Ch. 683 - Onward

"It's always darkest before dawn."

There is certainly more than a sliver of truth to this well-known saying. And I certainly have no problem believing that sometimes it takes us falling down to the lowest place possible before we realize how greatly we need Him.


'Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.'
[Isaiah 26:8]

Ch. 682 - Provoked

' "But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves." '
[Jeremiah 25:7]

... I do not even want to begin to imagine what provoking the Lord could possibly bring. Just sayin'.

Ch. 681 - Steady

And I will praise You
up on the mountain...
down in the valley...
I will meet with You, God.


'Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.'
[Psalm 145:3]

Ch. 680 - MY Way or... ?

Worship is worship is worship.

What matters most is the heart and its intention behind the worship.

I should not, then, feel bothered when I am told where I have to sit, what I have to pray, which songs I have to sing... etc.

Yet I do.

[And of course, I don't "have" to do any of these things.]

I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't bother me. I know this needs to change. But if I have such a freedom to openly praise and worship my Lord God with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am going to take full advantage of said freedom and worship Him the way I desire, even within a congregational context. Is that truly so wrong?

Open.
Observant.

Expectant.

Weighted down with the Presence.
Whispering words of love to my Lord God.

Spirit.

There's more.
So much more.
But it's personal.
"Me and God."
You understand... right?
It's okay if you don't.
I mean, I'm at a Bible college.
Surrounded by people just like myself.
So at the very least, I'm sure they understand.
... Right.


'Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;'
[Psalm 95:6]

Ch. 679 - Obey and Rest

"Rest in My peace."

... Easier said than done.

I didn't want to.
So I walked away.
Too much work on my plate.

"Rest in My peace."

I didn't want to.
So I picked up the pace.
Too many thoughts on my mind.

"Rest in My peace."

I didn't want to.
So I started to run.
Too much weight on my shoulders.

You know what?
It can be quite difficult to run when you feel like you've got the world on your shoulders.

"Rest. Be with me."

So I stopped.
How could I not?

I turned my gaze to the throne of God.
Heart.
Mind.
Spirit.

Adoration.

He freely offers so much.
Step up to His table.

Presence.
Absolute immersion.

......

"My soul sings, my soul sings, my soul sings how I love You."

"Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art."

......

Inexpressible desires. Needs. Hurts. Prayers.
True freedom.
Given through the worshiping of His Spirit by my own.

He is praiseworthy.

GLORY.

Love Him.
Listen to Him.
Obey Him.

"Rest in My peace."

Refreshed.


'Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.'
[Psalm 139:7,9-10,23-24]

Ch. 678 - Love and Perseverance

Five days. No big deal.

A verse to get back into the swing of things...

'May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.'
[2 Thessalonians 3:5]

Ch. 677 - Sincerity of Giving

'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on." '
[Mark 12:41-44]

A poor widow put two coins, all she had, into the treasury. Jesus commended her for doing so because she gave our of her poverty. God sees into our hearts. As the great Judge, Jesus knows how and why we do or say anything. God has given us so much; we are called to be good and faithful stewards of what we have been given. As God is the Provider of our needs, we shouldn't be hesitant to give generously to Him - this doesn't mean our gift to Him needs to be large. He doesn't judge by a gift's size, but by its sincerity.

Ch. 676 - A Yearning

'My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.'
[Isaiah 26:9]

There is a lot that could be said regarding this verse. For one thing, dichotomists and trichotomists could have a field day debating over the mentioning of both soul and spirit. But I'm not about to open that can of worms. I would much rather emphasize the use of yearning and longing for God. I think that ultimately, He is the desire of our heart of hearts. So naturally, we would long for Him constantly. And I think that is a beautiful realization.

Ch. 675 - Humiliation.

Presuppositions.

It's amazing how simple "vibes", assumptions, and antecedent thoughts can affect a person in regards to what they say and do. Sometimes those presuppositions are made justly, but usually they are not.

Caves.
Why would you go into a cave in the first place?
"Exploration!"

I'll give you that.

But perhaps it's that you want to get away for a bit.
Meditation.
Reflection.

Or maybe you're trying to hide.
Distancing yourself from an "enemy" or simply people...
But they just wait outside.

Either way, you're alone.

Besides, you know what? When thinking of caves in a simplistic manner, you can only leave the way you enter. So eventually, you have to face the reason you entered the cave in the first place.

"Back to reality."

How often do we let ourselves fall into that trap?
Separation.
We burn bridges.
We close doors.
We put up walls.
And we dig ourselves into deep holes.

