I Patiently Wait!

1 Peter 5:8 (B)Be of sober spirit, (C)be on the alert Your adversary, (D)the devil, prowls around like a roaring (E)lion, seeking someone to devour.

Today as every other day, you, and I are going about our business, the business of daily life, most do not give much thought to what is really going on around us. Yes, we see the hustle and bustle, we are aware of the things of this world going on, but how often do we give thought to the “Spiritual World” around us, and all that is going on in this place?

The goal here is to help make us more aware, that what is going on in this “Spiritual Realm” does have a direct and profound effect on us.

We find that the Apostle Peter, while in Rome around 63-64 AD was writing this letter to the “Aliens” scattered around the world. These were the Christians of the day, and his letter was to acknowledge, comfort, and encourage them during their time of suffering and trial. One of the themes of this letter is to call Christians to rejoice in the face of private and public persecution, to live above such intimidations.

As we look at this verse in context we will pursue a better and life saving understanding of how we should handle these times of trial and persecution.
1 Peter 5:7-9, 7casting all your (A)anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8(B)Be of sober spirit, (C)be on the alert Your adversary, (D)the devil, prowls around like a roaring (E)lion, seeking someone to devour. 9(F)But resist him, (G)firm in your faith, knowing that (H)the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
In verse 7 we are told that we are to cast all our anxieties, in the Greek the word is “Merimna” which means care, anxiety. We are told to cast these on Him, being Jesus, who cares for us. Again, we are given instruction to be of sober spirit, here sober is the word “Nepho” to be calm collected in spirit, to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect, so literally we face this world with our eyes open and not live by the knee jerk reaction of our emotions.
Be on the Alert, “Gregoreuo” to give strict attention, to be cautious and active, to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.
We are being warned here to be ever diligent, to be ever seeking, and watching, lest we let our guard fall and we are over taken by sudden destruction. Have you ever just had a good day or week or even a month where you just knew that you were in your spiritual zone, you were living the life, you were in a place of oneness with God, that you could do no wrong? It is when we are in these zones, that we most often let our guard down and it is in, this very place that we receive this ominous warning. We should take and pay close attention, never to rest or turn our back to the reality that, we do have an enemy and his desire is to destroy our witness to the world and our relationship with God.
When a lion prowls, it is crouching down, so it is close to the ground as not to alert the prey of its presence and so it is with Satan. When we are going about our life in such a carefree manner, with little or no concern, unaware of the presence of our assailant, this is when the attack usually begins. Dear friends, it is to our own demise that we walk about our daily lives, blatantly ignoring the many warnings provided in pages of scripture.
Resist, Firm in our faith, knowing that we are not alone in this peril, there are brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world who are suffering the same and many even worse fates than we can imagine. I recently heard of some believers in a country where Christianity is illegal, imagine, against the law to serve and worship Christ. These brothers and sisters were living in an underground tunnel, and when there government began a road project and found their tunnel and arrested them. Given the chance to deny Christ, to say that they would no longer believe, they each refused. When faced with their death the answer was still, no. They watched the hanging of their children but still each and everyone held diligent to their faith in Christ. Each of these people were laid on the ground in front of a steamroller, with their feet closest to the roller with the next persons feet at the formers head, so this steam roller would crush each of them from feet to head. These brothers and sister were each and everyone rolled over by this steamroller, none of them rejected Christ, but each of them resisted the enemy and they held firm to their faith, and they did not ignore this warning from scripture. They gave their lives in faith to Christ and the lost their lives for that faith, but they never once failed to resist the devil, and they are to be an example for us today.
Through out it all these believers lived and died these three verses. Now it is for each and every one of us to remember and to cling to this truth, and it comes from Christ Himself.
He said in Mark 8:34-36, 34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and (A)take up his cross and follow Me. 35"For (B)whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
So clearly, lets keep our focus on the eternal, lets not loose site that we have an enemy, and he is prowling at our heals, even at this very moment. Lastly, hold fast to the truth that we must be quickly willing to give up our very lives for Christ and His Holy Word, and for our brothers and sisters in Christ, for Heaven and Hell are in the balance. Do not forfeit your soul for the passing things of this world but cling tightly to your treasure, which is in Heaven!



