He is doing a new thing!

There are times in your life where God is moving in big ways but you don't always recognize it at the time. Then there are times where He gives you an inkling. I feel as if I am in one of those times right now. I can see the LORD moving in me and my life... stirring up things, good things, God things, change. As if a fresh wind is blowing through and pushing out the old stale air and new life is breathed in. Revival, refreshment, challenge, change and in it all His plan and purpose is for me to thrive, to glorify Him.

I am not saying all this is easy. There have been hard moments in this season, in fact I am still walking through something, but I KNOW, I TRUST - GOD has got this! He has me and He does work all things together for good... He does! Believe it, not just for me but for you. There is a purpose for your life and it is completely tied up in Him. You are part of something bigger, you are part of His grand, awesome story!!! Exciting, isn't it! And in it all I desire to be fully His, to be faithful, trusting and loving Him with all I got! I don't want to complacently walk through this life, I want to really live it. And that is what I feel He is doing... bringing me lovingly to the end of myself. The end of my selfishness, my pride and showing me a better way. Helping me to hunger more for Him, for kingdom things, helping me to love others, and to seize the day He has given me. To not just exist in it but to thrive! To seek out and seize every opportunity He has for me in each new day and to trust Him that He is enough! He is enough, for me, for you - for all we need, for every circumstance, for every pain. He will see us through, even more He is our strength! He fights for us and He is victorious, and so are we in Christ Jesus! Praise Him!

Have you read through Romans 8 lately? If not, and even if you have go back to it and meditate on it! Man is it loaded with some good stuff! Promises, truth, life! My prayer for you is that whatever you are encountering right now that you will believe God and trust Him. Trust Him to be enough for you. Wait on Him and cling to His promises and above all keep your eyes, your heart laser focused on Him! If you do that - wow! Our God is incredible and there is NOTING He can not do!!!

I am not who I was - praise Him! And I am not who I am going to be, but He is in me, He is working and I am more! And He is more than enough! Blessings!

The Gift

Hi! Wow, I know it has been a while since I have posted. But hopefully what I have to share with you today will touch you as much as it did me and make up for my silence. Life is a series of choices... To me life is trying to listen to God and follow His lead. Last night God not only laid someone upon my heart but something He wanted me to do for this person.  A gift He wanted me to send them.  So I contacted an old friend and asked them via messaging for their address, so I could send them this gift. At first this person seemed a little skeptical that this was for real.  And it got me to thinking... First, how sad it is that we can't trust that someone would contact us and really want to give us a free gift.  I mean in this world that does seem highly unlikely right? Now a days there are all these scams and such.

But all of this got me to really thinking... And I thought about how God must feel. Here He is with the most awesome, free gift ever and so many people reject His gift. Reject Him. Reject His love Just put yourself mentally in this situation, that you have a free and awesome, exciting gift to share but the person you most want to share it with won't accept it.

God wants the absolute best for us. He wants to share His love and blessings with us for all eternity. The greatest gift ever! I don't know that we can fully grasp this but let us try... After all we might have to sacrifice a little money or time with our gift but in no way can our gift and giving compare to His.  He who left heaven (perfection, joy, peace...) to come to earth and be in flesh.  To endure all that that we humans endure here... to be among the ugliness and sinfulness of this world. He not only did that but he suffered rejection, torture and death to bring us this gift. He battled death and rose from the grave to give us this gift of life. This amazing gift cost us nothing but cost Him so much. I can only imagine how it grieves Him when His creation rejects Him. Rejects love!

Let us think on His goodness, His love, and let us treasure Him and the gift He has given us. This is not a gift for us to horde but to share. So though we too may face rejection in sharing this gift, trust me the greater rejection and pain is felt by Him. Let our pride not hold us back.But let love lead us forward.Love truly does conquer all.

Just so you know my old friend did not reject the gift God desired to send... And I rejoice with Him in that and cannot wait to see the blessings that will come forth from this. He is good, all the time He is good.  Let love be ever before you and let love (Him) be your guide.

Joy

Food for thought – I have been reading and thinking about joy today. According to Holman’s Bible Dictionary the definition of Joy is “state of delight and well being that result from knowing and serving God”. You can find the word joy used over 150 times in the Bible, if you include words like “joyful” or “joyous” you will find the number to be well over 200 times. Joy is the fruit born of a right relationship with God. Joy is different than pleasure. “Joy in the Christian life is in direct proportion as believers walk with the LORD” (Holman’s Bible Dictionary).

