WELLNESS CHECK

 HOW ARE YOU DOING? - THE BMIC BLAST, MAY 2025

THE PARADIGM OF THE NEW

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert". (Isaiah 43:18-19)
The promises of God are yes and amen and true and will never fade away.  Jesus Christ, the Creator of ALL things, is the same yesterday, today and always. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is the Image of the Invisible God, the First Born of All Creation...begotten but not created. He considered equality with God not a thing to be grasped but humbled Himself to be born as a baby to a corrupt and filthy generation. Before His brief time on earth, He brought Isaiah up to the Throne Room who immediately realized his unworthiness. Still even though we - you and I - are like Isaiah and a people of unclean lips in a foul society run by evil men and women, He uses us. 

Jesus Christ sends out the call "Who will go for Us?" Who indeed?! Not one of us, on our best days are worthy to shine the brass sandals on His Holy Feet, yet He stands at the right Hand of God when one of us is martyred for His Name (Stephen in Acts 7 ). Who will go for the Lord? We will. He has no one else. We are His people. We who are called by His Name are His elect. He was born for us. He was born to reconcile us to God. He was born to make things new! He said so in His Word.

The Apostle Paul, who was taught by the Savior, whose followers he killed and jailed previously, said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...behold all things are now new". The amazing thing about becoming a new Creation in Christ is that it can happen in deep depressing depths of winter to the bright days of summer or the beautiful blossoming Spring.

The Savior bids us go back to His promise in the lead verse above from Isaiah 43:18-19 to forget the past and not dwell on our sins and past transgressions, iniquities and sins against Holy God, but focus on what He is doing - as the God for all Seasons. What Abba Father, through the Son is saying is the "new thing springs forth", is God taking our dead in the water flesh and souls we were. which were absolutely and completely useless, unproductive, fruitless and of no use, even to other people - and making a NEW Creature out of us! In essence He has taken us to a new height which we could never attain on our own, or even knew we wanted! 

Then knowing that God is doing this new work of rejuvenation in our lives, He is asking us "do you not perceive it...can't you see it, acknowledge it, understand it or know it"?! It is a rhetorical question! He knows that after this rejuvenation, like then one when the Spring snows turn to green grass and blossoms, the lights He put there will eventually come on. 

This is all His Work.  This is our Great God making a way in the former dry, dead barren wilderness of our lives! Things we never noticed before - creation, evidence of the Flood and young earth, God's Hand in the affairs of mankind or even the signs of the evil times - we start noticing. This is because He has made  "a way in the wilderness" to lead us to the fertile ground. 

This fertile ground is His Kingdom, which knoweth no end! This Kingdom is an oasis, thus sayeth the Lord!  He made a new thing and did something which no sudden rare wadi or rainstorm in the desert can do - He put rivers in the dry deserts of our lives. Our great God says of rivers and streams in the desert that those whom He has chose, the man or woman who walk in His Ways, learn and live His Word and Worship Him will be "like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season" (Psalm 1:3a). This is the paradigm of those whom God has renewed, if we are willing, submitted, committed and most of all - forgiven.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY FIVE:
VERSE:

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving....
(Colossians 2:6-7)
PRAYER:
Oh Most High God and Ruler of the Universe, You are not a God Who created and left us to our own devices but "walked with Adam" daily, in the beginning, until he sinned and walked away from you. You told Abraham to "walk before" You and be blameless (Genesis 17:1) and everyone of Your faithful generals walked before, along and then behind Your leadership. Father, Your requirement is laid out for us in Micah 6:8 "....what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? 

It is our fervent wish to be resolved, as Your servant Jonathan Edwards once did, to walk with You in that way. Oh that we would have the testimony of Enoch of whom it is written twice that he walked with you and then You "raptured" him Home. All Your faithful servants of old, from the prophets to the warriors like Joshua and David to the Apostles walked the sacrificial walk with You as they would a friend.

