Green Pastures

2007-10-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Psalm 127
[[A Song of degrees for Solomon.]]
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.
[It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man; so [are] children of the youth.
Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

The thought of my children speaking to the enemies in the gate was not one that I embraced. I had thought to keep my children from the enemy sounded like a better plan. Just how I would do that I was not sure , but I thought if I did a lot of things differently than my parents had, surely there would be different results. The result I hoped for was no enemies. The result I got was, the exact same enemies that I had faced , the exact same enemies that my parents had faced, were in fact the exact same enemies my children and grand children faced. Now that I have found this is not out of order but actually in line with God's Word, I have decided to do all I can to share my success and failure stories with my children. I figure that rather than keeping my adventures with the enemy a secret I will tell them all they would like to know. The victories as well as the defeats. If David had not also written , Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, I might be inclined to have some doubt as to this latest course of action. It had always seemed like a good idea to me to speak little of the enemy . Why give him the pleasure of knowing he warranted any of my time. However, in doing so I failed to give the Lord glory, for He has won victoriously over mine enemies and I find it easier and easier to live in this world but not be of it.
The great joy of my victories will also have to be kept a secret if I am not willing to share of times of defeat. One thing I hope for my children above all is that they enjoy more time in the victories of Jesus than I did.
It is with great confidence that I can assure them that nothing separates us from the love of God.
With such great love for us He provided everything for us , including defeating the enemy we often see standing at our gate.
All we need do is ask Jesus to go with us to the gate. There our response to the enemy will be guided by Him , our good Shepherd Who takes care of His sheep. He rebukes the enemy for us and He tells us truth to speak in return to his lies. He gives us strength to do the will of our Father in heaven. And every time the enemy thinks he has been successful at stealing from us , Jesus looks at what seems to be lost and restores.

2007-02-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

John 11:35 Jesus wept.
Luke 19:41 And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it.
John 11:33 When Jesus therfore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?"

2007-01-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

WATCH.....Just one word but with many meanings. My first impression for 2007 was........ look up to Heaven in the year 2007 for the LORD is drawing nigh. To make it fit into my charismatic friends conversation I tweaked it a little. In the year 2007 He will open the windows of heaven. That sounded close, after all if the LORD is drawing nigh, good stuff is bound to pour down upon us. However, day after day my spiritual bread seemed more on the emphasis of watching , rather than getting all excited about the blessings to come.
You've heard me talk about the voice of truth. My first admonition to watch came quite quietly one morning while waiting on the LORD.
Miriam was a watcher. She had been commanded to watch her baby brother (un-named at the time) as he rocked to and fro in a woven ark his mother had made for him.
Not a big deal, watching. But had she not been watching she might of missed the opportunity of a life time. Can you imagine the courage it would take for a young slave girl to approach the Pharoh's daughter and suggest anything to her ? Oh, but she had been watching, and was aware of the daughter's attitude upon finding this child. Miriam was a watcher, and as it turned out , that was a very important thing to do.

2006-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

I Thes 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
The word honour stood out to me as I read this verse. I have been doing a lot of thinking about honour . I began a quest to honour the Lord on the Sabbath. I wasn't sure how or why, I just felt I should. It wasn't long before I began to feel that I was coming up short of the honour I wanted Him to have. Then I realized I could never honour Him enough.
I had picture in my mind about honour. It was of a brass pot that needed to be polished. If polished some, rather than just ignored and let go , it was honoured. It could be honoured some . The degree of honour to the pot could be determined by the amount of polishing.
Perhaps abstaining from watching T.V. on the Sabbath is viewed as honour unto Him. I hope so. If I set aside time specifically for Christian fellowship , I think He might view this as honour.
To begin to think of possessing ones self as a vessel in sanctification and honour might mean that you hold your self back from lust, to honour Him.
I could never fathom myself honouring the LORD on the Sabbath when I had a very low opinion of myself. Some how even now it seems like a stretch. Like someone at sometime soon is going to come and say, "YOU ? You are honouring the LORD ? Who told you that you would be able to honour Him ?"
Maybe that is why it is hard for people to possess their vessels in sanctification and honour. They don't realize the honour their obedience would give to Him. Also maybe they just don't realize they are to be honoured. As one who desires to serve the LORD and worship Him only, their intent should be honoured , at least by fellow believers.
just a note: honor in the Bible is spelled honour . Since I was speaking in Biblical terms I used the Bible's spelling.

