PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

 TEXT: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

SERIES ON PRAYER: "BE ALL IN, 24/7/365"

Have you ever asked God to give you a parking spot closer to the door of a packed mall or store?

Have you ever asked the Lord’s help in finding your car keys, when you’re in a hurry out the door?

Have you ever even ask the Lord if you should go down this or that street, after getting an easy feeling about something?

If you have, there is nothing wrong with any of this, and frankly, we all do it.

There is something very special about this Relationship with our Creator, Redeemer, and Friend – Abba Father, where we can just approach Him at any time, at any place, in any situation…and He hears us! The Lines of communication can only be buzzing with divine traffic if we are connected to the Source.  For this one of a kind relationship to work, we must only be free from sin and walk the talk. We have to be “ALL IN”.

It is easy for people to be “all in” for their sports team or non-profit organization, or even a political group. But for some reason, people in the church, sometimes consider that being “All In” for God is not just a bit too much to ask. Some even say this ministry of prayer is "those people on the prayer team” or the “pastoral staff” or….? I really do not know!

The good news for EVERY believer is the Lord’s offer is open to all. The only requirement is your availability and mine. 

How about you? How close are you to the flame? Have you even attempted to get close so close that when you walk down the aisle of a store, or get stuck in traffic, or feel overwhelmed at work, you can call out to Him? When turmoil and trouble reign, not just on the world stage, but in your office, home or church, do you have that shalom (peace) that passes ALL understanding? You could!

To achieve this level of heightened closeness with the Lord, there is no magic formula. There is only one way – you must be ALL IN.  Scripture does not call for strange eastern pagan meditation or new age idolatry. Here is the Truth of the Bible, directly from the Lord. He says "...The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Jesus repeated this same command in Matthew 22:37-40.

The common denominator in these great verses is the word "ALL". Please note:

- All your heart: Scripture tells us to "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." (Proverbs 4:23). The spiritual heart is the center and CORE of WHO we are as human beings. We are created in the Image and Likeness of Almighty God (Imago Dei). All the components of our inner person reside in the "heart". Dallas Baptist University calls the heart " primary faculty of thought, affection" This captures the first requirement of being completely all in and connected to the very Heart of our Creator. These springs of life which fuel us should make us diligent to communicate daily with Abba Father in prayer.

- All your soul: The soul is the integral part of us which is eternal and lives forever. God told a businessman in the Bible that "tonight, your soul will be required of you". Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 the following: "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" Loving the Lord with this most important part of us which will live in Eternity with The Lord is a no-brainer. We love Him, so we talk to Him in prayer, period.

- All your might: The book of 2 Kings 23:25 recounts this telling account of the great King Josiah " Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him". Who is King Josiah and why did he love the Lord will ALL HIS MIGHT? Josiah became King of Judah at the early age of 8. Immediately the Hand of the Lord was upon Josiah. When the Scriptures were found in some ruins, after the previous pagan kings had hidden them, Josiah held public readings of the Word of God. This led to one of the biggest revivals ever recorded in the Bible. Josiah not only loved with his very core, but he did something practical about it. He tore down all the pagan idols and destroyed all the ungodly practices across the land and turned back to the Lord.  The verse here embodies a man who was completely committed to the Holy One of Israel - Yahweh, our God.

The whole person - physically, emotionally and spiritually - has to be in synced and aligned with the Word of God - the Bible. One cannot call oneself a Christian without acknowledging this fact, before God. Since our souls, if we are born again, are rejuvenated by the Holy Spirit and brought into the Kingdom of God as saved, we can access this wellspring of Life as much or as little as we wish. However, if you wish to have the life abundantly appointed, as Christ promised, we must follow the example of Scripture here, just like Josiah and plunged into the deep. We will never reach the depths of His blessings and divine treasures because He, Abba Father, will always open up Heaven to those of His children, who are all in for the long haul. Prayer is the only way to get there.

THE ALL-PERCEIVING GOD- : PSALM 139: VERSES 13-16

THE OMNISCIENT GOD
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)

"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him." (John 4:29-30)....these are the words of the five-time married, now living in sin, famous "Woman at the Well"!

Putting aside the obvious amazement that a fairly loose heathen woman would obviously know more Scripture and prophesy than 75% of church women (and men) today, her words reveal so much more about an Attribute of God, it is uncanny.

In fact, this statement by another unnamed biblical figure who was healed by Jesus explains beautifully the verses from Psalm 139 written above (verses 13-16)! By the way, there is a reason almost none of the multitude of Jesus healed and/or ministered to,  are actually named in the Gospels. Whether it is this now wonderful converted Samaritan saint, or the woman with the blood issue or the nobleman's son or the blind man or the ten lepers....and on and on. Not one of them was named. They were not named because the Holy Spirit of God Who inspired Scripture wants us to focus on the God Who Heals (Yahweh Rophe).

