"Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. " Jeremiah 33:3

Monday, April 30, 2012

GOD'S FRESCO Part Two

Divine Fresco; a work commissioned by the will of God the Father, paid for by the blood of  Jesus Christ and wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This work is not for sale at any price.

The heavenly host witnessed in hushed silence as God created the heavens and the earth.  Now they sing praises, as they behold the colors of the fresco. Human eye truly has never seen the magnificent colors that God is using on this work, after all things on earth are just shadows of  the heavenly.  This divine fresco is alive, for it is comprised of living spiritual beings, it absolutely pulsates with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Giver of spiritual gifts, He determines where each believer is placed in Kingdom work.  There is nothing haphazard about this work, so detailed is His work that even the very steps are planned for each believer individually! What is the depth of God's indescribable love for the world? To measure that you would have to know how wide and deep was the blood of His beloved Son that was poured out on that little hill outside Jerusalem. The answer is incomprehensible, unfathomable to our finite minds.

God is intimately acquainted with every aspect of our lives and His eyes are always upon us. He may break us but He will never bruise us, He takes our smoldering wicks and breathes life, zeal and fire into our tired bodies. He may withdraw the awareness of His presence but know He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  He began the good work in us when we were born again and He will finish what He started in us! Wonder of wonders He never stops loving us for it pleases Him to do so.

Therefore comfort one another, encourage one another, build one another up, exhort one another and above all, love one another even as God has loved us. We must love Him and place Him above all other loyalties in our lives, love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength! May our personal relationship with Jesus Christ usurp every other demand on our heart, our mind, our time and our money. Absolutely nothing and no one is more important in our life than our relationship with Christ! 


This divine fresco will soon be finished and we as believer's in Christ are all an intricate, vital part of it. The time is short and the image is clearer now than ever before.  By now I'm sure you know, you've figured it out, God's ordained fresco could only be one thing; the image of His beloved Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! This has always been God's plan for us, it has never changed. "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son..." Romans 8:29.  

All of us together in unity are being changed into Christ's image, one believer at a time. We must be about our Father's business, by working in His harvest fields, reaping souls by witnessing to the gospel of Jesus Christ. God alone knows exactly where each new soul that is saved will be placed in His fresco. Our part is to gather as many souls as we can before night comes when no one can work. And no one but God knows when that is. May we labor shoulder to shoulder to bring every lost soul in before it is too late.

 

Friday, April 27, 2012

GOD'S FRESCO Part One

Fresco; the art of painting with water colors on plaster.
Divine Fresco; a work commissioned by the will of the Father, paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This work is not for sale at any price.

It is a glorious day in the third heaven as the angels go through their daily shift change. They meet with their counterparts to discuss the latest happenings of their charges. Their charges are the "called" of God, these are the born again sons and daughters of God who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. These believers are the delight of the Lord. Yet many times the angels wonder with absolute astonishment at how often their charges display worry, fear and doubt! Don't they understand that their Father is the Creator of the entire universe? Don't the realize that He is Sovereign,  nothing is outside of His control? But the angels know their place and they know better than to criticize or condemn God's kids.

The returning angels ask where the Father is because He isn't in the throne room. Gabriel the outspoken angel spoke up and said; "He is where His heart is of course, He is working on His fresco. The time is drawing near and there is much work remaining to be done."  The angels are filled with awe as they watch God at work, lovingly, intimately, individually with each believer. The angels wonder to themselves if the believers have any understanding of their worth in God's eyes? Probably not because human eyes cannot detect the blood of Jesus Christ that covers each and every one of them.  The host of heaven are filled with reverence and wonder at the over-flowing love of God for these vessels of clay and they rejoice at the top of their voices every time God's grace is met by faith and another sinner is saved!

God alone knows the day the Fresco will be completed. God alone, knows who will come together to form the left eye, God alone knows all those He determined before the foundation of the world to  become the right hand.  Only the wisdom of God knows the millions upon millions of souls redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ that will comprise the finished masterpiece. Just as in the beginning...God spoke the heaven and earth and Jesus, the Word of God, brought them into existence and the Holy Spirit moved on the face of the waters, all Three working together, so too all of the Trinity is at work to bring about the sanctification, the unity, the transformation and the agape love required to complete the Fresco.  It truly is just as Scripture says; "For it is God who is at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13 NASB.

