Right Sacrifices

A sacrifice made in order to gain the love and appreciation of human beings will always result in disappointment. A sacrifice made for love of God will always be rewarded.


Scripture: "Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord" (Psalm 4:5).

A Weapon in God's Hand

You are a weapon in the Lord’s hand, not the other way around.

You are an arrow in His quiver, safe in Him as He carries you, safe in Him if He shoots you forth. Because He is God He never sends you beyond His reach.

It’s an immature perspective to think of God as YOUR weapon. You don’t keep the Almighty Lord like a concealed weapon, ready to be drawn when you are threatened or afraid. He is the Lord. You are His. You belong to Him. Somehow He also, through Jesus and through Holy Spirit Power; through God’s great love…somehow He is also yours. Jesus did change the water to wine at His mother’s request. But the driving perspective of your life needs to be, “Here am I, send me.”

Prioritize Your Time

You may confide to the Lord in detail all that is troubling You. There is no rule or law against pouring out your heart to Him, but you must not stop there. Thus it becomes important to prioritize your time when you come to sit at His feet. “Seek ye first…” (Matthew 6:33). First look at His face; gaze upon His countenance. Heart hurts will be uncovered, yes, but the overwhelming awareness will be of His love and of His grace.

Start Now

If you design a plan with the goal of obtaining physical health for yourself, and follow the letter of your self-made law, you build a security based on false righteousness and self worship.

If you rightly decide that God's love is to be the focus of your life, but then with the intent of creating your own opportunities make a list of your idea of ways that you can serve Him, you once again fall to the deception that you can become righteous through a plan of your own making.

You are to be God's love in the midst of the circumstances in which HE has placed you. Your opportunity to serve the Lord does not wait for some future time in which you plan to be more fit, have more energy, or to have obtained opportunities to serve Him according to your own ideas of what constitutes great deeds for the Lord . Be His voice, His hands, and His heart today, in the circumstances that you are in.

Don't underestimate your Lord. He is more powerful any life decision you have made that you now view as having been "good" or "bad." His is the hand that has guided you to the exact place you find yourself today. Begin now, this instant. Fall back into His arms, and then press forward in His Name.

Scripture: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8).

Crime and Punishment vs. Beauty from Ashes

In the face of hardship, you may feel that you are being punished. This is a common error of reasoning and it occurs because the Lord uses all things for the good of those He loves. The error occurs as you see blessings begin to flow from grief or pain; flawed human logic deduces that the sorrow was inflicted in order to bring the blessing. Because He is able to use even painful events to work His will and to remind you in whom your faith rests, you assume that you are being reprimanded for some wrong. This is not so. He knows your heart. He knows you. The Lord’s ability to bring beauty from ashes does not reflect upon your weakness, but upon His strength.

Scripture: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpse" (Romans 8:28).

"and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting for the display of the Lord's splendor" (Isaiah 61:3).

The Lord is With You

When your emotions are in turmoil it is difficult to act upon what you know to be true rather than railing out at others from grief or fear. You may rest because the Lord is your help. You may release fear because you know that He is with you and He will help you.

Do not be afraid, Little One. The Lord has not departed from you. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart...(Psalm 73:26)". This means that although your flesh may become weak, that by the power of the Holy Spirit in you that your flesh will be strengthened. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit..." (Zechariah 4:6).

Beloved, He is sorry for your pain, but think of how you feel when a child expresses great anguish over a wound that is not very deep. The Lord knows that your heart hurts, and He is with you--do you hear? God is with you! The Lord makes all the difference. Human beings can't destroy you when He is present in you. This wound does not go deep not because it is not grievous, but because He is. Don't look at the hurt, look at Him.

Do not be afraid to lay down, the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid of lack of sleep or even of no sleep; He will provide for you. Do not be afraid for your loved ones, everything is in God's control. Trust Him. It comes down to this, trust Him.

Scripture: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" (Psalm 118:8-9).

The Work of Our Hands

The Lord will not allow you to become an accessory to another’s life and ministry at the expense of your own, but you must not give way to fear or strike out in anger.

It is not entirely possible for another human being to comprehend your perspective and to understand your burdens (or you, theirs), but the Lord is able to work in your relationships through His love. It is possible to love while simultaneously refusing to sacrifice your anointed work and your anointed rest.