In Psalm 139 verse 13, we see the intricacy of the Design of the most Intelligent Designer of the Universe and Creator of Heaven and Earth. The most evil thing about governments and educators forcing human beings to learn their "Theory of Evolution" only, as if it were fact, is it robs people of their souls coming into true fellowship. When you force-feed innocently trusting kids seeking knowledge, that their ancestors crawled out of the ocean or were monkeys that came from a big bang that came out of nothing, what hope do you expect them to have about a great life out there for them?

We can discuss the future fiery home of these people some other time, but an absence of God in education, culture and now sadly, church culture has led the vast majority of mankind in the past 150 years permanently away from the All-seeing, All-perceiving God Who is both omniscient and loving, if some of these same humans would open their brains and think a little. Christianity is the only thinking man's religion where you do not check your brains at the doorstep.

Verse 14:  We believe that this incredible human body with its amazing network of cells, ligaments, a heart that pumps blood, lungs that take in air and a brain which cannot be fathomed, did NOT come from some explosion out of nothing-ness or an ape. The same people who teach this vile stuff, will force food or auto manufacturers to follow the law very carefully to insure their products are safe, workable and up to code. Yet with matters of even more significance, they deny the Creator. 

We invite you to think of what "fearfully and wonderfully made" actually means. Some would argue that the Alabama-based Mercedes Benz plant makes some of the most wonderful creations of autos. The engineering that goes into a Nissan in Tennesee or the Toyota in Kentucky is incredible. But even these machines are not built to last 30-40-70-95 years (or over 100 years) in some cases. The human body is! Some people abuse their own bodies with gouging at buffet restaurants, diet coke, rum and coke or burgers with cheese sauce, bread and fries (over 5000 calories) and still, if they change their diet and exercise, the body restores itself. In the original language, "fearfully" means that God has set us apart from the other species (like animals) with such respect, reverence and such heart-felt interest in His Creation that He made a marvelous (wonderful) thing! This is why He says in Psalm 116:15 "precious in the Eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints". God respects and loves those who love Him and our death on earth is precious to Him, since it means, He is calling us now, literally back to Himself. When we are forgiven and saved by the Blood of Christ, our inner person instinctively knows all this, since our inner person is awakened as unto God. Each human has that capacity to know God intimately, unfortunately, the majority reject that free gift.

Verse 15:  Consider this the following: if you or I were working on a song with our guitar or piano, or say my friend who is an artist with wax and oils starts working on the huge four by six foot canvas, would we really want to stream it LIVE over Facebook or Periscope or God knows what else is out there? No! The majority of sane people would wait until we are good and ready to showcase the item, or painting before releasing for public consumption. God is the Wisest Being in the Universe and His teachings and creation are out there and plain for EVERYONE to see. We have the Bible and can see everything around us including the uncountable stars and galaxies. However, He does His most important work in secret there- and that is the forming and shaping of the Souls of His Saints.

We were fearfully and physically wonderfully made, when Adam was created and the human race began. We are all direct descendants of Noah and his sons and their wives (from whence all the races came). We do not get to see the baby in a mother's womb at Memorial Hospital grow from conception to a 10 weeks old to six months in, until we see the child delivered at birth. The baby is alive from the moment of conception. The mother knows the baby is alive. The ultrasound PROVES there is a baby in there. God put the entire baby Creation in motion. This is all done away from Facebook Live and all public eyes. This is how our God works. His best work is done in secret, because, in spiritual terms, it is the fruits of our labor which matters.

Verse 16:  The Attributes of God all work together - for obvious reasons. First of all, He is God. Secondly, while His personality, like ours, may have different qualities, it is still different sides of the same Coin.  He is both all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. We know from the New Testament as well, that God knows us before He even created the world. So it is no surprise that our actual time on this earth is both known and set in stone. 

There is only one instance in history where God extended a man's life. King Hezekiah appealed to the Lord and was given 15 more years by the Lord. Hezekiah found out from the prophet Isaiah he was about to die and cried out to heaven. Now God knew in advance He was going to give this grace to the king. Nothing takes God by surprise. He knows the beginning from the end and vice versa. While we will only live those numbereD days, preset by our Heavenly Father, how we live here on earth means EVERYTHING. Most people just stumble through life, do what they think is the best they can and then wait to pass on. Most think they are "okay" and God is okay with that.  Most are wrong.

Jesus said He came to give us life, to give us life more abundantly and that begins now. The moment we come into relationship with God through Christ, and are born again, we begin the journey which will carry us through Eternity. How awesome and truly great this permanent relationship with God through Christ is, depends entirely on us. We can know all these stunning attributes of God and quote them freely, but if we do not intimately know the God behind these attributes Himself, we are lost and in eternal danger. Do you know Him? Does HE know YOU, as His? It is easy to do - Jesus said "the time is fulfilled (here), repent, believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15)....and be saved. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #4

TRANSFORMATION IN PRAYER- SUBMIT, RESIST, DRAW

(James 4:7-8a)

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
In the previous post on prayer (#3) we examined the Protocols of Prayer, where the absolute foundation was built on the twin pillars of humility and repentance. But Transformation only begins there as intentional ACTION must follow. 

