You fret because you know you are not what you should be, but please don't forget this is the very reason Jesus came. Instead of simmering with resentful angst because you fall short, choose to humbly rejoice because Jesus has bridged the gap. Just as you are, this moment, you are saved. Your predominant emotion should be that of relief. Instead, you continue to plot ways to appear good enough to have earned your own salvation. And make no mistake, Child; 99% of your upset has to do with appearances. You are humiliated by the imperfection that is apparent for the world to see. This is the disgrace you dread. You desire to appear righteous with a righteousness your own. No, do not build a case in your own defense; you are not the sole exception to the rule that there is no righteousness apart from God.
You act as though Jesus' blood has covered everyone else but you. You've justified this desire as being valid because of the difficult times you survived in childhood, but your righteousness, the only righteousness possible for you, rests entirely in the Lord. As you participate in the divine nature, His righteousness becomes yours. He will not allow you to discipline your body for the sake of outward appearances. The Lord will not allow the pursuit of righteousness for any reason other than a desire for oneness with Him.
As God allows you to make progress along the road of righteousness, you MUST NOT take glory unto yourself. You will become bitter. Don’t you see this is what happens? When one’s own efforts earn a positive outcome that is favorable in the eyes of the world, bitterness results. Effort nets accomplishment, accomplishment wins worldly favor, and pride (the pride of Nebuchadnezzar) grows, cutting off relationship with God. Now needy, the prideful person condemns the lesser humans who are not adequately meeting his/her needs. Finally, bitterness takes root, bitterness because “I am worth so much and have done so much and these peons do not love me as I deserve.”
The only cure for terminal self-centeredness is to abide in the Lord. Let "To God be the Glory" become your heartfelt anthem and your battle cry. There is no other path to perfection; this is the only road that will lead you straight into His arms.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Response to Injustice from Beloved Enemies
You feel guilt over your responses to each of your loved ones today. Please acknowledge that your injuries are real. The Lord does not require that you respond in a perfect manner to the injustices you bear before He will support you and love you through them.
Read Psalm 37 and remember "the wicked" can represent your beloved enemies on a day when they are not flowing with the Lord's will; it is not wrong to recognize wrong in those you love. In fact, the more negative and harmful approach is to sublimate your hurt and to refuse to acknowledge that you have been wronged. Where there is no acknowledgement of injury no grace of forgiveness can be extended to those who have caused you harm.
You are wise to utilize caution; if you were to pray God's wrath upon the heads of your beloved enemies you would cause great harm. God's people are not to curse one another, and so let love rule your prayers as you extend to them the same grace you have received: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
You have stumbled through a sinful response to sin that was done unto you. Receive God's forgiveness now, and extend it to those beloved enemies who caused you harm.
Scripture: "If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand" (Psalm 37:23-24).
Sunday, December 11, 2011
For Those Who Believe
You are on dangerous ground when you view the enemy’s work and then take the Lord to task for it. There is a flaw—and it is a huge flaw—in your logic. All things come by God's hand to those who belong to Him; to those who have professed faith in Him. For this age, the evil that occurs outside the fold of the Most Holy God belongs to the enemy. You belong to the Lord; you are God's own, bought with a price. For you to suffer fear for yourself in response to reports of evil in the world hurts His heart; do you not know of the power of His protective love? The Holy Spirit dwells within you and in-breathes your prayers for your loved ones, the same power that raised Christ from the dead in you, around you, protecting you, guiding you and yours. Do not be afraid.
Friday, November 4, 2011
The Tyranny of "Ought To"
God's children ever desire to prove themselves in ways He has not asked, and the proving weakens them for the battles He would have them to fight. It is common to achieve clean closets while leaving the issues of a dirty heart unaddressed.
You suffer guilt from your disobedience to the Lord, but your resentment (rebellion's slightly less toxic cousin) prevents you from submitting to His will. And so you place a rule of your own over your head which becomes a law you cannot keep, the law of "ought to." I ought to...clean the garage, organize my finances, lose weight... The tyranny of the "ought to's" will rule your life apart from the obedience that will allow you to abide in the Lord's grace.
Scripture: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).