Other people are not able to rob you of blessings that God has ordained. No one can deliver out of God's hand (Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 43:13). Do not be afraid. The Lord's purposes for your life will be fulfilled (Psalm 138:8).

Scripture: "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).

Blessed Brokenness

The heartbreaking compassion that you feel on behalf of your fellow human beings is not an indication that something is wrong with you. You are who you are because of who the Lord is through you. You have seen with His eyes and have spoken with His words; you have reached out to others with His compassion.

The Lord desires you to rejoice in this blessed gift of sharing His heart. Do not view this as a mandate to serve but rather as an opportunity to bless. This is opportunity, not threat; blessing, not burden. When your heart melts, when your compassion flows, when you reach out with Holy hands, you gladden His heart.

The power that has fueled the acts of compassion you have committed in His name has been His love being expressed through your hands, your heart, your eyes. When you meet Him face to face you will find that the dross has been swept away by the Holy Blood and that those acts of love will stand.

The question is not how you can keep your heart from breaking, but rather, how you may be broken in a way that glorifies Him.

The Lord spoke this word to me after I watched Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath at Youtube

Scripture: "...this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).

Time Versus Eternity

Ultimately, none of the enemy’s plans succeed, but in the short term we do not yet perceive everything as being under the Lord's control. When a marionette is being pulled into a standing position, there is a moment when a still photograph would show it being neither up nor down. One might conclude that it is falling. Inhabiting time is like looking at a photograph rather than watching a movie. Because you inhabit a specific point on the temporary line of time, you risk drawing inaccurate conclusions when you look at the way things are.

God will help you but first know this. He is with you where you are. He is able to bring about His will despite you, if necessary. All of His promises are good. He has not abandoned you. Do not be afraid.

Scripture: "In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias" (Joel 3:18).

"Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her." Isaiah 48:7.

Just This...

Self imposed discipline kills. Christ centered obedience liberates.

The above was a direct word from the Lord that I've questioned a bit in the weeks since I recorded it here. The word "kills" seemed a little strong. Self-imposed discipline, if I could only attain it, doesn't seem so bad. But this morning (11-4-08) I've found this Scripture:

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" 2 Corinthians 3:6

Now and Later

The freedom that is yours in Christ is engineered by the Holy Spirit, and is manifested through your circumstances here and now. God's blessings are long lasting--they are good now (in the physical world) and they are good later (for all eternity).

Don't be afraid to take God's promises literally, and do not make excuse for Him when the time seems long. All of His promises are good. Watch for their fulfillment and it will become apparent to you that what can be perceived in the corporeal world is a reflection of eternal fact. See God's promises as buds that are blossoming into the reality of your life, the reality that can be perceived with your five senses; understand that your present experience in Christ is supported by an eternity of spiritual truth. It is true that “eye hath not seen” (1 Corinthians 2:9, KJV), but it is also true that “For now we see through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 12:13, KJV). Even the reflections of eternal facts are beautiful, and one can eat and drink of them and be nourished in the physical world. Partake.

Scripture: "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:4 KJV).

Forgiveness

In a crooked way, the ones you blame for your failures are indeed responsible, because it is your unforgiveness toward them that causes you to struggle with obedience to the Lord.

In your efforts to forgive, do not excuse the sin. Do not make excuse for them saying, "Well, obeying the Lord perfectly is impossible. I can't do it, why should I expect them to do it?" This dishonors God. He does not give you anything to do that is too difficult for you. He does not give you anything to do that He will not help you to accomplish. There is no excuse for disobedience. There is only forgiveness.

However, making excuse is not the same as recognizing that all have sinned and fallen short. You are not shocked by the sin, you do not condemn them for it; you recognize that all (including yourself) have sinned. This puts sin in perspective. Their sin is no longer a travesty against you personally; it takes its place as a part of the sin of the world, the sin for which the Son of God had to die. Sin is a tragedy for human beings and a travesty against God. When you begin to feel that the sin of another has been against you personally, you put yourself in front of God and in opposition to your fellow human beings. You must reorient yourself—you are standing side by side with condemned sinners and your only hope, individually and collectively, is grace. You recognize the sin of those on your right and on your left and together you cry out for God’s mercy, together you have received God’s grace through the shed blood of His son, Jesus Christ.

