Exercise 4 the Heart

Just like medicine is applied to the sick or achy part of our bodies to heal and soothe, so, too, is The Word of God applied to our wounded spirits, broken hearts and upside-down lives. It is not enough to just go to church, just have a Bible, just  read it once in a while. We must push aside whatever distracts us from opening our Bibles and read what God has to say to us everyday.

Every decision to enforce our personal disciplines on ourselves is as essential as drinking in God's clear Living Water, eating God's Holy Manna (Bread of Life); wearing The Lord Jesus Christ, resting in Jesus, and living under God's covenant of Grace. He is our food and drink, our clothing, our peace, our roof above us. 

Starting a new routine, changing up the old one, only takes one step. And then another. And then another; until it becomes habit, routine. But all it takes is that first decision to make a change in our lives, lifestyles. And then our second step is to follow through on that decision.

We can decide to change our weight, but until we put forth an effort to see it change, it won't. We can decide to quit our addictions, but until we make a conscious effort to stop, we will keep right on doing them.

But, before we can do anything, we must turn to God and see what He has to say on our decisions to change. Have you not noticed that the older we get the harder it is to leave our safety net, our comfort zone? We like it here. Or at least we have convinced ourselves that we do. But is our comfort more important than God's will for our lives? No.

All of the commands, the wills, the desires which God has for us require action on our parts before God can move in our lives. God's will is alive, powerful, able to change, to divide and to multiply, to add and subtract. Following through on our decision to live our lives according to His will for us requires daily maintenance and upkeep in His Word. 

We strive within ourselves to maintain our youthfulness, our mobility, our own happiness. We should be pursuing what makes God happy, striving against the pressures of the enemy who desires our souls instead of fighting time and gravity to remain upright and less wobbly. Even though those things are important, they do not have more priority than what God wants for us. 

The applied Word of God to these struggles and strivings has more power to change us than anything we can do in ourselves. I have a friend who had difficulty losing weight so she could be healthier: she prayed it off. Because of her faithfulness to God's service and her heart for the love of God, God answered her prayer. 

I have another friend whom all her doctors said would never walk or talk or even live above a certain age: she is 15 this year. She walks, she talks, she learns. She is smart and funny and sweet and autistic; and I love her. God answers the prayers of the righteous.

It isn't going to be easy, but you know what? It isn't supposed to be easy being a follower of Christ, a lover of God's Word, a soldier in the army of The Lord. Anything worth having is worth working for. 

More Than A Privilege

Praying is more than a privilege: it is a God-given right to all people everywhere. You know why? Because God wants to hear your voice. Not just in asking for stuff, either. Nor in complaint or whiny voices. God enjoys spending time with people who enjoy spending time with Him. 

Do you enjoy spending time with God? When was the last time you told Him you loved Him just because you do? 

When you sing His praises, is He there? The Holy Bible says God inhabits, dwells in, the praises of His people. If Jesus isn't in your heart, and your heart isn't in God's worship, you are a clanging symbol, noisy brass, making a God-awful sound instead of a God-praising sound.

Prayer and Praise walk hand in hand when we are in God's presence. And God's presence cannot be in the same time frame as sin and evil; for our God is Holy, and where He is is Holy Ground.

We can pray for someone, pray with someone, or just pray for ourselves. But the One to whom we pray desires more than our outstretched hands, He wants our whole selves. We must do more than make small gestures of reconciliation: we must surrender our entire being to God's love and grace.

Our minds rest in His Word when we read and study it. Our bodies rest in His arms when we come to His throne and kneel before Him. Our spirits rest in His Spirit when we yield ourselves to His desires, His needs. We are complete when we willing submit all that we are to all that God Is.

Prayer is more than asking and receiving: it is thanking and giving, too. 

More Than I Can Handle

If all God ever gave us is only what we can handle, what would we need God for? God gives us more than we can handle, so we can call on God to help us. 
Many of you think I am doing well and while I am doing good, it is all because of God. God is my Healer and my Adjuster, and my Fixer-Upper of my life, my mind and my body. 
The God of The Holy Bible is my God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is also The God of this person, me.
He is The Author of my Salvation, The Creator of all things and my Lifter-Upper. He not only lifted me out of the miry clay, but He lifts me up daily. Why? Because I lift Him up for all the world to see. Because I lift up my voice to praise His Mighty Name. Because I humble myself in His sight. Because I love Him so and want to please Him. All this and much more do I do for Him.
Not because of anything I have done, but because of everything! He has done for me, in me, through me. Jesus Christ lives! and He lives in me. Through the ongoing transformational processes of The Holy Spirit, the sanctification, the I in me is being changed into a perfect reflection of my Savior.
Look my direction if you will, but look right past me. See Jesus in me. See Jesus in my words. See Jesus in my actions. See Jesus, not me.

O Lord, Make Me Holy

Holiness is only a choice when we choose to be holy. BUT holiness by God's definition is a command, for to be able to stand in God's presence holiness is required. 