©Copyright 2006 Forgiving Grace Ministries

Believers and Followers

Everyday we need to ask ourselves this question. If Jesus would do all that He did for you and me, then why is it that we have such a hard time doing what He did for use?
Now, understand I am not saying that you or I need to go and be crucified, but I am saying that we do need to DIE and do it everyday. We should die more and more each and every day to this world and become more alive in the spirit to the Kingdom of GOD.

That will require more than belief, it will require us to follow. I know for most of us we have heard the old saying that “Even Satan is a Believer” In scripture we see in Mark 1:23-26 and in Mark 5:1-13 that even the unclean spirits, the demons and in Luke 4:1-13 and also in Matthew 4:1-11 we are told that even the devil had his time confronting Jesus. The main difference here is that the demons and unclean spirits just as Satan they all believe, in fact we see that they know that Jesus is the Son of God. However Satan just as he did with Eve in the Garden, brings or attempts to bring doubt, even to Jesus by saying “If you ARE the Son of God” not once or even twice but three times we are told that Satan poses this question to Christ and each time Jesus responds “it is written”.

So we must be very careful for we are not the only believers, as Jesus called each of His disciples He used a very intentional phrase, “come, follow me” this is our clue to how we should respond. We all know that Jesus said that we must believe, confess our sins, repent of our sins, and be baptized. In our act of obedience, to His call for us to “follow”, we must remember Jesus said to pick up your cross and follow Him.

So what then, will you stand with Satan and his legions and just believe or will you “Follow” Jesus? See it is not about what you have, who you hang out with, what style you had, life eternal is in the balance. We must wake up every day and enter into the presence of the Lord and seek His will, we must spend time in His Word, which is the way we learn what He expects from us, in attitude, action, word, and thought. We also get a clear picture of His overwhelming love for His children.

This is not a life for the weak, for those who just want an easy life or a life of blessing. You will suffer, you will struggle, you will lose friends, and people who today say they love you will…well let’s just say that their love might not be a selfless or unconditional love. You will have to have a selfless love, be willing to give all you have and do so if needed. It may, someday soon even be required of you, your very life. Can you live a life for a cause greater than yourself? Are you your greatest cause?



If you are already a believer and or a follower, let me ask you… Will you recant; will you save your life in that day, when you are asked to deny Christ or DIE?
Well Christian, will you take the bullet or let the guillotine drop, will you praise God to the very end? Will you sing the praise of The Lord Jesus with your final dying breath? These are some seriously heavy questions to ask yourself.

Life is easy when you are blind to the truth of God. However, there is no joy when you are blind to His eternal truths. This world can sell you happiness and you can buy it everyday, but your life will still be required someday, oh how bleak a life without Christ, for each moment is fleeting, just as smoke rising from a fire. The fire is this world and it consumes your very soul and the smoke your life lived and wasted in vain.

Defeat is without end, Satan its ruler, no way of escape, except one. Victory, Christ is there and He is its leader, He will subdue defeat in His return. You must choose now my dear friend, do not delay, In Christ, death has no victory, but alas, without Jesus death has a mighty sting, one that will last an eternity.

Jesus will be called upon to separate the sheep from the goats, the believers from the followers, Jesus said, “In that day many will say to me LORD LORD did we not prophesy in your name, did we not heal and cast out demons in you name, and I will say to them away from Me, I never knew you”.

I ask you, are you just a believer?

Butterflies

For the last, five to six weeks my family and I have been raising “Painted Lady Butterflies”, when my wife brought them home, the small caterpillars were in plastic cups with a large disk of brownish yellow “food” at the bottom of the cup. We set the cups on top of the cabinets and let nature take its course.
Now, I know that this seems like a very odd subject and where and how does it pertain to you and me, and to GOD.

As I watched these little worms each day they would be bigger and bigger just like the directions said, as it is with us, we come into this world little and as we are nourished by the food that is given us, and we grow and grow. Within a week to two, they were huge and were now heading off to the top of the cup, to make their new home. In the humans life we also grow until we are no longer able to stay at the bottom of our world, so we too are off, to build our own home. We leave home and build a life and a home and as it is designed, we too are off to the top.