Part two, the conclusion, of God's Fresco will be posted Monday the 30th.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

"With all my heart I will praise You, O LORD my God. I will give glory to Your name forever." Psalm 86:12 NLT

O LORD You are glorified;
In every act prompted by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please You.
In a child of Yours that stands their ground against evil, for You came to destroy the works of the enemy.
In every good act prompted by love, for You alone are good.
In every child of Yours who seeks You in Your Word, for that is where You reveal Yourself to us.
In every child who shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for You commanded us to go and be Your witnesses.
In the life of every child who fulfills their God given purpose, for apart from You we can do nothing.
With every Word of Yours that comes out of the mouth of a believer, for You watch over Your Word to perform it.

O LORD You are glorified;
In the heart of every soldier of Yours, because the battle is Yours.
When we forgive one another, for You forgave us of all of our sins.
In all of creation, the universe, for You spoke them into existence.
By the cry of every newborn baby, for You alone give life.
In the sunrise and sunset, for You command both.
By our every act of obedience to You, for You receive obedience as love.
In our prayers, for You are the God who hears our prayers and answers them.


O LORD You are glorified;
By our spiritual worship, for You abide in the praises of Your people.
In every act of selflessness, for that is Your will.
By every bowed knee and prostrate child of Yours, for You dwell with the humble.
In every sinner who is born again, for You are not willing that any should perish.
By our tears of true repentance, for You orchestrate godly sorrow.
In praise and thanksgiving, for You alone are worthy to be praised.
By the extended hand given to the poor or lowly, for You left the glory of Heaven to tabernacle with Your lost sinful creation.
In the innocent laughter of a child, for You alone give true joy. 

O LORD You are glorified;
In our total surrender to You and Your will for our lives. 
When a believer says, Here am I! Send me Lord!
When we say; Any time, Any where, Any cost and mean it with all our hearts.
Every time we say Jesus Christ is Lord!  
When believers dwell together in unity, each one counting the other as more important.
When we love You with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our strength and all of our soul.
When we love one another in the body of Christ. And pray and witness to the lost. 
 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

An Intentional Life

If you were to assess your life right now would the word intentional come to mind? How about purposeful? Or does haphazard apply? Or even drifting, carried along day in and day out like a leaf in the wind or a piece of driftwood in the ocean or does a tumbleweed in the desert best depict your life? 

Several years ago Covey wrote a best seller called Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The premise being if you applied these seven habits you too could be highly effective in your life.  There is another book that was written two thousand years ago that contains everything you will ever need to know about living an intentional life, a life that has purpose, a life that has true meaning, a life that counts for something. The Author of the book knows a thing or two about living intentionally, purposefully, because He is the author, the Creator of all things, He gives life, and knowing Him and living your life according to Him results in abundant living. The book of course is the Bible.

There is a plan, a purpose for everyone who has ever lived.  That includes you! Jeremiah 29:11-12 says; "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."  The prophet Jeremiah lived an intentional life, God's plan for Jeremiah was to be a prophet to God's people Israel. "Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5

God created you, gave you life, numbered your days (Psalm 139:16) and He has a plan for you that is like no other. That is why there is only one of you, you are unique and special to God.

Jesus came to earth by the will of God and though Jesus is God, He came to die in our place for the sins of the whole world so that all who believe would never perish but have everlasting life.  Shortly before the cross Jesus prayed for His disciples and for everyone who ever would believe in His name through out time. Listen to the statement Jesus makes to His heavenly Father; "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." John 17:4. On the cross Jesus words say it all; "He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." John 19:30. Jesus Christ is the epitome of a life lived intentionally! Note; when we live our life according to the will of God and the plan He has for us, we too can bring glory to God!  

God created you and gave you talents and abilities that fit what He has called you to do. We are provided examples of this in the book of Exodus.  "You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom that they may make..." Exodus 28:3.  "I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship. And in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill." Exodus 31:3,6

God is sovereign over all things that includes your life and mine, we see examples of that in Exodus 35:21 "Everyone whose, heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD's contribution." God directs us and places within our hearts the desire to do a certain thing, He has a plan and a purpose for you and that purpose will never change. 