In thinking about all of this and in reading through several scriptures on joy… things have popped into my mind. How often do you experience joy? Have you given up on experiencing joy? As believers joy should be a part of our daily lives. Joy is not dependent upon circumstances… we cannot bring about joy on our own. Joy is a gift, a fruit born of the Spirit and is dependent upon our walk/relationship with God.

I know that to be true… and yet I know there are times that I don’t feel this joy. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy – The enemy comes to steal our joy. Often that is forgotten that we are in a battle here not against flesh and blood but against the enemy of God. Often times we let the cares of this world keep us from living the abundant life and yes, in that abundant life there should be great joy.

Have you put on the full armor of God today? Have you pulled out the Word of God and prayed to fight the attack? Have you abided in Him today that you may bear much fruit? I ask myself and you this… And I cannot say that every day I guard myself … My intentions start off right but sometime after I awake and pray and start my day … breakfast, my to do list, etc… I can get off track… and I can lose my joy.

We have to be; I have to be purposeful, alert, and prepared each hour of everyday. And that is possible by walking with God, by abiding in Him every moment, by praying about everything… and by knowing God’s Word. He has given us every tool we need, He has given us access to Him… there is power given in us to live, to overcome… He is our strength and He is our joy.

Today take a moment and be still… Calm yourself and sit at His feet and listen. Ask Him – ask Him what He wants to show you today; what He wants you to read in His word; what He wants you to do today; to open your eyes to His opportunities… But mostly just listen and then obey. Ask and receive, ask and even if you hear silence for now trust that He is at work and loves you… Draw near to Him and may your joy be complete.

“The joy of the LORD is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10

Reign in Me

My Savior, My God – desperately do I need you… always. You are my Strength and all that is good within me … Desperately, continually I need you.


When I think I am doing good; I have things under control… I am so wrong. That is my pride talking because I am not in control… I cannot work all things out for good… only God can. It is God at work in me that brings forth the good. When I abide it is the fountain over flowing and when I try in my own strength I am drained and dry. Maybe I am speaking to you right now or maybe you have no idea what I am talking about…?

Recently, I have been diving back into the Book of Romans … and today really what I want share with you is from Rom. 7 and 5. If you can take a few minutes to read them for yourself before continuing on… I will include some excerpts below for you.

4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Romans 7:4-6 (NASB)

Have you died to the Law? Things to think about … Am I living for the Law or for God? Am I under the Law or under Grace? Where is my heart here… Am I striving for perfectionism, being legalistic, seeking my own glory? OR is my life, my passion about love – about God, for His glory?

Verse 6 says serve in the newness of the Spirit not in oldness of the letter…. What does that mean to you?! The law does not deliver you, it does not save you…It shows you your need for God, your sin. It is in Christ we are saved, redeemed… it is the Spirit who gives us a new and divine nature… the Spirit that enables us to overcome, to persevere. The Spirit that frees us from sins hold and from death. Freedom from the law does not mean we are free to sin; freedom from the law instead frees us to truly serve. Freedom to experience grace and to show it to others… To know love and to give love… Serve in newness of the Spirit is what will happen; it is fruit that will be born from a redeemed life. A redeemed life is Spirit filled and led and thus it will say “Yes” and be in agreement with the Law. You will see a life that is the spirit of the Law, one that seeks the best – the utmost. Not out of legalism and condemnation but of love, truth and righteousness … desiring that others know and experience that which can only be found in Christ.

Have you read Romans 7:15 18-19, 21-25 … If you have that is me! That is my struggle… especially when I am trying to live rightly for God in my own strength… I can’t do it. I need God! When I abide and live according to the Spirit the LORD is my Strength and my guide and places my foot upon the right path. I am free and at peace, I do not fear… For I know who I am (Rom. 8:15-17).