But Lord, You oh God, You are more than a friend. You are the God of all salvation, all truth, all majesty and all power, and we worship, adore, magnify, glorify and lift up the Name above all names, we lift up the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ as warriors of the Cross and we loudly proclaim, from the mountaintop that Jesus Christ IS LORD and there is no other. Hallelujah to the Lamb!

Lord, give us this day the power and perseverance, as adopted sons and daughters and friends of God, to walk with You - not ahead of You, not way behind You, but WITH YOU. We know, oh God, why You told us to "walk humbly WITH" You and not all the other things.  It is because we need to recognize that the humble Savior Whose meekness in tribulation was our example, has called us to His Walk, when He ministered almost 2000 years ago. It is in humility we silence our noisy pride and self-righteousness and is in surrender we become empowered and strong in You, so much so to the point that if it were possible, post-flood, we would be able to walk 300 years with you as Enoch did!

Thank You, dear Abba Father, that we even had the opportunity to RECEIVE Christ as Colossians 2:6 says, which prequalifies us to be able to even be on that path with You! This act of Salvation, through the Spirit's regeneration and not some mindless repetition of a cheap evangelist, reminds us to also "be still and KNOW that You are God" - the ultimate act of obedience through humility. 

Thank You, most Gracious Father for this teaching that our stillness is not weakness about a proactive dwelling in Your Presence knowing that You have all our situations, troubles, cares, tears and fears under control.

Thank You, most Sovereign Lord, for the gift of Faith, with which we are indwelled and constantly maturing in, so that we can recognize the Hands and Handiwork of God weaving the narrow path through which we should walk with You. I do so with abundant and joyful thanksgiving in my heart, through Jesus Christ, our soon-coming King. Amen.

THE EYES OF THE LORD PART 3 - "ON THE RIGHTEOUS"

“ Behold, the Eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him (Psalm 33: 18 )…..”the Eyes of the LORD are toward the Righteous and His Ears are open to their cry (Psalm 34:15).

(Photo - NASA)

You have heard it said that “eyes are windows to the soul”. This is absolutely true. I have street evangelized in all kinds of settings for many years, and come face to face with souls that are dark and seemingly lost to perdition.  Those are HUMAN eyes. These are NOT The Eyes of the LORD! The all-powerful; all-seeing; all-knowing and all-wise Eyes of our Great God in Heaven  are good. They are alive. They were alive in Eternity past and can see the end from the beginning.

So, what about this seeming difference between Psalm 33:18 and Psalm 34:15 (AS SEEN ABOVE)? What does He mean by both “The Eye of the Lord” and the “The Eyes of the Lord”? Is the Lord using a different “eyes” for different functions? Well, no – God does not compartmentalize. 

Look at it this way: in Psalm 33:18 we see that “the Eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him”. This is general statement.  God Himself said in Proverbs 1:7 that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge” and in Proverbs 2: 28-29, He says “Then they will call on me, and I will not answer. They will seek me diligently and I will not answer because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord”. The word for knowledge, which HaShem uses is also a Hebrew root word for "Truth"! Therefore, if you KNOW Truth, you will "fear" Him - which is to have the proper reverence, awe and understanding of Who God really is. Those who have no knowledge of the Holy, do NOT fear, reverence, worship, adore or even have the slightest clue Who He is....and increasingly, this goes for the majority of evangelicals (mostly young) and mainline churches.

At one point in time, America was known as the most God-fearing nation in the world.  Because of that, the late 19th and the first six decades of the 20th centuries were America’s time.  The favor of God was upon this country.  Everything most industrialists touched almost seemed  to gold.

A person could have come from the worst background, from any country in the world and with the Grace of God and hard work, build something completely out of nothing. To a certain extent, this can still be done - with perseverance. But corrupt politicians and a godless educational/cultural/judicial system has turned the mind of the hopeful into complete hopelessness. Now, those who have transformed this unique God-fearing country which God does not recognize anymore, will pay on Judgment day when the books are open before the Great White Throne, but as long as there is life, there is hope.
This is the Corporate "Eye of the Lord" - the Eye which sees entire tribes, tongues and nations - like America. You and I should be more interested in the "Eyes of the Lord" first, because once we find favor in THOSE Eyes, then we can work on being a society and a people favorable unto Him!

