Tag: pondering our walk to God

Loved by and Belonging to God, the Giver of Law and the Giver of Liberty. Exodus 20:1-2

Exodus 20:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible

20 Then God said all these words:

א 2 “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The Ten Commandments are some of the most recognizable words in the entire Biblical Canon, yet they are often among the most misunderstood.

How has the coming of Jesus transformed these ancient laws?

Do these commandments still matter to Christians today in 2023?

What does it look like to obey them in today’s world?

What do they tell us about God and His Love for His beloved Children?

In this devotional message we see in verses 1-2 three truths about the Law: it’s given by God, it follows the Gospel, and it’s the path of freedom.

Loved By and Belonging to God

Adonai, The Lord who claims our allegiance is God, our Creator and Savior.

God delivered Israel when he brought them out of Egypt.

They had been slaves there for hundreds of years.

Faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:13-21; Exodus 3), God called this people his own and continued his work of making them into a nation through which all other nations would be blessed.

Then, many years later, through Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, God brought salvation to the world—and today God includes all who believe in Christ as his people, his worldwide family.

So if we believe in our Savior Christ, we belong to God, and we are His alone.

1 Peter 2:9-10 Complete Jewish Bible

9 But you are a chosen people,[a] the King’s cohanim,[b] a holy nation,[c] a people for God to possess![d] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[e]

1 Peter 2 puts it, we are a holy nation set apart to be “God’s special possession.”

From the beginning, it was love that created us and has bound us to God.

And since our relationship with God is based on love, God’s law is not a burden but a means of unconventional liberty towards showing love to our neighbors.

God, The Giver of Law and Liberty

Exodus 20:1-2King James Version

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

To faithfully read and respond to the Ten Commandments, we must first make a diligent effort to pray and study them, understand what they are and are not.

We find clarity in the truth that lies at their head: “I am the LORD your God.”

This poignant reminder of who God is precedes the instructions that follow.

In other words, the I am of God’s person grounds the you shall of His commands.

He can command us because of who He is.

The psalmist further expresses this:

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100:3).

God created us, and His being our Creator grants Him rights and authority over His creation.

Regardless of the efforts of our world to reject the creational handiwork of God, thus His authority over our lives, His role as our Ruler remains unthreatened.

He has made us; we are His.

When we should remember who spoke the law, we are in a position to grasp the purpose of the Ten Commandments as well as to understand what they are not.

First, the commandments are not a formal list of dos and don’ts given to restrict our personal freedoms.

God is NOT the Ultimate Cosmic Killjoy

God is not the Ultimate cosmic killjoy.

In fact, if you wanted to provide a heading for the Ten Commandments, you could instead call them “The Ultimate Guidelines to Freedom and Joy.”

They do not restrict our freedom but rather give us a blueprint for joy, showing us how life works best.

Second, the commandments are not intended as a ladder up which we climb to attain acceptance with God.

No such ladder has ever existed!

God brought His people out of slavery—from Egypt in the exodus, and from sin and death at the cross—before He called us to obey Him.

So we obey God because we have been “brought out by God,” not in order for us to somehow believe we could ever persuade Him to do so on our own time line.

If that were the case, why then did the bondage last as long as it did despite all the years of crying, pleading by the generations of Israelites held in bondage?

Until Moses had been prepared by 80 years of life at the pinnacle of authority, then at the bottom of authority for His “Burning Bush” encounter with God.

Rather than being rules that save us, the Ten Commandments serve as a mirror in which we should see ourselves, revealing the depths of our sin and our need for a Savior—and they show how we can all live every day to please our Savior.

Third, the Ten Commandments have not been rendered anywhere near obsolete by the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love our neighbor, He was summarizing the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31 AKJV).

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

What does it mean to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

The first four commandments tell us. [Exodus 20 verses 3-11]

What does it look like to love our neighbor as ourselves?

The final six commandments flesh that out. [Exodus 20 verses 12-17]

Jesus, master teacher that He was, summed up the ten with the two.

When we see all this, we are ready to read the Ten Commandments and let them transform our lives.

We must see the sin that the commandments reveal and respond in repentance and faith in the only One who fulfilled the law and offers Himself as our Savior.

He, the Lord Jesus Christ, will ensure that this law is not merely etched into our conscience but also inscribed upon our hearts and upon our souls.

Give yourselves unto the Lord our God and His way, and His Truth and His Life you and I will find everlasting love, everlasting joy and His everlasting liberty.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40The Message

40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.

9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
    let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,
    don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
    are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
    a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
    I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
    hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
    will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
    will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen

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What is God Like? He is Merciful and Gracious, Slow to Anger, Abounding in Steadfast Love, in Goodness, and Truth. Exodus 34:5-9

Exodus 34:5-9Amplified Bible

5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness); 7 keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].” 8 Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What is God Like?

A little boy was working hard on drawing a picture from his Sunday School and his daddy came up from behind, asked him what he was working so hard on.

The son replied, “Drawing a picture of God.”

His daddy said, “You can’t do that, son, Nobody knows what God looks like.”

But the little boy remained undeterred, continued to draw for several minutes.

Without stopping his work, he looked at his picture with satisfaction and said very matter-of-factly, held it in his daddy’s face : “They will in a few minutes.”

We may never know what God’s physical features are, but from the beginning, He does reveal His attributes to us so we can each know what He is about, like.

In Exodus 34:6-7, rather than painting a picture a visual description of God, he writes a list about God’s invisible qualities.

From this, we learn God is merciful and gracious.

Keeping mercy and lovingkindness for the thousands.

He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He is abounding in goodness and truth

He is longsuffering and willing to forgive.

Forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.

We also learn that God will not spare the wicked from punishment.

We also learn that God expects us to automatically respond to who He is with an attitude of repentance and with worship that is worthy of being in His Presence.

“Show Me Your Ways Lord, That I May Find Favor”

Exodus 33:12-13Amplified Bible

Moses Intercedes

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.”

In Exodus 33:12-13, Moses asked God to teach him more about God’s ways.

Moses said,

“See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”

In gracious response to Moses’ request for God to show him more about who He was, God shows Moses favor, God passes by Moses and proclaims the attributes about Himself, revealing to a much humbled Moses more about His character.

God wanted Moses (and us) to know that He is not an angry, impersonal God.

Instead, He is a God that loves us, unconventionally, while also being a just God who will hold His Children to account for their words and deeds and punish sin.

The result of God’s revelation to Moses was that Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped God because Moses knew all he needed to accomplish the task God had called him to do was to be in and remain in, the presence of God.

“Hear My Cry Lord, Show Me More of Your Ways”

When was the last time we cried out to God and said,

“Lord show me more of your ways?”

Just as God answered Moses, God will answer us today.

It might be through the Words of truth and life found through scripture that you read and study or in a sermon from your pastor or a song on the radio.

When our desire to know more about God is a longing that is from the heart, God will most abundantly, decisively, definitely and directly reveal Himself.

Where are the “Crying Christians?”

Isaiah 2:2-3 Amplified Bible

2 
Now it will come to pass that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be [firmly] established as the [a]highest of the mountains,
And will be exalted above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 
And many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

“All nations” is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible.