Again, we have to look at the Model of The Man who is teaching these truths on behalf of God. We know James, the head of the Christianity's "head office" in Jerusalem, is speaking for God and the only way James knows how to listen, teach and obey - (L.T.O.) is to pray. His very instructions in today's passage from James 4 are predicated on prayer...to wit:
- Submit to God (verse 7): How do we submit to God unless we surrender directly to Him. This can ONLY be done in direct conversation or as we call it - prayer! To submit to the Will of God, we have to know Him intimately, His Word inherently and His plans instinctively. There is not getting around it. This has to be done through Prayer and reading the Bible. Morphing into the image of Christ starts when we say, in earnest prayer, we are nothing without Him, and we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

- Resist the Devil (verse 7): Nobrainer here! The devil hates us and any shiny or tempting object he sets before us is to aid us in life, but to completely ruin everything we are, say, think do. He wants to destroy our testimonies, our marriages, our families, churches, communities and countries. He has succeeded tremendously in every single one of them. Why should he succeed with us? He is a filthy destructive being and we resist in prayer by reminding him of his destiny; his defeat at the Cross and his lack of any hold over you and I. God has already told us how wise it is to literally RUN away from Temptation and Evil. That's it - resist by running and resist by rebuking in the Name of Jesus, in prayer, fast thinking and surrender to the Lordship of Christ.

- Draw near to God (verse 8): Another nobrainer here! Can you and I hear the skeptics now? "How can you draw near to someone you can't see?"...and some such configuration? First of all, a person can only draw NEAR to God, whom God has called near to Him! This is an explicit reminder of the special dispensation granted the Redeemed who are saved by His Grace and called to eternal life by the King! So we already have positional salvation in the Kingdom. Therefore the power, richness and intensity of that Walk with Him, depends on us alone. 

How much we want to look, sound, walk, talk and love like Jesus depends on how close and strong we want our relationship with God to be and this means - you guessed it - prayer! Draw, come close to Him in prayer, know His thoughts, Amazing Mind, Heart and His Word and He will reveal more and more and more and more to you in one verse or one month than ever thought possible in a lifetime. This may sound challenging to many Christians but in over a decade into a more intentional prayer life, what has worked for me is regular fasting and prayer. Many are not pro-fasting, as it is not a command or requirement for Salvation. which is true. However, I can't begin to tell of the incredible power, insight, awe and inspiration which Fasting has brought into my life. Fasting is a topic for another time, but I choose to follow the Words of Jesus and His Lordship here when He said in Matthew 6:
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Emphasis mine).

Credits: Free Bible Images
Bible Gateway for all Scripture used

BOOK REVIEW: PERFECTLY BROKEN by AMBER MAUDLIN

A Memoir of Rape and Redemption...

"He may have killed my innocence that day, but he awoke something more powerful - a woman of Faith...." PERFECTLY BROKEN (Amber Maudlin, Westbow 2014)

This book is an inspiring honest account of a brave young woman's journey from a brutalized 16 year old almost two decades ago to the point where she can now share her personal restoration, with the lost and hurting. Amber Harville (Maudlin) was violently attacked, physically and otherwise by a criminal, after being kidnapped on the way to a Subway sandwich shop in Virginia. What follows in this extremely well written book (Westbow Press, December 2014, 214 pages), is a page-turner which is so horrifying and intensely sad that reading it will, at first, tremendously infuriate the reader!

Amber, for a first time author, did an amazingly gripping and mature job in describing her memories of that time almost two decades ago when this awful assault occurred. She expertly wove her personal physical and spiritual trauma as both a high school student (after the assault) with her relationship with her mother, brother and step-father so well, that the reader ends up on the same roller-coaster of emotion. As horrifying  as the foundation of the story is,  Perfectly Broken is full of good innocent humor and life as the abused teen, a Christian young lady at the time, sought to work through this personal crisis with the Great God of Heaven. You can almost see her trying to live the semblance of a "normal" teenager outwardly, all the while, doubting and debating on the inside.

For me, this is the most powerful part of this book. Like most folks who have gone through unfair and ungodly attacks, the most asked question is "Where is (was) God?"...and all the different variations of this question. Like most under duress, it seems as though God has gone silent. Remember, even the Lord Jesus Himself, God in Heaven from eternity past with the Father, cried out in agony on the Cross "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"  This is a difficult thing for any Christian, whether in crisis or not. It has happened to anyone who has walked close to God throughout life and even the best of us. The rape and violent attacks on this teenage girl would be enough, in post-Christian, spiritually weak America, to turn anyone else away from our Heavenly Father.

