Changed Life or Just Words

Just some thoughts that have been running through my mind of late... I was thinking about how often we read the word of God and we in our minds believe it... but do we believe it in all truth? Do we believe it in our hearts?

For example read the following verse in the NIV & NASB:

Psalm 138:8, NIV -The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:8, NASB - The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Thy hands.

Do you believe in your heart, your subconscious: that God will fulfill His purpose for you, that He will accomplish all that concerns you in this life? That no matter how many time you stumble and fall you are secure in His love? That He will not forsake you? I ask this because as you may certainly realize what we really believe, deep down - that is what we live out. Our beliefs affect our thoughts, words, actions... So when it comes to crunch time and things are out of control... does your life reflect that you are rooted in your faith, secure in His love and your salvation? I ask this because sometimes I get so frustrated with myself... I believe it, I believe it and yet I say Lord help me with my unbelief!!! I am like Paul when he says he does what he doesn't want to do but what he wants to do he doesn't do... in other words I am not perfect. I have my moments where I am standing/walking in the light and reflecting Christ... and I have my moments where I am not reflecting my beliefs... I have come to realize, at times it is perfectly clear that my faith is so small... and my God is so big! However He is faithful to remind me and encourage me in this ...(See Luke 17:6 & Matt. 17:20) that He can take what is small and do wonders... that His power is made perfect in weakness... For if I will realize it, confess it and let Him ... what I can't do on my own is possible to overcome, to do in His strength! Praise Him!

Believe me I am not saying that we will not have our moments, our failures... I will say that when we do we can confess and have the assurance that we are forgiven. I am not saying that we can use this as an excuse to sin either because we know that is not right (See Romans 6:1-14) ... I am just trying to provoke some thought here, some soul searching... because there are many who may profess to know God but by their deeds they deny Him (Titus 1:16) ... and might I add make nonbelievers think what is the big deal about Christianity - they are no different than me. Well in our flesh we are all sinners but in Christ we are redeemed, saved and empowered to overcome sin... to live righteously! In a nutshell remember it is always about Him not us! And in saying that when we have the Holy Spirit in us we should be different... we should have a changed heart, life... if there is absolutely no change then we might want to question ourselves as to if we are in the faith - or if what we have is a head knowledge but not one that penetrates our heart - faith? As it says in James even the demons believe there is a God and they shudder... while mentioning James I should add to check out James chapter 2 on faith without works... Our changed condition (salvation) should not only propel us, it should absolutely bring about fruit! There should be action ... not just words but deeds born of this love and faith we have. Not because the actions save us but because what saves us propels us to act!

As I said earlier, I am not perfect but praise the Lord I am a changed person! I give no credit to myself for this for it is entirly by the power of the Lord that I live differently. This dying to my fleshly self is hard but it is not impossible - because with Him anything is possible!!! Step by step He is leading me, teaching me, showing me, changing me... I am saved but I am in the process of being sanctified moment by moment, day by day... all to the glory of God. I can never get over how amazing is His love for us... We have an awesome, mighty, loving God! Thank you Jesus ... you are my Savior and the lover of my soul, I rejoice in You!

Let me know your thoughts ...

Lastly a few verses to encourage you in all wisdom - Proverbs 3:5-6; 4:23-26.

Living beyond our Flesh

Have you read in the OT about God bringing His people out of Egypt and taking them through the wilderness? ... They were headed to the Promise Land. However, not all of them made it... because even though God provided for all their needs and was with them, even though He had rescued them, even though He was going to greatly bless them... they didn't appreciate it, they didn't appreciate Him, they grumbled, they complained, they worshipped other gods, and they didn't believe... just to name a few.

Have you read the book of Hosea? In it is represented the story of God and His people... The Lord & His Bride - Hosea represents God and Gomer represents God's people... The book tells of Hosea being told to find a wife, and even beforehand he is warned that she will be unfaithful... and yet he will take her back. If you have a chance check out the Francine Rivers book called Redeeming Love, it is a fictional account based upon the book of Hosea and is so good. Any way... maybe you can see where I am heading with all this???

It is amazing to me the love and faithfulness of our God! His ways and thoughts are so much higher than our own! Because if that had been me I would have long ago said let me forget these people and move on... I wouldn't have wanted to take my unfaithful spouse back... no in our flesh we want what is easy, what makes us feel good even if it is just for the moment... we do not have an eternal grasp/big picture here... it is the here and now and I want, I want, I want... I don't deserve this, gratify me, serve me, please me, I am right, on and on I could go...

I have been reading James MacDonald's book LORD, CHANGE MY ATTITUDE - Before it's too late. If you have a chance it is a very good read and more importantly has a lot of biblical & applicable truth in it. He talks in the book about how God is displeased with (our unholy) attitude (our heart), and how we can never enter His rest, or our promised land when we are continually bringing this sin before Him. It is not just enough to see & recognize these attitudes that displease God but we also have to replace them with godly attitudes or we are worse off than before... Out with the "sin" in with the "spirit" so to speak... any way...