Scripture says "the Eyes of the LORD are toward the Righteous and His Ears are open to their cry (Psalm 34:15). 1 Peter 3:12 quotes this exact passage of this psalm in order to emphasize the Lord's point. The full quote used by Peter is ”For the Eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the Face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”(1 Peter 3:12). Both uses of this passage represent a conditional offer to man.  The majority of humanity alive today has chosen the latter, even if they don't think they are evil, or do evil. If they are not following Christ as Lord and Savior, they are already completely separated from God. They will enjoy the same "rain which falls on the just and the unjust" but that is only for this brief life. Those who walk in unrighteousness by following false and fraudulent religions and cults other than Biblical Christianity should get a notion what the full attention and "Face of the Lord" really means. This is no picnic!

What about you and I who are completely sold-out and committed disciples of Christ? 

Well, we have two wonderful promises here:
First, "the Eyes of the LORD are toward the Righteous": that alone tell us that He is for us! Just as God's Face is AGAINST those who practice iniquity, His entire gaze is TOWARD us - His elect, saved and set apart for eternity. We are not Righteous because of anything we have done, but are thus because we accepted the same offer that He made to even those who will face His wrath. The word "toward" means "on the basis of"....Christ the Advocate, being our Lord and Savior, that is the reason for His Loving Eyes on us!

Secondly, "His Ears are open" to our cry" (or prayer) is a definite promise that because we have His personal attention (EYES - as in both EYES), He listens. The fervent and effective prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). But it is more than that. When Scripture (and therefore God) promises that His "Ears are  open", the literal terminology used by the Holy Spirit in Scripture, in essence, means Abba Father is continually and perpetually bent towards giving us an audience when we approach Him in the proper manner of Prayer. He always answers our prayer. Even if we do not like the answer, He answers!

In the final analysis, this is what we should strive for, during our short time on this wonderful creation called Earth.  We should strive for the Favor of His Divine Gaze upon us, all our families and our goings and comings.  We cannot earn a single measure of it, and once we have it (through Mark 1:15 - repent and believe the Gospel and be saved), we can sure mess it up. But if your heart and mine and set on Above and are completely loyal, devoted and "all-in" for Him, when His Eyes go across the whole earth in search of those who are so, they will land on us and His entire sensory perception will be directed to us, lovingly. Do you know any better promise? Are you His? Do you know Him? If not...do not waste another moment.

ABBA, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN - PART 2: ATTRIBUTES OF HEAVENLY FATHER

When we look at the attributes of an earthly father (from Part 1), it is obvious that God ordained parents (and dads especially) to represent Him to His creation. There is a reason the first commandment with a promise - "Honor Your Father and Your Mother, your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you". This commandment appears as the transition from the Commandments which are vertical and dealing solely with our relationship with Holy God, to the horizontal - re: our relationships with our fellow human beings.

The plan and purpose of God is for His created ones to obey their parents in reverence, so that we will reverence our Heavenly Father, in the same way. We know this has never been the case for most of humanity, even though it has been commanded. This does not change "conditions on the ground", so to speak. The self-existent always alive Creator of the Universe is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow!

The great Illinois preacher A.W. Tozer is well known as the foremost expounder of the Attributes of God. In his phenomenal Classic Book - "THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY", Tozer presented 18 Attributes of God. Some of them are presented here with the link to continue reading the rest of those eighteen.  Tozer's work is highlighted here because they are the best known and acknowledged as complete and inspired:

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD COPY OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY - CLICK HERE

Attributes of God – The Basis
Jesus came to reveal the God of the Bible. And God has revealed Himself in His book. Any deviation from that insight from Him is a made-up god. Tozer in Knowledge of the Holy finds 18 characteristics of God in the Bible. They are repeated here, although not in the same order. Tozer’s definitions, when used, will appear in quotes. 