Orient yourself toward the Lord by forgiving those who have hurt you. This will place you a step ahead, out of reach of the biting and devouring behaviors of your fellow sinners.

Fight Head to Heart

The powers and principalities of the air are too strong for you. When you attempt to "turn over a new leaf" you put yourself onto their battlefield. You cannot fight them head to head, stop trying. Fight them head to heart. Your heavenly Father owns your heart. He purchased it through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, and the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead indwells Your heart through the Holy Spirit.

You cannot devise a battle plan that will thwart the enemy's strategies against you. You must operate on a different plane. Those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been given the ability to walk in the Spirit, and in the Spirit your enemies cannot touch you. It is your Holy Spirit fueled love for God that will cause their strongholds to fall.

The Cross has been placed as an immovable sign of absolute victory over the turmoil and grief in your heart.

Scripture: "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross," (Colossians 2:15).

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires," (Romans 8:5).

Mercy, not Sacrifice

Do not make it your aim to do everything “right” or even “righteously". Purpose instead to manifest the Lord's mercy and compassion to those around you. The Lord asks you to be identified with His interests in other people not in order that you may do for them, but so that you may be for Him.

Compassion does not always carry a mandate to perform some action in the physical realm. You have shielded your heart from compassion for those around you because you know that you have no surplus of time or strength for a physical sacrifice of work. You have forgotten the power of prayer. There are very few true intercessors, because intercession is a labor of the heart. There is always time to pray, and the Holy Spirit supplies the strength.

Scripture: "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).

Faith First

Self-castigation will not have the effect you desire; you cannot draw near to God by reviling yourself. You must partake of God's mercy rather than pleading for Him to be merciful. He IS merciful; stop begging Him to be what He already is. You do not have to pay penance. You do not have to analyze how you have gotten into your present state. You seem to believe that this analysis is necessary so that you can retrace your steps, but there is no going back. You cannot travel into the past; you cannot "have another go." You can only walk forward from this point in time.

You've come to believe that your heart can be reconciled to God through obedience. This is incorrect. Peace with God is possible only as you partake of the Holy blood of Christ. Obedience is a natural outflow of love for God. Nurture your love for Him and obedience will flow. No program of self-improvement will change your course of healing. God is the one who will heal you. You do not procure healing for yourself; you receive it as a gift.

Set your heart on things above and quit worrying about your circumstances. The day-to-day responsibilities God has allowed will take care of themselves; you cannot affect them either for good or for evil through worriment. Rest in the Lord. He is in your circumstances.

Your circumstances may have eroded your ability to obey, but they have not touched your faith. Obey out of love and gratitude to God, but do not seek to set up for yourself rules in an attempt to earn His favor. You can never come to Him through obedience; you come to Him through acceptance. Remember this one principle and your life will become one of unadulterated joy and freedom in Him.

Scripture: "...from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Error Made by Job's Friends

Do you really think God to be so harsh a taskmaster that He would punish you instead of healing you? Do you expect to meet with condemnation rather than acceptance despite the Holy blood, the forgiven sin, the free pardon of grace?

Remember the error made by Job's friends, and do not fall to the same deception. Each of Job's counselors analyzed Job in order to discover some sin or shortcoming that had caused his misfortune. Their conclusions were wrong although their counsel was good. You have fallen to a similar misconception.

Physical pain is not punishment. Give up your guilt; its stain is cleansed by the blood of Christ. Is there any stain of guilt that God cannot cleanse through the blood of Jesus Christ? Is anything too difficult for Him? Is there any sinner who, having confessed and asked forgiveness in Jesus' Name, is denied? Give up your self-condemnation. You are not weak, you are strong in Him.

Remember: make no plea but the blood of Jesus. No effort of yours can cleanse or heal. He is your healer. He has purchased your salvation. He is with you wherever you go. The path before you is not too difficult for you because the Almighty God Himself will help you.

He Answers Us With Awesome Deeds

When Jesus says, "Come unto me," how often you misunderstand.

You believe that He is after an obedience that will entail self-sacrifice and drudgery.

Look into His eyes, Beloved, and see the truth; your Lord desires your love. Worldly escapes provide suppression of your fears, but in God's presence you will find your fears calmed.