I have been thinking about all these things and I confess I need the Spirit to do some work on me... I can see now how I have been like these Israelites in my heart, attitude... when things are not the way I want them, when things are hard going through the "wilderness"... I want, I want. When I should be so thankful for what I have, for what God has done, is doing and is going to do!!! I have decided to believe God, not my flesh, not the lies of the enemy but God who is truth and love. God who is faithful, God who has promised me so much more than I can ever deserve... GOD IS FAITHFUL!!! Believe Him and hold tight to the promises He has given! Believe Him for your promised land and do not get waylaid now or permanently in your wilderness time...

The world and our flesh tell us differently... we are so temporal... but this life is nothing, and I mean nothing if we can grasp that, compared to eternity with our Heavenly Father! Oh the riches of that!!! I know someone going through a difficult time right now... and she was given some advice that just stopped me in my tracks... she was told to pray (yes that is good) but then she was told she deserved better and she should get a divorce! Whoaaaa! Wait a second... When we get married (in a Christian marriage) it is a vow, a COVENANT between you, your spouse and GOD!!! God takes this very seriously... this is not something to take lightly. God HATES divorce... When you vow to love, honor and cherish for better or for worse ... well God expects you to mean it. It doesn't mean as long as it is convenient for you, as long as you are happy, as long as you feel "love" .... Remember you vowed for better OR WORSE. Well right now might be a worse time... it might be an unbearable time to you but I tell you please take it to God... pray, pray, pray... pray blessings over the one who has hurt you, I ask you to do this not just for their sake but mostly for your benefit that you do not become bitter and hardhearted. Arm yourself .... put on the full armor of God. Take memory cards with verses that speak to you every where you go... and pray them! Do not let the enemy have a foot hold here... as much as you can - love that other person. We are commanded to love our enemies, we are told to preserver... it will not be easy!!! But you are not doing it for them... you are doing it for God and for you! Remember that you can do ANYTHING through Him who gives you strength - anything!!!! (See Phil. 4:13)

If you are struggling in your marriage or in any other difficult situation take it first to God and if you get counsel, make sure it is from a godly Christian and that what they advice you lines up with scripture!!! If it doesn't well think again... Do not take your commitments, vows, covenant lightly... God had told us as much as we can on our part to forgive, to love... He made the allowance for divorce in the case of adultery but even in that it was only because of our hardheartedness... He still doesn't want divorce... “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel" Mal. 2:16a. "Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." Matt. 19:8. Notice Moses permitted it... because of what? Their hearts were hard! These are the same people who grumbled and complained and worshiped other gods and did not enter into the Promise Land!!!!

Remember that this life really isn't about us - you or me... It is all about GOD!!! We are not promised that living on this earth will be easy... However we have promises that we can take to the bank... Memorize scripture, pray it, pray, pray... God's word does not go out and come back void... Remember you have a mighty God who can do ANYTHING... believe Him, trust Him... and walk faithfully and obediently with Him no matter what circumstances you are in. Remember that what we do we are doing for God! Not to please man, not to make ourselves look better, etc... Please do not think that I do not understand how hard and difficult many of the circumstances are that surround the body of Christ - marriages, sickness, death, persecution, on and on... Go to the Word, get on your knees and pray... Remember that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God - not trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, death, life, angels, demons, on and on... nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39). He is always near... however we can by our thoughts, actions, hard hearts distance ourselves from the Lord.... we do it, not Him... if we turn around (repent) He is right there, open arms, loving, forgiving. But when our focus is not on Him, we should be careful... it is easy to stumble or fall. The great news is He is there waiting to lift us back up... arm out stretched and waiting ... Oh that we could just keep our eyes on Him!

Remember none of us are perfect, all have sinned... Yet in Christ we are forgiven a debt greater than we can ever repay... how can we then not forgive another (see Matt. 18:21-35). Love one another, pray and encourage one another, forgive... and give your burdens over to the Lord leave them with Him. We can not change another person, we can not even change ourselves - we need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us for that. Honestly it is not our job... we are to called to love - yes that means speaking truth to others (in love), but we are not called to change them, we can not save someone, we cannot make them repent... all of that is between them & God. We are just called to be witnesses, to love - to do our part... we cannot do God's.

Thank you for letting me share my heart with you today... I hope that this may encourage you or benefit you in some way.... all to the glory of God!!!

BEWARE, IT'S A TRAP!

