Sunday, December 15, 2024
He Shall Be Called - Lawgiver
Thursday, December 12, 2024
He Shall Be Called - Child
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
He Shall Be Called - Isaiah 9:6
Thursday, October 31, 2024
The Two Fears - Part One: Fear Not
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I Am with you; Be not dismayed, for I Am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.'
The first time we see God saying to one of His chosen servants to not fear is in Genesis 15:1, when God tells Abram, "After these things The Word of The LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I Am thy Shield, and thy Exceeding Great Reward."
The last time The Lord speaks these words, "Fear Not", is in Revelation 1:17, when The First and The Last speaks to John in his vision: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I Am The First and The Last."
In this day and age, we who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that The Word of God is Truth, are daily bombarded with unChristlike behaviors and attitudes. We are attacked on every side and must be able to hold onto the cross (the place of saving grace) and the empty tomb (the place of eternal life revealed), when we go about our day to day lives.
Everybody has a story, and in our stories are chapters: the situations we find ourselves in, whether through our own decisions or the result of someone else's decision(s) which impacted us in some way. But in every chapter God is there. Sometimes we see Him working in our lives, sometimes we are completely unaware that He is there.
I say all this to remind you (and myself) that God Is Present: He is The Omnipresent God -- everywhere at the same time. If you are a born again Christian, then God is with you: leading us, guiding us: revealing to us His purpose for our lives. If we would just listen to Him and follow His lead, He will work everything out for our good. He said so. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." His purpose, His will, for our lives. We just have to wake up and pay attention.
There may or may not be 365 verses pertaining to not being afraid. I don't know, I've only just started this study. But I'm expressly searching out the two-word phrase "fear not". The rest can wait for another day.
When God gives the instruction to "fear not", He is preparing each person He speaks this to for a mighty move of God. God spoke to Abram and promised him that his seed, his heirs, would be in the multitudes, just as the stars that covered the night sky. God also informed Abram that his heirs would be enslaved by a people whom God was to judge at a later time (four hundred years). In all this Abram is to "fear not", for God is his Shield (his protector, his defense) and his exceeding great reward (not just Abram's Rewarder, but Abram's Reward).
Because of what took place in Genesis 14, God found favor with Abram and chose to visit him, speak with him, promise him many things and form a covenant with him. This great honor may be given to each of God's people when they obey God and believe His Word, as Abram did. Following God faithfully, we, too, may find ourselves in situations He places us in. Not for our comfort, but for our spiritual growth. God wants to speak to us. Are we listening for His voice? Are we in a place where we can hear Him clearly? and know which decision is the right decision? Only you and I and God know the answer to these questions. For He knows our hearts and our thoughts.
Let us "fear not" as we prepare to take the next step in our journey on The Way of Holiness in which we walk.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Friends, Not Servants
JOHN 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
See the difference between being a servant and being a friend? A servant is obedient and does as instructed, but a friend knows why and does as he is instructed with joy and understanding.
Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a friend loves at all times. We know that when no one wants to be around us for the Truth we speak of God's Word, then it is not so much us they are avoiding, it is God in us.
Yet, David wrote in Psalm 2:11 that we are to "serve The Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." Is this contradictory? No. To serve The Lord with fear is to honor Him; it is to put God first in every aspect of our lives; it is to make no decision without consulting Him first. It is to seek the will of God, know and understand the will of God and to act upon this knowledge with such joy that we are overcome by the emotion of being in His presence.
It is the love of God for us that has caused us to put our faith in Him. It is the hand of friendship being extended towards us through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ that has caused us to come near to God, that we may hear Him speak more clearly. Both Isaiah (Isaiah 1:18) and James (4:8) inform us that God says we must come close to Him that He may come closer to us. Employees/servants do not do so. Friends, however, transcend the employer/employee relationship.
Isaiah reminds us in 1:19, 20 that it is our willingness to obey/follow The Lord that brings about this wonderful blessing of friendship. Yet, a warning is given in verse 20 that to ignore this magnificent gesture from God, of drawing close to Him, is to sign our own death warrant.
James (4:8) tells us that our words and our actions need to align with our hearts, and that, as Christians, our hearts must align with The Word of God. A person whose heart follows after the teachings of Christ wholeheartedly leaves little room for doubt and faithlessness. In Christ, we are His friends. Outside of Christ, we are His enemies.
I am a friend of God, for I am in Christ. Where are you?
I AM A FRIEND OF GOD - Israel Houghton
GOD WITH US - Mercy Me
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Prepositional Faith - Peace Through Christ
ACTS 10:36
He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
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.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now The Lord of Peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
Without Christ there is no peace....of any kind whatsoever. There is the illusion of peace, or the delusion of peace. We live in a world that strives for freedoms, but at another's cost. This world imitates but does not deliver on true peace, for only Christ Jesus can give a person real lasting peace: peace of mind, peace in our hearts.
Inner peace does not come from within ourselves, nor does it exist outside of God's Word. "Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace," as the hymnist wrote, comes down from The Father above.
In The Word, as listed above, we read that not only is Jesus Peace, but He shares His peace with those who believe that He is God's only begotten Son, sent here by His Father to be our Redeemer: He would take the punishment intended for the sinners who disobeyed God's Word upon Himself. Why? Because of God's great love for the people who inhabit this world we live in.
