Journal Journeys 1

This is what my friend Jake wrote in the back cover of one of my journals from 2000. Whenever possible, I will snap shots of what looks good or redeemable and share them here. Then I will burn the journals. Am planning a nice big bonfire this fall. 

In The Unity of The Spirit

The Word of God Is

Rich and Sweet.

The Word of God Is

Bread and Meat.

The Word of God Is

Faithful and True.

The Word of God Is 

For me and you.

We have come, Lord,

To see Your face.

Meet us now, Lord,

In this place.

Make us one, Lord,

In Your Name.

We are wholly 

Holy Thine.

(ca. 2013. Going through my journals, I find little poems and short songs, this is one of those.)

Rich: Acts 12:24 (increased and multiplied)

Sweet: Psalm 19:10 (sweeter than honey)

Bread: John 6:35 (Jesus is Bread)

Meat: John 4:34 (doing, obeying God's will)

Faithful and True: Revelation 22:6 (the fact of the Bible, Scriptures)

For me and for you: John 3:16 (the Word died for us on the cross)

                                 Romans 10:12, 13 (the Word is for Everyone)

The Lord's Table

The Presence of God Is Here
Exodus 25:30 
"And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway."

The Blessing of The Lord in Hardship and Persecution
Psalm 23:5
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

Flee From Idolatry
1 Corinthians 10:21
"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

The Master's Table Is Reserved
Matthew 15:27
"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

The Marriage Supper of The Lamb
Revelation 19:9
"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Hosea 2:19)

At The Lord's Table
1 Corinthians 11:23-30
"23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."


27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."

Where is the table? wherever God sets it up.
What is on the table? bread, which declares the presence of God, and wine, in which is our portion.
Who sits at the table? The Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples, All His disciples, then and now.
Why is there a table in the first place? for God ordained such to be made and set up in the Holy Place of the tabernacle, that the presence of God would always be there.
When do we sit at the table? when the Spirit of The Lord calls us to it.
How do come to the table? in humility and humbleness, in repentance and hope.

As I Have Loved You

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another. 
John 13:34






How has Jesus loved us? 

• Jeremiah 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
• Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. (with a reciprocal love)
• 1 Peter 2:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.
• Romans 13:9-10 The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. 
• John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (Love is not selfish, self-centered nor does it value itself as 'better than'). 
• 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (we should be willing to lay down our lives, and share our life in Christ for/with others)
• 1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (use our God-given gifts to serve each other)
• John 13:14-15 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. (have a servant's heart towards each other)

Identifying the Enemy's Tactics-Fear

1 Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour."

    There is only one male lion per pride. The other male lions roam because they have nowhere to go. Their roaring can be heard for miles around. It is meant to put fear into whoever is in the vicinity, that a lion is in the area and he is looking for something to gobble up. (in Bible Study last night I learned an acronym for this type of fear can be False Evidence Appearing Real{thank you, Karl}).
     It is this same tactic the enemy of our souls uses. He roars fearsomely, on the lookout for whoever is not paying attention to their surroundings or environment. It is why we need to be always alert and knowledgeable about the Word. 
     For instance, God says not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbors. We can admire what they have, but it is not good to say or even think about taking what is theirs. For that would be sinful. 
     When God says, Put Me first, He means it. Waking up each morning with a greeting towards Him and speaking from a thankful heart is putting God first. Choosing to know and obey God is putting God first. When we make any decision, important or menial, seeking God's direction is putting God first. Making decisions without prayer is foolish and time consuming. 

     The devil would have you believe that God is not, when in Truth God Is. Therefore, God is the Lion of His pride, His flock. His roar is a declaration of battle. When the lion who seeks to destroy God's people gets too close, know that when you are near God, that other lion cannot get to you. Stay near God by studying His Word on a daily basis. Stay near God through prayer; wait for Him to speak when you are waiting on His response. Stay at the altar, whether in your church or in your prayer closet, until the Holy Spirit releases you. 

     Fear can only enter you when you open yourself up to it. God promises to stay near us when we stay near Him. Many times when the word 'fear' is used in reference to God it means 'reverence, to revere', in other words to honor God, preferring Him above all others; to stand in awe of God, His character (who He is) and His benefits (what He does); to place God's will ahead of personal desires and wants. 
     Yet, there are still a few times when fearing God means a person should be terrified of seeing God face to face. You know when that happens? When a person stands before God and finally realizes that the Bible was true all along, and now it's too late to make that decision to believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord. Revelation 14:7 "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." Judgment from God on the people who refuse to believe that God Is and that His Word Is True and Truth. Don't be one of those people. 
    As Peter stated to the jailer when he asked, What must I do to be saved?, we say to you who read and have not yet believed, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” See Acts 16:25-34 and read for yourself. 
   It's time to stop being afraid of the wrong lion. 

     

Paul Wilbur - THE WATCHMAN FULL ALBUM

Paul Wilbur - THE WATCHMAN FULL ALBUM



Listening to this album while I study.