2006-11-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
The big point here was , do not have idols in your life. If you do, then you will be denying God. The side point is that Joshua used a stone as a witness. I could talk about that and perhaps I will later on. However, right now I am really interested in God removing the idols from my life. This has been my cry for so long. Some are gone now, but not all. They must all be gone ! I can not rest until they are all gone.

2006-11-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny [him], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
I set myself up, again , with a temptation. I am not going to get down on myself for that because I think it must be human nature to want to test my limits. God does not tempt me, I however seem to have this desire to show Him how well I can do if tested . When I run into trouble I cry help. The help that I need is truth so today I cried out for help before I was in trouble. Why not carry the truth with me ?
The truth is that I must not deny Him.
The power of His might, His power that can be perfected in my weakness. All about Him, not just the one or two aspects that I might mention today in my devotional. He is beyond compare and my desire is to not deny Him.
The goal, the object of my race is set before me. Yet at the same time I have this awesome awareness that at any time I need it, I can stop and have a party, and dance with Him in His field of grace.
I look again at the field I am to travel across today. A set up by my flesh that I can hardly back out of now. Yet I know that He is with me. His voice of truth is ringing in my ears.
The reason I picked out this passage of scripture today is because I think a lot is to be learned by others mistakes.
I certainly am not any better than they. How is that they missed such a great and wonderful promise to be fulfilled in their lives? Weren't they lovers of God? Didn't they want to know Him too?
I think they did. Otherwise why would they profess to know Him? Why bother with the good works at all if they had no love for God? Yet missing the power of His might. Not being able to not deny Him.
What I really love about God is the way He looks at our actions. If I really do not want to deny Him, am trying not to deny Him, but do it anyway, He looks at it as if I just was trying to walk but fell down. That is where the field of grace comes in. His grace is sufficient for me. Then after I spend sometime receiving His grace, I must go out and try it again. I don't know why. It is just what I do. The field is there , the trials and temptations are there. How else can I reach those lost souls that are out wandering around in the field ? What I would like to tell them about first is : the field of grace. It seems once you needed to stop what you were doing and come into a party but now the party will come to you, if you will but receive it.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

2006-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ps 51:6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the intermost being, And in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom.
When one asks for God to reveal truth in the inward parts I suppose one is expecting that He will show them sin. Some kind of a transgression that they are guilty of.
Perhaps like David they have been made aware that they are outwardly sinning but inwardly had not really been convicted. Yet David knew he ought to be convicted, so he asked, give me truth.
David's faith in God's forgiveness gave him the boldness to request such knowledge. As I become more aware of God's great compassion and ability to give great mercy and grace, I too become bolder and able to ask for truth in my inward parts.
And to make me know wisdom.
Just knowing about a transgression doesn't do me much good unless there is some wisdom to go along with it to inform me as to how to not repeat the transgression again.
Sin pointed out by another person does little to help me , unless I take that information to God and pray this prayer.

I have for so long made this my prayer asking for truth in my inward parts that I failed to realize that David was stating a fact. God desires truth, in our innermost being.
I think my having a desire for truth is most important. When I think I do not really have to know the truth about something I am trying to slip back into an apathetic state of hypocrisy. Although not knowing the truth might seem like an easier course because truth will always require some action.
However, once again I remind myself , I have the hope of wisdom, as David requested of the LORD so might I also receive.