God is an inclusive God. When he established a beachhead in our fallen world by starting a little nation called Israel, he was already thinking big.

God’s plan was to reach out through Israel to call all nations to himself.

Now, in 2023, Revival has broken out quite literally all over the world.

Thousands upon thousands are responding … they are crying out to God …

Onto the street Corners, into the streets of cities all across the globe …

Into College Campuses …

Into Churches whose pews had more accumulated dust than congregants.

Into malls and supermarkets …

Into the maximum security prisons …

Into the incarcerated for life hearts of violent life long criminals …

Into countries where Jesus Christ is not necessarily the most favored name.

The Word of God for the Children of God goes forth …

Repentance and Baptisms …

“Show us Your Ways, O’ Lord, that we may find Grace and Favor IN THY sight.”

Transformations …

The Message of Salvation through Christ and Christ alone.

God has a Plan …

Jeremiah 29:11-14Amplified Bible

11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. 13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

Jeremiah 29:13 says,

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

How bad do you really want to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?

How badly do you want people to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?

How much do you long for the presence of the Exodus 34:6-7 God to lead you to what He’s called you to do?

With what effort do you seek the Goodness and Mercy, the Slow to Anger and abounding in Steadfast Love, the Faithful and Forgiving and Max Truth of God?

What effort do you bring your Worship, cry out to God: “Show Me Your Ways?”

What strength of plea arises from your heart and soul: “If I have found Favor?”

What percentage of your prayer life includes … “That I May Know God’s Grace?”

What percentage of your heart is “firmly prostrated” before the Lord, your God?

What percentage of thy soul is “squarely grounded” in the life of Savior Christ?

Percentage of thy only hope is saturated in nothing less than the blood of Jesus?

God’s promise of a gospel that reaches “to the ends of the earth” is being realized (Acts 1:8).

All nations are streaming toward the mountain of the Lord’s temple—not by pilgrimage to a physical temple in Jerusalem, but by coming to Jesus, the one alone who fulfills the temple’s deepest meaning of God’s presence among us.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now within us.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now among us.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our homes.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our families.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our friends.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our neighbors.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our schools.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our streets.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our prisons.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our communities.

Praise God for all the amazing things He alone is doing within our country.

Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now in our world.

And thank Him that in a tragically shrinking world we can yet experience, be a thriving community with fellow believers from across all cultures and nations.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 150 The Message

150 1-6 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
    praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
    praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
    praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
    praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
    praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
    Hallelujah!

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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20/20 Hindsight. The “Right Ways” and The “Wrong Ways,” All the “Ways” that Seem So Right to Us. Proverbs 14:11-13

Proverbs 14:11-13 The Message

11 Lives of careless wrongdoing are run-down shacks;
    holy living builds soaring cathedrals.

12-13 There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;
    look again—it leads straight to hell.
Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,
    but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Reflections: 20/20 Hindsight and Run Down Cabins in the Woods

Many of us have had moments when we have looked back on a past decision and wondered, “How did I ever think that was a good idea?”

Yet at the time, that decision or choice probably seemed right to us.

There’s a reason why people say, “Hindsight is 20/20.”

This means that you and I can often see a situation more clearly (as with 20/20 vision) after it has passed and you have had time to learn and also lament from some of the choices or lack of choices you have or have not made.

Our own ability to see clearly in the present moment is limited.

And what appears to be a right decision or right thinking in the moment can sometimes do more harm than good.

There is a reason why people also seriously lament that “Hindsight is 20/20.”

Paint a portrait “Hindsight is 20/20” for your living room wall might look strikingly, an infinity mirrored vision of one man looking at his own back.

illustration of man reflecting himself in the mirror, loop surreal concept

9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift. [Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Message]

Solomon was a wise son who paid attention to his father, David.

He also sought to be a wise father by sharing his wisdom with his own sons and compiling his own set of righteous guidelines and the learned sayings of others, into a compendium, then, today, and tomorrow, is called the Book of Proverbs.

He did this to encourage his own children towards righteous living.

Reverence for the Lord our God and trust in His Word is the foundation upon which true wisdom is based and we in the Church age have discovered that in our Savior Christ Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Living and Learning from our wise and foolish choices in life are of a true and lasting benefit and these ‘Proverbs of Solomon’ are an amazing collection of maxims for profitable living – ancient learning from the wisest of the wise.

They cover an extraordinarily wide range of subject matter which can surely help the reader to prevent foolish behaviour and ungodly decisions in areas like relationships and friendships, laboring, working, finances, and a fruitful life.

This not only pleases God and demonstrates faith in His Word, but gives every day measured advice on peaceful living while avoiding troublesome situations.

Like much of the book of the Proverbs, Chapter 14 is written in couplets which contrast wise and foolish behaviour.

We read a wise woman builds her home, but the foolish woman tears it down; the one who walks in uprightness fears God, while the devious despises Him.

This chapter also compares and contrasts a trustworthy witness with a false one, bitterness with joy, also foolish and wise attitude towards sin, and the inevitable destruction of wicked men with the upright man, who will flourish.

In this verse the couplet has a poignant twist, demonstrating the truly chilling consequences of self-deception.

It explains that a bad decision… which may seem to be a good and wise choice from a human perspective, will in fact result in disaster.

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

The collection of people in this proverb are deluded and devoid of true wisdom and understanding, which comes from God alone.

By falsely judging a situation to be beneficial, they find that the thing which appeared so enticing and which they thought was so right, had the opposite effect and only brought them to disaster. 

This saying is a ‘stand-alone’ truth that is applicable to every man, but in order to discover the godly way to go, the correct choices to make, the true path that leads to life and light, peace and hope… the entire book of Proverbs needs to be seriously taken into account for it records every aspect of living a godly life.

Perhaps the key to the entire book of Proverbs, upon which all every piece of good advice is founded, is the truth Solomon taught his son in chapter 3,

Proverbs 3:5-8 English Standard Version

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh[a]
    and refreshment[b] to your bones.

Guidance for godly and ungodly living can be found throughout these Proverbs and it is attributed to lifelong observations of Solomon – the wisest of the wise by God’s gift [1 Kings 3:5-15] but also the very pinnacle of fools [1 Kings 11:1-4]

Illustration of man, face hidden, looking down at the end of his life’s surreal path

Jesus also spoke to the interested, disinterested, about 20/20 hindsight …

20/20 Examining Our Faith and How We Choose to Look at Things

Matthew 6:25-34 New King James Version

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b] stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Six years ago, in the atrium of our church one Sunday, I noticed one of our senior members standing quietly.

Her face wasn’t happy, but it was welcoming. I understood the look of tiredness and concern he showed.

Her husband of 63 years had just recently passed away from Lung Cancer.

She told me her 60 year old son was battling several serious health issues.

At 88 years of age, it was obvious that her own health was not robust.

And yet he was there, at church among the worshipers.

I reached out to shake her hand and asked, “How are you doing?”

Her less-than-enthusiastic response: “Okay, I guess.”

After a pause she stated bluntly, “I don’t care about anything anymore.”

Caught by Surprise, I asked, “Nothing?”

She shifted a bit and then said, “There was a time when I liked boats and cars and lots of things.

I got excited about them.

They kept our family together, gave our lives genuine meaning,

But they don’t mean anything to me anymore.”