To her credit, Amber never gave in to those thoughts but kept asking God and the Savior Jesus Christ for help in comprehending the matter.  She eventually was led to her youth minister Jason, who did something which not even senior pastors in America could do- get a teenager to read and digest all 42 Chapters of the Book of Job! Not just that, Amber read the entire book of Job in the King James Version! That alone is impressive. In my opinion, this is both the turning point in Amber's ability to successfully process her personal tragedy while finding the true peace and comfort of our Loving God, which she had sought and fought so hard for.


Here is where "Perfectly Broken" is now becoming, and IS, a true resource for ANYONE who has been a victim of any type of crime or otherwise. It was the Scriptures, inspired by God, and the Holy Spirit Who abides in this truly born-again young woman, which brought about Restoration! The restoration was so powerful, once Amber got the true message of the Book of Job that she wrote in her book "He (the attacker) may have killed my innocence that day, but he awoke something more powerful - a woman of Faith. No matter what the verdict is, I've already won. I see that now?" She said those words close to the trial where she was the key witness against the serial rapist, who was later put away for life.

How did this happen, that one goes from questioning God to speaking like she did in the above quote? The answer lies in the entire long narrative of the Book of Job - the actual first book of the Bible.  Apart from the impressive fact that a sixteen year old would read in one sitting, the long tedious (and mostly false) speeches of Job's friends and Job and still get the key point of Job, is in itself, a good reason to read "Perfectly Broken". When the dark night of the soul finally broke, after reading this classic book of the Bible, which serves as an example for all peoples of all times, God reveals the reason why trouble came to Amber and how He wanted her to deal with it. It came in her own words, where she offered up the answer that this life is not really about her, but her experiences, with Christ on her side, to help someone else. Just reading how God revealed Himself and His call, purpose and design for a persecuted Christian, is worth obtaining and purchasing this first time offering by Amber Maudlin.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF "PERFECTLY BROKEN"

WHY PRAY? Part 2 - WE TRUST!

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him (James 5:14-15)

The Lord promised that "in this world you will have tribulation (or trouble), but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33b). How does someone do that when the enemies of God are systematically destroying His people....when many are losing hope....when the numbers of "nones" (those who believe in nothing) grow exponentially....etc. etc..

These are the Biblical end times which are in view, primarily, to those who are saved and called by Christ into the Kingdom. We are seeing a plethora of incurable diseases, deadly viruses and inexplicable things all around us. Cancer is on the rise due to the many different things - lifestyle, quality of food and environment etc. In fact, if you act even the dearest Christian, there seems to be a sense of resignation and defeat.

This is both understandable and wrong at the same time. We see an exhortation from James here which is hardly called upon, in times of need, even by those who call themselves strong believers.....and that includes pastors. On average, you hear pastoral prayers about "Lord heal so and so, touch brother X, remember sister Y....etc.." But is there the strong biblical prayer system for healing, whether Body, Soul or Mind, which lines up with James 5:14, 15? Not really!  This sort of healing and restoration requires Faith and Trust in the Promise AND persistence in prayer.

Too many modern seminaries, and thus, the pastors they put out, have removed the spirit of this Scripture which says that such faith for healing, anointing with oil and restoration "is only for Bible times" and not now! I have heard that so many times, I don't even listen to it anymore. Because the Living Word who abides in the Christian testifies that the entire Word of God - all 66 books - are for now and for you and I. Therefore, even if the elders don't pray for the church and the sick as they should - YOU DO IT!

To drive home that point, the Lord gave us the account of the man of God - Elijah - who was sent to a place of famine and a poor woman in Zarephath. 

Read the full account here from the flowing narrative of God's Word Translation:
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath (which belongs to Sidon), and stay there. I’ve commanded a widow there to feed you.”
10 He got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the town’s entrance, a widow was gathering wood. He called to her, “Please bring me a drink of water.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her again, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”  12 She said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord your God lives, I didn’t bake any bread. I have one handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I’m gathering wood. I’m going to prepare something for myself and my son so that we can eat it and then die.”

13 Then Elijah told her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home, and do as you’ve said. But first make a small loaf and bring it to me. Then prepare something for yourself and your son. 14 This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Until the Lord sends rain on the land, the jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always contain oil.” 15 She did what Elijah had told her. So she, Elijah, and her family had food for a long time. 16 The jar of flour never became empty, and the jug always contained olive oil, as the Lord had promised through Elijah....1 Kings 17:7-16 (GNT)

Notice the parallel to a life of belief, faith and therefore, TRUST:
The RED HIGHLIGHT from verses 10-11  “Please bring me a drink of water.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her again, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”  
Elijah was repeating the Word of the Lord to the widow of Zarephath, just as James is telling us that if we are sick, go to the elders. God gave the widow the following commands: 
- Bring me a drink....even though I know you're thirsty and there is famine and drought in the land (Sacrificial prayer.....what are YOU willing to surrender to Christ to be in the center of His Perfect Will through obedience?)
- Bring me a piece of bread too....even though I know you have nothing and are about to die because of this famine, caused by the disobedience of others. Noteworthy here is the condition of the saint. We are not exempt sometimes when the Lord judges a place, as He judged Israel then and the even harsher judgment coming to America for its rebellion against God. This is what Jesus meant by tribulation. This walk with Christ through life is not meant to be easy and woe to those who deceive with the health, wealth and prosperity gospel!

