Meditation: April 13, 2013

“God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” Psalm 18:24 (MSG)

An open heart to the Word of God gives Him permission to transform one’s life. The Holy Spirit works within us not only affects our future, but takes into account our past and our present state and weave all things into a beautiful tapestry fit to be presented to the King. He gives us a new beginning; the reorientation of those things that would otherwise condemn us. This does not happen in the life of the half-hearted. They can only be awakened to the reality that there is more to life than what is being lived. However, the open heart is giving God permission to search deeply into those secret compartments where none are allowed but maybe a select few. When we are under His scrutiny, those things that are contrary to His will are highlighted. He does this, not to be heavy handed in discipline but lovingly purge the heart of the residue of sin that may linger so that He may be worshiped in purity. Our lives then tell a different story. It expresses the message of His mercy, His grace, and His love.

Meditation: April 2, 2013

 “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.'” Matthew 21:12-17

When Jesus arrived at the seat of both religious and political power, He confronted religious authorities as being “a den of thieves.” When Jerusalem was robbed of an environment conducive for spiritual renewal their leaders were indicted by Jesus as thieves. Religious leaders were using their followers as merchandise to be traded for profit, and their souls were both hungry and lost. An atmosphere of greed reproduces after its own kind. It spreads like a contagious disease thus hindering those who would otherwise listen.  They would rather gravitate in the direction of their instructions. Jesus did not approach the civic leader s first. He confronted religious leaders for their perverse ways. The house erected with the intent of worship must first become a house of prayer. If the priorities are misaligned, the activities will be dishonorable. The confrontation followed the coronation among those who recognized Him as King. The Lord is determined to have what He desires. His communion with the Father was the source of His strength as the Son of Man. The Church will be as strong as she is consistent in prayer from which all other activities must find their origin.

Meditation: July 11, 2012

 “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.”  Psalms 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 9, 2012

 “All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied.” Ecclesiastes 6:7

The work of man’s hands may satisfy his immediate but not his ultimate need. Hard work is required for one to eat his bread and provide for his family. Yet there are needs beyond the immediate but requiring immediate attention. The deep longing within the soul is the discontent appearing to have no solution. It drives many to activities in search of relieving the tension and the endless desire of the heart. The mind seeks new adventures but after the episode has ended, the soul is left wanting more than what it had just experienced. This is the Jesus shaped void within every man that only He is able to fill. The fulfilled person can find pleasure in life thus integrating all of his labor into worship. God provides for him the strength to work as well as rest. His rest is sweet because his thoughts are established and not left to wander in the direction of things that may bring pleasure for a moment but misery for a lifetime.   

Meditation: July 3, 2012

 “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 where 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, let us not return to the house of bondage. We are now free to worship and free to serve God with our whole heart, soul, and strength. We have been freed that we may move freely.

Pastor Woodrow Walker’s June 2012 Pen:”Forever Father”

Fatherhood is a significant role for the development of a child. He is not only useful in the process of reproduction, but in the forging of character of each child by the male influence in his or her life. In order to stop the child from becoming aimless and out of control, the offspring must be launched from a platform of stability. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, 85% of children in society today exhibiting behavior disorders come from fatherless homes. Moreover, 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions, and boys with confused gender identities are from fatherless environments. Without the protective role of a father, an entire generation of insecure children will grow up into insecure adults. Their fears will be expressed through both extreme passivity and aggressive violence, lacking the necessary balance of emotions for self-control.

The role of fatherhood is not innately known by men with children. If the son looks to how he was raised, the past model is duplicated while leaving a marred image of the original for the next generation to follow. Is it possible to understand what fatherhood was meant to be? One must reference the Father of fathers in order to get a glimpse of His intentions for allowing men the privilege to impart wisdom to our sons and daughters. In Ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 and 15, the Apostle Paul states, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. To bow the knee is to give humble reverence in worship to the One who is established as the Authority.

If He is the Authority on the subject of fatherhood, I must then dispense of any notion previously referenced in order to fully accept His example as the only one to be followed. It is His relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ that displays His perfection as a Father. As He loved His only Begotten Son, I must love my sons and daughters. Though it is impossible for me to do alone, I must accept the love offered through the Son of God in order to enter into a preexisting relationship. He loves me through His Son when I accept the life of His Son.

Fathers are the ones who must seek to find this resolution for their families. Often times, women provide the greater amount of spiritual nurturing for the homes rather than men and fathers. However, it is the responsibility of the man to guard the family from erroneous doctrines and to lead them on the pathway of truth. Although the wrong example may project a false macho image, it perpetuates the sins of the fathers to succeeding generations. Falseness and pretense are corroding the moral fiber of this nation, producing only false hope and vain imaginations. There is a need for fathers today who are concerned about the future of not only their children, but the generations that precede them.

When fathers begin to think generationally, they will ponder the effect of actions today as building blocks and stepping stones for the future. The careless will place weights and dig traps for the demise of their children. “I bow my knees that “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:16-19) Then the Father would so use us as earthly fathers to instill within our children that which will last forever.