So that brings me to my choice – today when I wake and tomorrow and the day after that… will I awake and say LORD reign in me today, have Your way?! That is my hope and my prayer and my choice that Christ will reign in me. May my life show that Christ reigns and I am living victoriously. Am I living as if I am defeated? If so arise, that is a lie of the Enemy for we are victorious through Christ Jesus who has given us the Holy Spirit. We have been set free… We are now conquerors… We are a Royal Priesthood… We are heirs… Stand up, Stand in the gap and remember we are called to pray! Remember that you are a warrior of the Most High and put on your full armor (Eph. 6:10-18) and take up your offensive weapons which is the Sword (The Word of God) and prayer! It is power!!! It is like dynamite to the enemy when you pray and pray speaking the Word, promises of God… The Enemy trembles and the heavens rejoice! I encourage you and myself today to reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ!

17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 (NASB)

Greater Love

I have been trying to figure out how to put in to words all that has been going on ... I am going to try to say it as simply and concisely as I can but knowing me it may not come out that way. I know I have told you before that I have felt the LORD refining me... it has been a journey of walking through the valley and seeing my own sinfulness... not fun but necessary.

For the last few days I have felt as if I am truly being emptied out, hollowed out if you will... and I am in a numb state at the moment... caught between the grief of my sin and the joy of my salvation. I wish I had better words to explain it in than in these terms... even to my own ears they sound pitiful at best in capturing what I wish to express.

I am the LORD's... I was bought with a price, not one I paid but one that was paid for me on the cross. And who am I but dust, flesh, sin... yet I am called, chosen and loved! The Maker of all that exist called my name, loves me and desires for me to know & love Him intimately. I have chills just thinking about it.

I have a few things I want to say here - one being I am sinful - I am prideful & I hate pride, even more God hates it! Too often I cling more to my own comfort, life if you will in this world instead of living for what counts - instead of living for the eternal purpose for which God created me. It grieves me... & I do not want to live this way. I want so badly to love God with all my heart and to live fully for Him... to walk in His ways & bring glory to His name... after all, all of "this" is all about HIM! It is all about God - if there is anything you take away from this post let it be that this life we are living is all about God, it is about a love greater than we can comprehend ... A God who loves us beyond measure and wants a relationship with us. I mean grasp this - the God who created us and doesn't need us wants us... and we the created thing who need God, most of the time think we can live and love without Him. I have been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan... and in it he made a point about this... along with some other really great points... mostly about self examination and our love relationship with God. If you haven't read it yet you should... I have been convicted and again back to where this post started ... letting God empty me out... cleaning house so to speak.

I want to be rid of my fleshly/sinfulness and to be filled to over flowing with the Spirit - with love. I want less of me and more of God. I want God to come in and reign in my heart & mind - in every area of my life ... I want Him to take all of me, break me, make me and help me to live free... To love Him as He desires - absolutely, completely in awe, love and submission to Him... desiring Him above all else. And by doing so enabling me to love others. As Chan pointed out if I have trouble loving a perfect God, how can I possibly love sinful man... I need God's love in me to love others as I should.

I don't need more "positive" thinking, I don't need more "help" books, I don't need more head knowledge, I don't need all the things the world tells me I need... when all I need is God. I need to just sit at His feet and listen, I need to dwell upon His truth, I need to pray & pray & pray (and when I say this I do not mean a litany of prayer request but intimate prayer with God - loving Him, listening to Him..... again it is all about Him & not me). I need God's love, I need His mercy & grace... I need God. Not the blessings of God but God - the One & Only... He is life to me. He is God and there is no other. He is love. He is my Savior.

I am not sure what else to say - Except that I hope you come away from this with a desire & intent to get alone with God. To open up your heart and life fully to Him - to His love.

Do so and be blessed.

A Patient & Forgiving God

As I was praying & praising God, praising Him specifically that He is a Forgiving God. There is a reference to Neh. 9:17, that I looked up. It says:

"And they refused to listen, And did not remember Thy wondrous deeds which Thou hadst performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But Thou art a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness; And Thou didst not forsake them. ~Nehemiah 9:17 NASB

God's love and forgiveness is so amazing! I think sometimes it is taken for granted... we understand but give it fleeting thought... when if we really meditate on it, we are stunned, astounded, in awe, humbled and moved beyond words.

There is so much that came to me as I read this verse... Starting with And they REFUSED to LISTEN! These are God's chosen people, who saw amazing wonders... All the signs and plights God sent to the Egyptians to free them... The passover... The Red Sea being parted... A pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night... the bread of heaven, water from a rock... on & on...