The sinful nature is inherent within us. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil had its fruit eaten when Adam and Eve tasted it way back when. Because all life came through Adam and Eve, so too does all death. For by their actions, disobeying God, sin came into the world. But through Christ's actions, becoming flesh, dying on the cross, and rising from the dead, sin was overcome and death was conquered.

No more does sin have to rule a person's life, nor our choices. Now we can choose to believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord, or remain in a sinful nature and refuse to believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord. Choice determines destination.

Though we have the knowledge of good in us, it is not enough to be good or do good things. No one is good enough to enter into heaven on their terms. Acts of kindness, pay-it-forwards, and the golden rule are done believing that this will make us look good in God's eyes. Even people with bad intentions can do these things; it does not make them good.

Only Jesus Christ can bring us into God's presence. Only God, through The Holy Spirit, can see a person's heart and reveal what lies therein. Only The HOLY Spirit can guide a person into holiness, transforming us from what we think will make God happy into knowing how to please God.

1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil.

O Lord, make me holy. Whatever it takes make me pure in heart, clothe me with The Righteousness of Your Holy Word, cleanse my mind and renew my spirit. I want to spend eternity with You, O Lord, starting now. In Jesus' Name, The Name Which Is Above All Names, Amen

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

As April unfolds, we see on the horizon Palm Sunday (April 13), so called because that is the day in history when Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey. A meek and lowly animal for the King of Kings to ride. 

Matthew 21:1-11 describes how the multitude which followed him laid their robes on the ground, removed branches from the trees nearby and laid them also. They that walked before Him, along with they who walked behind Him, worshiped Him, saying loudly, "Hosanna to the Son of David, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest." -Matthew 21:9. 

And what was the first thing He did? Straight into the temple He walked, throwing out the men who were profiting from the people's sins, selling grace instead of showing it-Matthew 21:12.

He cleansed the temple when He removed them from it, declaring that His house was a house of prayer, not the den of thieves they had made it-Matthew 21:13. Then He began to heal those who came to Him for healing, teaching those who would listen and declaring judgment on those who would abuse His house and His people.
It was then they desired to take hold of Him, arrest Him so to speak, but they were fearful of the crowds who followed Him. So they waited. And watched for an opportunity to take down the Man who was destroying their lifestyles and businesses.

Normal To Fail

It is normal to fail. It is normal to fail God, too. Failure keeps us humble. The inability to be perfect all the time is inherent within us. Adam failed God, but after he repented was still able to continue God's mission even though he relocated after he failed God. 

He taught his children about God and God's grace. Abel's heart was right with God and Cain's was not; Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. After awhile Eve gave birth to Seth, another son who was taught the things of God. And he sought God out and called on His Name.

Perfection in our lives or our children's lives is not our goal. Perfection of the soul is God's goal for each of us. Our job is to preach the gospel, share the good news. With our lives. We are someone else's Bible, you know, and they need to see Jesus living and loving in our lives, in our homes, in our lifestyles.

We are known by our actions, by our words. Our value is defined, whether intentionally or accidentally, by how we behave with each other. Treating one another with Love is done on purpose. It does not matter who you are or what you do: Loving you like Jesus loves me is not only mandatory, it is a privilege granted to those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and allow Jesus to live not only in us, but through us. And sometimes we fail in that.

That's when we need to repent of our sin, our failure, to God and receive His forgiveness. That's when we need to go to the person we have failed to love like Jesus, and say "I'm sorry". That's when the humble mode should kick in and not the prideful heart. Pride is sin.

With pride in the heart and the mind, humility is out the window and forgiveness from anyone, especially God, is out of the question. Pride causes us to fall (from grace), humbleness (living in grace) causes us to grow. Grow strong in The Word, in Jesus, and grow strong in our relationship with each other when we are willing to admit we have done something wrong, failed.

Remember, it is okay to be imperfect.

More Details Visible

The closer you get to a flower, like this red geranium,

 the more details are visible and the sweeter the 

flower smells. 


The same thing happens when we meet God. The 

closer we get to Him the clearer we see Him; the 

sweeter He smells. 

Can You Drink From My Cup?

Good morning. As I sat here drinking my coffee, wondering which photo to post for a morning greeting, I was led to this one, where I had been sitting under my folks' olive tree here. And then The Holy Spirit led me into His study. 

Can You Drink From My Cup?
Matthew 26:39 "And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt."

Matthew 20:22 "But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able."

So, here is the question: of all the cups we drink of or from, have you made the decision to drink from this one? Have you gone 'a little further' and committed yourself to finishing what's in your cup?

The cross is not at the bottom of our cups: it's part of what we drink into our body as a whole: body, soul, spirit. What God pours into our cups we need to be willing to down, to the last dregs, so to speak.

Eternal life is ours: it's at the bottom of the cup we are holding. What appears to be an empty cup in our hand is the fulfillment of all that the cup had held. 

Rejoice, Rejoice, O Christian,
Life up your voice and sing!
Eternal hallelujahs,
to Jesus Christ our King!
The Hope of all who seek Him,
The Help of all who find;
None other is so loving,
So good and kind.

He lives! He lives!
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me, and talks with me,
Along life's narrow way!
He lives! He lives!
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.