Coup de tat

I realized that I have been very disappointed with myself.  I have failed in so many areas of my life, mostly I have failed myself.  I should have done better.  I should do better.  I watch TV instead of dealing with the junk mail.  I read the news instead of mopping the kitchen floor.  These aren't even the serious failings.  These are just little daily life things. Even these point out my failings.  I know they are wrong, yet I persist.  After all I know right from wrong.  Oh, Eve, dear, how I wish you had not picked that tree.  "You will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5. How quickly I become my own god; judging my god performance.  Do I measure up good or evil?

"I am the Vine; you are the branches." John 15:5  I have never in all my life seen a branch beat itself up.  I have never seen a branch run around in a hurry, worried about whether it was doing a good job or not.  I have never seen a branch take charge of the situation because the vine was _____ (insert: silent, slow, needing help, or any other excuse for a coup de tat.) I've, in fact, never seen a branch care.  It simply did what the vine told it to do.  It produced the fruit of the vine, not the fruit of the branch.
I'm so tired of my pride that says I'm a god and therefore must perform in a god-like fashion.  I'm so tired of looking at myself.  Jesus sits next to me saying, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:3 "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.


Lord help me to let go of my own judgement of myself.  Help to get my eyes off of myself and on to You.  I want Your yoke, not my own.  I want to be in You and not be in myself.  I want to rest in the Vine, bearing the fruit of the Vine.  Forgive me for getting caught up in myself instead of You.  This is impossible for me to do, but with God all things are possible.  So I appeal to the Author and Perfecter of my faith, to my Redeemer, to my Savior,  the One and only true God, the Lover of my soul; enable me to be the branch that remains in You.  In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Gift

^" When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.  When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,  because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:14-17


There has at times been confusion about speaking in tongues. Certainly one can be saved and baptized just as the Samariatians where without speaking in tongues.  This is not about salvation.  This is about power. 


"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”  Luke 24:49


I don't know about you, but I need all the power from the Lord I can get to live a victorious, righteous life.  If Daddy says we need it, then we need it.  It's as simple as that.


^"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.  For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God."  Acts 10:44-46


Speaking in tongue is you allowing the Holy Spirit to pray and praise through your lips.  You don't know what you are saying and it almost sounds like gibberish.  But it is not!  It is the power of God Himself praying for you.  It builds your inner man up and intercedes as only the All Knowing One can.  It is the power of God released onto the earth.


"Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves"1 Corinthians 14:4


At first it is odd to be speaking and the language skipping your brain all together, but if you will believe the Word and ignore the ridicule of your flesh and the enemy; you will begin to feel things moving in the Spirit.  Remember what Peter said:


"Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call.'" Acts 2:38-39


Don't let anyone steal the Gift your Father wants you to have.  Take the Gift with thanksgiving and enjoy the new dynamic in your relationship with the Father who loves you so much.  He knew this world would be difficult, so He gave you a Gift to help.  We all have been in situations where we simple don't know what to pray or worse yet we are convinced we do know what to pray and are way off in our understanding.  Praying in tongues empowers us to pray the will of God.  Remember He didn't send His Son to condemn us, but to rescue us.  He didn't send His Holy Spirit to rip us apart but to build us up.  He's for you not against you.  Trust Him.  Yield control of your tongue.  


James3:7-8 says: "All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind,  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."  Untameable by man, yet tamed and made obedient by the power of God.  And not only obedient, but full of the praises of God.  Don't let the fear of looking foolish lord over you.  Submit to God; more than that, grab a hold of the God's gift!

What, Me a Saint?

When Paul calls us saints he’s referring to a blameless, clean, innocent, perfect, cherished one.  Previous experience with yourself would lead you to question how much wine he had at communion before he wrote these references.  Our attempts at being truly righteous have been dismal failures.  Yet continually Paul holds up these unattainable standards “..clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”(Colossians 3:12) How in the world are we able to be these saints Paul calls us?

“He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.’” (Ezekiel 2:1)  Ezekiel could not even stand up when the Lord commanded him to.  If he could not do such a simple thing how am I going to be patient? The next verse has the key. “As He spoke, the Sprit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard Him speak to me.” (Ezekiel 2:2).  The Lord Himself enables us to do the impossible; He empowers us to obey Him.

  Oh, Lord, give us revelation about the truth.  Let us see how impossible it is for us to obey You in our flesh. After we have been convinced that we can do no good for Jesus said, “No one is good—except God alone”(Luke 18:19), let us also see the Good News.  That You then enable us to live the impossible by the power of the Holy Spirit.  May You truly be glorified in me! Thank you Lord Jesus for Your “..great and precious promises, so that through them (I) may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”(2 Peter 1:4). What an awesome and loving Father You are! How wonderfully You provide for Your children! Amen.

Heart's Desire

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4

You are the desire of your Creator.  He created you as He desired.  You are not a mistake, nor an accident of genetics and natural order.  Now all these things may influence your shell; your physical body.  But your physical body does not define you.  You can be separated from your physical body.  We call that death.  What God desires is your inner man. He desires an intimate loving relationship with you; not to berate and judge you. No, what you fear in judgement and has already been dealt with on the Cross.   If you will delight yourself in Him; if you will pursue the loving God that staged a daring rescue to free you from sin's captivity, then He will give you the petitions of your inner man.  You will experience your heart's desires.  He will fill you with vitality, and not just some vitality, but exceedingly abundant vitality.

"I (Jesus) have come that they (that means you) may have life, and have it to the full."  John 10:10.

By the way that "...to the full" means super abundantly, more than enough.  You know, the cup's running over kind of full.