So if you have been living your life like driftwood or a leaf or a tumbleweed, don't despair go to the Lord and talk to Him, seek Him and you will find Him and He will pour out His love to you and reveal Himself to you.  And He will stir within your heart the purpose He has for you, and He will enable you to do it.


 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

"These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did." 1 Corinthians 10:6 NLT

Scripture is full of warnings for God's people, God always lets us know the blessings and peace that will come if we keep Him as the number one priority in our lives, and He warns us of the trouble that will come to us if we pursue evil rather than godliness. Scripture also says that sin is pleasurable for a season, once you are born again sin becomes less and less pleasurable until you reach the point that David reached when he said he hated sin as God did. 
 
Sin was what necessitated Jesus on the cross, the sins of the whole world upon Him. Sin separates us from God, sin can be forgiven but we live with the consequences of our willful sinning.  And many times so do the ones around us. Romans 6:8, 11-12, 14;  "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

What are the evil things that the children of Israel did in the desert that God uses them as an example of the things we are to avoid at all costs?
 
Idolatry any person, or material thing, that gets our time, money, attention or love over God

In our country we have hundreds of thousands of idols; ourselves, fame, wealth, prestige, our homes, cars, boats, pleasure, sex, athletes, singers, movie stars, fashion, careers etc. You can add others I'm sure.  1 John 5:21; "Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

Immorality  inclined to lustfulness, lewd, lascivious photographs, pornography

The great nations of  the past, like the Roman empire were not conquered by another nation, they imploded from the immorality within. The same could be said about Greece, Persia and other great empires. Immorality is a direct attack on the family, life no longer has dignity, morality is laughed at, marriage between a man and woman is mocked, life is cheap, so is abortion, and when these things become the norm in a country could implosion be far behind?

Trying the Lord mocking God thru our actions, our disobedience, our rebellion against Him and His Word

Jesus says we love Him by our obedience to His commands (John 14:15) then what does our disobedience to Him say to Him? Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23) Dare we mock God when Jesus said we are not to try or test God?  (Matthew 4:7)

Grumble to murmur or mutter in discontent, complain sullenly

This may look innocuous as compared with the other three, yet this may be the most insidious of all!  Jesus said in Matthew 12:34; "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart."  Words can and do hurt, consider the victims of bullying who have chosen death over one more day of hate and torment through the mouths of bullies.  Our grumbling, complaining, murmuring is grieving the heart of God, He has given us everything we need to live our lives abundantly, in Him! What we are really saying with our grumbling is I know what all You have done Lord, but its just not good enough...God forgive us!

"These are all warning markers, danger! In our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel, they at the beginning, we at the end, and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."  1 Corinthians 10:11-12 MSG

Monday, April 23, 2012

"The fruit of the uncompromisingly righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives for God, as a fisher of men-he gathers and receives them for eternity." Proverbs 11:30 AMP

I'm sure that most of you have heard the joke about you've never seen a U Haul behind a hearse, referring to the truth that we cannot take anything with us after we die.  For those who have placed there trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, they have confessed Him as Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead, they never die, they just leave this earth and their fleshly body behind and go to be with the Lord in Heaven forever. 

And for those believers you cannot take possessions or wealth with you true enough, but you can take souls with you! Oh what glorious reunions there will be in heaven for those who became fishers of men on earth and lived their lives in God's harvest field here on earth! Those who win souls are those who are employed by God in His Kingdom Work.  "The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life." John 4:36 NLT. God says His fields are white for harvest, won't you come be a harvester?

I am so thankful that our responsibility is to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ, a.k.a., the Gospel to those around us that are unsaved. We cannot save them, that is the work of the Holy Spirit of God, we don't cause them to grow, God causes the growth, all we have to do is share the Gospel, the Word of God, and the Word does the work, we are blessed to be able to share the greatest news this universe has ever or will ever hear!  

Our sins have separated us  from Holy God, and we cannot get to Him with good works, or morality, or religion, so Jesus came down to us on earth, in the flesh, incarnate, God/man and lived here without sin and He chose to die in our place to pay the sin debt we owed so that we could have peace with God, forgiveness of sins and spend eternity with Him!