This is proven by the BLUE HIGHLIGHT and the words of the poor widow “I solemnly swear, as the Lord your God lives, I didn’t bake any bread. I have one handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I’m gathering wood. I’m going to prepare something for myself and my son so that we can eat it and then die.” (Verse 12).
The prayer application for us here is this - simply go to the Lord, explain your case and do it over and over (persistent prayer). You say, "well, God knows what I need....why should I have to pray?" God does know what we need and we pray because He desires fellowship with His Elect. We all come from families, whether large or small. How can we live in our homes in peace, joy and contentment if we do not speak to our moms, wives, dads, brothers sisters and cousins?! It is the same thing with the Lord, our Heavenly Father! He is called Abba which in English is the equivalent of "Daddy"! We present our case to Him in humility, fear, trembling but we also present to Him in anticipation and the STRONG belief that He hears and will heal, reveal and not conceal!

The great result of this tremendous, dynamic and ever growing faith is found here in the GREEN HIGHLIGHT: “Don’t be afraid. Go home, and do as you’ve said. But first make a small loaf and bring it to me. Then prepare something for yourself and your son. 14 This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Until the Lord sends rain on the land, the jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always contain oil.”
Look at what the man of God (and therefore GOD) says:
-DO NOT BE AFRAID! Do not be afraid to ask and believe and trust in Him to do what He says, even in the darkest hour!
- GO HOME! What? You mean, leave my burdens and cares and some Cross I can't see and under some "Blood" that I only read about being shed for me? Yes, doubting Thomas - Go home! Go and rest and abide in the fact that you can have peace, joy, contentment, hope and victory from the One Who already won it at the same Cross you doubt it and because ye doubt, ye have not the answer ye seek! Go home simply means - DO YOU BELIEVE ME, JESUS...DO YOU BELIEVE I CAN DO IT? YES I CAN...NOW GO YOUR WAY - YOU ARE HEALED! Such amazing faith in His Amazing Grace is such a sweet sweet sound, to a wretch like me that I don't deserve what verse 14 says: Until the Lord sends rain on the land, the jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always contain oil. 

That simply means - until the Lord Jesus returns for us, calls us home or either one or the other, I will live in that promise, my cup runneth over, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever....to the praise and glory of His Name. Saint, be of good cheer, because we pray....because we TRUST! Amen!

PART 2 - ENOCH'S WALK PLEASED GOD

There is “Walking with the Lord”….and then there is the PLEASING Walk with the Lord, which most westerners in the Body of Christ fall short on. Too many are using the Lord as a crutch, while pleasing themselves in hot pursuit of the American Dream. 

We are called to be humble disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. We are not called to be in an all-out,  full-fledged Pursuit of the now elusive formula of high school, license at age 16; college; big job;  big suburban home, iPad and iPhone and a BMW or Ford Explorer. We are called to something less frustrating and more fulfilling than this pipe dream! The  fruits of this are becoming more and more evident, as more and more families are seeing their kids’ and grandkids’ dreams disappear before our eyes.  Due to  liberals and their politicians/academics and even lax parenting, many expect their children to be worse off in their adult lives, than they were. 

The Church has been no help, in the west. Like all entitlement societies, the Lord’s so-called “under-shepherds” have found the formula to their own cushy lifestyles and it is not by preparing their flocks (or congregations) for trials, tribulations and “he who perseveres to the end, will be saved”. As a result, very few….a very small fraction of the actual 9% of Americans who are born-again Christians, find the secret of that “pleasing walk with the Lord”.

Hebrews 11:5 says “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,  “and was not found, because God had taken him” (a direct quote from Genesis 6: ); for  before he was taken, he had this testimony, THAT HE PLEASED GOD (emphasis mine).

Oh that would be said that our testimony “pleased God”!  First we would have to know what a testimony really was and secondly, do we have one of those!  According to Webster’s Dictionary, a testimony is “proof or evidence that something exists or is true”. It is also an “open acknowledgment”  in terms of Faith – of what the Lord has done for and to us in our spiritual lives. The key words here are “proof”, “evidence”, “true and “open acknowledgement”.  Ten times out of ten, a person’s general testimony describes the conversion story of the person giving the Testimony and the road which that same person is now on, in his Faith Journey. I once asked a person to give his testimony at a certain meeting, and he basically got up and said he had none. 