Dear Lord, enable us to trust Your Love.  Help us to lay hold of that which You have laid hold of us for.  Let us delight ourselves in You and let go of our own understanding and lordship over our lives.  We want to relish our relationship with you.  Open our eyes to see the truth of Your superabundant love for us.  Thank you  Sweet Savior!

Suffering

“He who scorns instruction will pay for it.” Proverbs 13:13.

            “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s disciple, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:5-6.

" Son though He (Jesus) was, He learned obedience from what He suffered  and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him  and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek."  Hebrews 5:8-10.

            In heaven, where the will of God is done, there is no death, sickness, poverty, or hunger—every tear is wiped from our eyes; but, in case you haven’t noticed, we are not home yet.  We all know that that devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but suffering cannot only be dismissed as evil. Our flesh has not yet died and the Lord of Lords has not been allowed to have His will totally done in our lives.  Not accepting the discipline that comes through suffering can come from the old common hackneyed sin of pride—you don’t need the Lord’s correction, because you can’t see how this suffering could benefit you.  Since you don’t understand, it must be evil. Our answer to suffering is not a formula we can execute without submersion in the Spirit of God in order to know how to respond.   We cannot wave the “Christian” version of the pagan dead chicken over suffering and proclaim “If you just had enough faith, this wouldn’t have happened.”  Love alone abhors such dictates.

            If suffering has entered your life, our loving Father has the power and wisdom to turn the pain into joy.  I know through experience that He is trustworthy with our pain and shame.  By submitting these things to His loving care, He is able to turn them into gold.  These stormy days can draw us into a depth in Jesus that sunny days can never comprehend.  If you remember, the blind beggar the Jesus healed in John 9 had no fear of the Pharisees and even openly rebuked them for their spiritual blindness.  He is remembered throughout history, not as a bum, but for his unabashed refusal to fear men.  If you submit this suffering to your loving Father, what great thing will you be remembered for?

Death or Life?

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

Natural death is a separation of the soul from the body.  Natural death began in the Garden but that day we surely died to God.  We separated ourselves from the presence of the Living God.  We chose death instead of Life.  We chose separation, independence from God.  Surely we died to Life and Life abundantly.

            There is only one way back.  That is to choose Life.  The Hebrew word translated life is (ית) chay.  The first letter of life is (י) yod, which means a child’s hand extended to grasp.  The second letter of life is (ת) tau, which is actually a combination of two other letters:  (נ) nun and (ך) daleth.  (ך) Daleth is a broken man and (נ) nun is a crushed man, the Messiah.  So (ת) tau means a broken man embraced by the Messiah; it is the letter representing salvation. So in the Garden the word for Life pictorially represents a child’s hand grasping the salvation wrought by the Messiah.   Why a child’s hand?  Only as a child are we dependent without shame.  Only as a child can we run naked without fear.  Only as a child are we clothed and provided for by our Father.  Our only job as a child is to obey.  We don’t need to figure things out; that’s His job.  We just smother Him in hugs and kisses when he walks through the door.  And He sits down, pulls us on His lap, and tells us stories.  Go sit on your Father’s lap grasping the salvation He offers and choose life!

Father, how I love You!  Forgive me for choosing independence, for exalting myself.  Grant me the gift of repentance.  I choose Life.  I choose being a child of God.  Fill me with Your love so that I won’t hide in fear from Your Presence any more.  But instead I would trust in Your Salvation.  Thank you Jesus, for giving me the victory over death!  Oh Father, be my God and I will be Your child.  Amen.

Deliverance

Demonic entities…scary…let’s not go there.  If I stick my fingers in my ears and repeat over and over “they do not exist or at least they’re not in this country” they won’t bother me, right?  Great idea, if you were never even tempted to sin.  But since that has nothing to do with reality, let’s get on with the facts of living in a fallen world whose dominion has temporally been given over to the evil one.

“They scare me.  They seem more powerful than me.”  Yes, they are more powerful than you.  But your Hope is not in you.  You are not your redeemer, God is.  You know, the Guy who holds the universe in His hands.  “Well I’ve never been an ax murder, nor has my head turned green and spun around, so I don’t need deal with this.”  Well, that’s wonderful, but I bet you can’t say the same thing about lying, fear, despair, and haughtiness (1 Kings 22:22, Romans 8:15, Isaiah 61:3, Proverbs 16:18).  Have you ever been intimidated?  Check out 2 Timothy1: 7  “ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”  Considering the plethora of spirits referred to as unclean or evil that Jesus cast out in the Gospels, it would not be logical to assume that we don’t have to face similar problems.  And if you think that redeemed people don’t have “those kinds of problems” remember that Paul was writing to Pastor Timothy when he was warning Timothy not to abide by the spirit of timidity.

            Are all our problems with sin related to demonic activity?  Of course, not.  Our flesh is often much more in control that we admit to ourselves.  The flesh must be denied.  And forced to die.  But we, at times, have had to face sinful behavior that cannot be denied.  We are no longer in control.  They must be cast out.  Let’s say you’ve had a chronic problem with lying, even lying for trivial things.  First, you apply the blood of Jesus over yourself, because it was by the blood of Jesus that you were redeemed.  Then since Jesus has redeemed you, you know that no unclean spirit should have dominion over you.  “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” 1 Thessalonians 4:7.  Say out loud something like the following: “I command and require you unclean lying spirit (and any cohorts) to leave me and my household in the Name of Jesus, for the Blood speaks more powerfully than any sin or curse.  The Lord rebuke you!” Then humble yourself before the Lord and open your heart. Ask for the healing power of the cross to be released and allow Him to heal your heart from any wounding related to or causing you to give yourself over to that lying spirit. When you ask Him, memories often will come to mind from your past.  The most common response is, "that's really no big deal."  Don't rely on your own understanding!  You prayed and now that God is answering you, accept that He knows more than you.  It is a big deal or He wouldn't have brought it up. Confess that you are hurt and need to be healed.  Repent for unforgiveness towards the offender and usually yourself, as well.