If you are born again, sins forgiven, a child of God not by the will of man but by the will of God and you died right this second as you are reading this sentence.....how many souls will be in heaven because you were faithful to share the gospel with; those at work, to those in your own family, to the kids dance teacher, or their teacher at school, to the person who picks up your trash or cuts your hair or does your nails, or the person on the commuter train, or the person who is serving you a meal or the cashier where you buy your groceries?  How many souls will be in heaven because you cared enough about them to share the gospel?

This morning in church one of our college interns gave his testimony, and wow was it ever powerful! I thanked God and gave Him glory for this young man and the way God's light shined thru him. He shared many things but one thing he shared I wrote down as soon as I heard it because it is so applicable to the Bible study course we are doing and it is the topic of this blog. 

He said; "There are only two things that are eternal on this earth, God's Word and the souls of men."  It has been given to us as believers by Jesus Christ Himself to be His witnesses.  Our responsibility is to take God's Word and connect it to the souls of men in our sphere of influence, so that they might be saved and have eternal life with Christ.  

Are there souls in heaven right now because of you? When you get to heaven will any come after you because you faithfully carried the Good News to them?
Can you imagine in your minds eye what that will be like to see one another in heaven? Oh the rejoicing there will be!!

Who shared Jesus with you? Who cared enough about you to lead you to Christ? Thank God for them right now.

Galatians 1:24 says; "And they were glorifying God because of me."  Is anyone glorifying God because of you....?

Friday, April 20, 2012

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Romans 8:26 NASB

Today's title Scripture says it right out; We do not know how to pray as we should, therefore we are assured that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and not only the Holy Spirit but Jesus Himself makes intercession for those who draw near to God thru Him. (Hebrews 7:25)  How encouraging is that, Jesus and the Holy Spirit help believers in prayer because most of us just aren't very good at it!

There are many reasons why our prayers fall short; Scripture teaches us to pray, it gives us examples, it supplies us with intercessory prayers. But if we don't know Scripture, we really struggle. Often we don't have our prayers answered the way we wanted because we were asking with wrong motives.  Many of our prayers are answered with no not because God does not want us to be happy, far from it He says no to things that will bring us harm.  Remember God is all knowing and you and I are not. But know this, God wants the very best for His children so yes or no we can thank Him for His answers.

On one occasion a leper came and knelt before Jesus and said,  Lord if You are willing You can make me clean. Watch what Jesus did; He stretched out His hand and touched the leper and said I am willing, be cleansed. Jesus spoke healing to various individuals all the time without touching them, why then did He touch the leper? Jesus saw the lepers heart. He knew what the leper needed most was  for Jesus to physically touch him! But the leper either didn't know the need or was embarrassed to ask, so Jesus met his deepest need and then cleansed him from leprosy.  How many needs does Jesus meet in our lives, that we aren't even aware of?  (Matthew 8:2-3)

Shortly before Jesus was arrested He was talking to Peter, when Peter made his bold confession that he would die for Jesus, to which Jesus replied before the cock crows you will deny even knowing me three times. But then Jesus reassured His disciple by telling him, but I have prayed for you Peter, that your faith may not fail.  You would think that Jesus would have prayed for Peter not to sin by denying Jesus, not once but three times. No that was not what Peter needed, his denial would humble Peter, he would feel horrible about himself, even despair, but Jesus prayed for his faith to stand the test and told Peter when you turn or repent, strengthen your brothers, saying in effect, Peter My plans for you have never changed!  (Luke 22:31-34)

Again Jesus spoke to His disciples  about the things He would suffer in Jerusalem, including His death on the cross. Peter rebuked Jesus  saying God forbid it, Lord! That was Peter's prayer, that the cross would not happen, if the cross did not happen, no one could ever be saved and made right with God! Jesus said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! When we set our minds on mans interests rather than Gods we are the same as Peter.  (Matthew 16:21-23) There is a beautiful promise in Scripture that says if we ask anything according to God's will, He will hear our prayer and answer it! God's will, not mans.  (1 John 5:14-15 )

