“glory in the Lord”

     In a world filled with 8 billion people what could there be written that hasn’t already been? Every topic, every subject matter, everything has been covered it seems.

     Sure, there are some things yet to be discovered and put to purpose by humanity. That in itself has a purpose of realizing what or who holds everything in the balance is much greater than us. Even in a world with such great a population that boasts of astute intellect, still the universe is greater.

   So, shall we drop our hands from our purpose and walk away as if there is nothing left to do? The prince of this world subtly draws into the trap of busyness, even in the name of church work, all of our being, to the point that often the things we should be doing are neglected by what we will of ourselves to be doing. I find myself indepted and it requires even more time now fulfilling commitment taking away from what should be to meet what is required due to choices made by me.

What is it that I can boasts of except of the good things the Lord has brought to life that I could not have planned. What is tryed and does not burn is to his glory. Many of the words of the Holy Scriptures come to mind as these thoughts prevail.

The love of all must be the purpose.

     Some text from the “Holy Scriptures”…

John 3 v16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

     John 21 v25 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, “I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen”

Ecclesiastes 1 v7-9 “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full: unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: and that which is done is which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

II Corinthians 12 v1-6, 9 “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will not come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (wether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (wether in the body, or out of the body I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in my infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me… 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.”

I Corinthians 3 v13 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is.”

Life does not yield always in our summizable direction, neither for ourselves or those around us. It is in the times when selfless action submits to the thoughts and cares of others lay foundations that last forever.

As I thumb through the pages o a late mentor’s family Bible I find witness of this. … Written in news cutting May 2, 1808- Peoples Advocate… Echoes of War…The War Program… Washington D. C. … April 29… 1. The opening of ingress to Cuba for the relief ship to carry supplies to the reconcentration… 2. The preventing of the Spanish fleet now at Manila, in the Philippines, … Columbia S. C. April 27, 1898 … You are requested to furnish your regiment three companies of infantry to …

And even today as times continue much of the same but different … Wars continue and are required to be supported by large numbers of decision makers to what end they can only hope for.

With all of that and even to the troubles compiled upon each day of living there is still good news to share, to write. With a simple card displaying a caption of two kittens playing in an open mailbox, mounted on an old tree post and inundated with flowers come the words…A Cheery Hello… and inside… Hope this greeting does it’s part to show your in my thoughts…and heart! Have a pleasant day. The card was time-stamped April 24, 1990 using Express Mail… even then was emphasis on “hurry”

At times, we shall stand still and know who the Lord is. Send a card, make a call…or better yet 🙂 visit someone and another part of the endless solid foundation will be laid.

Psalm 46 v 10 …”Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Have a blessed day. Amen

In Search Of

Truth-Meaning given purpose for all things happening…past, present, and future.

As I search out my own heart I asked-how is it that others cannot or do not see what I see? Maybe I ask-how is it that others do not see things relative to the way that I see them? I know this opens the door for a lot of unsolicited impertinent input-but nevertheless, the questions still stand.

The precise point is to find and build upon what is true. It is widely accepted that Salvation through a relationship with Jesus is direct connection to God. From there the divide among Christians begin. I neither project that this is good or bad at this point, just that it truly exists. Looking at what is pertinent to truth, what impacts daily living, does bare itself out in individuals and collectively in culture impact throughout the world.

The idea of “spiritual war” is as real as the full blown engagements of nation against nation around the world. There is a conditioning of condemnation of this idea among the ones influenced in the engagement, either knowingly or unknowingly, of downplaying the reality of “spiritual warfare”. We often look to the outside of the realm of which we operate to see the external conflict of engagement and how it effects the culture of the church. There is a great need now to get a real look at the internal engagement of “spiritual warfare” inside the church-what we refer to as the body of Christ. We proclaim Jesus as the head of the body and the director of our lives, even our actions in the real world.

The biggest culprit is the purposed teaching that our actions does not impact our relationship to God. Other direct impacts come from the push for tolerance and acceptance of sin disguised under a false illusion of what love means.

Sin, unconfessed sin, is the reason sound doctrine and teachings are not heard. Therefore, the cleansing of the soul and mind cannot become effective in the life of the unbeliever. Neither can a person professing Christianity and living in an open and sinful life hear effectively the teachings of God.

From the ‘Puritan’ to the ‘Grace abound’ there seems a window that opens and closes to the heart of the one searching for truth. People do seek truth and truth is available to the pure desire of the one who seeks it. All others are in the abyss of a conglomerate of flesh driven, demonic influences giving effect to the very day we live in. Our escape from this is to seek God with a pure heart-meaning a true desire to know him. Sacrifice becomes a part of that in our daily living. The largest culprit of our demise in the nation of the U.S.A. is the allotment of time to the things which are right and are wrong.