 Seek His leading to see if there is anyone you wronged that you need to repent or make retribution to. Once again, let the Lord be in charge of any actions with others. Then as you submit to His leading you will be released into the freedom of Holiness.

 “’But you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  And you will go out and leap like calves released form the stall.  Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Emphasis is mine) Malachi 4:2-3.

For those of you that the idea of the demonic is a new or frightful consideration, ponder what the name Lord Almighty means.  For those offended by the suggestion that one as “holy” as you could possibly have demonic associations, remember that were there is manure (sin) sooner or later there is bound to be flies (demons).

You Need a Great Lover

For God so loved the world that He gave….

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.      John 3:16,21

It takes a lot of love to save you so He sent the Greatest Lover the world has ever seen.  He sent this Jesus to you.  Yes, you!  Because He wanted you to know what He thought of you.  Don’t fear or worry anymore beloved.  The King is enthralled with you (Psalm 45:11).  Come, come into the light of His Presence and watch what the Lord of Glory is going to do in you.  His power will transform you from a coward to a lion, from a harlot to a bride, from a failure to a success.  Remember this salvation business wasn’t your idea, but His.  You didn’t find Jesus, He found you! (Luke 15:1-7).   Quit looking at yourself!  Look at Jesus and His power to turn you into His bride.  If the King of Creation has enough faith for you that He drew you into His kingdom, surely you can trust this All-Knowing Savior to finish the work He’s begun.

Dear Father, we are so thankful that You sent Your Beloved Son to pay the redemption price to free us from the prison wrought by our rebellion and self-reliance.  Thank you that You not only freed use from our just desserts, but enable us to taste Your Presence, Your Love, Your Heavenly Abode.  Oh, how we love You!  You are our delight!  By Your power and grace, may we turn away from looking at our own failure and lack.  May we see Your sufficiency.  Enable us to enter into Your Light so that it may be seen plainly that what we have done has been done through You.  Make our lives a bold and loud boasting in what Jesus Christ can and will do for those who choose to throw themselves head long into His arms. Amen.

Blood of Jesus

“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever!  Amen.”(Revelation 1:5).

We are called to be subjects of the Kingdom of God.  Whew doggies!  Too many times we look like the Kingdom of Those that Yell at Their Children or Those that Must Have THEIR Own Way.  We all know that we just need to get our act together.  Surely we can just get off our duffs and exercise a few times a week or if we would just get up a little bit earlier we could get that time for prayer that we should practice.  I could go on and on about all the things we should do, but don’t.  Time and time again we muster the inner fortitude to do what is right, but it eventually fails.  Then we kick ourselves for failing or give up and say I’ll never ______.  Or we go into bitterness and anger at those who expose our own failure, like our kids (who drive us to yelling) or our boss (who has such ridiculous demands) or the skinny woman with five kids (whose house and children are always immaculate).  The tapes start repeating over and over about our failures no matter how deep we bury then and how hard we strive to hide our failures.

 Well here’s the good news.

 Those tapes are right. 

You are a righteousness reject. 

That is exactly why Christ died on the cross.  You can’t get it right, so stop trying!!  You make a lousy god.  God never created you to be without Him.  You were created to be dependant on Him.  He is your righteousness.  So when you become aware of your own failures Praise God.  You have actually have perceived your need for God.  Now since He said He loves you and has (past tense-that means it’s a done deal) freed you from your sin, you apply the Blood of Jesus to this area.  When the failure tapes resurface, you stare them boldly in the face and say “You be gone from me!  You may not torment or accuse me any more.  It is Jesus Christ who redeems me, not me!” “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Then you give God the glory for the righteousness He is going to work out in you.

Once the Holy Spirit teaches you how to humble yourself and trust in Him, the light comes on.  The enemy has been stealing the redemption bought on the Cross-from your kids, spouse, friends, enemies, or whoever claims to be saved.  The Blood of Jesus saved them.  How dare any thing in heaven, earth, or hell beneath claim that the Blood was insufficient to redeem those people.  That somehow Jesus is unable to make you or anyone else He has saved fit for the Kingdom of God.  Indignation rises up in a righteous fury and spits out  “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God.”(1 Samuel 17:26). It’s time to start pitching rocks at the enemy of our souls.  By the power of the living God it is time for the heads of those giants to roll! “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33-34). 

Betrothed

Proverbs 18:3—“When wickedness come, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace.”

            When you look at the actual Hebrew words this verse shows a progression or path.  First comes the morally wrong position.  This morally wrong position causes a despising or contempt.  In the Hebrew two paths emerge.  One is to dishonor and shame.  This leads to exposure through stripping or defaming.  The other path puts a slightly different twist on the contempt.  The contempt leads to lightly esteeming.  The lightly esteeming leads to a surrender as a gathering of crops in the ripeness of age or a betrothal.