Faith in intercessory prayer on behalf of others pleases God and prayers are answered. On one occasion some friends took the roof off of a house where Jesus was so they could lower their friend down to Him and He would heal him. Scripture says Jesus saw the faith of the friends, and Jesus spoke to the greater unspoken need first; He spoke to the man and said, your sins are forgiven. Then He spoke and told him to get up take up his pallet and go.  (Luke 5: 19-26)

I pray that in these few accounts that you have been encouraged in your prayer life. We truly do not know how to pray as we ought, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit do know and they are interceding for us! Thank You Lord for Your provision and thank You Lord for desiring to hear our voices!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

THE HEART OF GOD

I had lunch with a dear friend today and she said okay you wrote about the hands of God and the eyes of God, I expected more, aren't you going to write any more? So I came home and it came to me to write about the Heart of God. Just thinking of that overwhelms me, but I can at least write about a few things that we know from Scripture that reveal God's heart. It will just be the very tip of the iceberg!  Someone once said that the Bible is more than words on paper it is God's love letter to mankind, I love that!! 

I wrote one time that the Bible is God's heart revealed and I still maintain that. Whatever else it is;  it is the joy of my  heart, the passion of my life, my teacher, my light, my transformation, for in Scripture I discovered Jesus Christ, I heard the Gospel, I believed in Jesus Christ and confessed Him as my Lord, I know God raised Him from the dead and He lives, He intercedes for me in prayer and one day soon He is coming back to call forth His own and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive  will be caught up in the air and will always be with Him! Maranatha!

God is eternal the self existing One
"In the beginning God..." Genesis 1:1

"O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You." Psalm 89:8,14

"Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world. Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." Psalm 90:2

God has made Himself known to all 
"The heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge." Psalm 50:6

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

God's Son, God's Spirit
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23

God's Holiness
"Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine."  Leviticus 20:26

God's Lovingkindness
"The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

God's Love
"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." James 1:2 NASB

For many years I read today's title scripture and struggled to understand what it was all about. How was I supposed to react joyfully in a trial or test? Was I just supposed to suck it up and pretend? That is in fact what I tried to do but I don't think I fooled anybody, least of all the Lord.  Next I asked God to show me how I could ever find joy in trials. He began to open my eyes to the reason behind the trials that believers go through. I discovered that the godly men of the Bible all suffered many trials even when they were in the perfect will of God. Moses, David, Joseph, Job, Jeremiah, and in the New Testament, Paul the apostle and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Discovering that God was the One that was in control of my life and my trials truly transformed my thinking.  God does everything for a good purpose in my life and all His children. There is a purpose, they are not random, here are just a few of the purposes.

To Test Our Obedience
"...There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you..." Exodus 15:25-26

That We Might Fear Him Alone and Sin Not
"Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."  Exodus 20:20

To Reveal Our Hearts
"Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart."  2 Chronicles 32:31

To Humble Us To Do Good For Us
"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end." Deuteronomy 8:16

Produces Endurance
"Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:3-4


For God's Purposes, God's Glory
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren."  Romans 8:28-29

Waiting Is A Trial That Strengthens
"Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."  Isaiah 40:31

Waiting Strengthens Our  Faith
"Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unvelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." Romans 4:20-21

"Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Corinthians 10:11

Everything that touches your life as a believer in Jesus Christ, is custom designed by the One that created you, and you can trust that He knows exactly what He is doing in your life. He loves you completely and He will use every pain, every tear, every sorrow for good in the end. And knowing that we can count it all joy...

THE EYES OF GOD

Yesterday's post contained Scripture concerning the hands of God and today the Scripture is all about the eyes of God. Our God is Omnipresent He is present everywhere, He is Omniscient in that He is all wisdom, all knowing, and He is Omnipotent, He is all powerful, Almighty God!  Today Scripture tells us that God sees the wicked and the good and the favor He gives to those who love and honor Him. He watches over the nations, His eyes and ears are open to the prayers of those that honor and love Him, He knows the deeds good and bad of every living soul and He is always looking for a heart that is completely His. Please meditate on each Scripture, and you will be blessed.