Monday, October 31, 2011
Dieting and Legalism
You are being strengthened toward the only diet plan that will truly work for you, and that is moment by moment abiding and moment by moment obedience. You don’t have to discipline yourself; your challenge is not one of self-discipline. It is nearly the opposite; it is a challenge of falling back into the Lord's arms, a release of your will into His hands. You do not have to tame your will, you need to release it. Release your right to yourself; practice releasing your right to yourself, and watch and see what God will do.
If the Lord were to allow you permanent success through your own efforts, you would acquire the inaccurate belief that your liberation arrived because you followed your own rule (or that of a diet plan). With that belief would come judgment toward those who do not also follow your rule. This is the tyranny of legalism, which enslaves not only those who believe in it but also everyone who has the misfortune to come into contact with that person. Pity the one who is loved by a person who suffers the sin of legalism.
If the Lord were to allow you permanent success through your own efforts, you would acquire the inaccurate belief that your liberation arrived because you followed your own rule (or that of a diet plan). With that belief would come judgment toward those who do not also follow your rule. This is the tyranny of legalism, which enslaves not only those who believe in it but also everyone who has the misfortune to come into contact with that person. Pity the one who is loved by a person who suffers the sin of legalism.
The way to be truly thankful for the food you eat is to stop taking for yourself and start receiving from God's hand.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Take the Grace Path
The Lord is always with you. You will never be able to obey so perfectly that your path to Him is cleared by obedience. It will always be grace that clears the path before you by the blood of Christ. Do not try to approach Him in any other way. It is not when you fail to obey that you become discontent and frustrated, it is when you try to gain access to God by any path other than grace. Take the grace path and all will be well.
Scripture: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—" (Ephesians 2:8).
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Power of God's Love
Since the beginning of time creation has been pulled toward sin and decay. Jesus came from Heaven to interrupt this inexorable, irresistible, inevitable power that came against God's most precious and beloved heart of hearts; humankind. The power that sent Him was love: steadfast, unalterable, powerful, love.
“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4, KJV). Place your faith in the love (God IS love, remember) that had the power to overcome the power of Hell. Whether you believe or not, God’s love will win out, has won out. But you will save yourself and those you love much suffering (between now and the end of time) if you will flow with His love now.
The ones who cause you pain are victims of sin. Victims are to be pitied and released, not condemned. “Don’t blame the victim.”
Pray for them and refrain from casting blame upon them. Defend them from the judgment of others if need be. Trust the Lord to work in their minds and hearts, to reshape memories, to help them to see clearly. Love precedes liberation. Love is the key that opens the jail cell door.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Come Unto Me
Open your heart and mind to the Lord!
You will gain nothing by grappling with your problems apart from the enlightenment that only the Holy Spirit can bring, and the Holy Spirit is not stirred up within you by struggle, but by praise.
Don’t be afraid of your pain. If death were as close as you fear, there would be no need to store sustenance for the winter to come. Your strength and help come from the Lord; abide in Him. Let your roots run so deeply that you are able to withstand cold, storms, or drought.
The Lord will exchange your weariness for strength; come unto Him!
Scripture: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
You will gain nothing by grappling with your problems apart from the enlightenment that only the Holy Spirit can bring, and the Holy Spirit is not stirred up within you by struggle, but by praise.
Don’t be afraid of your pain. If death were as close as you fear, there would be no need to store sustenance for the winter to come. Your strength and help come from the Lord; abide in Him. Let your roots run so deeply that you are able to withstand cold, storms, or drought.
The Lord will exchange your weariness for strength; come unto Him!
Scripture: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Saturday, September 3, 2011
How to Think About Death
Sometimes those who are the most spiritually perceptive are the most prone to fear. You see and sense spiritual truths you cannot completely understand, and apart from a steadfast focus upon the Lord, you fall to fear.
Let go your fear of death. As Jesus told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” so the Lord tells you, “You’ll only pass through shadow, and into light again.”
Death is a passageway. Stop thinking of death as a different level of consciousness; it is like walking through a door. You will still be aware, you will still be you. Death is not like anesthesia. There is nothing of paralysis, constriction, or altered consciousness about death. Almost the opposite is true, death is a freeing process that delivers you to new life.
Death is somewhat like falling asleep, but for the Christian, death does not entrap, it releases. The distorted awareness and paralysis of anesthesia are responsible for the fears you harbor now. Let go this misconception that death is like anesthesia. It is not.