Attributes of God – The Characteristics
Wisdom: “Wisdom is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve these ends by the most perfect means.” In other words, God makes no mistakes. He is the Father who truly knows best, as Paul explains in Romans 11:33: “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!” 

Infinitude: God knows no boundaries. He is without measure. This attribute by definition impacts all of the others. Since God is infinite, everything else about Him must also be infinite. 

Sovereignty: This is “the attribute by which He rules His entire creation.” It is the application of His other attributes of being all-knowing and all-powerful. It makes Him absolutely free to do what He knows to be best. God is in control of everything that happens. Man still has a free will, and is responsible for his choices in life. 

Holiness: This is the attribute that sets God apart from all created beings. It refers to His majesty and His perfect moral purity. There is absolutely no sin or evil thought in God at all. His holiness is the definition of that which is pure and righteous in all the universe. Wherever God has appeared, such as to Moses at the burning bush, that place becomes holy just for God having been there.

READ THE REST OF THE ATTRIBUTES BY CLICKING HERE

The following is a part of a teaching I did on one of the TV shows I appeared on in the recent past which include more clarification on the Attributes of Our Great God in Heaven - Abba Father:

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 27

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 27
GOD IS ABBA (FATHER)



A childless couple adopts a baby, let us say, around 1960. Then the baby grows up to be a great kid, with straight A's in school and plays shortstop on the Varsity baseball team. His name is Scott.


After graduating, he goes to the local Junior college where he excels both in math, chemistry and still plays baseball for their team. After transferring his credits to the big four year state college, he graduates Magna Cum Laude and decides to accept a job offer with a local bank, whose manager has seen his name in the town weekly, ever since he played High School baseball. 


This young man then falls in love and marries the boss' daughter, around say 1985. They have three kids, buy a home in a new subdivision and live happily ever after!


Now, Scott was adopted. The first thing his permanently new parents did was give Scott THEIR last name, because he belongs to them as a member of their family. Scott has all the rights, privileges and yes, responsibilities of being a legitimate member of that family. He is no less loved by Jack and Diane Smith, than if they had their own biological twins. 


Scott is no less a member of the Smith family than Kristen, their miracle daughter who was born five years after Scott was adopted. In fact, no one would have ever known Scott was adopted until he himself mentioned it, when he became Mayor of his little town in 2010 and was honoring his dear parents!


Scott is us. His natural born sister, Kristen, is the Jewish people whom God called His chosen people. We are now all the same family in God. When God sent Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah and they rejected Him, the second part of God's plan was revealed - save the rest of the world.  Jesus sent one of His disciples biggest persecutors - Saul - to accomplish that job. Christ did that when He knocked him blind, off his horse when Saul was heading to Damascus to kill more Christians.


Saul met the Living Jesus in the Third Heaven, as he said, and promptly became Paul - the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen. Here is what Paul wrote about his OWN adoption (and ours) into God's family, as a result of his Conversion on the Road to Damascus:
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17 ESV)


That is correct - we are adopted sons and daughters of God and He is our Abba - our Daddy! The word Abba represents the father side of the equation of the father-child relationship in a family. It literally means just that - Dad! This Spirit of adoption which Paul talks about is the Holy Spirit - the Comforter - Who descends into us. The Spirit does that once we are saved and moved from a child of hell, to being a child of the Real God, sealed with the Blood of Christ, Which washed us clean!


Only the Christian, born-again through the Lord Jesus Christ, can legitimately claim to be an Adopted Daughter or Son of the Living God! Only we have the right to cry out to Him "Abba, Father"...and know He will hear us! Now, aren't you glad you are His?!


So Father, in the Name of Jesus, YOU are my Father in Heaven! You are my Daddy! You are my Creator; Provider; Protector; Nourisher; Healer; Banner...in fact I can go on and on until the end of time and still find amazing names to call You! You, oh God, are my All in All!