            As we all have to deal with our own morally wrong or wicked positions at some point in our lives (“for all have fallen short of the Glory of God”), which path you chose determines whether you become a woman of disgrace or a beautiful bride.  Many chose to hide their shame fearing the exposure, so they have no close friends and stay very busy; trying to ward off the day of exposure.  But there is another path.  Our contempt could lead us to lightly esteeming our own lordship over our lives.  It can lead us to the Cross-where we confess our inability to direct our own steps and the dire need to be clothed in the righteousness that can only come from God.  This surrender and defeat of our selves leads, not to a shameful exposure, but a beautiful betrothal.  Surrender to the Lordship of Christ and you’ll find yourself a Bride dressed in white.

 Lord, I pray that our sin will not drag us down the path of dishonor and shame, but instead I pray for a humble heart that will lightly esteem my own power.  Lord I desire to be that Bride dressed in white.  And I choose to surrender to Your Lordship.  I confess that You are my righteousness, that by the Grace of God, I will not be a foolish Galatian , but will cast down my throne of human effort and watch Your Spirit complete the good work You have begun in me.  Thank you for Your Grace and Mercy Lord Jesus!

His Bigness

            Has the Lord tried to tell you things that are just too big to be true?  Or perhaps you have sin in your life that you have tried to overcome; but you have thrown you hands up in despair because you’ve become convinced you’ll never be free?  In our every day life we often lose sight of who Jesus is.  “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” Hebrews 1:3.  “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3.

            Instead of looking to the “Author and Perfecter of our faith” we look to ourselves.  In our own inadequacies we are forced to proclaim in utter unbelief that ______ will never be.  We, in our own pride and arrogance, believe that the working out of this supernatural salvation is based on our own power and abilities.  We can be such fools!  Christianity is not about our abilities to do what is right, but about the awesomeness of a God who intervenes in the affairs and hearts of men.  “Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”  Galatians 3:3.

            The Lord had given me a message that He wanted conveyed to His people.  This all sounds wonderful and good until the realization hit that I would have to speak before about 2,000 people.  I’ve had little experience with public speaking.  The very little I did in high school and college struck more terror in me than a later car accident. My face would not only turn red, it would mottle in my husbands words, “like nothing he had ever seen before”.  I will spare you the rest of his discourse about the fear on my face and his amazement at the fact that I actually completed my speech. So it was no surprise that as I stood waiting to speak, fear came pounding at my door.  I wanted to speak like I wanted my nostrils glued together with “Super Glue” or bathing a rug burn in grapefruit juice.  I internally cried out, “O God, help me!” 

            Then I realized this was not about me.  This was a message Jesus wanted His people to know because He loves them so very much.  When my eyes were on me, I got blind-sided by fear.  When my eyes were on Jesus, I had peace.

            You see, God is not a liar.  If He said He loves you, He does!  If He said you’re more than an over comer, than you are!  Repent from you’re unbelief---He will heal you!  Get out there and grab a hold of His promises and don’t let go.  Be humble enough to confess your absolute dire need of His help.  Then allow Him to heal your unbelief and watch the supernatural victories manifest in your life.

A Fish Out of Water

            I was talking with the Lord one day and I was contemplating the love He has for me.  I couldn’t fathom why He would love me like His Word says He does.  He assured me that He did, but I couldn’t understand why.  Why would Someone so awesome, wonderful, and perfect love someone who failed so clearly to live anywhere near those standards?  He said without even a hint of condemnation that I felt so unworthy because of my idolatry. I had walked long enough with the Lord to know that idolatry was my problem, but I had no clue what He was talking about.  He’d lost me at the drug store.  He proceeded to ask me a few questions.  Could I compete with a fish in swimming? No.  Could I compete with the agility of a bird in flight? No.  Could I compete with a monkey in swinging through the trees? No.  Neither could I do a good job at being God. 

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was all about removing ourselves from dependency upon the Living God to live independent lives just like God is independent.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5.  Instead we were created to be immersed and dependent in the Lord just as a fish is immersed and dependent upon water.  You see death is a separation.  Physical death is a separation of the spirit from the body. That certainly was the end result of the fall in Eden, but more eminent was the separation from the Lord.  No longer were they relying on the Lord, but they were separated from complete reliance on His interpretation of life.  They immediately plunged into shame.  They were fish out of water gasping for the breathe of life flopping on the beach without direction and freedom of movement.  Their jump for independence left them in worse straights than they could have imagined.

            But the Lord has Himself made a way to get us back into the Living water through the cross of Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20.  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Galatians 5:16. “I consider them (past fleshly achievements) rubbish, that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith”. Philippians 3:8-9.

            O Lord give me the gift of repentance for I have trusted in myself and not in You.  Forgive me for exalting myself in idolatry.  You alone are God.  I ask, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, You would reclaim Your rightful throne in my life as Lord and God; that I would live by the Spirit and have the righteousness that comes from God.  I thank you Lord Jesus that because of Your mercy and grace and by the power of Your Spirit, You are going to get this fish back into the Living water.  Thank you sweet Jesus! Amen.

            “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depend on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8.

Love

            “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  1Corinthians 13:4-8

           

Love is not feelings, but action.  Do you love your children, your spouse, your parents?

Are you patient?

Are you kind?

Run through the list.  Does this describe the way you treat the people that the Lord has put in your life?  We throw up our hands and wonder if we could ever live up to such standards. Especially when we’re running 10 minutes late to an appointment while our 3-year-old is squirming and fussing in the car seat because he refused to “go potty” before you left and has since lifted the ban; and the 12-year-old is informing you that she will be socially wounded for all eternity because she has to be seen publicly with this shirt on (the only clean one available as you flew out the door).