The Valley of the Shadow is a passageway to be traversed, not a place to set up camp. God's children do not linger in the valley. In the same way that a baby being born is pushed down the birth canal and then delivered, death is only the passageway between this world and the next; and the Lord is with you. Dying is sometimes as simple as stepping across a threshold.
Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" Hebrews 2:14-15
Let go your fear of death. As Jesus told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” so the Lord tells you, “You’ll only pass through shadow, and into light again.”
Death is a passageway. Stop thinking of death as a different level of consciousness; it is like walking through a door. You will still be aware, you will still be you. Death is not like anesthesia. There is nothing of paralysis, constriction, or altered consciousness about death. Almost the opposite is true, death is a freeing process that delivers you to new life.
Death is somewhat like falling asleep, but for the Christian, death does not entrap, it releases. The distorted awareness and paralysis of anesthesia are responsible for the fears you harbor now. Let go this misconception that death is like anesthesia. It is not.
The Valley of the Shadow is a passageway to be traversed, not a place to set up camp. God's children do not linger in the valley. In the same way that a baby being born is pushed down the birth canal and then delivered, death is only the passageway between this world and the next; and the Lord is with you. Dying is sometimes as simple as stepping across a threshold.
Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" Hebrews 2:14-15
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
What You Can Change
You can’t correct what is wrong in anyone but yourself, and even that project requires the Almighty God’s help! You could do a fairly accurate analysis of what is amiss in those you love, but what is the point? You do not have the tools to put to rights what is wrong. It is much more expedient for you to pray for them and to yield to the Lord's correcting influence in your own life. Your example and your prayers will combine to create the most powerful force for change that is possible for one human being to exert over another, because you will not be exerting force at all; but will become a cleaner vessel through which the Holy Spirit's powerful influence can flow.
Scripture: "Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. 'I'll do the judging,' says God. 'I'll take care of it'" (Romans 12:17-19, the Message).
Scripture: "Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. 'I'll do the judging,' says God. 'I'll take care of it'" (Romans 12:17-19, the Message).
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
A Chosen Servant of Christ
Note: Here at "Just the Boldfaced Print," I am careful to record as purely as I'm able only the Holy Spirit directed guidance the Lord provides to me. I seek not to muddy the waters with my own thoughts and feelings; but to be a vessel for His words. In this way, because of the Holy Spirit's unique and powerful ability to speak to many hearts at once with living and active words that become custom tailored to each need, most entries recorded here are for every believer. The following entry, however, is addressed to those who have made it their life's work to accept God's anointing as writers. A Christian scribe is one who opens his or her heart to the Holy Spirit's guidance, and labors to put the Lord's thoughts into words for the edification of this generation. This entry is addressed to the Lord's scribes, but with very little editing can also apply to every member of Christ's body by replacing the word "scribe" with whatever unique anointing God has given you. "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (1 Corinthians 12:11).
For every age scribes are chosen who will reveal the portion of God's word most needed for the people of that generation. You are a chosen scribe. Do not either overestimate or underestimate your own value to those who will receive your words; the Lord's words through you.
Always remember that you are of inestimable worth to God, apart from any work you may perform on His behalf.
Scripture: "And he said to them, 'Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.'" (Matthew 13:52, ESV).
"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Romans 12:3).
For every age scribes are chosen who will reveal the portion of God's word most needed for the people of that generation. You are a chosen scribe. Do not either overestimate or underestimate your own value to those who will receive your words; the Lord's words through you.
Always remember that you are of inestimable worth to God, apart from any work you may perform on His behalf.
Scripture: "And he said to them, 'Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.'" (Matthew 13:52, ESV).
"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Romans 12:3).
Monday, July 18, 2011
All Have Sinned
Don't be a whitewashed wall. The wall was crumbling away, but the builders painted over its flaws to make it appear better than it was (Ezekiel 13:10-16). You may possess greater skill at hiding your sin than the ones who have cost you pain, but the sin itself is no different than theirs.
You are upset and have difficulty admitting that the same sin that hurt you so badly in others is present in you. You feel devastated, as though to admit you are guilty of this same brand of sin dis-acknowledges the fact that you suffered at their hands. Think of it this way: if a child runs into the path of a car because he did not look both ways, and if the resulting accident is the child's fault, does a loving father withhold aid? NO!