Will you run away? Or would you prefer to stand in His presence and watch in awe as He speaks peace over the storm tossed waves?

Scripture: "Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior... who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil..." Psalm 65:4, 5a, 7

Fall Back, Press On

Dear One, you do not recognize the full extent of your fears, or the fact that you are drawing erroneous conclusions based on those fears. Your goal has become to reach a place of safety through hard work and human effort. You cannot do it; and even if you were to succeed, your thought patterns would be just as much in error as they are now, but on the other end of the spectrum. You would only move from a perspective of false fear to one of false confidence. Place your trust in the Lord instead.

Fall back into His arms, but press on toward the goal of oneness with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence within you.

Scripture: Psalm 138

Look into His Eyes

Picture a science fiction movie starring a hero who is endowed with super powers of healing. His beloved is in great danger and the only way he can save her from certain death is to release her to fall into a machine that will damage her body and spirit. He releases her to this fate only because he knows with certainty that she will come out on the other side, and that he will be there to catch her. He knows that he is able to heal her so completely that even the memory of the pain will evaporate as she looks into his eyes. At the end of the film the camera closes in on our hero’s face as he holds his beloved close, and the compassion and love in his eyes causes every female heart in the theater to swoon with longing. Oh to be loved like this!

This imaginary movie plot is an allegory of your life on the face of this earth.

Beloved, you have walked through fires of grief and the waters of rejection for Christ’s sake, but He has faced death for you; do not fear, you will not be overcome. The intimacy of looking into His eyes overrides the crippling influences of the world’s devil-driven machinery of sin.

Scripture: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever” (1 Peter 5:10).

God is Just

Anger toward a beloved enemy is too dangerous for you to carry; you will inflict and receive harm if you do not cast this care upon the Lord. When Jesus was mocked and scorned, He made no reply but "...entrusted himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23).

If you give vent to your pain, you will then endure additional hurt akin to participating in the surgical removal of your own heart without benefit of anesthesia. Roll your burden onto the Lord. That which Christ accepts from you as a burden also becomes a case in the court of God's perfect justice.

Love is the more excellent way to cope with the searing pain of having been rejected. When Jesus was wronged He made no reply, but stretched out His arms in love. He took upon Himself the full burden of the sins of those who had rejected Him.

He will bear this burden for you. The success of your ministry, hope for your future, and the state of your heart do not depend upon on whether or not other human beings obey God. The fulfillment of God's promises arrive through the power of the Holy Spirit; "No one can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

Scripture: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. Psalm 57:1-2

Don't Focus on Your Sin

Dear One, you just begin to comprehend that you need not fear the sins of other human beings, but you still make an exception for your own sins.

Christ's death on the Cross has encompassed even your sins, Child, even yours. Your shortcomings will not diminish the power God's message through you. Do not be afraid of other human beings, and do not be afraid of yourself.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...

“Do not say, ‘I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

"Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth…”

“…I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.

“…They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:5a, 7-9, 12b, 19).

Don’t set a higher standard for your own behavior than you set for others; this is a form of pompousness. Do you see that pride could creep in cloaked as false humility? “I am a Christian and so I must be more perfect than you.”

You think to stay a step ahead of those who might see your shortcomings. You are afraid that if they see your faults that they will discount the Lord's words spoken through you. This fear of being judged causes you to attempt to analyze yourself in order to find your own faults so that you can make excuse.

You can’t do it. No one can analyze themselves properly or completely. It’s like attempting to focus on an object that is one millimeter from your eye—you can’t see clearly. Don’t try. Place your focus on the Lord, be tolerant of others because you know of the grace in which you walk, because you know that your sins have required the death of the Son of God…and do not forget His resurrection. He is not always dying (He died once, for all), but He is always living (He lives forever). Christ's death is eternal fact, but it is the resurrection that brings victory.

Christ died for you, and He lives for you. The death made the life possible; the seed brings forth the flower, and the flower brings forth the fruit. You cannot eat a seed and be nourished; it is the fruit that brings health and strength. Stop eating the “seed” of His death and partake freely of the fruit of new life that the Holy death provided for you.

Now is not the time for mourning; death is in the past for the Christian and you need fear it no more. Let the memory of the grief and horror recede and let the New Life begin. Sin has lost its power! You are being renewed day by day; you can choose to focus (or attempt to focus) upon the remnants of sin that remain, or you can see and rejoice in the signs of new life.