Survival instincts in a culture war drive society to fit the mold created by greed, search for unlimited power, and just plain loose living with no perimeters. When the stand is taken against these things it then quickly becomes the message described as dogmatic, or unsympathetic-even unloving, by the very ones driven by the things above; greed, search for unlimited power, and just plain loose living. The convictions ‘moral standards’ once held high by the prudent in living, the church that is, are faded into the justifications of what was once referred to the ‘fence riders’. This is a mild description of spiritual warfare.

I once heard the pulpit described as a place entered into by the man of God to be pulled between Heaven and Hell with the words delivered to the attentive hearer that could change the eternal path of the decision maker. In other words, the sinner or unbeliever sitting under the sound and words of the anointed deliverance of the word of God would be drawn to decide Heaven or Hell. Set on the path for such before escaping a declaration of liberating truth. That escape does not come easily because of the reality a true and real battle in the realms of a living soul for an eternal end.

Satan does despise such conviction and will seek to destroy the one who comes under such a new way of enlightenment. To accept Christ Jesus through faith sets one free to see such a contempt for life. Moral convictions set by the word of God are the freedom to see life without a heavy and distraught burden of despair. Faith in God and the hope of eternal life with him provides a peace not known or given by any other in the time of true need.

In the weakest moment of the believer lay the strength of the almighty as the foundation that will hold. Amen.

Lord willing, there will be more… Page 1

No Logic

Noah built the ark, God said get on it to live.

And the word, yet once more signifieth the removing of things shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12 v27-29 KJV

Holy Spirit, Spirit of God speak to me/others. Thank you, Thank you Lord God. You are good to me/others.

The spoken word of God directly to the heart of man, beyond the physical but including the physical. The knowing things of this world, stuff, all stuff-rich and poor-the stuff will not remain. …The comfort is, the things that cannot be shaken-nothing wavering-the spiritual will remain(eternity). If all here is loss, still nothing is to be counted loss. All I need is him, tis many a difficult hour for sure, -the hour will come, the Peace of God. Times now it is good. Satan cannot take what is not his. The Blood of Christ Jesus, is our covering-the life. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Our strength, our strong parts are in his grace. We can stand and trust him, have need of nothing. Our humility is the joy of knowing we are his, Gods family. His church, his body. Let us bare that witness of him in us-even in the most trying moments-for our God is the redeemer of the world-“a consuming fire”. One day he will gather all that is his-the remains will be no more. Choose him this day, and keep it real.

No Logic required, he created all that science is about. May the Lord bless all who read this, let the understanding come. Let it be of encouragement and not of any condemnation. Amen

Tuesday 6/1/2021

January 26, 2021

2 Timothy v1,2

“Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right had of the throne of God” KJV

Let us not be confused to think this world will touch the hand of God but that the hand of God holds this world and all that is internal, external, and beyond. Not of my shortcomings, nor of any other mans will Gods eternal plan change to less for those who are his by his love, and his mercy, and his grace be the overcomers should they Know in their heart-He is God.

“Those who wait upon the Lord….”

Amen

What is it that I ask for?

What is it that I will ask for? From the one who has given me life-two times. What is it I need? What is it I ask of the one who has everything to give? Is it my health as I do grow older in age-my physical body? Have I or am I required to do all I can do for my health before asking? My sin has caught up with me-almost overtaken-yet there is still hope.

Shall I grieve over this flesh or shall I live in peace in my spirit, with the Spirit of God living inside of me? Shall the world destroy me, flesh and soul? I think not. To gain the world is no exchange for the soul.

My peace is with me daily from this meditation-the mind upon the Lord. So again, what is it that I ask? The anger now subsides me-in this moment of thought and meditation. I hear the anguish of others near me-I do not have to go there. If I choose, let me choose rightly.

The calm of understanding grows well with the thought of who God is and what he has already done. If my thoughts can remain, there is the key.

Lord, let my prayer be a right one.

Confession

Yes, the day does go by and the distractions attempt to steal from me what the Lord has for me, and successfully so at times. Only because I let it be that way. The distractions of anger, frustrations, desires, expectations, and just natural things in life such as aging, hunger, thirst, and then the entitlements I have grown so accustom to having such as clean water, any food I desire, warmth and enclosed from the elements-should they all fall in place and if they do not my mind is drifting to the encapsulation of that thought. Where is my thought in what God’s purposes for me are?