Grace does not depend upon the one who is in need, but upon the One who grants the gift. Mercy does not depend on the one who cries out for help, but upon the One who is the source of all mercy and grace. God sees the state of the heart. You are under grace; you have received mercy, He is with you.
You are upset and have difficulty admitting that the same sin that hurt you so badly in others is present in you. You feel devastated, as though to admit you are guilty of this same brand of sin dis-acknowledges the fact that you suffered at their hands. Think of it this way: if a child runs into the path of a car because he did not look both ways, and if the resulting accident is the child's fault, does a loving father withhold aid? NO!
Grace does not depend upon the one who is in need, but upon the One who grants the gift. Mercy does not depend on the one who cries out for help, but upon the One who is the source of all mercy and grace. God sees the state of the heart. You are under grace; you have received mercy, He is with you.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
In Christ Alone
There can be no salvation without a savior. That seems obvious, and yet in popular culture there is found a motif wherein a Holy and powerful God (force, power) is presented as being all wise and kind, and yet paltry human beings in these imaginary worlds are able to interact with Him with no intermediary. In reality, the Lord our God is so immutably and terrifyingly holy that human beings cannot stand in His presence apart from Christ. Any plan of salvation that does not include Jesus is a lie, meant to lull people into a false sense of security through a fairy tale of weakly divine goodness that can be manipulated by mere human beings. We are less than nothing as compared to the magnificence and glory of the most Holy God, and why He has chosen to love us is a divine mystery, made known to us in Christ. In Christ alone lies our hope for eternal peace and life; only through Christ may we participate in the divine nature.
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10).
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10).
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Don't Hide From God
In this stressful season, you cannot spare time to indulge the luxury of avoidance. When you feel tired, rest; when you feel the urge for escapism, resist. This is not too difficult for you. Turn to the Lord each time you feel that restless sense of being overwhelmed or overtired.
It is natural to pull one’s hand back from a thorn prick. God does not chastise you for recoiling from the discomfort of stress, but He does want you to handle it differently. Do not hide from it. Take a step back, yes, but let that step bring you into His arms. Don’t hide.
Your tendency is to sit down between the stress and God's solace and cover your head. Flee to the Lord if you must flee, or stand firm and trust His deliverance; but when you run from the stress take care that you do not also hide your face from the Lord your God.
Scripture: "...they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:8-9)
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..." (John 15:6).
It is natural to pull one’s hand back from a thorn prick. God does not chastise you for recoiling from the discomfort of stress, but He does want you to handle it differently. Do not hide from it. Take a step back, yes, but let that step bring you into His arms. Don’t hide.
Your tendency is to sit down between the stress and God's solace and cover your head. Flee to the Lord if you must flee, or stand firm and trust His deliverance; but when you run from the stress take care that you do not also hide your face from the Lord your God.
Scripture: "...they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:8-9)
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..." (John 15:6).
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Key to Happiness
Abiding in the Lord is the key to happiness; not obedience, but abiding.
If obedience was a necessary precursor to happiness, you would be under the law. Your happiness would depend upon your ability to follow rules, and would ebb and flow depending upon how “good” you have been on a particular day.
However, if your happiness depends upon abiding in the Lord, then your supply of contentment fails only when you separate yourself from Him. And so you need never experience separation from the Lord. Jesus died so that you could have consistent, unfailing, permanent oneness with God.
And here is the wonderful benefit of abiding: the Lord counts it as obedience. Because abiding is the precursor of true obedience, it is tallied for you as obedience itself. In this instance the presence of the seed (abiding) assures the plant (obedience) will grow. This is how Abraham was accepted. His faith was counted as righteousness, and in the same way your abiding will be counted as obedience.
Simply because something is hidden does not mean that it is not present. You sometimes despair because your outward behaviors have not yet been drawn into alignment with your obedient heart. You must understand this: nothing can stop a process God has set into motion. That is why you must not judge your fellow human beings. You can’t tell from looking at the outward appearance what the heart holds.
God sees your heart and He knows you are abiding in Him. You are obedient and you are His own. Do not give way to fear. Trust the Lord and do not give way. You are accepted. All is well. Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:4-7 ESV)
Note: The NIV translates the word "abide" as "remain." Here is the webster.com definition of "abide,": "to wait for, to endure without yielding, to bear patiently, to accept without objection; to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place."