2006-10-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 2 Peter 1:5-7
If you read the verses before this you realize Peter is talking about having a new nature that is given us through Jesus Christ. I find it comforting that even though I am in a time far from the time he wrote these words , they still give me the hope and help that I need today. When I read 2 Peter 1 this morning in blueletterbible.com I clicked the L beside scripture 5 and selected David Gusik's comments on this chapter. He too has a way of helping me see that though I be but one pilgrim today on my journey, I am not alone . Which is indeed a blessing, because he is still alive. However, had I not the computer to bring me the news of his encouragement I am sure that God in His faithfulness would supply my need somehow.
If you have come to read my from My Green Pastures today, I thank-you. Let us press on and not give up.

2006-10-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corth. 9-10 Those reproaches, those necessities, I found that interesting. He took pleasure in necessities, like needing to make tents for an income?

2006-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
I think another translation says, "you have no part of me."
What a statement to be made to people who were just getting to like you ! Jesus certainly was not interested in winning a popularity contest. He saw His time on earth as our most valuable visual aid yet, to come to the Father through Him. He did not have time to worry about being popular. He was concerned with giving truth !
Looking at the whole chapter we see this was at a time of Jesus most popular high. He had just fed the 5,000, He had just walked on the water, people who had doubted before of His being the Son of God were now sure, until He said this.
As He was doing all that He did , surely the scribes were pondering the prophesies of old. I know some did not believe , because of the old transcripts. The way they read it, this man could not be the Messiah. Others read and believed. I have a record of the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled , there were 44. This proves that the old testament was beneficial to believers then and is today.
What did they have in the old testament that went along with what He just said in John 6:53 ? What could help them understand that He was the Messiah when He said that ? Well, they ate the lamb, for one thing. The unblemished lamb that was given as a sacrifice for their sins , now He was trying to help them understand He was the lamb to be slain for them.

2006-10-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

Acts 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Now Barnabas had come to Jerusalem and found much to be glad about. The Christians there had received the grace of God. I can just imagine what joy this Barnabas felt. When you are a receiver of the grace of God there is joy, because this is what is referred to as "the joy of our salvation." You do not have this except that the Holy Spirit reveal it to you . When you find others who have rececived this grace , you are glad. This grace receiving , seems to be an unfolding experience. However there is a time, when you begin. I would like to find some people like Barnabas did . People who had received the grace of God.

2006-09-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. To be cont.The next day I wrote :Rahab went into her house and hung a scarlet rope from her window. Noah built an ark. What is similar about these people is that they and their families were saved . The Israelite fathers placed the blood of the lamb above their door posts with hyssop branches and the death angel passed them over. Salvation is from the LORD . I accept that He has done it. I mark my home not to earn salvation , I mark my home because I have it. My home has been given the gift of salvation. We can wear that upon our heads. Remembering that our salvation is a done deal. That salvation comes from the LORD.
If Rahab without reform, without going to sex addiction anonymous for 12 months, without any major life style change, could just hang a scarlet rope out her window and be saved, then surely so can I. It has struck me as curious that all of her friends viewed the Israelite army as people. But Rahab saw them as God's people. I wish our eyes could be opened to see people the way God see's people. We see people who act out in the natural. Those who try to be Christ like and those who don't give a hoot. Yet both, all those people, God views so differently than we do. He sees whosoever will may come. We see the harlot out there on Saturday nights doing her thing. He sees her ready to make a choice. Any day now her choice will be evident that He now is her God. There are no other gods in her life. When we come to idol worshippers are we to condemn them or love them? Are we to see that their day of opportunity looks everything like ours? It is just a matter of being awake ,(aware) and a matter of choice to go with the truth whether anyone else thinks you can or not. I find it interesting that for days my heart has been towards preparation for the Jericho march. And now that the time is getting closer I feel there will be many Rahabs evacuated before this is over. The walls came down ,and every man stood before a man. I think that the Spirit of the LORD upon us gives liberty to the captives who long to be set free. We will see the Jericho walls come down, not to ruin their lives but to give them a new life in Christ Jesus. For those who are thirsty let them come. For those who choose to let Jesus redeem them.