In our natural state, patience is not top of the list, but we do not have natural help.  Our help is a super-natural Savior.  You see, God knows we NEED super-natural help.  Its only our pride and arrogance that keeps us trying this technique and that plan to make our flesh behave.  Your flesh will never be able to produce the fruit reserved for God’s Holy Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Ephesians 5:22

Come again to the cross and die to trusting in yourself.  Confess your utter in ability to love, and ask for the Lord Jesus by His mercy and grace to forgive you and produce in you the fruit of His Spirit.

            By the way, for those that get caught in the trap of self-condemnation:  He knew you’d be a failure at loving before He ever called you into relationship with Him.  That’s why you need a Savior—not just a set of good rules.

Enemies to the Promise

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—” Deuteronomy 7:1.

“This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.” Joshua 3:10

This list of –ites are all enemies to the promises of God.  Each of these people groups represented these enemies.  Their names not only have meaning, but also pronounce who these enemies are. The Canaanites were traffickers who groveled themselves for wealth.  The Hittites were dismayed discouragement.  The Perizzites were referred to as an unwalled village, i.e. lacking in the defense of self-control. The Jebusites were trampled down and polluted.  The Girgashites were clay, i.e. earthly focused.  The Hivites have a more unusual name.  They are referred to as a life-giving small town.  They had the “good life”—without God.  The Amorites were a tribe of fear.  As you seek the Lord for the fulfillment of the promises of God in your life, be on guard for these enemies.  These attitudes need to be viewed as your enemies and the enemies of the Promised Land, not as something to be tolerated in a fallen world.

 Groveling for wealth is the enemy of God’s promise to be your Provider. Dismayed discouragement is the enemy of the Joy of the Lord. Lacking self-control is the enemy of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Being trampled down and polluted comes against being holy and He is Holy.  If you’re earthly focused you’ll miss the actions of Heaven.  Having the “good life” without God lulls you into a deadly sleep lacking in the oil of the Holy Spirit. And finally fear is the enemy of trusting in the love of God.

 You also need to be aware of the strategy of the Lord in ridding you of these enemies.

“The men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them.” Joshua 4:12

The name Manasseh means to forget.  Gad means to attack and invade. Finally the name Reuben means to see or perceive a son.  The strategy to defeat these enemies involves forgetting your past, perceiving your adoption as a son, and going in and attacking.

“Those who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” Romans 8:15

Lord, we are so thankful that You have wiped away our sins by the Power of the Cross.  We no longer are condemned by our past—You have set us free, and by Your grace we will walk in that freedom.  We acknowledge that we have enemies bigger and stronger than ourselves—but they pale in comparison to our Daddy’s Power and Might.  We ask that You would help use to perceive even more that we are Your precious children—that we might not fear, but attack these enemies knowing that our loving Father will drive them out.  Give us understanding and wisdom to be on guard but not fearful and to have the courage to go in and take the Promised Land You have given to us.  Thank You for equipping and enabling us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Independence

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

            In the Garden we grasped for independence from God.  We could determine right from wrong.  We could be our own gods.  Independent, just like Him.  But our bid for independence left us naked and ashamed.  So we sew for ourselves a covering that in Hebrew means to restrain, to be afraid and we hid ourselves from the presence of God.  We’ve been hiding ever since; fearing the exposure, the nakedness.

            Our grasp for independence is sin.  It is wickedness.

 Proverbs 18:3—“When wickedness come, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace.”

            When you look at the actual Hebrew words this verse shows a progression or path.  First comes the morally wrong position, i.e wickedness.  This morally wrong position causes a despising or contempt. We have contempt for the revelation that we are not righteous; that we are not in fact like God.

From here two paths emerge.  One is to dishonor and shame.  We are ashamed of our own lack of living up to the standard; our own lack at being like God.  This leads to exposure through stripping or defaming. We hate the exposure of our own nakedness.  No matter how hard we try we cannot be like God.

But there is another path.  In bedded in the Hebrew is an alternative way. The other path puts a slightly different twist on the contempt.  The contempt can also lead to lightly esteeming. This lightly esteeming is not of the sin, but of our own ability to be like God.  We no longer exalt ourselves as knowing right from wrong.  We recognize our own lack and in humility we lightly esteem our own ability to live a righteous life.

The Hebrew word for disgrace can also mean a gathering of crops in ripeness of age or a betrothal. The lightly esteeming leads to a harvest or a betrothal.  We surrender ourselves over to the God who loves and cherishes us.  We cry out “Be the Lord my Righteousness!”  We embrace dependence on the Living God to make us holy.  As we humble ourselves we find ourselves swept into a betrothal with the Bridegroom.  We find ourselves in Christ, where the promises of God are fulfilled.  It’s the Promised Land! 

            As we all have to deal with our own morally wrong or wicked positions at some point in our lives (“for all have fallen short of the Glory of God”), which path you chose determines whether you become a woman of disgrace or a beautiful bride.  Many chose to hide their shame fearing the exposure, so they have no close friends and stay very busy.  Their business is a talisman to ward off the day of exposure.  We must cover our nakedness with business.  But there is another path.  Our contempt could lead us to lightly esteeming our own lordship over our lives.  It can lead us to the Cross-where we confess our inability to direct our own steps and the dire need to be clothed in the righteousness that can only come from God.  This surrender and defeat of our selves leads, not to a shameful exposure, but a beautiful betrothal.  Surrender to the Lordship of Christ and you’ll find yourself a Bride dressed in white.

Get Out of Shittim

“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan where they camped before crossing over.” (Joshua 3:1).