Yet they refused to listen AND they became stubborn (original word meaning - bitterness, rebellion - a masculine noun meaning obstinacy, stubbornness, rebelliousness). They decided to rebell against God!!! God who had done all these things for them! They decided to appoint their own leader & RETURN TO THEIR SLAVERY!

Wow, just let that sink in... Do we not at times do the same thing? God shows Himself to us (to me) in big and small ways... He is faithful, loving, forgiving... if we were truly to meditate on all He has done for us the list would be too long. And maybe that is part of the problem we stop focusing on what God has done and instead focus on what we think He should be doing, what our problems or circumstances are... We forget that we are not promised that this earthly life will be easy... we forget we have to be refined and sanctified... to continually put off the old self (the sin & flesh) and to put on the new - to be made more and more like Christ. Not that we will attain perfection on earth but on the day that we go Home we will be all that we were created to be. We forget in Christ we are a new creation... we sometimes still see ourselves and our life through human/temporary eyes instead of eternal ones.

There will be times when things get rough and we don't understand why God allows somethings to happen, we may become weary in doing good but let us not!!!! God knows what is best... God knows where He is taking us & what He is preparing us for... and it is of far greater value than our temporary pains. Let us not forget - and fall back to our old fleshly/sinful ways. To desire to be slaves again to what Christ has set us free from!!! We can choose to be free & in Christ we have the power to live free! It is like a child who wants to only eat junk food... when the parent knows it is not healthy for them... and they have for them the finest foods, healthy, tasty, filling... Our lives are like that we can try to fill ourselves up with "junk" which never satisfies us or we can let God grow us and fill us with what sustains, what strengthens, what enables, what gives us all we will ever need.

Our perception...what impact! Our faith... what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Do I live my life with & in my heart is that the kind of faith I have? It is a eternal, God perspective. That is my desire.

If you get a chance take a look at Philippians 2:5-11. It is one of my memory scriptures... and is something to really meditate upon.

LORD, I praise You - You are a forgiving God, Gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness. You do not forsake me - You do not forsake those called by Your Name. How sweet is Your love and mercy towards me... it fails me not. You are the Giver of every good gift - The One who saves and redeems me... Who prepares a place for me to dwell with You forever. You know my name, You know everything about me & you love me, bless me, chose me and forgive me. Your Word is a lamp unto my feet Lord - You light my path & give me the hope, strength and peace to do so. Praise be to You forever - You are the Everlasting God, the King of kings, my Prince of Peace! Praise You! To You be the glory forever & ever - Amen.

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.

Following Jesus

I was reading this morning in Matthew 8 on the Cost of Following Jesus... It is so easy to say I will follow you where ever you go Lord. It is however, much harder to live out, as Jesus pointed out in this scripture passage (v.18-22). Because are we really willing to follow Him at all cost... even if it means we loose some friends, comforts, are rejected, despised, abused, neglected, scorned, treated unfairly, have to leave (home, friends & family behind), or even if it means we lay down our life literally?

This made me think of John 21:18-19, where Jesus told Peter what kind of death he would have that would glorify God. It made me think of Paul and the other apostles, prophets & believers who laid down their earthy lives for something far greater than themselves. (See also Hebrews 11:35-40). We seem to have too great a view of this, our earthly life and too little a view of what is eternal... the promises, the Kingdom, our God! This life is nothing in comparison to what lies ahead!

I was at a Beth Moore conference not too long ago where she spoke on our inheritance in Christ... it was amazing... one of the key points she hit home was that we are inheriting a real kingdom, we will be in the presence of God, surrounded by other people... we will not just sit around on clouds and play harps ... we will truly live! We have an inheritance in eternity, we have a portion (lots), there are eternal rewards... but all of this is nothing in comparison to fully knowing & seeing God! This life is but a shadow of what is to come... Believe it!!!

Oh that we would be encouraged by the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Heb. 12:1, but please go ahead and read the whole chapter-so good!). That we would press on and run the race that is before us (1 Cor. 9:25-27), to win a prize that lasts! Oh beloved ones, follow Jesus in truth and give Him your all... every corner of your heart, mind...self. When He ask you to follow Him my prayer is that you will immediately follow & obey (Matt. 5:19-20). You will be greatly blessed... Believe Him, believe His Word, His promises... believe that He can make all things new and that includes you! Oh may you be blessed, to live fruit filled lives to glorify God!