If obedience was a necessary precursor to happiness, you would be under the law. Your happiness would depend upon your ability to follow rules, and would ebb and flow depending upon how “good” you have been on a particular day.
However, if your happiness depends upon abiding in the Lord, then your supply of contentment fails only when you separate yourself from Him. And so you need never experience separation from the Lord. Jesus died so that you could have consistent, unfailing, permanent oneness with God.
And here is the wonderful benefit of abiding: the Lord counts it as obedience. Because abiding is the precursor of true obedience, it is tallied for you as obedience itself. In this instance the presence of the seed (abiding) assures the plant (obedience) will grow. This is how Abraham was accepted. His faith was counted as righteousness, and in the same way your abiding will be counted as obedience.
Simply because something is hidden does not mean that it is not present. You sometimes despair because your outward behaviors have not yet been drawn into alignment with your obedient heart. You must understand this: nothing can stop a process God has set into motion. That is why you must not judge your fellow human beings. You can’t tell from looking at the outward appearance what the heart holds.
God sees your heart and He knows you are abiding in Him. You are obedient and you are His own. Do not give way to fear. Trust the Lord and do not give way. You are accepted. All is well. Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:4-7 ESV)
Note: The NIV translates the word "abide" as "remain." Here is the webster.com definition of "abide,": "to wait for, to endure without yielding, to bear patiently, to accept without objection; to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place."
Thursday, June 16, 2011
He is God
God is not always “nice,” but God is good; terribly, perfectly, powerfully, dependably, irrevocably good. He is not bound by human conventions of niceness or manners. He is Holy. He is beyond human measure or comprehension. He is God and there is no other before Him; nothing and no one can stand against Him.
Scripture: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Scripture: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Align the Heart
God does not view a desire to obey as being the equivalent of obedience itself. Sometimes a desire to obey is actually this: “It’s too bad I can’t have the blessings of obedience in combination with this other thing I’m unwilling to release.” Your idols vie for equal status with your devotion to the Lord. Do not allow them access to His rightful place in your heart, and all will be well.
The ability to obey comes from God, but He does not enable until He sees that your heart is aligned correctly. This leads to a common misconception, “God could if He would.” The truth is, “God will when you will.”
The Almighty God awaits your decision to obey, and that decision does not come via the path you think. It is not an act of your will, but of the heart. He requires that you be devoted to Him above all others. He loves that you depend upon Him. Now give Him first place in your heart in all areas of your life. That which initially feels like great loss will become great gain.
You can’t trust your emotions. Trust what you know to be true; God is with you.
Scripture: "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints...is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27)
The ability to obey comes from God, but He does not enable until He sees that your heart is aligned correctly. This leads to a common misconception, “God could if He would.” The truth is, “God will when you will.”
The Almighty God awaits your decision to obey, and that decision does not come via the path you think. It is not an act of your will, but of the heart. He requires that you be devoted to Him above all others. He loves that you depend upon Him. Now give Him first place in your heart in all areas of your life. That which initially feels like great loss will become great gain.
You can’t trust your emotions. Trust what you know to be true; God is with you.
Scripture: "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints...is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27)
Fear and Worry
Your worries represent only a tiny fraction of the territory covered by the canopy of the Lord's protection and provision. However, it is inaccurate to say God is sovereign over fears when they fall outside of what is actual. Fear of imaginary danger is not a part of the real world. It is one thing to blanch in fear and to cry out to God for help in the face of true danger, quite another to fabricate terrible possibilities in your mind and then to recoil from the imagined event.
The Lord does not provide fuel for energy expenditures that will occur in the future. Your tanks hold just enough energy reserve for this day; don't borrow trouble from days yet to come. Today holds enough challenges for you without this struggle over the prospect of future sorrow. Trust the Lord and pray, and perhaps you will be excused from those sorrows you dread. Walk with Him today, and trust Him for the future.
Scripture: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6)
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34).
In his commentary on Psalm 91, Matthew Henry says, "Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid."
The Lord does not provide fuel for energy expenditures that will occur in the future. Your tanks hold just enough energy reserve for this day; don't borrow trouble from days yet to come. Today holds enough challenges for you without this struggle over the prospect of future sorrow. Trust the Lord and pray, and perhaps you will be excused from those sorrows you dread. Walk with Him today, and trust Him for the future.
Scripture: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6)
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34).
In his commentary on Psalm 91, Matthew Henry says, "Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid."