I began to understand.

Material things no longer grabbed her attention.

Desire for stuff no longer preoccupied her.

As her husband suffered for so long with cancer, lost his ability to relate to others, and as he increasingly depended on others to care for his every need, she had grown to know the wearing and weary­ing effects of caring for him.

That she had to sometimes also care for her ailing son at the same time,

Her outlooks and perspectives on life had drastically changed.

Things decreased in importance, and relationships—with God, with family, with church—became her priority.

This sister was learning more deeply the meaning of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and her quiet strength was truly heartwarming.

That at any age we should come to such a time in life where we are able to sit down long enough with ourselves and our Savior Jesus and seriously converse.

20/20 Hindsight … All Those Choices that Seemed Right to Us

Jesus warned his disciples that following him would not be easy or even look like a good idea at times.

He spoke about the costs of being his disciple, but he also promised that his way leads to life.

He said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

In other words, there will be many right and wrong choices that appear to be right (even religiously) and seem more attractive than the way of Jesus, but in the end they will bring grief and misery and destruction, poverty and despair.

We cannot just stop living life, making choices and making decisions simply because we fear for the future – we first line up all our infinite regrets in a row.

A spiritually stagnant Christian …

A steadfastly immovable, ice cold, immobile, spiritually stagnant Christian …

A steadfastly immovable, ice cold, immobile, spiritually stagnant Church …

Struggling mightily to rediscover their first choice, and how and why and where and when all salvation came by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, for there is no other name given among men whereby we must each be saved…  

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Hoy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for my great salvation in Christ and that in Him is found all wisdom and knowledge. Thank You for the many principles and precepts that are so helpful and encouraging in the book of Proverbs. I pray that throughout my life, I would Come to more wisely apply its wise concepts and trust in You in all things, and not seek to choose to do anything according to my own limited understanding. Give me discernment I pray, keep me from all forms of self-delusion and self-deception. May I never be foolish enough to journey along the paths that may seem right to me but ends in destruction. Thank You that You have promised to guide my steps and may my ear be ever open to Your direction. This I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

One Possible Choice When Choosing Your Source for Help In Daily Living

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Lenten Preparation for Repentance: When Our Defenses Crumble, Where Will We Run to take Refuge? Psalm 11

Psalm 11 Amplified Bible

The Lord a Refuge and Defense.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain;
2 
For look, the wicked are bending the bow;
They take aim with their arrow on the string
To shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 
“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

4 
The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes see, His eyelids test the children of men.
5 
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And His soul hates the [malevolent] one who loves violence.
6 
Upon the wicked (godless) He will rain coals of fire;
Fire and [a]brimstone and a dreadful scorching wind will be the portion of their cup [of doom].
7 
For the Lord is [absolutely] righteous, He loves righteousness (virtue, morality, justice);
The upright shall see His face.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What does it mean to ‘rend the heart,’ and not just the clothing?

Much more than simply giving a whole array of apologies for bad behaviour.

David the Psalmist is urging the people to remember God’s covenant promises.

It’s easy to make outward shows of penitence without reaching inward to the heart.

David calls for the same depth of repentance which Jesus calls for.

To that end, as we once again prepare ourselves for tomorrow, Ash Wednesday for me to reminds each of us that Lent is so very much more than simply a time apologize for our “weaknesses” so just to ‘get my life back on track,’ as it were.

Lent is a time of focusing what ought to be our habit of seeing the heart anyway.

Above all, Lent reminds us of the character of God, which we all too easily lose sight of when we stray from those habits of the heart: forgiving and gracious, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

But, once we commit ourselves to the works of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, once we send our hearts into engaging with the sword of God’s Word,

It is promised by the Lord that changes and transformations will take place.

When those changes and transformations start and God is getting under our skins, into our souls, there is no stopping God from achieving His desired ends.

It is only a matter of choosing our desired response – run to self or run to God.

Build our own Castles, taking safe refuge in our own self defense mechanisms, or as the Prophet Isaiah predicted would one day have to happen to humanity;

Isaiah 2:2-5Amplified Bible

2 
Now it will come to pass that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be [firmly] established as the [a]highest of the mountains,
And will be exalted above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 
And many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 
And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples;
And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up the sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

5 
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

In our hearts an in our souls …

The Mountain of the Lord is firmly established as the Highest Mountain.

When the people say … come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord,

To the House of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us His ways …

That we may walk in His paths…”

Then the Revival of our Hearts and our Souls may truly have their re-birth.

O’ House of Jacob …

O’ Body of Christ …

O’ Child of God …

COME …

Choose This Day Where You Should Run For Refuge

11 In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain; [Psalm 11:1]

When it comes to degrees and measures of crises in our life, it is not a matter of whether they will come but when and then just how hardcore they will be.

When they do arrive in whatever capacity and catastrophe, our response will be to flee to a safe refuge— a safe haven somewhere or something or someone we implicitly trust will keep us safe and protect us from all the pounding storms.

So the question then will not be whether we will flee but where we will flee to.

Some of us will take the advice of David’s friends in Psalm 11.

These advisors urged him to “flee like a bird to your mountain.”

Difficulty had come for David, seemingly in the form of threats to his life, with wicked people preparing to aim their arrows at him (Psalm 11:2).

The counsel he received was essentially to head for the hills, to get away, to go somewhere that removed him from adversity as fast as he could if not faster.

David did not heed this advice.

But what about you?

But what about me?

While you and I likely will never face armed foes threatening you with violence, and for those whose lives intersected with combat zones, crisis will come to you someday, in one form or another, in some measure and some degree or another.

It could be social pressure, peer pressure, to compromise biblical convictions, an unwanted diagnosis, or intense relational or financial or an personal strife.

Where will you flee?

Where will I flee?

Will we too head for the hills, finding some form of escapism, be it an effort at numbing yourself with endless media consumption or abusing a substance, or throwing yourself into hyperdrive, frenetic activity in another part of your life?

Or will you and I be able to say with David, “In the LORD I take refuge”?

David had seen God deliver him from bears, lions, and a Philistine giant.

The Lord had more than sufficiently proven Himself to be a trustworthy refuge, and David remembered those moments and took that to heart, relying on God.

David knew the Lord was a mighty refuge; that had been borne out again and again in his life – his trust in God was grounded and rooted deep in experience, making it sturdy enough to withstand life’s darkness and the Evil One’s darts.

Have your eyes been opened to God’s trustworthiness?

Have you trusted Him in response?

If you are a Christian, remember that your new life began by taking refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Once, you were facing the wrath of an eternal God, with no hope to be found.

The only hope you had was to cast yourself on God’s mercy and embrace the salvation offered in Christ, and so you fled to Him and found eternal refuge.

God desires for you and me to seek refuge in Him not only at the beginning of the journey but until Christ returns or calls us home, and not only for eternal salvation but in the measures and degrees of storms of this concourse of life.

Trouble will come—and when it does, you can either head for the hills or you can lift up your eyes beyond the hills and to the Lord “who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2), facing the crisis with 100% confidence and, yes, even joy.

100% Trust, Confidence and yes, even Joy … in God, the Father.

100% Trust, Confidence and yes, even Joy … in God, the Son.