Enoch did not have that problem. The Great Faith Chapter of Hebrews 11 said he HAD this testimony – “THAT HE PLEASED GOD”! How did a man four thousand years ago, with no church building; no ministry website or 501 C(3); books and DVDs “please God” when we today have everything and know our conduct is nowhere near this kind of Faith. Simple - Enoch was a simple man but he also had the benefit of direct knowledge of the sin of his literal ancestor - Adam!

Enoch saw the filth and degradation all around him as his corrupt world headed for the Great Flood...and obviously stayed away from it. He and his family, which included Methuselah, remained faithful in their pro-active Faith in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Like Job and Abraham, they believed God and He reckoned it to them as righteousness. These men, especially Enoch and Job, pleased God with their upright lifestyle. Hebrews 11:6 confirms that it was Enoch's strong Faith which led the Lord to rapture him out alive.

The verse said "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." There it is right there - if you wish to please God, if you wish to have a pleasing Journey through Life with our Creator - Faith is all it takes. 

To the unbeliever and those who follow pagan religions, this Truth is difficult to comprehend due to its simplicity.  This kind of pleasing Faith has a component which is not a general characteristic of the modern Christian: "diligently seeking the Lord". This implies active pursuit of the Truth and thus, the Favor of the Lord.

How do we do that? Is there a famous "seven point plan for that"? Is there a self help book by some famous author for that? Yes! A Famous Author told us - the Holy Spirit gave us the Scriptures to know God and therefore, love, trust and obey. With obedience, comes the "drawing near" or coming to God, as Hebrews 11:6 tells us. We come near through prayer, intercession, fasting and walking in His Marvelous Light. We come near through seeing His Hand in every single thing around us and then allowing Him to be Lord of your life, but submitting to His Will. 

My recommendation is to understand that He is the "rewarder" of all things, but to stay away from focusing too heavily on the rewards, and more on the relationship side of the ledger.  You and I cannot out-give God, but we can do our best to live out our lives for Him. 

HONOR, RESPECT PARENTS, THEREFORE - GOD!

Well, we honor them, even if we only have one active or living parent because God said so!  He gave us this commandment as an example of HOW we should honor Him! How we treat our parents is a reflection of our respect for our TRUE Father in Heaven - Abba!

In this recent program, I examine Commandment # 5 during my indepth series on the Decalogue - the Ten Commandments! While we Christians are not under the law, but the dispensation of Grace, we are accountable to the Ten Commandments! Jesus - the Great I am - the Alpha and Omega, never did away with these remaining 10 of the 613 Laws of the Old Testament!

As I said in the first couple programs of this series, which can be viewed as PLUMBLINE programs #31-#40  on the WLCF TV channel on YouTube, these laws/commands/statues or commandments were given to us for our own good! Yes they were!  They are to keep us safe, alive, healthy, joyful and in fellowship with God and each other! They are not just a bunch of do's and don'ts! They are a stop sign to keep us from running headlong into disaster! So without further ado, here is today's message - and the transition from the first four commands to our relationship with each other, while we are here on this great earth which God has created! Amen!

ONE STONE AT A TIME

Read John 1:43-50 here

Excitement fills the air. Philip can hardly contain himself. Joy oozes from his face. His search for the Messiah is over. He desires to shout from the mountains... The long awaited Messiah is come! Please see for yourself the Son of God is HERE! 

CARLA MCDOUGAL
AUTHOR OF MY PRAYER CHAIR

Tears flow. Heart pounds. Philip rushes to find his friends. In the distance he sees someone resting under a fig tree. Philip dashes as quick as possible. Urgency causes his heart to beat even faster. Approaching the scene, he realizes it is Nathanael taking a midday nap. Shalom, Nathanael. Wake up! We found the Messiah, the Son of God, in Nazareth! There is not a second to waste. Come see for yourself!  

Waking from his slumber, Nathanael raises his head. In a moments notice he finds himself following Philip. Thoughts arise like, There is no way this is the Messiah. He is to come from Bethlehem, not Nazareth. This little obscure village? No way! 

Knowing Nathaneal's heart, Jesus greets him with a smile. Nathanael is caught off guard. Without thinking he says, "How do you know me?" Jesus' answer confirms it all, "I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael immediately falls at Jesus' feet. Tears pour. Praises spew  like a springtime flood. This is Him whom our forefathers spoke of in the Torah. He stands before me! The Son of God! 

Encouragement fills Jesus' heart. His team is building One Stone at a Time. His love for His disciples grows ever so strong. Excitement is in the air. He thanks His Father for the men who will journey with Him. Sweet tears emerge.   
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Imagine this moment. The birth of a new relationship. The scene could have looked totally different if Nathanael acted on his first thoughts, Nazareth is too small a town for the Messiah, the King of Kings, to come from. This has got to be a joke. Wow, he would have missed the blessing of walking side-by-side with Jesus on this earth!