Scripture: "'Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, becasue you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:55-58).

God is (was, will be) With You

Because you are coping well, you sometimes come to believe that your life is easy when compared to that of others. Your life is not easy, Dear One. You have learned to walk through the valley.

Do not repine. If the years were rolled back and you had the opportunity to make your life decisions once more, the outcome would be the same. You would do it again, not only for the sake of those who will follow you, but also for Christ's sake. And in the end, the great blessing that will rest on your shoulders because of Him will be enough. You would do it again. The Lord knew this, even as you walked into your life circumstances with faith but innocent of understanding. The responsibility for the outcomes of your decisions rests with God alone; but He knows you so completely that He knew what you would do if you had been in possession of all the information and understanding that will one day be yours. He directed you, and you listened; He led, and you followed. Great reward will be yours because of the faith and obedience you exhibited as you walked into the circumstances in which you now live; He has seen, He has blessed; He will bless, He is blessing.

God is with you right where you are today.

Scripture: "'Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth" Jeremiah 1:7-9.

Difficult Times

If you are progressing through difficult times, don’t stop
to stare at the barren scenery; it is important to keep
moving forward, to continue to affirm your faith in God,
and to continue to do the task He places closest
to you.  Keep doing the next thing.  There is no rest in
the Valley of the Shadow of Death but that which is
found in the Lord."

Find your rest in Him.  There are days of peace ahead. 

Not in Part, but the Whole

One of God’s greatest sorrows over your life is the fact that you have learned to stifle your joy as well as your grief. There is a barrier of grief and pain that prevents the expression of the extravagance of love that is in your heart toward the Lord.

You have feared burdening the Son of God with the whole of your sin and grief; you do not want to cause Him additional pain, you do not want to pierce Holy hands with the full weight of your sorrows. But Dear Child, you have found to your distress that you are unfit to bear the burden. You are not able to bear the pain and to also refrain from the sin that is engendered by that pain. Withholding grief from the Son causes Him pain through the grief-fueled anger and bitterness that you then exhibit toward other people. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

You must cast your cares upon Him, because He is strong enough to bear them. He is the Holy and blemish free Lamb of God, the only one who is worthy to bear the full weight of your sin. Release it to Him.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

From the hymn "It is Well With My Soul" by Horatio Spafford, 1873 Public domain

Scripture: “Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4a, 5b).

The Cure

Fear has to do with punishment, and so disobedience feeds fear. Thus, obedience is a partial antidote for the poison of fear. Trusting in God's love completes the cure.

Scripture: " There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love" ( 1 John 4:18).

Are You Ready to Obey?

Dear One, you treat direct words from the throne of God as options, not as commands. It is not in your best interests now for God to tell you what to do, because you still are not in a mood to obey. He will not instruct you until your heart is obedient, because He does not want to lead you to disobedience. How are you choosing to escape your emotional deficit? The Lord is the lover who has beckoned and has been ignored. You have hurt His heart.

No penance is necessary; Jesus has paid the price. Only turn your face toward Him. He is your Lord and Your Savior. He is to be the overwhelming love song of your life. You do not need to fear laying down the burdens that you carry so diligently for your loved ones; let them go. I am not saying that you are to abdicate your responsibilities; you know that. But let go the weight of responsibility for their obedience or lack of it. And do not make your loved ones feel that if they need your support in prayer that they must then pay homage to you.

Those who believe that they bear the responsibility to work salvation themselves have no need of God. Remember Saul’s sin. Samuel had promised him deliverance and instructed him to wait, but Saul took matters into his own hands (1 Samuel 13). In a stunning lack of faith in God to save, Saul placed himself on an equal footing with a priest of God.

The Lord has heard your cries. He knows where you are and has made provision for you. You do not have to work freedom on your own behalf. Do not be afraid,
no door has closed. “I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut,” (Revelation 3:8).

Scripture: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands” (Psalm 138:7).