100% Trust, Confidence and yes, even Joy … in God, the Holy Spirit.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord God Almighty, shaper and ruler of all creatures, we pray for your great mercy, that you guide us towards you, for we cannot find our way. And guide us to your will, to the need of our soul, for we cannot do it ourselves. And make our mind steadfast in your will and aware of our soul’s need. Pray, Lord, to shield us against our foes, seen and unseen. Teach us to do your will, that we may inwardly love you before all things with a pure mind. For you alone are our maker and our redeemer, our help, our very best friend, comfort, our trust, our hope; praise and glory be to you now and forever.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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A Comforting Question, Thought, For Today: Scripturally Speaking, What Do We Believe Heaven is Like? John 14:1-6

John 14:1-6Amplified Bible

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Amen.

An experienced traveler knows the value of making hotel reservations.

They spend some time working on their itinerary – the quality of the hotel they will be staying in, the quality of the food from local restaurants, entertainment venues which will help them pass their time while they are away from family.

The very thought of a comfortable room, a comfortable bed, the possibility of a good meal waiting for us at your destination just makes one feel more relaxed.

If we have to be away from our families, we might as well know the best ways we will be able to relax, get our share of work and rest, enjoy that time away.

The trip goes ever more smoothly when you have those advanced reservations.

In our reading for today from John’s Narrative, Rabbi Jesus speaks of hospitable lodging at the end of a long trip.

To comfort his disciples then, He tells us, his followers now , not to be worried during our journey on the road to eternity, on the road to our heavenly abode.

We have to trust in the Father.

In his heavenly abode there are many rooms.

And the Son prepares a special place for us.

The best medicine for a heavenly travelers heart is to utterly trust in God.

As we study this passage, we discover two important facts.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/14/1-3/t_conc_1011002

First, Jesus promises us more than just temporary housing.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3438/kjv/tr/0-1/

The Greek words refer to “dwelling places,” and that implies permanence and stability.

Once we travel into that heavenly sanctuary, we won’t have to worry about finding new shelter again.

Second, we won’t have to look for that place on our own.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/14/1-3/t_conc_1011003

On this earth, it can be challenging to find an unfamiliar location, even with good directions.

But Jesus himself will return to show us the way.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2064/kjv/tr/0-1/

The reservation confirmation for this heavenly lodging is going to be very simple.

BELIEVE IN GOD …

BELIEVE ALSO IN HIS SON, JESUS …

BELIEVE It’s forever safe for us in the hands of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Have you trusted him fully?

But, I can imagine that such a complete level of trust should have come from Rabbi Jesus’ disciples in that Upper Room after they have been told their Rabbi was going away – was going to be arrested, humiliated, brutalized, and killed.

I can also probably safely guess that if we were the ones in that Upper Room, our hearts too would be greatly disquieted and visibly shocked, out of sorts.

Setting aside the indescribable shock of learning your Messiah is about to be [voluntarily] walking down the roadway into his own grave, from which there is no return, is the lingering question for them of exactly what comes afterwards.

A Place, A heavenly place, A heavenly Abode …. A Mansion with many rooms.

Prepared by Jesus Himself … who will return for us one day … take us “home.”

What About this “Heavenly Mansion, Heavenly Home?”

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” ― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there.

Except, who has actually been there and will testify, paint that masterpiece everyone will automatically point to and believe is the true and actual place?

Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven.

I find that statistic encouraging because it tells me that even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out,

“There has got to be something more, something better.”

Something more than the pain and suffering of this life.

Something more than 70 or 80 years on planet earth. Something more than being born, living, suffering an dying, and then being buried in the ground.

Sometimes we talk about a “God-shaped vacuum” inside the human heart.

I believe there is also a “heaven-shaped vacuum,” a sense that we were made for something more than this life.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13Amplified Bible

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11 He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live; 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

God Himself, despite our own self-opinions, has made everything and everyone beautiful and appropriate in their own time, their own unique, individual place.

God has also planted eternity, a sense of divine purpose into our human hearts.

And then gifted us with an insatiable desire we always refer to as “curiosity.”

Considering this notion of “curiosity” and the always and forever lingering question “what comes next for us when Jehovah Ra’ah the shepherd comes?”

It is reasonable to say and then to believe that …

“We were definitely made to live forever somewhere.”

In a very real sense we were made for heaven.

There is another fascinating statistic I should mention.

Not only do most Americans believe in heaven, most people expect to go there when they die.

If you took a microphone to the streets of where ever you live and asked, “Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?”

the vast majority of people would answer, “I hope so,” or “I think so,” or perhaps “I think I’ve got a good chance.

Not very many people would say they aren’t going to heaven.

Perhaps one modest point is in order.

Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going.

After all, if you’re wrong about heaven, you’re going to be wrong for a long, long time.

With that background, I now consider some what I believe are some of the most frequently asked questions about heaven.

But before I jump in, I should make one preliminary point.

The only things we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible.

Everything else is just speculation and hearsay.

The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.

Where is Heaven?

There are three things I can try to tell you in answer to this question.

John 14:1-3Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Comforts His Followers

14 Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with me, so that you can be where I am.

1. The most important fact is that heaven is a real place. 

Twice in three verses Jesus calls heaven a place.

He means that heaven (“my Father’s house”) is a real place, as real as New York, London or Chicago.

The place called heaven is just as real as the place you call home.

It’s a very real place which is why the Bible sometimes compares heaven to a mansion with many rooms (John 14:1-3) and sometimes to an enormous city teeming with people (Revelation 21).

2. The Bible also tells us that heaven is the dwelling place of God.

His throne is there, the angels are there, the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven.

Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

That’s why Jesus told the thief on the Cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

3. Third (and I find this fact fascinating), the Bible hints heaven is not as far away as we might think.

Because heaven is a real place, we will sometimes think it must be outside our present universe – which would mean billions and billions of light years away.

However, it’s very clear that the early Christians understood that they would pass immediately from this life into the presence of Christ in heaven.

How can that be possible if heaven is “beyond the farthest universal bounds?”

Hebrews 12:22-24Amplified Bible

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels [in festive gathering], 23 and to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are registered [as citizens] in heaven, and to God, who is Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (the redeemed in heaven) who have been made perfect [bringing them to their final glory], 24 and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant [uniting God and man], and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].

Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something amazing about what the gospel has done for us:

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

The writer is here comparing Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion.

Under the old covenant no one could come near God except under very strict conditions – and then only by one person – the High Aaronic High Priest .

That’s why the mountain shook with thunder and lightning.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/heb/12/22-24/s_1145022

[Note: three times the writer of Hebrews uses a Greek word that means “to come near” or “to approach closely.]

But now in Christ, we have been brought near to heavenly realities.

Think very carefully and very prayerfully of what the author is saying:

  • We’re not that far from heaven.
  • We’re not that far from the angels.
  • We’re not that far from our loved ones in heaven.
  • We’re not that far from God.
  • We’re not that far from Jesus himself.
  • Heaven is a real place, it’s where Jesus is right now, and it’s not far away from us.
What is Heaven Like?

I would have to answer this by saying that the Bible doesn’t give us a great deal of information.

By the Word of God for the Children of God are images and pictures and visions of heaven and comparisons with life on earth.

