowed the void to become more apparent. Then He shut off the optional appeals that would in the past bring temporary pleasure.  He placed me where the Word may be found and placed within me the desire for something other than what I was accustomed. Then I ate what is true rather than continuing to feed on the lies of the past. Never would I have imagined that what I once rejected would bring me such joy!

Meditation: July 11

 “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 is Holy.   When the enemies are scattered the worshipers are free to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.

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.

Meditation: March 5

“But from this day I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19

Forward looking or the outlook is much brighter than the past for the children of the Most High God. Even though many of the things promised have not yet come to past, God is still true to every one of them. The seed is still in the barn. The seed that is to be planted must be scattered before the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the olives tree is able to yield its fruit. The laborers must sow in the time of sowing before the reapers can come and reap in the harvest. There is a future ahead of us that only God is able to bring to past. Yet each of us must diligently work in the season that is to be rightly occupied by those who are fully aware of times and seasons. While we may be waiting on God, God is waiting on us!