Meditation: June 3, 2012

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

In an age of diversity, tolerance, and political correctness, to speak exclusively that One would stand out among the crowd condemning all others beside as false, lifeless, and insignificant. So it is with God who has no respect for other gods. None other is to be worshiped and the exclusive course to the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ.  What is most difficult to many is to understand the effect of original sin. None had access because of man’s nature as sinners. When sin is ignored then the need for a Savior is unnecessary. But thanks be to God, a provision was made through the death of His own Son that we might be redeemed! Idolatry is the pursuit of a god that is either after Him or in place of Him. He must stand alone ii He is to be worshiped. Renounce any idols in your life that may be competing for your exclusive obedience to Him.

April 2012 Article: “The Mind and Body”

Grandiose ideas, however tall, are unfulfilled among a people who lack the means of fully expressing them. How many dreams are frustrated due to visionaries abandoning the cause?  The future generation inherited the mantle and received the call by God to guarantee a continuum of progress. However, somebody dropped the ball for a distraction, leaving their children with the task of having to decide what they believe is best.

The origin of the dream has roots that extend deeper than a few preceding generations. It was the original idea of God for mankind. He allows some to get a glimpse of what He knows in this present age placing them in the category of revolutionaries. Although the zeal for righteousness burns deep within their souls, if there are no bodies to act upon their words, theirs would become a dream deferred for another time.

God so loved His creation of man as to view him as the extension of His own thoughts and ideas. He gave Adam the ability to name every animal He created by a scientific description. Thus man was to rule over His creation, giving further expression of God’s thoughts. But when the body refuses to cooperate with the Mind, disorder and confusion result. Man was intended to be the embodiment of the thoughts of God. Love is not love without a means of expression. First, He loved His only Begotten Son. Then, His love was extended to man and through man, thus providing proper order among all things made. Yet the rebellion and dysfunction of the body inhibits the flow of the original intent of the mind. The generation that rebels against God is a mindless generation.The wild man of Gadera in the Scriptures was unclothed and violent dwelt among the tombs. No man could control him as he caused harm to himself. Even though his body was out of control, he saw God’s order through His Son, Jesus Christ and he immediately worshiped Him.

Jesus asked him a profound question; “What’s your name?” There was a dream buried beneath the disorder of the wild man. There is a purpose for each life rooted in the origin of every creature. Man has lost his vision and cannot fulfill the ancient dreams of the past because he has taken on too many identities. The demons within the wild man answered, “I am Legion, for we are many.” The preoccupation with ideas, plans, and people apart from an exclusive commitment to God divides man’s personality into many. Identity is often determined by occupation, possessions, or vices rather than the thoughts of God. When we worship the Lord, the first question He will ask is “what is your name?” Our sanity is regained when our purpose for living is singular.

Jesus came to restore to us our true identity. Our inability to do because we were too insane to realize our demise as result of sin positioned God Himself to come in bodily form to redeem us. “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:”Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.”(Heb 10:5) He came to both illustrate and demonstrate how the Mind and Body should function as one unit. When we take on His identity, God’s thoughts flow to us and through us to the world, thereby reestablishing God’s mandate for creation. Only then will His love cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

“What’s Happening and What Do We Need”

“The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open; the earth is shaken exceedingly.” Isaiah 24:17

The Earth is violently disturbed as the result of the egregious offenses measured against its Creator. God takes personal offense to the charges leveled against Him when His judgments are overturned by manmade decisions. Yes, we possess the ability to decide what we want for ourselves and arbitrarily arrive at what are seemingly practical conclusions. But the consequences far outweigh the temporary benefit derived by those who offend God. It begins with the kings of the earth, those chosen leaders that determine our future. Political decisions extend beyond the limits of mere politics, where the influence and power of a leader may sway popular opinion in a direction where vices appear to be virtues. This transformation first materializes under the category of toleration, moving from tolerance to a celebration of a new ideal. Ultimately, the celebration translates into some strange worship of an unknown deity that replaces the True and Living God. Should we be surprised when the Earth rebels in reaction to what takes place on its surface that defies its Creator?

Scripture supports the premise that just as the prophets and priests go, so follow the kings and princes. Compromise has stealthily crept in among those given the charge of bearing and maintaining the standard. If the world ever wonders what standard it ought to adapt, it should be able to look at the Church. Today, with the scandals surfacing among church leaders, the Lord is saying, that through these exposures, He will have a Church without spot, blemish, or wrinkle. He is making a contrast between what is and what ought to be within His sacred institutions. His purpose is to move what has become institutionalized into a Body where Christ is the Head. Only then will His Church be able to reflect the glory of Christ to the world.

His glory has been shrouded by the self-absorbed leaders that busy themselves in constructing their own names and reputations. The Tower of Babel must serve as the example of the celebrity(ism) that now pervades the people. God came down and confounded their   abilities to communicate, where speaking with each other became a strange judgment of divine intervention. Since no one desired to talk to Him, eventually the people of Babel lost the ability to communicate with each other. The intelligent were reduced to barbarians, losing that which they became dependent on.

There will be casualties of war when men oppose God and defiantly oppose His standard. Many on the Earth will suffer as a result of the calamities brought about by our  leaders as blind leaders lead the blind into ditches, pits, and perils beyond their imagination. However, only God can set the captive free and deliver the oppressed from their oppressors. Those who may have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of many would receive the greater gift from God. This chosen remnant would be blessed for not only counting their physical lives as nothing, but they would also await the resurrection while the ungodly perish. In these troubled times, we need the Resurrected Christ to arise among us in glory. Now more than ever, we need His truth to rise above the lies and half-truths proclaimed in our generation to set a new standard for those willing to submit to His authority.