What is heaven like? Here are seven biblical facts about heaven. It is …

  1. God’s dwelling place (Psalms 33:13).
  2. Where Christ is today (Acts 1:11).
  3. Where Christians go when they die (Philippians 1:21-23).
  4. The Father’s house (John 14:2).
  5. A city designed and built by God (Hebrews 11:10).
  6. A better country (Hebrews 11:16).
  7. Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Most of us have heard that heaven is a place where the streets are paved with gold, the gates are made of pearl, and the walls made of precious jewels.

Those images come from Revelation 21, which offers us the most extended picture of heaven in the entire Bible.

If you ask me if I believe those things are literally true, the answer is yes and no.

Yes, they are literally true but no, heaven won’t be anything like we imagine.

It will be infinitely greater.

When John writes about a street paved with gold, I do not doubt his words.

He simply reports what he saw in his vision.

Thus, I believe his words are literally true.

They are also meant to tell us that the things we value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.

Each of the stones and gems mentioned in the chapter represent something to the readers, have very well known and very specific spiritual qualities to them.

They are also meant to tell us that the things of this earth we value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/21-19.htm

You may also google each stone individually … Educate Yourself.

Jesus Has Our Eternal Travel Itinerary Already Prepared For Us

John 14:1-7 The Message

The Road

14 1-4 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

Believe in God the Father …

Believe in God the Son …

Believe in God the Holy Spirit …

Believe in the Word of God for the Children of God …

Believe in the Life, Death, and Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Loving Father, thank You for Christ’s wonderful words of comfort, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Thank You that God the Son came to earth as the Son of Man to bring comfort to my heart, healing to my soul, and live in my spirit. Enable me, in the power of the Spirit, to hold fast to this wonderful truth in Your Word, and I pray that You endow me with the wisdom, the words, and the grace, to pour forth Your great comfort to others who are facing their own difficult trials. Our Father, what a total joy it is to know that Jesus has prepared a place for us in your presence! Help us to overcome our worries and to trust in you fully as we journey with you. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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For We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

2 Corinthians 5:6-10Amplified Bible

6 So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]— 8 we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth] or away from home [and with Him], it is our [constant] ambition to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the [a]judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or [b]bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

What does it mean to live by Faith?

Those words seem simple enough, yet it may be a lot tougher than we think.

It requires tremendous courage and strength.

Preaching the gospel to the world brought Paul and his co-workers much suffering.

Yet they continued the work contending for the faith.

They refused to quit and “pressed toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

Living in the end times requires living by faith and not by what we see going on around us.

Yet it is a journey of tremendous hope, blessing and reward.

Walking by faith and not by sight requires you to trust God, not knowing where you are at times in the larger scope of God’s plan and purpose.

Take the example of Abraham, “when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going”. (Hebrews 11:8)

That’s walking by faith.

Walking by faith requires a strong determination to follow God’s plan as outlined in the bible, regardless what life throws your way.

Like 2 Corinthians 4:18 urges us, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

It is a deep trust in what cannot be seen that provides hope.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth that “we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Jesus stated, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Jesus ascended and left his Spirit as a guarantee.

Walking by faith is sometimes lonely, except for the presence of Christ by his Spirit, left to all believers as a “guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:5).

Christians are frequently called to stand firm in spite of the isolated place their faith leads them to.

Our faith is reasonable, but there are aspects of the gospel we accept on faith and are unable to see.

What are these invisible things?

And what is the walk of faith?

The Second Letter to Corinth

First of all, here is some context for 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Paul’s relationship with the church at Corinth was a difficult one.

Paul had led them to faith with the assistance of mature believers in Christ, but when Paul was gone the church was easily swayed by outsiders who opposed his teaching.

In Paul’s absence, they fell apart and it was easy for opponents to convince the church that his suffering was a sign that Paul’s faith was actually folly.

If Jesus Christ has really come to save sinners, how could the apostle’s life be so horrendous?

To Paul’s mind, his way of life represented faith.

How else could someone suffer so much, if not for the reasonable expectation of eternal gain? (ESV Study Bible, Introduction to 2 Corinthians).

The Corinthian church was struggling, and Apostle Paul’s letter suggests a big part of the problem was the followers trusting the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and coming to that place in their life of trusting in the promise of Heaven.

Faith is trust.

Fabulous Adventures In Trusting Him!

Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him!

Fulfilling Adventures In Trusting Him!

Futuristic Adventures In Trusting Him!

But faith in Christ does not come in the exact instant we snap our fingers.

Time and effort, trials and tribulations, radically counter cultural responses.

Faith not in what we see ‘Now’ but what we cannot see in Eternity

2 Corinthians 5:1-5Amplified Bible

The Temporal and Eternal

5 For we know that if the earthly tent [our physical body] which is our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our [immortal, eternal] celestial dwelling, 3 so that by putting it on we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened [often weighed down, oppressed], not that we want to be unclothed [separated by death from the body], but to be clothed, so that what is mortal [the body] will be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]. 5 Now He who has made us and prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the [Holy] Spirit as a pledge [a guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise].

What does the gospel tell us which we cannot prove by way of anything other than faith?

For one thing, we cannot see what awaits the faithful around the next bend in their roadways, over the next mountain— eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Apostle Paul is confident: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God” (verse 1).

That building is the individual body, the church body, a real Kingdom, invisible to us for now. “We know,” says Paul; not “we believe,” or “we imagine.”

The original Greek uses “eidó,” which means “be aware, behold, consider, perceive.” “Knowing” in this sense combines knowledge with an intelligent perception of an idea, which cannot be physically represented —just yet.

Paul based his belief in eternal life on sound, objective evidence as well as his subjective, personal experience of Christ.

His suffering could have become a distraction from this truth — it certainly was for the Corinthians.

To Paul, his counter cultural response to immediate suffering was supposed to demonstrate his deep trust in what could not be seen, provide a reason to hope.

Christians “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

A Connecting Faith

Christ’s message of eternal salvation through his death and resurrection was explosive.

Master Pharisee Saul, before becoming Paul, had originally sought to persecute these blasphemers, run them all to ground, imprison them all until he realized that the Old Testament had been leading Israel unto the empty tomb all along.

When Apostle Paul described the body as a “tent” (2 Corinthians 5:1), he was also connecting the new church with the Old Testament.

God’s people had frequently been sojourners, both in the days before Solomon and during Jesus’ ministry.

Moses and the Israelites followed a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire, setting up temporary Sukkoth shelters to cover themselves against cold desert nights.

They had nowhere to permanently call “home” until Solomon built the temple.

The body as a “tent” evokes the Israelite’s trust God would meet their needs day by day.

A tent is impermanent, just like a body is temporary, but once this covering is shed God provides something eternally better.

Faith in the Spirit

2 Corinthians 3:15-18Amplified Bible

15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

As believers, to some extent, we already see more than those who choose to turn their faces from God.

We have an “unveiled face,” although we only see “in a mirror dimly” for now, it is by faith we believe we will one day see Christ “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Meanwhile, we have the Holy Spirit.

Here is one aspect of the Christian life we cannot lay hands on and inspect up close.

There are ways to detect the Spirit in us; evidence of “fruit.” 