"Then the  LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD."  Genesis 6:5,8

"For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He watches all his paths."  Proverbs 5:21

"For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps."  Job 34:21

"He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves."  Psalm 66:7

"...O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds."  Jeremiah 32:18-19

" Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God."  Isaiah 37:17

"Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place." 2 Chronicles 6:40

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."  2 Chronicles 16:9

O,  God how majestic You are! We praise You Lord and thank You for Your watch care over Your children. Lord forgive our sins that You see, and when we repent and ask for Your forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, You hear and You answer.  Thank You for You hear our prayers and answer them and today O, Lord we pray for a new heart, a heart that is completely devoted to You.  In Jesus name we pray and expectantly watch.

Monday, April 16, 2012

THE HANDS OF GOD

As a believer in Jesus Christ we must be careful not to shrink God down to our level and that is easy to do if you are not daily in the Word and in prayer. It is a very dangerous place to be when you think God thinks like you, He is so far above His creation and the way we learn of His Majesty is to focus on what He reveals to us about Himself in Scripture so for the next few days we will examine certain aspects of God that will help us view Him as He is, high and lifted up! Today we will examine the hands of God. Please don't rush through the list but honestly meditate on the different aspects of Gods hands in relation to us.

"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

"Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments." Psalm 119:73

"Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciple's feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." John 13:5

"Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Matthew 8:3

"Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20:27

"Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray... "  Matthew 19:13   "And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them."  Mark 10:16

"While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them." Luke 4:40

"Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  Matthew 14:31

"He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters." Psalm 18:16

"And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." John 10:28-29

"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;..." Isaiah 49:16

"And He said His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God." Luke 13:13

"When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last." Revelation 1:17

"Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand."  Psalm 73:23

"When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand." Psalm 37:24

"For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." Psalm 32:4

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD is everlasting; do not forsake the works of Your hands." Psalm 138:7-8

"You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good." Psalm 104:28

"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16:11

Thank You God for Your divine hands that; heal, comfort, rescue, deliver, create, convict, encourage, strengthen, protect, cleanse and hold me now and through out eternity!!

Friday, April 13, 2012

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for..." 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB

God has blessed me with a love for His Word and has inspired me to use it in countless ways. One of the ways is using His Scripture to give to parents who are expecting, a prayer to pray for the gift of God who is in the wombOn another occasion it was a prayer for a couple getting married, for graduates of high school or college, a valentine from the Lord etc. I have not kept track of how many of these I have given but I would like to share one of them today in this post. We are drawing near to graduation time so this is for graduates, please feel free to share with anyone that God lays on your heart.

Isn't it comforting to know that the One who commands the morning and causes the dawn to know its place is the very One who dwells within you?

As you step into the unknown of your future, facing challenges that you have never before faced, isn't it comforting to know that the One who walks beside you is Absolute Sovereign over the entire universe and He promises to direct your steps?

When you face decisions that are eternal in nature, isn't it comforting to know you belong to the One who puts wisdom in the innermost being and gives understanding to the mind? Isn't it comforting to know that godly wisdom is yours for the asking?

In those times that you feel all alone, isn't it comforting to know that He has promised in His Word that He will never leave you, fail you or forsake you?

When fear and anxious thoughts press in on you, isn't it comforting to remember you belong to the Prince of peace and He has given you His peace that passes all understanding? His peace that stands guard over your mind and heart.

When no one seems to know your name or even care, isn't it comforting to know that Almighty God has your name engraved on the palms of His hands? And His eyes and His thoughts are always toward you because you are His chosen child!

When you sometimes doubt yourself or your abilities isn't it thrilling to know that God loves you completely, He doesn't condemn you, He called you by name and justified you in His sight forever?

Isn't it encouraging to know that absolutely nothing can separate you from God's love for you? Not life, not death, not any created thing, for His love for you is through His Son Jesus Christ, you are His, bought and paid for through His blood that was shed for you!

Isn't it wonderful to know that as you embark on this new phase of your life His presence is continually with you, and there is no where that you can go that His presence will not be with you.

(You fill in the name), Jesus Christ loves you with an everlasting love! He began the good work in you and He will be with you every step of the way.  He will complete the work He began in you and one day He will enable you to stand in His presence; blameless with great joy!  How awesome is your Lord!!!