A Life Worthy... (Part 2 of Growing in the Knowledge of God)

I hope you have taken the opportunity to read 2 Peter 1:1-12. There is so much here ... I cannot do this Scripture passage justice... I hope you will study it and dig into it for yourself & edify us further.

Let's start at the beginning where it reminds us that it is through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ that we have received this precious faith... It is not by our own works/good deeds but by His ... and it is precious!!! Let that soak in...all that Christ has done for you and is doing for you and will do for you... We have & serve an awesome & mighty God! Secondly, we can have an abundance of grace & peace through the knowledge (personal knowledge) of God & of Jesus our Lord! Praise Him!

And here is where we need to put forth all effort to know & understand all that God has given us in Christ! We are so blessed, loved and cared for... There is nothing & I mean nothing that He has not done for us or provide us with to live a holy & pure life upon this earth... He has given us everything we need to live godly lives! But in comes our part... do we seek after, pursue, follow, obey, use & employ all that He has given us to do so?

In verse 3 we are reminded that He has supplied us with all we need for life & godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his glory & goodness, not our own. First stated in v. 2 & repeated in v. 3, through in greek can be translate to "in" & knowledge in greek, "full knowledge"... would mean that in full knowledge we can have all of this... it is attainable as we grow in our knowledge, understand & relationship with the LORD we will be changed (transformed) to bear much fruit in our lives (See Gal. 5:22-25).

As a commentary pointed out to me on the life & godliness, you 1st need a spiritual life before there can be true godliness. Having knowledge of God is the first step to life (Jn. 17:3) & it is not by godliness that we attain life but by life that we attain godliness! (See Commentary Critical & Explanatory the Whole Bible). We are called by God to live for Him & His purpose, to live lives worthy of God (Rom. 8:28; 1 Th. 2:12), & in doing so He works all things out for good.

In verse 4 it mentions great & precious promises... Can you think about what a few of these are? How about eternal life for starters (Jn. 3:16), an eternal kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), the gift of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13), the promise that we will one day be made perfect (1 Jn. 3:2) like Christ and these are just a few... I am sure you can think of many more. We are through Christ & by the power of the Holy Spirit able to participate in the divine nature and in doing so escape corruption of the world ("moral decay"), caused by evil desires (lit. "lust"). By our relationship with the Lord we can & are enabled to do this... this growing relationship & how it changes us from the inside out is how we keep ourselves from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). We can participate in this divine nature, which means we can become more like Christ because we have as believers the: Promise of new birth - 1 Peter1:3 & 2 Cor. 5:17; Promise of God's protecting power - 1 Peter 1:5; Promise of God's enabling power - 2 Peter 1:3 That is a lot to think about summed up in just one verse! (Also check out 2 Peter 2:19-20; 1 Jn. 2:15).

It then further goes on to state that for this reason (v.4) we should add to our faith (belief & trust in Christ as our Savior)...

• Goodness- (lit., "moral excellency", or "virtue")


• Knowledge- (Spiritual knowledge which come through the Holy Spirit & is focused upon the person & Word of God). (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary) See also Col. 2:2-3.


• Self-Control- (having your passions under control)


• Perseverance- ("staying under" - used in the NT frequently to refer to steadfast endurance under adversity, not giving in or giving up)


• Godliness- (refers to piety, man's obligation of reverence toward God)


• Brotherly Kindness- (care & concern for others and their needs)


• Love - (agape- desiring the highest good for other's, the kind of selfless love God has shown to us).

It is interesting to note how each of these builds upon the other... We must first have faith that causes us to desire to live virtuous lives and seek to know God more... which is where Knowledge comes in, and this then gives us the tools we need to practice Self-Control and in doing so to Persevere, all culminating into a life lived for God, exhibiting godliness! These first five have to do with our inner life & relationship to God and the last two have to do with others... Because we have lives that love & honor God we are now able to love others, not just those that love us but to love others with a true & selfless love, desiring what is best (of the highest good) for their lives. (Check out the following verses in relation to the above: Heb. 10:36; Rom. 12:10; 1 Th. 3:12).