Galatians 5:22-23 describes this fruit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

When one has grown in any of these ways, the Holy Spirit is responsible, and we are invited to delve into and recognize this gift living inside of us and in others.

The Spirit is not a virus or an implant; it cannot be scrutinized with the naked eye or under a microscope.

Everyone holds a belief in something, and Paul says we can be confident.

That is the word used in the NIV and KJV for “courage” so “we are always of good courage” (2 Corinthians 5:6, ESV) is a statement of certainty.

Faith is not blind; it merely sees in other ways.

Every Faithful, Faith-Filled Christian

1 Peter 3:13-15Amplified Bible

13 Now who is there to hurt you if you become enthusiastic for what is good? 14  But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness [though it is not certain that you will], you are still blessed [happy, to be admired and favored by God]. Do not be afraid of their intimidating threats, nor be troubled or disturbed [by their opposition]. 15 But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect.

Every faithful believer sees something that is not visceral but still real — much of our knowledge is like that.

We believe someone is trustworthy based on actions, which demonstrate their character.

We know that an event took place in history based on statements of witnesses and on physical remains.

We must examine the evidence and be ready to give our testimony, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

We all live by faith in something, although not the same things.

It is theologically accurate to say and to insist that the Christian must always seek to live by faith and trust in God and his promises, and not be motivated by only what he or she can see and hear in their present circumstances.

But the Apostle Paul says the church at Corinth is already doing that.

Apostle Paul “directly and unequivocally says that we, all believers, do, in fact, live by faith.”

This faith must also stand firmly by the strength of internal reasoning, against external forces, and without an apostle to hold one’s hand in a spiritual sense.

The Corinthians’ faith was strong in the presence of mature disciples such as Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18) but definitely blindsided by “partisanship, with the Corinthians factionalizing behind rival leaders.”

Paul knew what made “considerate and appropriate relating especially hard at Corinth,” which was an “unusually diverse” and tough, working-class culture.

Paul sought to “overcome the tensions these differences were bringing into the community” by talking about how to just love one another in Christ-like ways.

What Does it Mean to Walk by Faith?

Ephesians 4:1-6 Amplified Bible

Unity of the Spirit

4 So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation], 2 with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another [a]in [unselfish] love. 3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. 4 There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 one God and Father of us all who is [sovereign] over all and [working] through all and [living] in all.

And what about the action of walking in faith? “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” wrote Paul (Ephesians 4:1).

Our walk as Christians should be identifiably different from the walk of one who does not believe and has been saved by grace.

There is a practical element, which must not be overlooked, for if we love God there will be an outpouring of that love towards others.

Jesus embodied a unifying love for the marginalized and Paul taught that their Savior was the best example of “what a Christian leader should look like. It could hardly be more dramatically countercultural, and Paul lived out this leadership style in person.”

Yet walking, or living, by faith, is also about our relationship with Christ “God is looking for not only a clinging bride but also a walking partner.”

13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. 16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you. (John 15:13-16)

When we walk with him, we recognize that worship of Christ is not so much a “catalyst” to action but “an everyday walk of unbroken communion with our Lord and friend.”

Jesus calls us “friend,” and we are called to live our lives close to him, confident and worshipful.

This is personal and real — other people cannot fill in for Jesus, whether they are our pastors or mentors or BFFs.

Such individuals promote growth, but they are not the vine.

Only Jesus is the vine (John 15).

Is Sight Coming?

Will we see Jesus when we die?

Paul says it himself: We see dimly today, but the mist will lift one day revealing his face – the veil between God and man was torn when Jesus died on the cross.

John 20:11-18Amplified Bible

11 But Mary [who had returned] was standing outside the tomb sobbing; and so, as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”  14  After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?” Supposing that He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you are the one who has carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.” 16  Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in [a] Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “[b]Do not hold Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came, reporting to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.

So, while we cannot fully see him as Mary Magdalene did right now, this definitely does not mean that we are cut off from fellowship with the Lord.

Living by faith, not by sight, is no hindrance to communion with our Savior.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24The Message

24 1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
    God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
    laid it out on River girders.

3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

5-6 God is at their side;
    with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
    to God-seekers, God-questers.

7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

8 Who is this King-Glory?
    God, armed
    and battle-ready.

9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

10 Who is this King-Glory?
    God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
    he is King-Glory.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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And As Enoch First Did, How Are We to Walk in Fellowship with God? Genesis 5:21-24

Genesis 5:21-24Amplified Bible

21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

We are assured that no matter where our Christian walk takes us, God our Father, His Son Jesus and Holy Spirit will be there with us along the way.

Walking with God is sharing our thoughts honestly with the Lord.

That means talking with him on a daily basis.

You may be surprised to discover that of all the people mentioned in the Bible, only three—Enoch, Noah, and Levi— are expressly said to have walked with God. Their stories are found in Genesis chapters 5 and 6 and Malachi 2.

Studying Enoch’s life provides clues to how he lived a lifestyle pleasing to God.

The account of Enoch’s walk with God is told in the book of Genesis.

The writer records that Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah and then that at the age of three hundred and sixty-five years, Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24).

This scripture reveals Enoch began to walk with God after his 65th birthday.

How old are you?

A recent newspaper article stated that today’s average life expectancy of a person living in the United States is about 75 years.

How many years have you left to walk in habitual fellowship with God?

After three hundred years as God’s habitual walking companion on earth, God invited Enoch to continue his walk in heaven.

Enoch, like the later prophet Elijah, went directly to heaven without dying.

Enoch’s goal was to walk in habitual fellowship with God.

Enoch’s goal was to reverently and obediently please God. 

Think about this …. how many thousands of years ago was this ….

And how primitive or advanced was their thought process way back when?

To know what [habitual fellowship] was ….

To know what obedience was ….

To know what reverent obedience was ….to ONE God alone and not many gods?

What did it mean in that ancient context to say Enoch walked with the Lord ….

“In Habitual Fellowship” ….

What does that mean?

Above and beyond all others that Enoch and Noah were the ones mentioned?

Can you and I insert that ancient vision into our 2023 contemporary vision?

That is a pretty significant adjustment for us to make – to give Enoch a place in our 2023 pulpits, worship services, prayer meetings and fellowship gatherings.

How would that ancient witness testimony connect with our own witness story?

Would it connect with us at all?

Would it relate to us in anyway?

Would it connect us with God?

Would it strengthen or weaken or do nothing for our personal faith journey?

We know so precious little, if anything, about the actions Enoch demonstrated that God took such an extraordinary notice of – that He took Him Home (verse 24).

It would be so easy to insert our own judgments and interpretations and visions and deeds of all of those remarkable “ancient” “reverent and obedient” actions.

In the New Testament, the Hebrew writer reveals two key actions that enabled Enoch to walk with God. 

By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; he was not found because God took him up, for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God. And without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:5,6a). 

  1.  Enoch was pleasing to God. Enoch did what God wanted him to do. His actions reflected God’s Will for his life.
  2.  Enoch was faithful to God. The Bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Enoch, through his faith, pleased God. Enoch is an example of the righteous man that Paul wrote about in Romans 1: 17, But the righteous man shall live by faith.

Many people suffer from the misconception that walking with God is about church attendance, Bible study, praying, and contributing to the needy.