My Father in Heaven, hallowed, holy, righteous, pure and GREAT is Your Name! I thank You Lord for calling me out of the darkness which the Power of Sin had me living in, into the Kingdom of Your Marvelous Light.

I thank You, Lord, that You sent that Light, Jesus Christ, to be Savior of the World, because YOU, Oh God, are the Father of Lights Who giveth all good things to all Your people.


I thank You, Lord, that You sent the Spirit of that significant event of my salvation through the Cross. That Spirit is not only purely God, but wholly and Holy You! He not only testifies to the Truth of the Gospel and the Full Counsel of Your Word, He has sealed me until the Day of Redemption, when Jesus my Advocate stands before You as my Kinsman Redeemer and says "this one's Mine"! WOW!! PRAISE YOU, PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME!! WOOHOO!! AMEN!


I thank You, Lord, that this same Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption as well as my Teacher and Guide because He testifies daily that I am truly a member of YOUR family...of YOUR Kingdom...and that I  am truly saved by YOUR Son - Jesus, the King!


I thank You, Lord, that because of that Adoption, You have made me a joint Heir with Christ in the Eternal Kingdom where we will live together, learning and rejoicing and worshiping and thanking You forever and ever!  Amen!

Thank You, Father, for just being You and loving me, even when I am at my most unlovable as Your adopted son, according to the Love and Works and Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom all perfection and glory resides...and it is in His Name I pray, amen.

TOMORROW: GOD IS, WELL, EVERYTHING!

(image by google images)

HOW DO I THINK ON THESE THINGS

.......WHATEVER'S LOVELY........

All week, we have been discussing the methodology to a certain mindset when it comes to our view of how God wants us to live our daily lives. We looked at the "Think Positive" movements of Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale (who are the predecessors to Joel Osteen) and then camped on Philippians 4 in the past few days.


We examined the Foundational Truths which MUST undergird us and yesterday, we looked at three factors in the Formula towards a more Biblical mindset, based on Philippians 4:8. The Bible instructs us to "Think on These Things"...why and how? 


Here now are the final three qualities we must embed into every fiber of our being, in order to accomplish that which we were commissioned to do. Here is the REST of the Story, or Formula...to THINK ON THESE THINGS:

SO LET'S GET TO IT RIGHT NOW - THE FORMULA (Section A)

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Whatever is lovely - This one is self-explanatory! Behold the beauty of Creation all around you; behold the birth of a new baby; behold the bold colors of the sky at noon and then sundown; behold the beauty of His Majesty...Just BEHOLD THE LAMB of GOD - JESUS! WOW!

One benefit of behold all of this - you get the focus off yourself and your problems and see things HIS Way, man, it makes the day so much better to live and enjoy!

Whatever is commendable - Basically and in the literal sense, this has a powerful punch. Commendable means worthy of HIGH PRAISE! Can you think of anything or ANYONE who is worthier of HIGH PRAISE than Almighty God, Abba? NO! The other meaning is meritorious! This means God has earned it by what He has done for us: from giving us physical life and all its blessings to ETERNAL LIFE, through Christ our Lord. 

Therefore Praise, Worship, Adore and Love Him, for He alone is worthy! Now THAT, my friends, is commendable!

IF THERE IS ANY EXCELLENCE, IF THERE IS ANYTHING WORTHY OF PRAISE - These two phrases cannot be separated, because Abba Father, by being the Most Perfect Being from eternity past, present and future, is EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED! There is no one else like Him! 

Therefore, in light of the Attribute of Perfection, which could take a book to describe, He is worthy not just of Praise- but ADORATION, APPRECIATION, WORSHIP, HONOR, OBEDIENCE AND MINISTERING UNTO HIM!

Again, the chief end of man, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

If you think on these things we looked at briefly the past couple of days, we are way ahead of the majority - not just of the world, but of christians! We are therefore, one step further along the way to being the kind of worshippers which the Father in Heaven is looking for!

Amen

(image by google images)