All of the scriptures used are available for you, if you  request them in comments. 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." Luke 15:20 NASB

The title verse today is taken from the parable that Jesus shared with His followers concerning the prodigal son. I was once a prodigal, thinking that I knew better than my heavenly Father  what was good for my life. How foolish and blind I was but as with all prodigals I was deceived by worldly lies and blind to my own folly.

In the ensuing years since that time God has shown me through His Word how it happens that true believers in Jesus Christ can become prodigals for a season. Some are rebellious, others are trapped in the sins of their own choosing, but God loves them all and His eyes never leave them! It is in retrospect that I see how faithful God was to me even while I was not faithful to Him. He never ever gave up on me, and He will never give up on any of His children that He has chosen. I say this to encourage those of you who have prodigals that you are praying for...don't give up, God hasn't given up on them!

I'm going to share some scripture references that reveal and give us insight into what is going on in the heart and mind of a prodigal. The scriptures reveal the effect that sin has on our bodies, as well as emotional and spiritual deception that is present. Sin does deceive and nothing deceives so strongly as the sin of pride.  Sin brings darkness but the Light of the World, Jesus Christ is the One who will set the captives to sin and lies, free!

"Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him..." Habakkuk 2:4

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened."  Romans 1:21

"But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes."  1 John 2:11

"But when he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, father I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight."  Luke 15:17-18

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses."  Psalm 25:16-17

If you are off doing your own thing and away from God and you are realizing how you believed a lie, how you were drawn to the glitter of the world only to find out that too was a lie, a trap designed to make you a slave, then you are ready for the truth of the next scripture, this is for you!

"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.  And You forgave the guilt of my sin."  Psalm 32:3-5

Father God, our prayer for our prodigals is please keep Your hand lovingly upon them, day and night.  Guard and protect them from the evil one. Bring them to their senses, flood the darkness that has blinded them with the Light of Your countenance. May the Holy Spirit grant them godly sorrow that leads to true repentance. Please Lord set these captives free and welcome them with Your loving arms, pour out Your compassion, love and sweet embrace within them. In Jesus name we pray this and eagerly watch for Your work to be done in their lives. Thank You Lord, that no one is ever beyond Your reach!  we willingly entrust ______________ to the hands that created them, may Thy purpose for their life be done to Your glory!  Amen.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

"And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing thing that makes grand speeches." James 3:4-5 NLT

Does your rudder need to be divinely retrofitted?

" By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony into chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell." James 3:6 MSG

If the rudder of a ship is broken it cannot remain on course!
If our tongues are broken from lying, gossip, slander, boasting, grumbling, anger or cussing we cannot remain on course with the leading of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will never lead where our broken tongues will take us and the Spirit will never follow.

If the rudder of a ship is broken it endangers every other ship in its channel!
If our tongues are broken we endanger everyone within the sound of our voice. From the precious little ears of our children to the person we work with who has heard our claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. No one is safe from a broken tongue; it slices like a knife, grieves the Spirit and dirties everyone who comes in contact with sound of our voice and it dirties us most of all.

If the rudder of a ship is bent there is a constant tension and struggle just to control the ship!
If our tongues are bent it is because we are allowing lies and truth both to be part of our confession; we say we believe God's Word, we can even quote it yet when faced with a trial or crisis, what comes forth from our mouths is fear, doubt, confusion, anger, self-pity or anxiety. This should not be, the confession of our mouths must be transformed by the Word, not just knowledge of it,  but in obedience to it.

Bent and broken rudders are retrofitted, they are changed.
Bent and broken tongues can be transformed, they can be changed; confess and repent of the words of your mouth that have hurt others, grieved God and tarnished your witness for Christ. Renew your mind and heart with the Word of God.

Fill your heart, mind and soul with the Word of God and walk in obedience to it. This will transform your confession and make you a vessel fit for noble use. Isn't that what we all are striving for?  

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

"Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak." 2 Corinthians 4:13 AMP

When I was pregnant with my first son Tony, I meet a girl named Elaine in the prenatal class, we really hit it off and became good friends. She had her daughter the same day that I had Tony! She knew that I liked to read and she gave me a book called The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. I read it, actually devoured it would be more accurate and I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus and was gloriously born again!