Give God Time

You are not wrong to enumerate your troubles as you pray, and you are not inaccurate in your analysis; but you have left the Lord out of the equation. You have learned that you must not walk forward in blind faith if it can be avoided, not because your faith will not be rewarded, but because blind faith sometimes plucks a fruit before it is ripened. Allow God time to work in your mind, heart and circumstances, and you will see the fruit of promise ripen. You have gathered green fruit, Dear One, but by God's promise the fruit will ripen and you will be blessed. The harvest cannot always be timed perfectly but God's promises will without fail develop into fruit that you can eat and by which you can be nourished. You will find the future sweet. You are at the threshold of that time of sweetness now; there will be a season of fulfillment.

He is Able to Keep Us From Falling

This morning the Lord has been teaching me from the book of Jude. “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11).

Cain was jealous and committed murder out of that feeling of inadequacy. His fury over the fact that his brother’s offering was accepted and his own was not became murderous.

The warning for me here is not to “get even” when someone makes me feel inadequate, but to take these emotions to the Lord. And a secondary warning is to bring appropriate sacrifices to the Lord in the first place, and not sacrifices of my own choosing.

Balaam was a prophet for hire. This warning has to do with the avoidance of becoming preoccupied with the medium or “the art” of writing about Truth rather than being wholly occupied with The Truth Himself.

Korah rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron and was destroyed.

“And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Jude 1:6)

Here is the Lord’s guidance to me regarding Jude 1:6:

In your own home the Lord has granted you authority. This authority is connected to the humility of longsuffering. Should you become prideful and decide to place yourself above those whom God has entrusted to you; should you decide to abandon these heart responsibilities by distancing yourself either physically or emotionally, disaster will result. Pride is a danger as you receive recognition for the ministry with which God has entrusted you. Pray to be kept from pride. Be cleansed of anger as well; do not blame human beings for the circumstances God has allowed. Human beings can’t stand under your accusations but the Lord accepts into the vast calm of the limitless sea of His love the agony of your heart’s cries.

All your fresh springs are in the Lord. He is not your pacifier, He is the Lord; He is your God and your strength. At times you beg Him to heal your wounds, but instead, He strengthens you to stand up and to walk despite your injuries. Either way, He is the Lord of your life. Trust Him. Give Him the honor and praise due His Name.

“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1:25).

Focus on the Lord

When you are upset or embarrassed you tend to ask the Lord to make you feel better. God does not "make" you feel anything. You are in control of your emotions. You choose what to feel by the things upon which you choose to focus your attention. You can rehash the embarrassment of mistakes you have made and you can use your imagination to embellish the supposed reactions of those who witnessed your humiliation. Or, you can focus upon the Lord and trust Him to perfect that which concerns you.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He does not instill emotion in your heart by supernatural means: rather, your heart responds to Him with love and gratitude because you are His. Focus on the Lord and the silly little faux pas of everyday life will assume their proper place. Entrust yourself into His hands. You belong to Him. Do not be afraid of what human beings think of you. Instead, remember His thoughts toward you. His thoughts toward you are love.

Scripture: "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands" (Psalm 138:8 KJV).

The Lord's Agenda

The Lord is your help, but you are to be about His Work. The Almighty God will not facilitate your heart's plans unless your heart is aligned with His. "My food...is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:37). God is indeed with you. Only stay open to Him and do not fix in your mind an agenda of your own.

Don’t press forward in the strength of your own determination to make for yourself a good reputation. You sometimes plunge forward in an attempt to right what is wrong. Fall back into the Lord’s arms. He has worked in memories, in hearts, and in minds. He has vindicated you. He is vindicating you now. He will vindicate you.

All those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are chosen by God. You are being raised up to fulfill the purposes for which He created you.

…what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God. Isaiah 49:4

The Problem of Physical Pain

Although the Lord allows you to forget the sensation of physical pain, shock over the intensity of suffering you have endured remains. God has blessed you with great blessing because of the pain you have endured. Not only in spite of it, not only through it, but because of it. The flames did not set you ablaze. Your human love would spare those you love the pain that brings blessing. God's love and wisdom sometimes allows them this privilege. Do not repine (Webster: feel or express dejection or discontent).

The reason that God allowed His Son to suffer was not so that He could gain blessing, although Jesus was indeed blessed through the pain. Christ died that you might live. The pain was a by-product of the process of dying.