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Feed His Sheep
Don’t think of your service to the Lord as something you can count, as a sort of community service form you can submit for each hour of work completed. Don’t consider your acts of obedience as tally marks on your side of a divine scoreboard! Love dictates a pattern of behavior that cannot be tallied.
"Lovest thou me? Feed my sheep" (John 21:15 KJV).
The Lord would release you from the element of fear that is one of the prime motivators in your acts of service for others. You are afraid you will not be loved. You are afraid they won't love one another properly. You are afraid they will not listen to you, even when you know best. You are so afraid. Let go the fear, and exchange it for faith. God desires your prime motivator to be that you share His heart for those you serve. “To loose the chains of injustice…” (Isaiah 58:6). He has provided for you that you may provide for them.
“Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…” (Philippians 2:6). He did not appropriate God’s power for Himself, but for the sake of those He was sent to save. He used His power on your behalf. He used what He had been given to benefit you. Now. You do the same. Use what you have been given to minister to the little lambs He has entrusted into your care. Do it out of love; not your own, human love, but out of His love.
Scripture: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." Philippians 2:5-7.
"Lovest thou me? Feed my sheep" (John 21:15 KJV).
The Lord would release you from the element of fear that is one of the prime motivators in your acts of service for others. You are afraid you will not be loved. You are afraid they won't love one another properly. You are afraid they will not listen to you, even when you know best. You are so afraid. Let go the fear, and exchange it for faith. God desires your prime motivator to be that you share His heart for those you serve. “To loose the chains of injustice…” (Isaiah 58:6). He has provided for you that you may provide for them.
“Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…” (Philippians 2:6). He did not appropriate God’s power for Himself, but for the sake of those He was sent to save. He used His power on your behalf. He used what He had been given to benefit you. Now. You do the same. Use what you have been given to minister to the little lambs He has entrusted into your care. Do it out of love; not your own, human love, but out of His love.
Scripture: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." Philippians 2:5-7.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Repentance
Repentance is sweet. Repent.
If you can be graceful--full of grace--you will be richly blessed.
Repent before the Lord, and then apologize to those you have harmed.
The only block to an apology is your pride. Repent of your pride. Pride cannot be trespassed against and demands retribution. Humility can turn the other cheek. Your humility will enable those who have hurt you to repent and relent as well.
You do not understand the need for repentance? Then understand this: behavior based on fear is wrong.
Repent of wanting to take control. Repent of desiring the course of action that will cause you the least possible anxiety, but will perhaps not be God's perfect will or the path of greatest blessing for those you love. Repent of desiring to be freed of your burdens at the expense of the Lord's work in the lives of your loved ones. Repent of attempting to solve problems that only God is able to solve. Repent of advising out of your own well of wisdom, and for your failure to entrust your loved ones into God's hands.
Repentance is sweet. Repent.
If you can be graceful--full of grace--you will be richly blessed.
Repent before the Lord, and then apologize to those you have harmed.
The only block to an apology is your pride. Repent of your pride. Pride cannot be trespassed against and demands retribution. Humility can turn the other cheek. Your humility will enable those who have hurt you to repent and relent as well.
You do not understand the need for repentance? Then understand this: behavior based on fear is wrong.
Repent of wanting to take control. Repent of desiring the course of action that will cause you the least possible anxiety, but will perhaps not be God's perfect will or the path of greatest blessing for those you love. Repent of desiring to be freed of your burdens at the expense of the Lord's work in the lives of your loved ones. Repent of attempting to solve problems that only God is able to solve. Repent of advising out of your own well of wisdom, and for your failure to entrust your loved ones into God's hands.
Repentance is sweet. Repent.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sufficient Unto the Day
Do not sound an alarm, Dear One. You would not accomplish the purposes you hope; those you seek to warn would draw together but only because you would provide them a common foe. The underlying issues would not be brought to light because those you seek to warn would perceive themselves to be under attack.
You are viewing this situation as a compendium of threats, and you need to accept that your perspective may be inaccurate. In this sense, the perspective of youth, even in its naiveté, is more accurate than yours; because youth does not perceive future threat. By contrast, in your propensity for getting the “big picture,” you attempt to face all of the foes of the next 30 years concentrated at one point on your time-line. Battles come one at a time. They will be fought one at a time. You have forgotten that the Lord grants strength only for the battles of the day. All of the resources for the entire war are not given all at once. That would be like attempting to pour the ocean into a teacup; you can’t accommodate the whole of God's provision for you. He gives only what is needed for this day.