Would you like to know what I did next? I called my friend Elaine and the first words out of my mouth were, "Are you born again, are you a believer in Jesus Christ?" She replied  "yes I am."  To which I replied, "Why didn't you tell me about Jesus?" She said "I gave you the book!" How is that for gratitude on my part? 

She never forgot that and neither have I and it taught us both a valuable lesson! How can we call ourselves a friend if we know the Lord Jesus and never share Him with others?   How can we keep Jesus a secret from the people around us that don't know Him? Are our hearts so hard, so callous that we can be indifferent towards others and God forbid, indifferent towards our Lord?

I remember reading one time a fictious short letter from a person that had died and gone to hell and they were writing to their "friend" who also had died and was now in heaven. It was chilling and extremely convicting. It had no authors name on it, I assume so each one who read it could know deep in their heart that if they were honest, they could be the one in heaven whose "friend" was now in hell because they didn't care enough about them to share the gospel!

Most important of all what would could we say to Jesus when we gaze into His face and He asks us, "why didn't you take advantage of the opportunities I gave you to share Me with others?" 

There is not much we can do about the opportunities we squandered but we can resolve in our hearts that beginning today we will obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit and not miss any opportunity to show our love for Jesus and our love for the lost by sharing the gospel. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Romans 1:16 NASB


Monday, April 9, 2012

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold; I will spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:15-16 NASB

When you read today's title verse does it leave any doubt in your mind how God feels about lukewarm?  Yesterday was every believer in Jesus Christ day!! Easter the day we celebrate our Lord's resurrection from the dead! If you walked in some churches yesterday would you see celebration,worship, joy, exaltation, shouts of praise, arms in the air or would you see, quiet, stone face, stand up sit down ritual?

Why is it that we can go crazy in stadiums all over the world shouting, doing the wave, stomping our feet chanting in unison for our favorite team? Or how about music concerts; rock, country it doesn't matter, people show feeling, passion, why not in church? 

Is it possible that what we call reverence, God calls lukewarm? What if you came home from work or a business trip and your children  rose quietly in unison and mouthed the words welcome home O father, with blank expressions on their faces? Compare that to children running, crying out Daddy, Daddy and throwing their arms around your legs, big smiles on their faces, full of love.  Now really, which would you rather have?

What does the Word of God have to say regarding our emotions toward God? 
What does He have to say about what He desires from His children? We are going to look at just five verses.

"And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52 NASB

"Whatever has been commanded by the God of heaven let it be done with zeal!" Ezra 7:23 NASB

"Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the LORD." Romans 12:11 Amplified

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." Colossians 3:23 NASB

" Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more." 1 Thessalonians 4:1,10 NASB

 

  


Thursday, April 5, 2012

Please be patient

I am so sorry for the lack of posts recently, I am experiencing a problem with my computer, or more accurately I don't know how to fix it! But I know some people who do! Hope to be up and posting again within a very few days. Thank you so much for waiting.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

"And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." Acts 9:26-27

Today's Title verse is a wonderful lesson that has applications for many in the body of Christ. It speaks to the disciples or the  "church crowd", it speaks to the blessed Barnabus's in our lives and to the Paul's, the outsiders, the former enemies of the church.

If you are a Barnabas we thank God for you, because you do not judge others and you are not afraid to stand beside someone who others want nothing to do with. They may be afraid of the person or they judge the person because of their past or maybe its just because they don't look or sound like anyone else they know.  But not you Barnabas you go and stand by that believer and encourage them and you don't leave them until they can stand on their own. Praise God for the Barnabas!


Then there are the Sauls, redeemed sinners. Truth be known every believer is nothing more than a redeemed sinner, the only difference is some people's sins are outward like Saul but many sinners are committing sin in their thoughts and in the intents of their hearts.  No one can see their sins except God who knows all of our thoughts, who sees our hearts and our motives as they truly are.


The body of Christ needs a Barnabas for every Saul, am I willing to be a Barnabas?  I am convinced that the Lord places some unlovely people in our lives to see what we will do with them, will we encourage, be a friend or pretend they don't exist and just ignore them?


Jesus said in John 13:35; "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."