What about you? Do you allow first impressions to dictate your life? Seek Him and you will find Him. Don't miss the journey God has planned for you with Jesus. As you engage in conversations with the Lord make sure to listen. He knows you inside and out. Bow at His feet and proclaim, You are the Son of God! 

CHECK OUT CARLA'S MINISTRY HERE!

CARLA IS THE AUTHOR OF THE UPCOMING BOOK "MY PRAYER CHAIR"!

DAY 12- CAN PRAYER SAVE AMERICA?

Yesterday we noted what praying fully engaged with The Lord- Body, mind and soul, is basically! Oswald Chambers said "spiritual relationship is not a step by step process...you're either in or you're out!"

That's very well said because we know that God does not hear the prayer of an unrighteous person, unless he/she is crying out for forgiveness. So the prayer that qualifies is from one who is in- or born again, period.

This may explain why most people in our churches, including pastors, only give lip service to prayer. This is why we have had several dedicated days and weeks or prayer in the past few months - most people calling themselves Christians in church are not in real "spiritual relationship"!

So, Heavenly Father, I pray that each and everyone of us will know that we know that our position in you is secure and that before we come to the sunset of our lives, that we fully comprehend the reality and meaning of our salvation, before we can even begin to praise and pray to You, for the deliverance of our people, from the bondage of sin and despair, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

BRINGING UP DAUGHTER

"To her, the name of father, was another name for love..."

                                                                      Fanny Fern

Part 3 of 'THE FAMILY SERIES"

When I first started this series of family, earlier this week, I knew it would be easy to write about something I knew about - boys. As a father and a follower of Jesus Christ, I know what He expects of men. Therefore it is easy to pass that on to younger men or just people in general. Yesterday's blog got some major feedback from significant folks who blessed these efforts and provided more encouragement to proceed.


Raising and leaving a Legacy through a teenage daughter (through the eyes of this father) is another story. From time to time on this week, I could not help but analyze how to approach this, in a meaningful way....and came up with no major revelation!


Any mom, from across America, Canada, Australia, Finland or South Africa (where this blog is read) can do a better job than I could, explaining my own daughter Sarah. In fact, what I am noticing more and more on the internet or social media etc. is that the most popular blogs and websites, for families, are run by moms!

I have yet to come across any site run by a dad dedicated to raising girls. In my case, while I wish I had two or more daughters to raise, the one teenager we have at home now is quite a handful. At the same time, what a joy she is! What I have noticed, for the most part of daily life, no matter how the day went, at the end of each day, our daughter goes through this wonderful routine of hugs and kisses before bed with both my wife and I. This underscores not just our love as a family, but the impact we would appear to be having on her as parents.


Spending time with Sarah is uniquely different from the boys...and as it should be! I have been doing more, going on more shopping dates or movie dates with her, since our two sons got older and part-time jobs to pay for their car maintenance! Since way before Christmas, we have gone to fashion shows; teenage stores in the mall; fancy yogurt shops with her BFF's and the one that shocked me the most - the best World War II movie I ever saw - REDTAILS! In fact, I would not have even gone to see that movie if she didn't bug me to take her on opening night. Sure enough, she was one of the very few girls there in a large theater packed with men and a few wives!


Of course, all of the physical issues of growing from my baby 8 year old to preteen to teenager, are handled by Vicki, but developing this once in a lifetime relationship with my daughter has become one of the most exciting things of this past year! She is loyal and very strong-willed.  Just like her brothers, she was saved as a young child. Unlike most adults, who claim to be saved, she can remember when it happened and can discuss the Gospel in real terms. Just this past week, I was explaining what  Cessationism is, after she revealed a certain incident that happened in a class last weekend.


To me, this is an overflow of walking with the Lord and growing children up in the church, the correct way. The incorrect way leads to rebellion against God and Christ by pastor's kids (PK's) who long to bust free, because their parents have to appear a certain way, all the time. What we have raised our own children to do, with fine-tuning (depending on the kid), is to think for themselves and never force them to attend this or that extra-church event. What we have since discovered is each of them are now stepping up to read Scripture aloud or sing a gospel song or discuss the error of baptismal regeneration!


I like what John Gregory Brown said here "There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself".

My wife and I are not wealthy people but what we are is rich in love and the sense of the Christian family. We would never trade that for anything in this dying world. In practice, ours is a faith which reaches out by its love, but nevertheless, is grounded in Truth. We believe telling people the Truth is  love. What we're doing here is allowing God's little daughter, whom He placed in our care, to blossom into one day, the woman I may be forced to give away down a wedding aisle! But that too, will be a legacy.