It’s true, people who walk with God engage in these activities.

But, Enoch’s life highlights the genuine basis of walking with God.

From the start, it looks as though Enoch fared more regrettable than the other patriarchs.

He lived on earth for only 365 years, far shorter than the other patriarchs.

Enoch was transferred straightforwardly to heaven without dying.

At that point, however, that would imply that Enoch actually lived longer than any patriarch, for he never saw death.

So, if we think about it, Enoch is the longest living human of all, even though Methuselah lived on earth for 969 years.

But we are not specifically looking at the period or lifespan of Enoch or the other patriarchs. 

Genesis 5:22 is quick to break with the example seen up to this point.

To no one’s surprise, we are given the number of years that a man lived subsequent to fathering the child who might prompt Noah and his children.

This time, however, we are enlightened with something regarding a man:

“And Enoch walked with God,” a reality that will be rehashed in the verses that follow.

What Does it Mean to Walk with God?

In the Bible, the articulation “walked with God” alludes to somebody who is respectful and dedicated to the Lord, bringing about God’s approval.

For Enoch’s situation, this was so crucial a point that it is referenced two times: both here and in Genesis 5:24.

This entry is expected to clarify the genealogical record from Adam to Noah, so there are not many different subtleties given.

We truly do not know much in regards to Enoch.

In any case, we truly do realize that God decided to eliminate him from the earth before his earthly passing.

Enoch is the first of the men recorded in this section whose story does not end with the expression “and he died.”

This was an occasion like Elijah’s end of service when God took him “up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:9-12).

Up to Genesis 5:23, 895 years old is the youngest listed age at the point of death for the patriarchs.

No details are given except that God was responsible.

Physical death happened to all of the men listed, with the exception of Enoch.

Genesis 5:24 is one of the most puzzling verses in the Bible.

Considering how completely astounding and strange this occasion is, we may have expected more subtleties.

But every expression of the Bible is centered around a specific reason.

For this situation, the genuine object is to clarify the lineage from Adam to Noah, through Seth.

Most definitely, precisely what befell Enoch is unimportant.

What we can be sure of is that Enoch “walked with God.”

Truth be told, this is such a significant piece of who Enoch was that it is rehashed twice in this chapter.

To live by faith in the Almighty means to make a relationship with God part of your ordinary way of life, to respect God with your decisions in each part of life.

Enoch’s case is strange in all of Scripture, in all of mankind’s set of experiences.

What is the significance here?

Enoch “was not, for God took him?”

Obviously, in light of Enoch’s living by faith in the Almighty, God kept Enoch from passing on.

Rather, God just removed him.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God (Hebrews 11:5).

This existence of confidence (life of faith), Hebrews tells us, satisfied God in such a way God kept Enoch from passing from this life in an ordinary manner.

So, what was it about Enoch’s walk with God?

Walking in God’s Direction

The way for us to walk is marked.

We are to watch for any obstacles that will present themselves before us, and we are to walk as Christ walked.

Walking “as he walked” or living as Christ did does not mean that we are to us pick 12 devotees, perform extraordinary supernatural miracles, or be crucified.

We cannot duplicate the existence of Christ, since quite a bit of that had to do with his way of life as God’s Son, his walk with God, his exceptional job in dying for all sin, and the social setting of the Roman world during the first century.

To live today as Christ did, we should follow his lessons and illustration of complete submission to God and to the loving service to others (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21).

Walking at God’s Pace

As we walk, we are to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Savior Jesus Christ.

We are not to try and walk ahead of the Lord nor are we to lag behind him.

Walking requires wearing shoes to help protect our feet from the elements and the terrain that we walk on.

Some are for running, walking, orthopedic issues, or just for style.

Roman soldiers regularly wore sandals (shoes), which permitted them to move rapidly during a fight and gave their feet protection.

Here Paul envisions the shoes as the “preparation of the gospel of peace.”

Shoes made a fighter prepared to fight.

The “gospel of peace” in like manner prepares a Christian for spiritual battles.

Any individual who has strolled around outside without any shoes realizes that a few regions are beyond reach when you are shoeless.

Shoes empower you to go anyplace.

The gospel secures our faith in specific essential, widespread certainties.

Without that, we would be slipping.

One of the world’s most normal issues today is that of stress, which comes in several types.

However, the peace offered through the gospel is the response to the greater part of our day-by-day tension.

We can cast our cares upon him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Further, interfacing the idea with the “gospel of peace” may likewise recommend the possibility of Christians bringing the gospel into everyday struggles, sharing it anywhere they go (Matthew 28:18-20).

Christians are given the “gospel of peace to be prepared for the fight to come and to help other people confronting spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:15).

Walking in Progress and Intimacy with God

Any parent knows that a child must first learn to crawl, then walk, before they can run.

A child must take simple steps first then successive steps.

Walking in progress with God means to “walk by faith.”

That means Christians are to live, make it a habit, by faith.

Suffering comes and suffering goes.

We are to live with courage and refuse to give up in our walk (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Paul tells us that we that have to accept Christ as Lord and Savior should walk (to live and think by faith) in him (Colossians 2:6).

Works are vital for the Christian life (1 John 3:17-18) but works should be the result of saving faith.

Walking in intimacy is also about honestly sharing our thoughts with the Lord.

That means we are talking with him on a daily basis.

Walking to the Destination Which God Has Prepared

Getting to a specific destination that we want to arrive at means that we must take one step at a time.

We may have to be prepared to get outside of our comfort zone.

We cannot also walk where it is easy to walk.

A smooth flat surface will not always be present for us to take our steps upon.

We are assured that no matter where or when our God starts us on our Christian walk, or why takes us, Christ will be there with us along the way (Hebrews 13:5).

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

15 God, who gets invited
    to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?

2 “Walk straight,
    act right,
        tell the truth.

3-4 “Don’t hurt your friend,
    don’t blame your neighbor;
        despise the despicable.

5 “Keep your word even when it costs you,
    make an honest living,
        never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this.”

[Psalm 15 The Message]

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Living Life Under Pressure: Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde and Our “Christianality.” Ephesians 4:17-24

Ephesians 4:17-24 Amplified Bible

The Christian’s Walk

17 So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls], 18 for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart. 19 And they, [the ungodly in their spiritual apathy], having become callous and unfeeling, have given themselves over [as prey] to unbridled sensuality, eagerly craving the practice of every kind of impurity [that their desires may demand]. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way! 21 If in fact you have [really] heard Him and have been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus [revealed in His life and personified in Him], 22 that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], 24 and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation].

The Word of God for the Children of God

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

I would like to share about the pressures of life we encounter on a daily basis.

It is important for us as believers to recognize that all of the who’s, the what’s the where’s the when’s and the why’s we are bombarded by everyday will have either a significantly positive or a very negative form of influence in our lives.

There are people, places an things who, which if we let them, will cunningly manipulate, pressure us, into situations where we got no business being in.

In today’s world pressure begins at an early age.

There’s the social pressure of fitting in.

There’s the pressure of looking a certain way, financial pressures.

I once told a former boss I needed a raise, that 4 other companies were after me.

He asked me which ones, I said;

“anywhere else north, anywhere else south, anywhere else east and anywhere else west, just anywhere else except here!”