2006-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing and the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.Eph 5:25-27 Just as a reminder ,when I post here I am simply sharing some thoughts that come to me as I feel led. You saw that word , feel . When I read this passage of scripture a few things came to my mind. One was that a clean church would be glorious and that He was willing to go to great lengths to cleanse us. In comparison I thought of the role of the husband . Is it not his role then to cleanse his wife ? If she is doing something wrong, rather than say, "now you quit doing that," wouldn't the role of Jesus be more like, "what can I do to help you quit doing that?" Okay, I am back on the thought of foot washing again. It just sneaks in, but I think it has a place here. It is in the blood bought churches life style , I think, to give forgiveness as Jesus did to one another, and give a visual aid to that forgiveness by washing our feet.

2006-09-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. Jonah 4:1 Spiritual pride, you think you would be immune to it by now, but oh my gosh, there it is again ! When my emotion of anger comes up, I pretty well know something is up in the flesh that ought not be there. Unless my anger can be connected somehow to events such as was going on in the temple when Jesus became irate because the scribes were selling stuff there and cheating (I think was the problem), anger is a flag to me, I better look to Jesus and see if He has something to say to me.
Now, I have God's word this morning to enlighten me as to what God had to say about my anger that I recently experienced. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? Jonah 4:4
Jonah, sat there looking at the people of Nienavah, he was angry.
I realize like Jonah did, no, I don't do well to be angry. I am so blessed to be able to understand the grace and mercy of God. It is a blessing that He chooses to give as He wills and to whoever He wills. Who am I to become angry ? Should He want to reveal His grace and mercy at any given time to any given person it certainly is not any of my business. My business is to go about my Father's business and not be looking over someone's shoulder to see if they are doing the same. His mercy endured forever. I think the Psalmist saw that as he declared the mercy of God in many of the Psalms. A people who could not seem to get the basic principles of the kind of relationship He wanted to have with Him, yet His mercy endured forever. Thank you LORD, that it is so. All the while I traveled around in my wilderness with a stiff-neck and uncircumcised heart, Your mercy endured forever. Even now while I try to prepare for the Jericho march, Your mercy endureth forever. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you Lord, that Your mercy endureth forever. May my heart be circumcised more as I let You cut this pride off me by receiving that Jesus paid the price so that I would not have to, for my sin.

2006-08-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

The Word . The importance of the word of God is expressed to us the minute we begin our new life in Christ Jesus. Read the Bible we are told as if our lives depend upon it. That is , because it does. However, just as man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, neither do we survive just by "reading the word." It must come out of the mouth of God. It must come as a revelation to our hearts or we have only dry unchewable bread that we are trying to use for nourishment , but can not. How can we get this "word" to become bread ? What can we do to make it chewable for the children and ourselves ? Is there a way to step up to God and ask for this word to become a chewable bread ?
I would say there is. I would say that if you choose to do so, you may have a feast of chewable bread, more than enough , enough to give.
Can you remember when you last felt you heard from God? Where was that place that you were reading in His word, the Bible , and you thought you heard Him say, "this word is for you." Or when was the last time you were praying about a problem and a story from the Bible came to your mind ? Were there any similarities to that story and the story that is going on in your own life now? It was there that your bread was chewable. Go back to it and read it again in His word, the Holy Bible. What did it say ? Who was doing what when this happened ? Do you have the story in context of the situation ? How does that compare to where you are now ?
It will happen, I assure you if you ask these questions as though you were a child who really wants to be given the answers. The Holy Spirit will come and lead you into all truth and you will find , the bread of life, is the Word of God.