It's Amazing Grace, isn't it? It's almost too wonderful for words, yet many a song has been written praising God for His lovingkindness towards us. Too many to number, for that would actually be impossible. Not all songs written for God were recorded through the ages. But God knows.
All those reckless thoughts that attack a person's mental stability through what we see and hear and feel have to go through the blood of Jesus Christ, when we come to the cross and believe that this Man is, indeed, the Promised Redeemer from God. And when we come out on the other side, our thinking has changed. For the blood has washed our hearts and our minds clean. Now we have Peace, the Peace Christ promised to give the people who believe Him and follow Him wherever He leads. We have His Peace within us now.
God is amazing. Only God can take The Words that He speaks and wrap them in flesh and bone and place It in a young girl's womb via the power of His Holy Spirit. Nobody in all of history has ever done that, nor will anyone ever be able to do so. This is an awesome feat! This is a God I can trust with my life and my soul, with my heart and my mind! This is peace.
Peace flows through me like a river meanders through the mountains. It covers every obstacle in my way, sometimes rushing down like a waterfall; at other times this peace narrows into streams which feed the ecosystems of life. And I am content. With Christ as my Shepherd, leading this sheep of His, what have I to fear? Nothing. I have Peace Like A River because Jesus is my Peace.
Monday, June 24, 2024
The Fork In The Road
Sunday, March 3, 2024
I Am Christian's Ears
ISAIAH 6:8
Also I heard the voice of The Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
I am Christian's ears and I hear the voice of The Lord speaking to me, too. And like the prophet Isaiah, Christian's mouth said, "Lord, here am I; send me."
I hear The Lord speaking to me when I am silent before Him ~ Psalm 46:10; Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13.
I hear The Lord singing over me ~ Zephaniah 3:17.
I hear Him in the night ~ Job 35:10; Psalm 42:8.
I hear His voice in the garden ~ John 17; John 20:18.
I hear Him speaking to me in The Scriptures ~ Jeremiah 7:2; Nehemiah 8:1-6.
I am Christian's ears and when I hear my Lord speaking to me, I am attentive and ready my heart to be obedient to His direction.
I hear Him call my name ~ John 3:16, 17; Romans 10:13 ~ I am a whosoever. First He calls me to serve Him, then He calls me friend ~ John 15:15.
I hear The Lord call me to obedience to His Word ~ John 15:14; 1 John 2:3, 5:3.
I hear Him calling me to pick up my cross and carry it ~ Mark 8:34.
I hear His voice telling me that I will suffer for Him - 1 Peter 2:21.
I hear the voice of The Lord calling me to forgive every offense and every slight and every sin against me, that He might be able to forgive me ~ Matthew 6:14, 15.
I hear the voice of The Lord calling me to rest in Him ~ Matthew 11:28.
I am Christian's ears. I hear, I listen, I learn.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
PIERCED
PUNISHMENT
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
Sunday, November 12, 2023
The Lord Is - - October 2023
STRENGTH
Psalm 27:1
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the Strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Remember, God is a personal God. Therefore the believer can rightly say, "my" when referring to Who God Is. MY Light. MY Salvation. Strength of MY Life. I became His when I believed His Word and accepted Him by Faith in His Word. I am His and He is mine.
And He's coming back to get me, get all His people, soon. Are you one of them?
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Famine In The Land
There's a famine for the hearing of The Word. See this Bible? It's never been used. Never opened. Never read. Never loved. No one ever preached from it, nor shared the love of God from it. It's just window dressing in some homes.
Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, says The Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing The Word of The Lord.
The only thing we can do to prepare for this famine is get into The Truth of The Word of God. But why is God sending this type of famine throughout the land?
Famines happen because there is no food. There is no food because there is a drought. There is a drought because there is no rain. There is no rain because there is no gratitude, no worship of the One True God.
Everyone is right in there own eyes but not in the eyes of God. We need to get right with God the Way God wants us to get right with Him. In Isaiah 1:18, The Lord God calls to His people, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."
A famine for the hearing of The Word will come because there are few preachers of The full gospel Truth of The Word of God. Many will preach only the sweet and not the bitter Truth. Those who preach in this manner are not seeking God, seeking to hear God's Voice and receive from Him what He has to give. There hearts are empty, though they appear to be in the understanding, they too, are in the dark.
There is no Holy Spirit rain to fall on these preachers of empty words because they do not allow Him to sanctify them and prepare them to be in God's eternal presence. There is no power to their words, nor are the hearts of the people changed.
It is the Truth of God's Word that changes a person's eternal destination when that person hears The Word, believes The Word, receives The Word and The Word gets applied to their heart. Romans 10:16,17 "But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by The Word of God.
Many many who need to hear The Truth of The Word of God will refuse to do so. For this Truth reveals The Message of the Love of God to all the world. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
To refuse such an invitation from God is to send one's self to hell. For hell exists though it was not created to punish people, but to punish one-third of heaven's angels for rebelling against GOD and to punish Satan, the archangel formerly known as Lucifer.
There is a famine for the hearing of The Word of God. How is it going to affect you?
Monday, October 16, 2023
The Lord Is With You
God Forgives, Forgets
Sunday, September 24, 2023
The Lord Is - - - September 2023