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.