What Do You Want Me To Do?

Today Jesus is asking us, 

"What do you want Me to do?"

What is your answer?

Effective Faith

Perhaps, what looks like a mountain to us, is only a pebble to God. 
What the heart perceives to be possible, the soul says God can do it. Doubt Not, The Word says. Believe, and all things are possible. 

What are we not believing God can do? We need to repent of our doubt and continue to move forward. Staying in one place in our faith will not only stagnate us, but kill us; literally, as well as spiritually. Just ask the fig tree that did not bear fruit, when Jesus was hungry. 

Are we bearing fruit with our faith?

Obedience Brings

The Blessing of God's Holy Spirit

While God's love toward us is unconditional, His other blessings are conditional, as this verse states. 
1. We must love God
2. We must keep His commandments
3. We are to pray to The Father

That we might receive The Holy Spirit. It is The Holy Spirit who reveals in us the understanding of the Scriptures we are reading and hearing. It is The Holy Spirit who teaches us God's Word and leads us through it It is The Holy Spirit who gives us the boldness to speak of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. For there is no other Name under heaven by which we can be saved --Acts 4:12. 

And we need saving. We cannot save ourselves from death, nor the grave, nor hell. We are impotent and without power to save ourselves: we need a Savior. That Savior? Is JESUS CHRIST, God's only begotten Son.

We must first come to the realization that it is through Christ we are saved from damnation, before we can even begin to seek God's face and receive His Holy Spirit. No putting the cart before the horse here. Ephesians 2:8 "By grace are we saved through faith". 

Jesus is God's gift of salvation.
The Holy Spirit is God's gift of power.
Jesus did the work of God's plan of salvation.
The Holy Spirit works in us to bring forth the fruit of that salvation.

We NEED The Holy Spirit. We need Him actively moving in our lives, weaving The Word into our spirit, our soul, our body. For we are the bride of Christ and we need to be ready to greet Him.

Remember Me

Psalm 25:1-7

1. Unto Thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
2. O my God, I trust in Thee: let me not be ashamed,
    Let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3. Yea, let none that wait upon Thee be ashamed:
    Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
4. Show me Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths.
5. Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: For Thou art The God 
    of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.
6. Remember, O LORD, Thy tender mercies and Thy 
    lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions:
    According to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy 
    goodness' sake, O LORD.

His Faithfulness is

Great

His Faithfulness Reaches The Clouds

Great is His faithfulness unto me. But me unto Him? How great is my faithfulness? Am I being an obedient servant? Do I do what He asks me to when He asks me to do the task He has prepared for me? 

I must humble myself, search my heart and say, "No". Not every time. I push these clouds that fog my mind and zap my energy; wondering if there is a parallel in the spiritual realm, as well, where God's messengers fight the devils to deliver not only my prayers, but guard me, too. 

My strength is not. In my weakness, The LORD IS MY STRENGTH, my JEHOVAH-'EZ-LAMI = Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him." ... = Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer." (italics mine)

In the storm I have peace, because I have Jesus. 

JEHOVAH-SHALOM = Ephesians 2:14 "For He Is our Peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us." (no more division between believing Jews and believing Gentiles) 

=Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 

What is preventing me from being more faithful to Him? What wall stands in my way? What obstacles must I overcome, climb over, to be obedient to Him? Is waiting an action? I have not stopped trying, but sometimes, even in the spirit, I must take a deep breath, step back, and reason within how to continue on. 

It's more a question of How than Why. 

His faithfulness reaches to the clouds. It is expansive and unmeasureable with our tiny, limited imaginations. Beyond time His faithfulness extends: what was promised to one generation of righteousness is promised to all generations of righteousness. 

In Genesis, God set His bow in the clouds as a promise that no more would He destroy the world with a great flood. That promise stands today. Though parts of this world flood at differing weather times, the whole earth has not been flooded over and completely destroyed since that one time. 

JEHOVAH-MEPHALTI=The LORD IS MY DELIVERER = Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; My God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and The Horn of my Salvation, and my High Tower."

In Exodus, God delivered His people out of bondage with a special messenger (Moses). In the four gospels, Matthew-Mark-Luke-John, God reveals how He delivered all people through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. As it was in Exodus, so it is now: all were delivered, but only some believed. Not every generation entered into the Promised Land: only those who believed God's Word. Thus, only they who believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son, that He died on the cross as punishment for our sins and that He rose from the grave to give us eternal life with Him, will enter into the Promised Land that is to come. 

Great is His faithfulness. 

Gathered Together

Gathered Together

When our families are centered in Christ, all things work together for good. Not only within the family unit itself, but in each individual as well. Choosing to live a Christ-centered life will bring many changes to a person, including the circle of friends we surround ourselves with. 