Now hanging upside-down and the new home tightly woven around them, something amazing begins to take place, this something happens from the inside out, unlike the first part of life. In the butterfly kit there is a “Butterfly Pavilion” just a fancy name for a mesh cage, once put in there, we watched the activity and within another couple of weeks, one by one each new creature began to emerge. In the beginning, they were just worms, small and at the bottom of the cup to larger worms on top, now through the struggle of life to become beautiful and graceful butterflies.

So, in there lies our very essence, oh how dead in our transgression, but worms. We have been born some into good and loving homes while others into abusive homes, but our inward condition just the same. While some are abused, shamed, threatened, beaten, battered and bruised, yet other are lavished in love, the finer things, wonderful treasures, the loving touch of a parent and beautiful heartfelt words, but alas or inward condition is still the same.


Born into the iniquity of one mans sin, and blinded by the world to our inward condition, we set off on our journey of life. We most certainly are fallen and our nature is ever so corrupt. How else could it be, and what else could explain. Life with these butterflies has opened the eye of my heart to really see the plan of GOD for our lives.

Throughout the Bible Scripture tells us of our corrupt nature our inward condition so vile that our GOD the creator of life and the Universe cannot be in our presence. For He is Perfect and dwells in Perfection, and in him there is no sin and no sin can be in his presence. Oh, there in lies the tragedy of our lives and condition, created by Yahweh and not able to be in his presence.

As we begin to understand our relation to this creature, we can see that we in our natural state, our fallen and depraved nature that we too are like the worm. We can hardly consider any other pursuit except that which satisfies our fleshly desire. We claw our way in life from one experience to the next looking and searching for the nourishment that one can only find in Christ.

When thankfully, the day arrives and we begin our walk with Christ, we too put on a new clothing like the caterpillar, we must be tightly woven in the Word and the Flesh and the Blood of Christ. Our relationship with Jesus must now take center stage in our lives and He must be our nourishment. During this time our struggles will be intense, they will in the same stroke be filled with pain and joy, with love and hate, with pride and selflessness, with contempt and compassion, with fear and courage, with peace and rage.

We will struggle against the world and the flesh and he who preservers will be called on that day of judgment to be rewarded. When we look at the outcome from the cocoon of the butterflies, we can see such a wonderful creation, as we too will someday be. We must understand though that it is the struggle that strengthens us for the remainder of our journey.

These butterflies only live two to four weeks and in that time can travel up to one thousand miles, think about it.

Our life is but a vapor, a wisp of smoke to our Lord and our Creator, just as the butterflies life is to us. If not for the struggle of the cocoon, the butterfly could never fulfill its created purpose. Moreover, without our times of trials and temptations we too would never be able to fulfill our God designed purpose.



Father my what a wonderful creation You have made, Lord when I have look intensely into Your creation of this little butterfly, I can se all that You desire for us to be. It is by no mistake that a caterpillar must struggle in tightly woven cocoon and it is no mistake that we too must struggle in the same way, through out daily trials. Oh Lord Your word says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and in that I have no doubt, Lord I desire to give You my all, even though I know that it could never be enough for what You have given me. Father I pray that You would guide me and use me for Your perfect purpose, leave no resistance to Your perfect Will in my heart and use these words to change lives, Father I praise You and thank You in the Name of Jesus, Amen!


Originally written 12/05 Forgiving Grace Ministries

Nourishment for the Soul

Today it is pouring rain outside and I sit here reflecting on my life. Like the rain helps provide nourishment and substance for the soil and the plants, so the rain in our lives also provides nourishment for our very souls.
The troubles, the heartache and pain that we face in the courses of our lives are used for good by GOD.

My dear friends we must each look back over our lives and take inventory and see the dramatic changes that have been made by and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and furthermore we need to realize that in this the Word of GOD has not only come true but continues to be fulfilled in our lives. The Word of GOD says in Jeremiah 29

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land.”


As we live day by day we all have many fires and floods but just as they provide a new and different landscape in nature, so too will they in our own lives each Endeavour each struggle each loss is a tool that our Lord uses to shape who we are in him!
The lord’s purpose for our lives is so much larger than what any of us can see or even foresee, even in my own life I would never have imagined that the Lord would use me to convey this message to you.
My brothers and sisters we must continue to grow and become more focused on GOD so he can continue to show us our path in life and our mission to impact the Kingdom.