Pain by itself holds no blessing: self-mutilators are in bondage to the enemy. But the physical pain that occurs on the path to Glory is used to shape and to form according to God's Will, to further fit you for the Kingdom. Do not fear pain. The Lord is with you in it. And do not suffer undue grief over past pain. God has seen you through it.

Scripture: Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. Philippians 1:19 NIV

Material Wealth

You cannot compete on the world's playing field and win; your heart isn’t in it. You do not really believe that money and possessions are an accurate measure of worth, and so you will never be truly competitive in this arena. If you had a million dollars in your own name—or five million dollars—you would not be ‘out from under’ the type of oppression that you fear. You would not spend your money as ‘they’ would, and so you would still be vulnerable to judgments. The fear of being judged is the true oppression here; the bitter hurts of having been weighed and measured and found lacking still corrupt your heart.

And now I will show you the most excellent way (1 Cor. 13)...Love is a strategy of war, if you wish to think of it in that way. It is a weapon the enemy does not possess.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2 15-17

Obedience Cancels Out Fear

A byproduct of obedience to God is freedom from the idea that physical infirmity is punishment for disobedience. Disciplining the body for the sake of health has some reward, but disciplining the body in order to hear God’s voice more clearly reaps eternal reward. Your physical health (or lack of it) is a gift from God. Belief, trust, and obedience to the Lord lead to peace of mind and heart regardless of the state of the body.

Scriptures: For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8 NIV

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

No Regrets

Do not suffer remorse. Repentance is of the Lord, but remorse is not His tool unless it is of the sort that leads to repentance. Remorse by itself, apart from repentance, is a bitter brew. Do not partake of it.

Scripture: ...I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way...2 Cor. 7:9 NIV

Look Ahead

The Lord knows the path you’ve traveled. He knows of your pain, of your remorse, and your sorrows; those that have been self-inflicted and those that pierced your heart as wounds inflicted by others. His love and His compassion are yours and you belong to Him. Do not be afraid of the path before you; blessing lies ahead. Learn to wait upon the Lord. Learn to trust in Him even though you cannot see the prize. He will provide for you. Only do not flirt with evil; it has no part of you, and you do not belong to it.

God knows your heart. Read the message to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13. God will vindicate you, but first you must step out of His way. You impede the Holy Spirit’s work when you attempt to be judge and jury of your fellow human beings; this is not your job. You will make yourself a menace to others, and this is not God’s will. He desires that you be well-loved and well-respected. There comes a time when those you seek to correct have a better hope of making a turn-around without you dogging their steps. Withdraw and allow God time to work in the memories and in the thought processes of those you seek to change; God can remake memories. He is with you. Allow Him to guide your footsteps in a different direction. Blessings are ahead, and if you will give God time and space to work, blessings are behind as well. God is above time and space. He can literally remake the past. But in order for Him to do this regenerative work, you must step aside.

Scripture: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

Prince or Pauper?

The searing pain of a blow to the heart can cause you to question yourself. You may feel that you are holding your wounds too closely, or that you are brandishing and cherishing the ways in which you have been hurt. You may even allow yourself to be convinced that you are somehow to blame for the degree of pain that you have experienced. The Lord disagrees with this assessment! You were in distress. He has been your Savior. The fact of your injury is real, but the Lord has delivered you out of this distress. Now you are angry that you ever were in distress at all! What more do you want your Heavenly Father to do for you? He has delivered you.

You desire vindication and independence. Having suffered previously, you seek to protect yourself against further pain. God allowed suffering in the past and you did not understand why. Not understanding, you fear that you will have to suffer again. This perspective of fear blended with a desire for vindication is the disease that causes the servant who becomes the mistress of the house to be a menace to herself and to others (Proverbs 30:21-23). The cure is to allow God to change your perspective. Were you a slave? Or were you royalty in slave’s clothing? Were you enslaved by others? Or did you choose to bow to God’s will and His way in faith believing, as an undercover agent assumes an identity for the sake of the mission? Choose your perspective.

The Lord is your Vindicator. A day will soon come when those who have caused you pain will fall at your feet and acknowledge that you have been loved and that you have been chosen. You are now and always have been a child in the Father’s house. Walk with confidence. View yourself as the precious and chosen child of the King that you are. This perspective will enable you to respond with the generosity of God’s mercy to those who will one day serve you.

Scripture: I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Rev. 3:9 NIV