In verse 8 it goes on to talk about us having these qualities in increasing measure... In other words this is not a one day & we are done deal... it is a daily, on going, ever learning and drawing near to God... we will not know all, or be perfect until Christ's return. Verse 8 also states that these qualities will keep us from being ineffective & unproductive in our knowledge of Christ. For we can have a knowledge that bears no fruit (John 15:2)... The more we know the LORD the more we should desire to live lives worthy of the Lord & bear much fruit for His glory! And by seeking to add all the above (daily) we should bear much fruit. (see Col. 1:10 & Tit. 3:14).

However, if anyone does not have these qualities verse 9 then tells us they are nearsighted, blind and have forgotten that they have been cleansed from past sin. Christ did the work...walk in the light as He is in the light! See 1 John 1:7 & 9. Christ came and set you free from the darkness, He gave you spiritual sight, He came to set you free! (See Luke 4:18; Gal. 5:1; 1 John 2:11)

We are then encouraged in verse 10 to be all the more eager in living out our calling and election, that by doing this we will not fall. God is more than able to keep you from stumbling, submit your heart, life & will to Him! (Jude 24) He will bring you into His glorious presence cleansed/pure and with great joy! We have an eternal home with Him! (See v.11; 2 Tim. 4:18; 2 Peter 3:18). It is good for us to be reminded of these things (v.12) even though we may know them... it is good to remember & to let the Word do it's work in us daily... to let it sink deep into our hearts because we are eternal beings and we (should) live for an eternal purpose. What has been entrusted to us lives on forever (See 2 John 2).

In summary... Praise be to our LORD who has so richly blessed us in Christ... who has given us all that we need to know & love Him, and live fruitful lives ... Who protects us, keeps us and enables us as we go through life in this dark world. Who has given us a hope and a future... Do you get how incredibly loved and cared for you are!?! Oh I pray that you do... that you know deep down in your heart and soul the great love of God! He knows you by name... You are His, you are precious in His sight. Praise Him!!! (Eph. 1:3; Jer. 29:11; Eph. 2:4-10; Jn 3:16; Ps. 17:8; Zech 2:8)

Growing in the Knowledge of God (Part 1)

I have more to write on this & will be back later...but for now check out - 2 Peter 1:1-11. Study it & dig in deep... I would love to hear your thoughts!

You can type the Scripture into eBible.com (scroll down to it on the right side of my page) to read it online.

Past, Present & Future...

Let me first start off with this quote from Oswald Chambers:

"Our present enjoyment of God's grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday's sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present."- Oswald Chambers

While you ponder on that... let me elaborate... I have been thinking a lot lately (about way too many things but let us focus on this one for now)... Who is the "god" of your present? Who is the "god" of your future? And who is the "god" of your past? Maybe you like me look back and think "Wow, I wish I could have done things differently... had a different outlook, attitude, etc." The past is the past and there is nothing we can do to change it... What we can do and should do is give our past over to God and let him use it to minister to us now and to others. Do not dwell upon it and make it a "god"... Instead dwell upon your God and the grace He offers you. I am amazed as I reflect upon my life... not so much on me but on what God has done in me and for me and at times even through me... Praise Him!
Why should I be given so much honor and be so blessed as to be a child of God....? Because He loves me, He choose me, He accepted me, He adopted me, He forgave me, He redeemed me and He blessed me in Christ! Amen. (Eph. 1) And because of all of this what should be my response... To give Him all of me! Full access to use my past, my present and my future to His glory! To love Him wholeheartedly and to DESIRE to love and serve Him... But am I? Are you?
Here and now in your present who are you serving? Are you striving to impress others, to glorify yourself...are you focused on the small stuff... worldly things? These things are futile and temporary. Or are you one of the few who has a pure, wholehearted devotion to the LORD and your focus is on Him & Kingdom living? If you are the later... wonderful! Glory be to God! I know you are not perfect (neither am I) but your heart & desires are in the right place. You are giving God your past to use in ministry, your present and your future... And if you are not the later YOU CAN BE!!! And believe me He will come in and do amazing things in you and in your life... Our God is not boring or dull ... oh no, He loves to shake things up... Life with Him is never stagnant or stale... it is fresh & exciting! Sure we have hard times and good times but at ALL times He is with us on this ride and journey...
Giving Him your all, you will never look back and wish you hadn't... you will truly be living! Just hold on tight to the handle bars for this ride... it is one you don't want to get off of and can't wait to tell your friends about... Here is to living IN our present and living FOR the future!