Overcoming Overwhelmingness

Worship Thru' The Storm

     Through. Not stuck. Not immobile. Moving forward. Not going in circles. Not turning back. Not standing still. Through. 

     What gets us through overwhelming odds? Faith. Faith that Jesus is right here with us, guiding us with The Holy Spirit of God in every second of being caught up in the waves of hopelessness and loneliness that threaten to take down our sailing vessels. 

     Worshiping Him gets us through the storms or our life, even if we made decisions that caused some of the storms. Yes, God delivered us from the punishment for our sins. But we still live with the consequences of our actions and words. The Bible says "we will reap what we sow" -- 2 Corinthians 9:7. Decisions made without consulting God in His Word may sow, or plant, unrighteousness into our lives and the lives of those around us.

    I have not always been a born-again Christian, though I was raised in a Christian home. I had itching ears and heard what I wanted to hear, not understanding or having a ready knowledge to make decisions that would impact me for the rest of my life. I got caught up in drugs and drinking and partying. I had a baby out of wedlock. I had an affair with a married man (who was separated and going through a divorce, but married nonetheless). Got pregnant again by him, married him and had not only 2 more babies, but 2 new children. The marriage did not last and I divorced him. 

     Through these storms, I learned to wait for God's plan and God's timing to be fulfilled in my life. Now, I am happily married, with one more child, to the man God prepared for me: a godly man who lives a life of faithfulness and walks in his integrity. And I pray for him every day that he may fulfill God's purpose in his life. The children are grown and making life decisions on their own now. While my little ship sails across the ocean of life, I do His work for His glory and honor and praise. I sing and worship and make music. I share the gospel of salvation, as He has commanded me in Mark 16:15. I'm going through. 

    Storms of life sometimes occur from unwise decisions on our part. Our best decisions come from turning to Christ for every need. As the men in the fishing boat did when the storm that surrounded them threatened to overcome their ship -- Mark 4:35-41. He cares for us. He speaks peace into the storm and the storm subsides. Though the men were abrupt and somewhat rude when they awakened Him from His rest, still Jesus answered their immediate need, which was not just calming the storm, but rebuking them for their lack of faith. Had He not said in verse 35, "Let us pass over unto the other side"? He knew the destination would be reached no matter the attack that came against the decision to cross over to the other side. 

     Do you know your destination? Is Jesus Christ in the center of your sailing vessel, resting in your love? He is in mine. I cannot let any storm prevent me from reaching the other side. Nor can I turn back to what was before, for that way lies death and destruction. I must persevere, hanging onto His Word, letting the mists splash across me as I turn to face the clouds and the wind that attempt to bring me under, when in fact, it is I who will overcome and ride the wind and wave to victory! 

     

What Is Liberty?

     I see on this Fourth July that many of my Facebook friends are posting 2 Corinthians 3:17 as their status. But the liberty we celebrate having on our Independence Day is far different from the liberty so stated in this verse. We must dig deeper than merely the middle English definition given. While we as a nation celebrate our independence from foreign rule, the birth of our nation as a whole, we as Christians must ask ourselves 'what does it mean to have liberty in The Spirit'?

     2 Corinthians 3:17 is near the end of this chapter. So, we must go back and read from the beginning to see a glimpse of what we are reading and trying to understand. 2 Corinthians 3.
The Spirit verse 17 refers to is referenced to us back in 2 Corinthians 3:3, it is The Spirit of The Living God. 

     The veil of sin and darkness covers the heart  that has not yet believed in The Name of The LORD Jesus Christ for their salvation. When that veil is removed upon belief, then The Spirit of The LORD is there in that heart and soul; then liberty of The Spirit can move and have Its being in our lives. 
    
     But we must read this correctly and not misinterpret the verse itself or its meaning: "Now The LORD is that Spirit and where The Spirit of The LORD is, there is liberty." THE LORD IS THAT SPIRIT. Without Him there is no liberty. Without Him there is no revealing of The Word. Without Him we are nothing and have nothing. 

     Liberty from errors which prevent the heart from discerning that The LORD Jesus Christ is The Holy One of Israel, The Messiah whom they had been waiting for. Liberty to discern that The Promise of God was revealed in His Son and the means of salvation through His Son's death on the cross; the means of eternal life through His Son's resurrection from the grave. 
    
    Liberty to see the glory of The LORD for themselves, as Moses had seen on the mountaintop, when he was in the presence of The LORD. Liberty to have The Spirit of The LORD remove their hardened hearts and replace them with fleshy hearts, that He might write on them THE WORD OF GOD. 

     This same liberty which is spoken of by Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church is spoken to us as well. Have we let The Spirit of The LORD change our hearts, write on them? Can we see the glory of The LORD for ourselves? Are we being changed from glory to glory, as The LORD wills? Do we live in the liberty of The Spirit of The LORD? Does The Spirit have liberty to live and move and have His being in us?