2006-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

What You Bind, What You Loose, What are the Keys of the Kingdom ?
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt.16:19
Prior to this portion of scripture comes the definition of The Church. People such as Peter, whom flesh and blood has not revealed who Jesus is but , His Father who is in heaven. Those people , the church, have been standing for a very long time. The gates of hell have not prevailed against her. We are being given the keys of the kingdom, and it won't be long before we start binding and loosing. Just as the very beginning of their membership in this church can not be obtained by any other way than receiving that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for their sins. What they are to bind and what they are to loose will also come as a revelation from God. Not flesh and blood. Those keys can not be bought either. They are given to us , for those who dare to believe that He will reveal His mysteries unto us. He will give us understanding that we might be able to do the will of His Father, in heaven.

2006-08-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

II Corthinthians 7:9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance: for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
Being able to get in touch with your feelings has great value. To often people assume, if you are down , you need to get up, right now.
This is not always so. If the Holy Spirit is trying to work a repentance without regret. However, to often we have seen the sorrow of the world and know that it produces death.
II Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation: but the sorrow of the world produces death.
What then do I say to someone who is down, so as not to interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit ? I praise God for His mercy and grace ! I say, "He is faithful to forgive those who confess their sins to Him." I exhort and encourage them to receive the grace of God that is for our sins . A free gift. The repentance not be done to earn the gift. The repentance be done as a result of receiving the gift.

2006-08-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

Deut. 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
To be able to do the words of the law is considered to be the most important thing you can do. Jesus came to fulfill the law not do away with it, so one knows if they are to follow Jesus they will be walking in his ways. His ways are revealed to us. There is no one who can say , "this is the way to walk," there is only one who can say, "I am the Way , follow me." He was not a wimp ! He was not someone who let people interfere with the plans His Father had for Him. If He was walking on some tight rope trying to keep people "feeling loved" so that they would follow Him, I sure do not see it. I see Him as someone Who loved us supremely and would not hesitate to rebuke us when our plans did not line up with His and our Father's business.
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. "Luke 10:27
Loving the LORD thy God is the priority here.
You can not be a wimp and love God like this. You must be able to stand up for your love for Him. He does not recognize secret lovers. Lovers who talk about Him , involve Him in their everyday lives , these are the lovers that He knows. These are the people who can love their neighbour as thyself, because they know how He loves their self. They know He does not put up with being pushed around and told what to do. He (Jesus) is about His Father's business at all times. There is no time that you can convince Him to take a break , and go get drunk with you. No time when you can say to Him, " I know this might not be about Your Father's business, but You won't mind if we go do this , will you ?" He is going to tell , "Yes, I do mind." He is going to tell you to stop bothering Him with junk like that. However, He is still going to love you. He is never going to stop loving you. He is always going to want to reveal to you the Truth. He is always going to want to give you Life. He will always be the Way that you need , and He never stops knocking at your door wanting you to let Him in.

2006-07-31T04:46:00.000-07:00

2 Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
This was the scripture that came to me a few days ago as I was preparing to do my first Anger Management video/class. I thought I would see what would happen if I just let the HOLY SPIRIT lead me.
I found out that I would say a lot of things that might be mis-understood . I also found out that I needed to give more information. I need to study to have adequate analogies of activating events that activate anger. I would rather do a Bible Class because I would not have to study about life and how to manage. I could say with all confidence , if you listen you will hear, "this is the way, walk ye in it." (part of Isa 30:21)
Yet even if you hear, you certainly do need to study.

2006-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. When this scripture came to me this morning I thought ,"Oh wretched man that I am, there is no good thing in my flesh." The Lord has just supplied a need in my household and words can't describe how happy I am about it. He must be warning me not to take some of the glory for this happening. In my spirit I certainly would not want to do that, but my flesh might. So I prayed and asked for help with this. Then I asked, "how do you glory in the cross ?" As I read all the scriptures around this passage I am enlightened to see this in context to what is going on with me right now. I am about to step out of my comfort zone. I will be offering to teach an anger management class to young adults.
Paul is speaking to people who have had people teaching them stuff and it was wrong. He points out how that when they have taught them to do the wrong thing, then they "glory in it" as they see what they have done in them. Yet Paul himself is teaching them things, and he says,(my paraphrase) "when I see that you are doing what I have taught you, I won't glory in it. I will only glory in the cross."
So I see , that if someone is better able to manage their anger because of the principles I share with them, I do not want to glory in what I have done. I want to glory in the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us , making it possible that we become a new creation. Not a work of our own doing.
These anger management skills that I will be teaching require that your mind be renewed with truth. It is simply a plan for realizing how thinking a lie about a circumstance can provoke un-necessary anger.
However, I would not even attempt to teach this to a secular group that would want me to teach the skills only. I must say, "it is when I asked Jesus to reveal the truth to me, that is when these skills worked for me."