We experience mounting pressures in the workplace, emotional and social relationships pressures, fitting in, making keeping new friends, moving, being a caregiver, divorce, illness, the pressures of measuring up, having all the latest gadgets, the pressures of social media, pressure of keeping up with the Joneses.

Pressure will have stress and anxiety eventually creep up on you and it will get in the way of your daily life, your work life, your family life, social life, church life and even your daily walk in God, the Father, Savior Christ and Holy Spirit.

But my bible tells me …

Something pretty radical and diametrically opposite ….

Psalm 23 Amplified Bible

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
2 
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
3 
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

4 
Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
5 
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
6 
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.

Know that when you go to God, He will provide you with every last measure and degree of His Shalom, His peace as necessary to withstand the pressures of life.

Which God did when He sent His Son Jesus to us and Jesus died for us at Calvary.

Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, The World, Living Out Our Christianality

Do you ever feel as if sometimes you are two different “Christian” persons?

Under one circumstance you are staunchly Christian because that is what your Mother and Father taught you when you were too busy trying to just “grow up.”

Then you encountered the “real world” where you had to really live your life on your own – you got your first apartment, went off to college in another state or country, you got your very first job in a fast food place or department store and all of a sudden life comes at you at warp 10 – you have to adjust, then readjust?

When you realize that real life is not always going to be, cannot always be really lived, realistically understood by what your Mother and Father had taught you?

Economics change.

Politics change.

Society and Culture changes.

We are caught up in those changes.

Subtly or “in a heartbeat” suddenly we have to adjust life to those changes.

What Mother and Father taught us – biblically or not so biblically.

What the world is teaching us – challenging our perceptions of “biblically.”

Moment by Moment, do I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Moment by Moment, can I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Moment by Moment, should I live my life “Biblically versus Realistically?!?”

Then comes the inevitable progression to inserting the question – “WHY?”

And that becomes the greatest question we all have to grapple with everyday, in everyway we were probably never taught either by our Mothers and our Fathers.

Back in the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson explored that idea in his short suspense novel titled “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

In an effort to become a better person, Dr. Jekyll, a mild-mannered man of science, develops a potion that can separate his good self from his bad self.

Expectedly or Unexpectedly, what happens instead is that his good side fades more, more away, the bad side turns out to be much more evil than expected.

At night he changes drastically and dramatically and he becomes Mr. Hyde, a mysterious, ugly and violent man whose life can think only of its own desires.

Once Dr. Jekyll realizes his own evil, he makes “the only choice possible” and clamps down on his Mr. Hyde, resolving not to take the magic potion anymore.

But Mr. Hyde has become too powerful, strong, too influential to overcome.

In despair of ever changing himself for the good, Dr. Jekyll commits suicide.

In no way do/would I ever advocate the act of suicide as any solution to crisis!

As such thoughts enter into your mindset – get professional help immediately!

Do NOT ever act upon those self-destructive thoughts – Call 911 locally

Home
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

International Suicide Hotlines

International Suicide Hotlines

One Biblical versus Worldly Response

Some of you are probably feeling like you’re losing it, you’re at a breaking point.

God is surely, certainly telling you today, Pray! stay with me, I’m going to get you thru this, stay in my will, don’t lose your courage, come stay in my house …

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

A Father, Son and Holy Spirit Inspired Response:

The apostle Paul speaks of the same struggle in different terms—“old self” and “new self.”

One of the great issues of life is how we can change permanently and deeply so that we look, live and love far more like Jesus and less of ourselves all the time.

Will it take moral effort, or meditation, or what?

In Ephesians 4 Paul says it requires “the truth that is in Jesus.”

There is much to learn about how the power of the cross creates that truth in us.

But today let’s give thanks Christ can change our old self into a new self which honors all of him and nothing of ourselves.

There is a significant difference between the pressures of the world upon our shoulders and the pressure God our Father sometimes want you to grow thru.

You see the world wants to do everything it can to crush you, to drive you into despair, make you feel forsaken, destroy you, but my bible tells us otherwise.

Ephesians 4:17-24 J.B. Phillips New Testament

Have no more to do with the old life! Learn the new

17-19 This is my instruction, then, which I give you from God. Do not live any longer as the Gentiles live. For they live blindfold in a world of illusion, and cut off from the life of God through ignorance and insensitiveness. They have stifled their consciences and then surrendered themselves to sensuality, practising any form of impurity which lust can suggest.

20-24 But you have learned nothing like that from Christ, if you have really heard his voice and understood the truth that he has taught you. No, what you learned was to fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living, which were rotted through and through with lust’s illusions, and, with yourselves mentally and spiritually re-made, to put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life which was made by God’s design for righteousness and the holiness which is no illusion.

Sometimes there are seasons in which there is one trial after another.

Remember this Verse to the Hymn …. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus?”

“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

Temptations are around us at all times, so we can answer the first part of this Hymns verse with a great big resounding, heaven shaking, “Yes!!!”  

We all well understand that many times in the midst of trials and temptations that our hearts can subtly, so quickly and suddenly lose hope and be tempted to descend into deep discouragement if we do not stay focused and remain in faith.

I praise God that my Savior Jesus knows me inside and out and He also knows very well EVERY single last one of my least and greatest weaknesses within me.  

I pray as I may descend into measures and degrees of discouragement, I may remember to stay in fellowship with Him in prayer and He will reveal to me calm meadows filled with lush grasses and still waters to slake my thirsty soul.  

I deeply this wonderful BFF Friend named Jesus will not only show me my weaknesses but He will enable encourage and inspire me to learn, grow and sitting at His table, to become far strong in those weak places within my soul.  

I encourage you to take your known and unknown weaknesses to Him in prayer, and to ask Him for wisdom and healing.  

To reveal in His times the weaknesses within you that you are not aware of.

Many times it is when we are standing in the midst of hardships that we awaken our awareness of His awareness to areas within our soul weak or broken down.  

We can think we are so strong to find out differently in the midst of a trial.  

Let this not become a constant or instantaneous source of discourage for your heart but rather a source to determine yourself to grow in the midst of it all.

I thank God today that I serve and walk with my good friend Jesus.  

He said He would share in all of my sorrows,

and even though He knows every weakness of yours’s and mine,

He continues to forever stand with us and vigilantly walk beside us.  

What a friend we have in Jesus!!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Most glorious, kind, and blessed God of the present moment, I beg Your grace and Your presence that I might be able to reject the temptations of the enemy and my flesh that drive my mind to obsess on the past or worry about the future. Help me instead to embrace the sufferings and challenges of the present moment knowing that You are with me in them and that if I surrender myself to You and the duties of this life in the present moment, You will give me all I need to endure or overcome any challenge, take care of all matters that are outside of my control, and will reveal Yourself and Your holy will within and through them. By Your grace I reject, in Jesus’ name, all regrets, laments, frustrations, or other temptations that draw my thoughts and attention away from the duties of this present moment and more importantly, away from Your presence and provision. I affirm, invoke, and implore the power of Jesus’ name against the efforts of the enemy to draw me out of Your presence in this moment, and I, by God’s Grace, His Divine Will, my human will, through the power of thy Holy Spirit, choose to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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