Shittim was the place the Israelites camped at in Numbers 25 when they succumbed to all kinds of sexual immorality along with idolatry as they worshipped the gods of the land. They choose to appease and join with the people of the land.  They sucked up to peer pressure and the culture around them.  You just can’t get to the Promised Land when you’re camped at Shittim.  You see the word Shittim means sticks of acadia wood.  Acadia only grows in very dry, barren land.   Acadia is a wood of scourging thorns used to flog.  Shittim is a place of self-flagellation.  It’s a place where you flog yourself for your past failures. Your just can’t seem to get it together and be like God.  Where you beat yourself until eventually you no longer are able to stand; and the sin that is crouching at your door seizes you.

Joshua showed you the way out of Shittim.  You need to move camp to the Jordan.  Jordan means to cast down.  When you camp at the Jordan, the river of life in a barren land; you cast down your self.  You no longer sit on the throne.  You’re being made ready to follow your God, now that you no longer sit as judge and king.

“After three days the officers went throughout the camp giving orders to the people:  ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.  Then you will know which way to go, since, you have never been this way before.’” (Joshua 3:2-3).

 The Ark of the Covenant was the focal point of the Presence of the Lord.  Now you’ve been made ready to follow the Presence of the Lord.  And He will lead you into the Promised Land.  If you’ve been camped at Shitttim in your life; you need to know that this is a way you’ve never gone before.  Don’t be surprised that you don’t know the way, but trust the Lord and follow Him.  Look for His Presence.  Keep your eyes on the covenant that He made with you on the Cross.

Lord God, You are an awesome God, full of mercy, grace and loving kindness.  Teach us how to move out of Shittim; to break camp with self-condemnation.  Teach us how to cast ourselves down.  Make us ready for Your Presence to be enthroned in our lives.  Help us to keep our eyes focused on the covenant You made with us on the Cross.  Lead us across the Jordan to the Promised Land, where You, O God are the Lord our Righteousness.  Thank you sweet Jesus, Lover of my soul!

Death or Life?

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

Natural death is a separation of the soul from the body.  Natural death began in the Garden but that day we surely died to God.  We separated ourselves from the presence of the Living God.  We chose death instead of Life.  We chose separation, independence from God.  Surely we died to Life and Life abundantly.

            There is only one way back.  That is to choose Life.  The Hebrew word translated life is (ית) chay.  The first letter of life is (י) yod, which means a child’s hand extended to grasp.  The second letter of life is (ת) tau, which is actually a combination of two other letters:  (נ) nun and (ך) daleth.  (ך) Daleth is a broken man and (נ) nun is a crushed man, the Messiah.  So (ת) tau means a broken man embraced by the Messiah; it is the letter representing salvation. So in the Garden the word for Life pictorially represents a child’s hand grasping the salvation wrought by the Messiah.   Why a child’s hand?  Only as a child are we dependent without shame.  Only as a child can we run naked without fear.  Only as a child are we clothed and provided for by our Father.  Our only job as a child is to obey.  We don’t need to figure things out; that’s His job.  We just smother Him in hugs and kisses when he walks through the door.  And He sits down, pulls us on His lap, and tells us stories.  Go sit on your Father’s lap grasping the salvation He offers and choose life!

Father, how I love You!  Forgive me for choosing independence, for exalting myself.  Grant me the gift of repentance.  I choose Life.  I choose being a child of God.  Fill me with Your love so that I won’t hide in fear from Your Presence any more.  But instead I would trust in Your Salvation.  Thank you Jesus, for giving me the victory over death!  Oh Father, be my God and I will be Your child.  Amen.

The Blessings of Impotence

Doesn’t it just aggravate you when the people in your life consistently enter into some sort of sin?  Maybe they’re manipulative or fearful or lacking simple self-control.  Why can’t they just get a grip?  You’ve told them a number of times just balance the checkbook before you write another check.  Do you really need that bowl of ice cream?  How about the revelation that you’ve grown accustom to wearing clothes and clothes cost money, Mr. Scrooge. Have you considered wearing a DVD player on top of your head so you can get a little attention?  You’ve explained the immorality of their actions a number of times, yet nothing changes.  How can you respect and love someone who refuses to do what is right?  Judgement and indignation now sit on the throne and scream in your ear.

            You should be angry, very angry.  This person refuses to be fixed by you.  You have all the answers.  Yet they refuse to let you be their god.  Doesn’t your flesh just rage when your own impotence is revealed…Hmmm…”Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on the flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.” (Jeremiah 5:17).  Once again we’re back at the Cross confessing our idolatry of trusting in our flesh.   “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”(Luke 18:13).  “Heal me, O Lord and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved,”  (Jeremiah 17:14).

            Lord we thank you that we can come to you and repent.  We have trusted in our flesh and tried to lord over these people in our lives.  Forgive us.  Cleanse and anoint us that we might humbly trust in the Living God.  Thank you for being our Hope and our Righteousness.  Thank you for transforming us into people who trust in the Lord and whose confidence is in the Cross of Christ. Thank you Jesus for setting us free from sin and death!! We ask You to be our Righteousness.  We entrust the workings out of their salvation to You.  We ask that You supernaturally step in and set this situation right.  Most importantly we ask that we would be set free to love these people and to seek and speak life to them.  We desire to obey You and for You to be enthroned in our lives! Glory to God! We love You Jesus! Thank You. Amen.

            Impotence is such a blessing in our life!  It enables us to see the futility of trusting in ourselves.  That rage inside of you, when submitted to the Holy Spirit, convinces you of your need for God. These people have been the very tool of God in your life to reveal your idolatry. Have you thanked God for the revelation these problems have brought into your life?  Try it. Thank You Jesus for the blessing of the exposure of my impotence because of trusting in my flesh!  Thank you for enabling me to be set free from my idolatry to trust in You instead! Remember He’s a very big God.  Trust Him to turn the do-do in your life into gold!  “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8).