I can speak volumes on adversity and tragedy, the fact that just because I have faith in Jesus Christ and I accepted his gift of salvation, the things of the world have not ceased to come against me, in some case it would seem to the temporal world that my life has gotten worse, but let me say and reassure you that all of that may be true to the lost but one thing holds even more truth, GOD will use all these things to mold and shape our souls so we can bring peace and joy into the lives of those who are lost and to those brothers and sister who are going through difficult times right now.

The word of GOD says we are to be salt and light to a lost world. We must first ourselves by the will and grace of GOD Almighty be transformed into his salt and light. Our nourishment for our souls began the day we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior for on that day, the very hand of GOD planted the seeds that will produce much fruit for his glory.

Matthew 5
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.[2]


My dear friends I wish to leave you with this final thought:

Rejoice in the Lord, know the trouble of this world shall pass and will be used to build the very character of GOD in us. For if we never suffered any challenge any pain or any loss We could never know Jesus, we would never know the joy of a Father who loves us so much and we would never have the peace of the Holy Spirit! My friends and loved ones we would never know true salvation! It is real easy and requires no faith when everything we touch is gold and there is no strife, for true salvation and incredible faith are built during the deepest floods.


Our GOD and Father in heaven I pray to you today that you would use every situation in our lives, from money problems, addictions, depression, anger, whatever the situation, Lord use it all to shape us, to mold our character into that of your son Jesus.
Lord lift each of us as to your will. GOD use us each and everyone to bring Glory to your name, continue to provide nourishment to our souls so that we may truly be the salt and light you desire us to be, by this prayer Lord we confess you are the only one who can provide such nourishment and we have total dependence on you. Lord we thank you for each gift for it is a treasure, let us rejoice in good times and in bad for we know we are in the Potters hands. GOD we ask today that you move us all into your will, for our lives are yours. In the name of Christ we lift this prayer up to you
Amen

Wonderings

Has someone ever called you, naive for your belief in Christ?


Have they ever said that your belief was a crutch?


Far too many times, we hear such antagonistic responses to our faith simply because, as the Word of GOD testified in 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

At the same time such an awesome privilege and an awesome burden, is this amazing journey form death to life everlasting.

Naive as defined in Websters as 1 : marked by unaffected simplicity : ARTLESS, INGENUOUS2 a : deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment;

How amazing is the definition, "deficient in worldly wisdom" coming from the world this is somehow not surprising that we must have their wisdom to be counted among the informed and wise.
My friends I am proud to be naive and I am proud that the children I am raising are going to be naive as well. We should count it as blessing and give thanks each time we are reminded of our simplicity.

Have they ever said that your belief was a crutch?


For, could man alone bear this tremendous weight? You see life as a Christian is not a life with a crutch, but more a life with a burden. It comes with the most awesome burden for our brothers and sisters; when they are in need or are hurting, then we feel that need or hurt as our very own. Now, while most anybody could sympathize with that, even more burdensome is a lost and darkened world that is ruled by evil. These are burdens that no one but a Christian is even capable of bearing, let alone understanding.

This, the heaviest of these burdens in the Christian life, they cannot even begin to grasp. It is plain to see why, that those with the blinders of this world can say and even think these thoughts to be rational.

Very seldom in any discussion, that there is zero accomplished. No matter the conversation, someone will leave it with a little different view than that which they came to the table with.
This is why it so imperative as we go through our days, that we keep the Word of GOD foremost in our hearts and minds and on our very lips.

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Father in all our ways, may we confirm, all Your ways, LORD be it through our lives, with our words and our speech. LORD, from the way we raise your children, that you have entrusted us with, to the Ministries that you are equipping us for. GOD we know that the Christian life is not as easy as this dying world thinks it is, so give us each day the fortitude to bring your light to this world. Father for me, I would much rather carry these burdens with joy and a heart growing toward righteousness than spend one minute without you and your love. LORD GOD Almighty, you are my savior and I pray that I am always obedient to your will and longing to know you more, LORD thirsty for your words and wisdom. It is in the Name of JESUS, I pray Amen!