2006-07-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

"The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."Isaiah 40:6-8 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."1 Peter 1:23-25
I have a firm conviction in my heart that we should not take lightly the word of God. Some say, "I know what this means ," and proceed to tell you what it means and it is very tempting to just believe. However, I believe we are all to seek the Lord for our daily bread. When I share ,I share not to enlighten you but to give you confirmation that the word the Holy Spirit is enlightening your heart with, might be confirmed. We all need the word of God dwelling in us , enlightening the eyes of our hearts that we might see in the days to come what we are to do. Some are ready to leave. Some are ready to stay. I plan to stay close to the side of my Lord and live with Him , day by day.

2006-07-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

WHEN YOUR OBEDIENCE IS FULFILLED
My walk following Jesus always comes back to two things. Trusting and obeying. If I feel stopped , as in I should be walking but am I , there are questions that I ask myself . "Is it time for a rest ?" I always ask that one first. Vacations are good. It is not out of the question that the LORD might answer , "yes." He hasn't said yes to that question for awhile , I am looking forward to my next vacation. Then I ask , "am I trusting ?" Then I ask , "am I obeying ?" Now a reality check here says, I can trust and obey all the time without even thinking about it. Kind of like a person walks without loosing their balance and falling down. They have done it so long it becomes second nature to them. Ha, see the words for it have even slipped into our everyday dialogue. Becomes second nature. You guessed it. I do not seem to have this whole second nature thing yet. But I do, that is Jesus has given me a second nature. The one that Adam gave me has been replaced with the second Adam , Jesus.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ;
So then is it okay that I who has received the nature of Jesus still needs to learn to walk ? Trusting and obeying ? Yes, I think so . For it was said of Him in Hbr 5:8 Though He were a Son,yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. Paul was writing to a church who had received this second nature of Christ when he said,"And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience , when your obedience is fulfilled ."
2 Corth 10:6.
Can I then suffer to learn obedience ? Even with the nature of Christ ? I suppose so . Suffering becomes less painful as the joy of seeing Jesus draws near .

2006-06-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Being Wise ,Knowing the Day.This [is]the day [which] the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24 .

2006-06-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

FOOLISH,FOOLISH PEOPLE . "Now don't be rude." Can't you hear that tape from the past going off in your head ? Also, what about that scripture that says not to call people fools ? Sometimes I get so concerned I might do something wrong I forget how to do something right . I forget there is a right . As in righteousness . As in Jesus . What would Jesus do , is an important dialogue to play in your head . If you don't know the answer ,what do you do ? Now when you have your answer , how you go about doing what Jesus would, is also vital to your relationship with Him. Thinking that you know what He would do and trying to do it without Him can sure be a big mistake . However, trying and finding out it was not all His strength , part of it was , I think this is the process we all go through until He returns . However , everytime you go for it , you can expect to be less of you, and more of Him .

His Sheep Hear His Voice

2006-06-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

The encouragement to ask for wisdom came this morning as I sought for my daily food. James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not , and it shall be given to him. I certainly do need wisdom . Not having wisdom might place me in the catagory of the foolish virgins who did not have enough oil in their lamps for when the bridegroom came . It is amazing how there is a constant temptation from the world to drain you of your oil . Matt. 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps , and took no oil with them. Is it those foolish virgins that I have to watch out for ? Matt. 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise , Give us of your oil : for our lamps have gone out .