So yesterday I was reading in Matt. and several things hit me... but for now let me just focus on this one (or two).
Matt. 16:23 -
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

(I encourage you to please read this passage in context... it will make much more sense)...
Do you ever have those moments when friends or family are trying to tell you about something that has happened to them... and you say what you think they want to hear but not always the truth... Or flip that around and you are the one being pumped up so to speak by someone when your chips have fallen... Beware! Sometimes it is what you need to hear ... because it is truth, but sometimes is it just flattery or derailment from the course you need to take (I hope I am making sense here).

We can be and others can be to us, a dangerous trap... when we do not speak truth (in love). It is not easy to always hear the things others want to share with us or to accept the truth for what it is, when it is not pleasant. But sometimes (actually more than sometimes) life is just not pleasant. We have to look at our situations and others not from a human point of view, but from God's perspective. When we don't we must beware because it is a trap! The enemy would love to see us get off course and sink into pity, selfishness, bitterness, on and on... to where we have such a worldly view and miss the opportunity God has given us in that moment... For that is when with a God perspective, we truly live, we have great victory in Christ and bring glory to the Father.

Another thing that I have been thinking about is in v. 21 where it says that from that time on (after the feeding of the 5,000+ & the 4,000+ and explaining about watching out for the yeast of the Pharisees - false teaching)... it says in the NLT - Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that he had to go to Jerusalem, and he told them what would happen to him there.... (Note emphasis mine).... I started thinking about that... that Jesus had told them not in parables or analogies but plainly what was going to happen to him... So in the back of their minds from the time the went to Jerusalem they knew what was coming...When Jesus was worshiped as the entered in... as they had the last supper, in the garden when Jesus asked them to keep watch with him and pray, when he was betrayed and carried off... on and on... Maybe it was as mentioned above too unpleasant to imagine so they fell into the trap of unbelief, maybe it was shock, I cannot even begin to say that I know what was going through their minds... but I find it very interesting.

Interesting because when God tells us something - it happens! Yet we don't always live as if we really believe that.... Believe all the prophets foretold, all that Christ has said... we don't even live every moment (as we have been empowered to do by Christ) for the glory of the Father... Our lives would look so different if we would really believe and were living out the Word!

Maybe in our minds we say yes I believe but does our actions, which flow out from our heart mesh with that? Do you live as if Christ could return at any moment? Do you study the prophecies that tells us what the signs are for his return and look for them... and live for that moment!? I know I do not always do this... How I wish I could get my act together - Amen! That I would die to self and live for Christ, that I would live with an eternal perspective and care more about the lost... That I would be like minded with Christ in my heart and mind and actions... That I would be prepared for the day that we all have to give account... The DAY is coming, Christ will return... Oh that we may live as if we truly believe it and all that He has promised us!!! We have a great inheritance awaiting us... but for others - well, that is what we should be praying and living lives that witness, share and minister to the lost.

Lord give us willing and obedient spirits, that are fully devoted to you and your will & to loving others more than ourselves. Amen.

Storms in our lives

I was reading last night and today about Jesus calming the storm... (see Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25) and it struck me things happen, life happens without warning or suddenly things change. In the blink of an eye our circumstances can change... but does our peace, our faith all of the sudden flee us? In these times do we hold fast to what we know to be true? (Isaiah 54:10) Do we keep our focus on Jesus? (Heb. 12:2) Do we panic; is our faith shaken? Or as Jesus put it: "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

You understand that a good number of the disciples had been fishermen, they had endured storms... I am sure this one was a sight to behold! However, had they not been with Jesus, witnessed miracles? Was he not even then among them!?! Yes! And that applies to us as well... for we know that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). As a believer I am sure you can testify to times you have seen the Lord at work in you and your life... but some how, just like the disciples, when the storms come they can overwhelm us and make us forget all of that.... Of course this isn't always true ... but we each have our moments, right?

Yes, we should go to the Lord and cry out to Him in our distress... that is not the issue. The issue is when we cry out to Jesus are we crying out in fear or in faith? Do we believe in our God more than we do our circumstances? Are we believing in His promises and believing that we have nothing to fear? (1 Jn. 4:18; Rom. 8:31) We should because the God of all Creation is on our side!!! And he has told us not to worry or be anxious, not to fear... (Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:6).

Another way to look at this, or example I should say is to look at Luke 1:18-20 & 34-38. As you read these verses do you see the difference? Mary asked a question about what seemed to most an unbelievable thing... but she believed, she just wanted to understand how this would happen to her! However, when Zechariah questioned the angel it was not in faith but in unbelief that such a thing could happen. And that is the point I am trying to make... Cry out to Jesus but do so in faith, believing that He is in control... ( You should check out Daniel 3:16-27, as a good example).

(Prayer) - Oh LORD forgive me and help me to over come my unbelief. Grant me LORD faith that is great enough to move mountains and a steadfast spirit within me. May I not let my circumstances dictate my reactions but my faith in you determine my course. Let it all be for your glory! Amen. (Ps. 51:10; Matt. 17:20; Mark 9:24)