You Will Be Like God

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

          

  So begins the Fall from successful living.  “You will be like God.”  We’ve been trying to be like God ever since.  Pride is the exultation of self.  Humility is the exultation of God.  The Kingdom of Man requires man to be king.  The Kingdom of God requires God to be King.  When you determine what is right and what is wrong independent of the Scriptures, you have exalted yourself.  You are god.  And way too often, we bow down and worship.

            We who live in a democracy have a lot to learn about a kingdom.  First it has a king.  He is not elected because we want him to be king.  If we don’t want him to be king, he still is king.  He makes the rules regardless of our opinion on the matter. He does not rule by opinion polls. The best non-democratic example we have is the parent-child relationship.

Because of original sin, we as people are born with ourselves enthroned in our lives.  It doesn’t take long for new parents to realize who the king in the household is.  This little precious tyrant determines when you sleep, when you eat, where you go, how long you stay, etc.  The process of growing up begins as the tyrant is overthrown and submission to loving authority is put into place in that little person’s life. So you also have been born into the Kingdom of God and if you’re going to mature the tyrant; the man-king, must be overthrown.  You must learn not to play in the streets of sin, nor stick your wet, sticky fingers in the light sockets of immorality.

But it goes much deeper than just the external acts of obedience. Your whole inner man must be brought into submission to the King.  You must choose to align yourself internally with the King.   You much choose obedience from the heart.

As you contemplate yielding such incredible amount of authority over to an uncontrollable God, remember Psalms 45:10-11:  “Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:  Forget your people and your father’s house.  The king is enthralled by your beauty.”  This King loved you enough to die for you when you were in rebellion against His rule.  You can trust Him.

Jesus is Your Enabler

            Zechariah prophesied about Jesus (Luke1:74-75)  as our Savior He would “…enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”  Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to save.  He is the first place to run to when you fail.  He will enable you to live in holiness. 

            “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3.  The key to Jesus being your enabler is your knowledge of Him.  I’m not talking about the mental ascent as when one knows the multiplication tables and when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  I’m referring to a personal intimacy with Jesus.  Remember this salvation business was all His idea.  He found you; you didn’t find Him. Well, same thing goes for intimacy.  This is His idea.  Jesus desires intimacy with you.  Yes, you.  All He’s waiting for is you to agree.  What in the world could possible hold you back from such an invitation?  What ever it is dump it like you would the unidentifiable frig fur from last month’s culinary delights.  You see you are wanted; you are desired.  And not just by a nobody, but the Somebody of the universe.

            The problem with this wonderful intimate relationship with your Creator who lavishes love on you, is that He requires obedience.  We’ve in the past always liked having ourselves as the head honcho.  Now He requires that place in our lives.  This is where we slip back into munching frig fur.  We forget that He loves us and not just a little, but lavishes His love on us.

 O’ Lord give me revelation of Your abundant love for me. I know that I have reverted to the sinful habits of my old dead ways instead of embracing the truth and power of the Gospel that has set me free from slavery to sin.  Forgive me.  Enable me to truly understand that in love You predestined me to be adopted as your child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with Your pleasure and will. (Ephesians 1:5)   How great is the love the Father has lavished on me, that I should be called a child of God!  And that is what I am. (1 John 3:1)  I thank you, Jesus, that no force in heaven or on earth can separate me from Your love. (Romans 8:39)  And I thank you that the Power to accomplish this is the same Power that raised Christ from the dead!  Hallelujah! Glory to God! Amen! 

The Living God

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:7

“His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.”  Isaiah 29:26

If we are to love God we need to talk with Him, not at Him. We need to seek Him and not give up until we find Him.  Don’t allow your flesh to settle for ritual or religion.  The Father is actively looking for those that are looking for Him.  You will find Him, but you have to be willing to submit to the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 59:2 says that your iniquities have separated you from God.  This is were our flesh rises up and screams, “I know right from wrong.”  Or the enemy stands accusing and condemning you about what a loser you are.  You see, when we pray then hear and see no answer, our flesh knows how much easier it is to figure it just wasn’t God’s will to answer but the Lord made it plain in Matthew 21:22 that He would answer every prayer.  The alternative is to submit our flesh to the searching and purifying of the Holy Spirit. Sin is notoriously deceptive and thrives in the cover of darkness.  Be prepared; the sin is often not what we expect. 

“…God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ…”(Romans 2:16). The secrets will be judge.  The question every believer has to ask themselves is when do I want to deal with the secrets:  now or the Day of Judgment.  Do I want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!” or “Well done piece of toast!”? 

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stone, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”(1Corinthians 3:11-15).

  You see these secrets are often in the foundation.  They’re many times not the good works that men can see, but hidden even from ourselves and we need the Holy Spirit to reveal these secrets.  “The heart is deceptive above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’”(Jeremiah 17:9-10).

 God often violates our image of ourselves and /or who the Lord really is.  We think we’re really angry at the way the guy in front of us cut us off on the drive home.  But really somewhere in our heart we’re still believe that we really were at fault for our parents getting divorced.  We think that God is really mad at us because we screw up all the time.  But really He just wants to pull us up into his lap and give us a big hug. “ But you don’t know the things I’ve done.  Besides circumstances, my own actions, “friends”, and even family have told me over and over what a screw-up I am.”  You have forgotten that the Alpha and Omega knew all those things before He ever called you into His kingdom.  So repent from you foolish unbelief in the power of God to work His will in you.  He knows all things, understands all things, and has the most power.  It is His opinion that matters.  He says He loves you.  Trust the Lord’s opinion.  Allow Him to define for you what constitutes a right relationship with Him.  Dearly beloved, allow Him to define who you are.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God!” 1 John 3:1

Lord God, forgive me my pride and arrogance!  I am not my Creator.  I am not able to define who I am, nor what constitutes a right relationship with You.  Search my heart and grant me repentance for any unclean thing in me.  I trust in Your love, Your power, and Your wisdom.  Create in me a clean heart that exalts You!  May Your kingdom come and Your will be done! Thank you Jesus!  For in You I have a steadfast and trustworthy hope.