Called & Equipped

When God calls us to do something for Him, He does not expect us to do it by ourselves. When we obey His call to us, He not only equips us for the work we are being called to do, God will do the work He has called us to do through us.

If you think you have heard God's call on your life, and you think you can't do what He is calling you to do, you're right: you can't. Not without God there by your side the whole time. 

Identifying the Enemy's Tactics-Subtility

Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

Our enemy is subtle. Searching through different Biblical versions and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for the word 'subtle/subtile' we see that this means crafty, sneaky, cunning, shrewd.  
In Genesis 3:1 the devil also twisted the words which God had spoken to Adam. He said "every tree", which may have confused Eve and tricked her into answering him instead of ignoring him. 
But when evil is whispered repeatedly into the ear, the heart makes a decision without thinking of the consequences. 
God said death was the punishment for eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). The serpent said, "You won't die, you will be like gods."  The enemy told an out and out lie. 
Death is the result of sin. Sin is willful disobedience to what God has spoken. Eve willfully ate the fruit and then handed it off to Adam, who also ate of it. In that instant they both knew they had disobeyed God. But the serpent's tactical interference did not end there. 
For when God asked why did they do it, neither took responsibility for their actions. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the snake. The snake was punished as well. Reading Genesis 3:14, 15 we see that snakes had legs! "upon thy belly you shall go". The snake itself became cursed above all animals which God had created. Verse 15 says God put enmity (hatred, hostility) between the woman and the serpent.  Not fear, but hatred. 
We are not to fear the enemy of our souls but be for ever on the attack and alert for him. Knowing how he works is a good start. 

Informed Decision

An informed decision requires an informed platform. For instance, let’s talk about God. All religions have one. But that’s religion. Let’s talk about Jesus. Only one religion recognizes Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten Son who died on the cross and rose from the dead to save the world from eternal damnation through Adam’s sin in the garden. That religion is Christianity.

While there are many doctrines in place within the religious realm of Christianity, who is to say who is right and who is wrong? The place to go to make that decision is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the Living Word of God. Yep, you heard me right. Only by reading and understanding God’s Word can we learn God’s intentions towards us.

If we begin with Genesis, we read that God created our world and everything within it. He creates the stars, the moon, the sun and all the universe above us. God creates all animals and people. And He doesn’t do this alone. His Son and His Spirit work with Him to create.

And when we go to the Book of John we read that The Word of God has always been, just as God has always been. We read that The Word became flesh, that He let God wrap His glorious Son in the frail body of flesh and gave Him to the world to become the sin offering once and for all.

Reading Romans we see that while Christ died for all of us, it is up to each of us, on an individual level, to make a decision to choose and believe that Jesus Christ is LORD. An informed decision. Each one of us, every person who ever lived and is capable of making their own decision, is responsible for choosing to be saved or condemned by God. No one else can make this decision for us but us.

As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God knew. For He came to the garden and could not see them, as sin covered them. So God asked Adam, "Where are you?" And when Adam responded, "I hid because I was naked.", God asked, "Who told you you were naked?"

The two basic questions God asks every person. Where are you? and Who told you you were naked?

Naked means more than unclothed. It is to be without proper covering. Without a proper covering God could not see Adam, nor Eve. He cannot see us without a proper covering. In the beginning in the garden, God had to kill an animal and use its skin to cover Adam and Eve that they might be properly covered. {While the Bible does not tell us then which animal died, when we read Exodus and Leviticus we see that an unblemished, spotless lamb was used for the sin offering, as a substitute for a person who had sinned (disobeyed God's Word). }

In the Book of John we learn that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son came to us as The Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. And that believing this Truth covers us who believe with the blood of this Lamb, making it possible for God to see us.

So, what must I do to be saved? A cry made from the heart and echoed by the lips. First we must recognize that we are sinners. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is repentance: Recognizing that we are sinners and have sinned and choosing not to keep living in the state of sin. It is more than remorse or sorriness: it is abject recognition of being apart from God and making an Informed Decision to be near Him through His Son and under the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

Realizing I am a sinner I understand the penalty of sin is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is hope now, because the believer is given a gift from God: eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas before, we had only an eternity of death and separation from God standing before us, now we have Hope and Peace by faith in Christ.

A new word has been introduced to us: faith. It is the act of believing God. Believing that He Is and that His Word Is Truth. Believing that what God promises, God delivers. As He has for so many people for thousands of years God’s Word is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11 and Revelation 22:6). See also Hebrews 11 to learn what a few folks accomplished by their faith.

Seeing now that I am a sinner and am saved by Christ, what now must I do? Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the Word of faith, which we preach, that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus Christ is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.” Words to rejoice and shout! I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord! Do you?

You can. Romans 10:23 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I am a whosoever. You are a whosoever. Yes, you, the one reading this page. You can be saved. You can believe. Let no one tell you otherwise. It is simple and easy. It is the faith of a child believing her father will catch her if she jumps, lift him up when he falls. And now that you and I have called upon the name of the Lord for our salvation? Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

I have made an Informed Decision for Christ. Have you?