My eyes have become on others and to much so. Tis even difficult for the television to find its right place-and it does not choose-I choose for it. Shall I let that steal my right place in what brings peace to my life? I have.

Lord, this day is yours, and I thank you for it. I fall so short, and with many a reason, yet it is not necessary except for my weakness’s. I am thankful for your grace and in your mercy I do live-I am thankful, for I do truly know what sustains me.

Nothing is impossible with God.

Genesis 15

After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given me no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness.

And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shall go to thy fathers in peace: thou shall be buried in a good old age.

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between these pieces.

In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphratess: The Kenites, and the Keniizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Hephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Lord, this day is yours. All the nations are yours to do as you are pleased. Lord, your mercy is good and I thank you. Forgive us this day-and let our hearts, our mind, our spirit-go beyond our own self and be that of a servant to you-becoming a servant to others. Amen

The Color Purple

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. NOw he that wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given us to the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” II Corinthians 5 v1-9

Walking the edge between light and dark, Look up. See the peace of God.

Can’t tell the way the water is flowing, waves coming in, river going out-both are filled by the one beyond us. …Our father which art in heaven…give us this day…

We thank you. Amen

Wednesday 1/22/2020

To be like Jesus 365

Today

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mathew 16 v26 AKJV

 Not just a populist movement. To be like Jesus would require an understanding of his life, who he really was, what his character of life revealed. Another very important resolve is to answer the question, Why? Why do I want or need to be like Jesus? My answer to that is eternal life begins with Christ Jesus. Which leads to the idea that if I truly care for humanity, I would want them to share in the good side of eternal life. The one that is found by having faith, believing in the whole story, the life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ. I believe that one way of sharing that truth is by living out our own lives in the principals and characteristics of Christ. 

     In today’s cultures around the world we have grown acceptance for idolizing characters on the opposite side of the spiritual realm of Christianity. That acceptance, through a subtle but great push for tolerance has taken hold in a way that it now brings great pressure to one who really chooses  a  lifestyle of Christianity. To talk of God as he exist in the book of Christianity, ‘the Holy Bible’ in many cases brings mockery and an outright cry of a new-founded measure of unbelief. Christians, even in their own circles of life, are continually pressured to be more tolerant, more open and acceptable to alternative lifestyles. The worst part of that is the part of allowing what is directly contrary to what has set the standards of Christianity since the time of Christ Jesus, the scriptures-the Holy Bible- to now dictate or heavily influence the doctrine’s of Christianity. In admittance, it is true that we should not be small minded or closed minded to new thoughts, but even under that everyone has an opinion, and let you know them, they do. With that thought, like everything else we seek to find truth. We start with one standard studying and reviewing the Holy until the truth of the matter becomes solid in our thoughts and we are “renewed in the Spirit of our minds.” 

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And the ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4 v22-24 AKJV

     In the writings of Paul we find ‘press on toward the mark of the high calling.’ Is that the calling only of Christianity or can we say there is more?We automatically relate that charge Paul gave in most cases to a life of Christianity. In Christianity, there is a genealogy  (i.e. a blood line of relatives) that can be found in the scriptures all the way from the beginning of time to the birth of Christ. Christ Jesus told some who were challenging him at one point, ‘If you do not recognize me, you have not known my father.’ The father of Christ is God. The genealogy is a trace of humanity. So we do go a little farther here. 

     The birth of Christ came through a virgin birth, humanly inconceivable. God, the creator of all humanity by the holy spirit brought that conception to be. God if the father of Christ Jesus. 

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Mathew 1 v20, 21 AKJV

and there’s more…

Jesus answered, and said unto him,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3 v3 AKJV

Lord, I thank you for this day and for this year. I pray and know according to your word that “all things work together for those who love you”, and that we put our faith and trust in you. Lord, as you are the only beginning and end that has no start or finish we give you praise. We thank you for this year-all the people that have touched paths with one another and ours as well. Lord, ” let all our ears hear what your Spirit is saying to us as the church”. Amen

December 31

To be like Jesus 364

Today

And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be a vision.

Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make the know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” Daniel 8 v15-22 AKJV

Understand-“the end shall be” as in knowing “the last end of the indignation:” …As me focus on rights and injustice per their thought or their way- Lord, help us this day to hear what your Spirit is saying to the church. Amen

December 30

To be like Jesus 363

Today

Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37 v26-28 AKJV

and the word of the Lord stands-forever. Lord, I thank you for this day.

December 29

To be like Jesus 362

Today

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Luke 2 v21 AKJV

As this day goes forward let us be thankful for the child who’s name was called JESUS-God’s plan long before any one person thought of having a plan. We thank you Lord. Amen

December 28