His Voice

“Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you.  Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”   Deuteronomy 4:1

Obedience leads to a tremendous amount of blessings.  This principle is throughout scripture.  But you cannot obey unless you first hear what is required.  You need ears that can hear and eyes that can see in order walk in obedience.  Ecclesiastes 3 states that there is a time for everything.  Well, is it a time to tear down or a time to build?  How do you know?  You have to consult the One who created time to know the answer.  This requires, not only hearing His answer, but also knowing it is the Lord when He speaks.  In John 10 the Good Shepherd refers His sheep as knowing His voice.  They don’t know about His voice; they know His voice. 

  You see the Pharisees knew scripture, but the disciples knew the Lord.   This knowing Him means to know Him intimately, not just as a casual acquaintance.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion." Hebrews 3:15.

Hearing His voice leads to intimacy.  He bought this on the Cross.  He paid a heavy price to open the door to an intimate relationship with you.  He wants you.  How are you going to respond? 

You can know by reading any of the Gospels that interaction with the Lord will mean many blessings, but also, that He will violate your theology, offend your pride, and turn your world upside down.  Be prepared.  He’s not an idol that requires a systematic ritual to obtain a guaranteed result.  No, He’s far from controllable, but always trustworthy and faithful.  At times, He can be so gentle and tender; but He also doesn’t mind spitting in your eyes so you can see.  If you chose this dynamic relationship with a risen Savior, the adventure you set out on will not be boring and you’ll never regret it, but I make no promises about it being easy.

Oh, Lord, You are the Lord of Glory, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  Give this lump of clay the ability to trust this wild, noble and good Lion.  Let this dirt bound creature of earth fly in the heights of heaven.  Let this rebel delight in obedience.  Let this deaf, cold, dead heart hear Your voice and beat wildly, enthralled with Your Presence!  Amen.

Start at the Beginning

The crack of the whip rings in the air. A gasp escaped from the lips of the bruised and now bloody man’s back

 My greed.

 The whip cracks again.

  My bitterness.

  The blood from His back splatters those standing close.  Again the whip cruelly lies open His back.

 My hatred.

 Crack.  The blood sprays their faces.

  My lust.

 Crack.  The blood splatters their clothes.

  My selfishness.

 Crack.  The blood is in their hair and on their feet.

 My jealousy.

  Finally, He’s thrown to the blood soaked ground.  Only to struggle through town with a rough-hewn beam thrust on His shredded back.  Each step a struggle amidst a mocking crowd.

 My drunkenness.

 At the top of the hill to the joy and delight of the crowd He’s thrown down on top of the rough beam and the nails are lined-up on the wrists and the hammer raised.  The thud of the hammer rings out amidst the cries of agony.

 My gluttony.

 His body twists in a jolt of blinding pain as the crowd cheers the thud of the hammer.

 My lies.

 Thud.

  My gossiping.

  Thud.

  My hypocrisy.

 The blood was splattered liberally around the ravaged body of the Man.  It was sprinkled on all who drew near. 

  It’s far easier to step to the back of the crowd and look the other way. My inability to live, as I should is far less noticeable the farther back in the crowd I stand.  If I just look the other way, why, I can see that I’m certainly not as bad as those others over there.  It’s much more neat and orderly back here.  Not so messy. Cleanliness is next to godliness, you know.  I’m sure if I just get busy enough that nagging emptiness that snuck up on me will go away.

 Back here I can mark my sin up to only being human and my unanswered prayers as “it must not have been God’s will”.  My flesh’s attempt to deny that the Lord is my righteousness and that He promised to answer when I pray will keep me neat, orderly, and in control instead of bloody.

 What is this about the Holy Spirit wanting to be in control and that He wars against my flesh? War is not neat, orderly, or nice.  I hate this flatness; this emptiness in my life.

  What to do, what to do?

 Do I dare trust Him to win the war?

This emptiness bleeds the life from my soul.

 The war begins as I decide to draw near and be splattered by the Blood; I look into His eyes and cry out in agony “I’m unworthy of this sacrifice!”  Oh, how it rips and shreds my pride and arrogance.  It reveals my absolute nakedness and filth.  How can my flesh stand this!   It can’t.  It dies.  And I weep for I have always had this flesh beside me to guide me.

            Those nail pierced hands gently cup my face to draw my gaze upward.  It is frightening!  How can I endure such pain again!  But the hands are so gentle as they wipe away the tears. I give His face a quick glance.  How can it be?  With all the exposure of my wicked sin there should be wrath and anger.  My sin is so ugly and caused so much pain.  So what was that look on His face.  He didn’t appear to be angry.  Perhaps I should look again.  Oh, no! What do I do?  This kindness, this love on His face, could it be for me?  How could He love me when I’m so ugly?  Again those gentle hands draw me up on to His lap and He rests my head against His chest.  And as He cradles me in His lap I think, “Perhaps…could this be…love?”

           

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            To all those that are weary, burdened and hunger for more, come and we will go on a journey to find Life and life abundantly.