Because of the time spent walking, talking, praying with and in discipleship with her, neither my wife nor I ever felt the need to read any book about "Bringing up Daughters". For discipline, grounding her from her friends is all that's needed to alter a certain shortcoming.

During my difficulty of two surgeries, about 3 years ago, when I was laid up for a total of 8 weeks, my favorite nurse was my then 11 year old Sarah! Still, I know both her and her mom have these long drawn out discussions. When these things happen, I turn immediately around and leave the room! This is the way it will be until Sarah is in her 20's and sees things a little differently.

There really is no advise to give anyone about raising a daughter! I will leave that to all the dear women who raise 2,3 or even 4 daughters and still keep smiling and driving that mini-van around to soccer or volleyball practice! In this celebration of family this shortened week, it is an honor to celebrate the life of our only daughter....who is now bringing us more joy. Just a few days ago, I was back in the Indoor Soccer rink for the first time in over 7 years, as yet another kid took up indoor soccer! It felt great to be back with that kid-like enthusiasm and joy we get from cheering on a loved one!

In conclusion, when I lay on my dying bed and look at our kids, I would want to be as completely satisfied as I am right now, that I represented my Father in Heaven, to my little Sarah, by being her father here on earth. That will be, most certainly, the greatest legacy any person can hand off to the next generation!

In Jesus' Name, amen.

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 5

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 5
GOD IS ADONAI:




Adonai is such a complicated yet simple (in a sense) Name of God that it could take days to study it alone...and then you could never fully get to the end of the meaning of the word because it is as magnificent as Jesus is Himself!


The Bible uses both the singular and the plural of the word ADON. Adon is singular and could refer to men or angels (as in my Lord...when you and I are being polite or if a real angel visited us).


HOWEVER the plural ADONAI refers ONLY to GOD!!!


It would take too long and we would lose the attitude of prayer to explain the dozens of references in Scripture to Adonai. It would make an amazing personal or church Bible study to do that. But for now. Let's just look at two things.


Adonai speak of two important things to our Walk with God: Submission and Relationship.


Our Jesus confirmed He was Yahweh Who spoke to Moses in the Burning Bush when He told the Pharisees in John 8:58 ESV "Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” The words "I AM" is YHWH or Yahweh in the original Hebrew.

Yahweh is the Name you bow down to. You cannot be a child of God unless you submit to His Lordship and His Hand over your life. The minute you come to the end of yourself and realize that, repent of your sins and seek His Forgiveness, that is the ONLY point you are now saved!

This is the top end of the spectrum 

Romans 10:9 says "if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved". The the word LORD here is "Kyrios" or Master or you and I coming to the realization that Jesus has FULL OWNERSHIP and RIGHTS over us! 

This is the point where you full accept His Lordship and rule over your life. Once you give up the rights to, or as the Bible says "die to yourself", you are now a Child of the King....or He has you in His Hands. There is no more secure and better place to be than in the Hands of Jesus. 

This is the point where relationship begins.

This is the point where we, lowly mortal man, reaches up to Him and call Him Lord and Master!

You are not saved or a follower of Jesus if He is not your Lord and Master!  This is the essence of this relationship, my friends.  The Bible is clear by the exact meaning of the words it uses. Either we believe it or we don't. There is no middle ground or black and white.

So Father, in the Name of Jesus, I submit to Your rule over my life. I recognize and confess and admit that YOU alone are God! 

You are the first born of all creation.

You are the pre-existent God Who knew me before I was born.

You are the Great I Am, Who called Moses from a bush in the Sinai mountain.

You are the Great I am, Who confirmed in to the rebel Pharisees.

You are Adonai, the Lord and Master of my life.

You, Sir, have full ownership of me!

I surrender ALL rights I have to rule and run and even ruin my life to you.
I surrender all that I was, am and ever will be to You rule and direction FOR me.

I surrender every fiber of my being to you.

I surrender every thought, whim and every thing I will ever do to you.

I surrender all
I surrender all

All to thee my Precious Savior, I surrender ALL! ALL! ALL!

Take me, mold me, bend me, Adonai, my Lord and my God.

Take me, use me, send me, my Master and friend.

Take me, lead me, never leave me, my Shepherd and leader.

Jesus, Adonai, be the Lord of my life!
I am a possessor, not a professer.

You said that Your sheep know Your Voice and not one of Yours will be lost.
Adonai, my Master and Lord, that can only be so if I fully belong to You, Jesus!
So now, I again, confirm and affirm my complete submission to You, my King and thank you for rescuing me time after time and for giving me assurance that I am Yours and You are mine.

Bless you Adonai and bless our Daddy - Abba Father, with Whom we have covenant relationship, BECAUSE of You and the Cross of Calvary, 

In Your Most Holy and Precious Name, I pray, amen!

TOMORROW - DAY 6 - THE NAME 'ELOHIM'