You don’t have fight this battle. Stand firm and watch. Trust in the Lord. You don’t have to accomplish deliverance, and you do not need to call a warning.
Scripture: "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (2 Chronicles 20:17).
You are viewing this situation as a compendium of threats, and you need to accept that your perspective may be inaccurate. In this sense, the perspective of youth, even in its naiveté, is more accurate than yours; because youth does not perceive future threat. By contrast, in your propensity for getting the “big picture,” you attempt to face all of the foes of the next 30 years concentrated at one point on your time-line. Battles come one at a time. They will be fought one at a time. You have forgotten that the Lord grants strength only for the battles of the day. All of the resources for the entire war are not given all at once. That would be like attempting to pour the ocean into a teacup; you can’t accommodate the whole of God's provision for you. He gives only what is needed for this day.
You don’t have fight this battle. Stand firm and watch. Trust in the Lord. You don’t have to accomplish deliverance, and you do not need to call a warning.
Scripture: "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (2 Chronicles 20:17).
Friday, February 25, 2011
Comfort
When the Lord is the author of a course of action, there are sometimes incongruities. If you all to fear, then logical sounding arguments can be made against a plan that the Lord has designed.
He has never let you down. He won't now. Be at peace.
Here is encouragement for you; the labor is complete. Just that. Your labor has been completed. Willingly undergo this strengthening time. This season of uncertainty can serve as a strengthening program as you cling ever tighter to the Lord and embrace disciplines of the flesh that have eluded you for so long. You will emerge from this “tight place” ready to inhabit the land the Lord has promised to you.
Scripture: "Comfort, comfort my people,says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed..." (Isaiah 40:1-2a).
He has never let you down. He won't now. Be at peace.
Here is encouragement for you; the labor is complete. Just that. Your labor has been completed. Willingly undergo this strengthening time. This season of uncertainty can serve as a strengthening program as you cling ever tighter to the Lord and embrace disciplines of the flesh that have eluded you for so long. You will emerge from this “tight place” ready to inhabit the land the Lord has promised to you.
Scripture: "Comfort, comfort my people,says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed..." (Isaiah 40:1-2a).
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How to Find Peace
Do not think that the Almighty God stands silently, sadly by and allows you to do yourself harm. He is your Creator and your Maker; He has rights to you beyond those you have yet given to Him.
You are not the center prize in a tug of war between two equal powers. A battle somewhat like this exists; but it takes place only on the field of freewill. When you lay down your will at God's feet, you come to a new level. When you abide in Him, you enter a realm where His rule reigns. It is here you will find peace, peace of mind and heart; the peace for which you long.
But the Lord is Sovereign, whether you submit to Him or not. All things will come together under His reign and His rule. The enemy can act only within the current of this inexorable flow that is bringing all of creation (and all that is) to God.
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10, NIV1984).
You are not the center prize in a tug of war between two equal powers. A battle somewhat like this exists; but it takes place only on the field of freewill. When you lay down your will at God's feet, you come to a new level. When you abide in Him, you enter a realm where His rule reigns. It is here you will find peace, peace of mind and heart; the peace for which you long.
But the Lord is Sovereign, whether you submit to Him or not. All things will come together under His reign and His rule. The enemy can act only within the current of this inexorable flow that is bringing all of creation (and all that is) to God.
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10, NIV1984).
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Submission
Submission is not about one person taking over the freewill of another. It is one person laying aside their own desires through free choice, as a gift to the other. It is like a mighty warrior sheathing his sword, or a beautiful woman covering her face and choosing not to use her beauty as a tool to manipulate others.
When you choose to submit to the Lord, you remain in possession of your own strength. He does not take away your beauty or your power.
The Lord has called you to partner with Him, not to be His slave. There is an important difference. You have Holy-Spirit influenced autonomy. You are not an automaton; you have autonomy.
When you choose to submit to the Lord, you remain in possession of your own strength. He does not take away your beauty or your power.
The Lord has called you to partner with Him, not to be His slave. There is an important difference. You have Holy-Spirit influenced autonomy. You are not an automaton; you have autonomy.
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