Why do we place barriers between ourselves and people?

People.

The saved.
The lost.
Strangers.
Acquaintances.
Friends.
Family.

We were made to be relational.

Fellowship.
Community.
Love.

What am I so afraid of?


'A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.'
[Proverb 17:17]

Ch. 674 - Mission: Salvation

JESUS COULD HAVE SAVED HIMSELF.

But He didn't.

People mocked Him, both before and during the time He spent on the cross.
They said He saved others - so why not Himself?

He had said He was going to destroy the temple and raise it in three days, so surely He could come down from the cross.

But He did not come to save Himself, but to give Himself as a ransom for many.

He had a mission, and nothing was going to stop Him from accomplishing it.

He, being fully God, had the power to save Himself... but He loved us too greatly to do so. All glory, honor, and praise are due Him, forever and always.


'Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!" '
[Mark 15:29-31]

Ch. 673 - Answers by Faith

' "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." '
[Mark 11:23-24]

Jesus tells us that when we have faith, our prayers will be answered. We are to have no doubt in our hearts. God desires to grant what we pray for- but if we don't believe He can or will answer our prayers, then why should He? The verses following the above passage reminds us to have a spirit of forgiveness when we pray - for if we do not forgive others, we will also not be forgiven our transgressions. We are also reminded of this through the "Lord's Prayer" and as it is a command of Jesus, we should certainly do what He says.

Prayer is powerful.

Ch. 672 - HIS Return

Jesus tells His followers that the gospel will be preached to all the nations and then the end will come [He will return]… but then goes on to say that nobody but the Father knows when that will happen. Sharing the gospel as a testimony will become, I believe, increasingly difficult as time passes and the end of the age approaches. Followers of Christ will be tested and persecuted by adversaries, but they must persevere and stay strong in the Lord God – especially since we don’t know when Christ will return. We need to continually persevere and overcome trials, and prepare our hearts – and those of the lost! – for His coming.


"'And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."; "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." '
[Matthew 24:14; 36]

Ch. 671 - "Talent"

In Jesus’ parable of the talents, we can learn that we should not grow complacent. We need to take what we’ve received from God and work with it in a responsible, effective manner. The faithful workers will be entrusted with greater things, earning their just reward and praise. There is much work to be done for God’s kingdom. We can’t assume we have all the time in the world to get things done… if we desire for God to truly use us, we need to accomplish our tasks in love and with diligence. Jesus never stopped working, reaching out, or touching the lives of others… neither should we.


' "The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'; "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?" '
[Matthew 25:20-21; 24-26]

Ch. 670 - Saved. Sanctified.

For a little over five weeks now I have worn a red bracelet on my left wrist. It is simply a length of red embroidery floss that I wound around my wrist four or five times before tying a knot. The day after I was baptized I had done the same thing, but the color of the floss was green. It symbolized the "new life" I had been baptized into. The red symbolizes the blood of Jesus with which I have been sanctified. The green bracelet fell off after one week. Right after it did, I tied on the red floss. It has not come off my wrist since I tied it on. I like this. Even though I am in this new life, in regards to my time on earth, this life is finite. It won't last. I couldn't have told you whether my life was going to end with the falling off of that first bracelet. But I can, indeed, tell you that our time on earth is short. Yet because of what Jesus did, I have life eternal.

I mean, we have been sanctified by Jesus’ blood. He came as a Sacrifice for our sins, a spotless Lamb, to save man. Yet MAN, after arresting and questioning Him, “decided” to put Him to death. When Jesus was being tried, Pilate, a man of authority, claimed Jesus a righteous Man. Pilate said to the Jews he was innocent of His blood; the people boldly accepted the responsibility for His blood. They were reckless in doing so, because they did not, I’m assuming, consider the consequences that would wait for them if He truly was the Son of God – which He is. The irony of the situation astounds me. Denial of the Truth leads to sin and separation from God. Yet we have the opportunity to be made clean with His blood that He shed for us. What a gift. Eternity awaits us.


'But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" '
[Matthew 27:20-25]

Ch. 669 - Gutted.

Back.

I simply... didn't feel like posting.
So I didn't.

......

"Only one word comes to mind.
There's only one word to describe...
... There is no one like You,
You are holy... holy."
[Holy by Matt Gilman & Cory Asbury]

God is holy.
His Son is Lord.
His Spirit lives in us.

He speaks.
He lives.
He is near.

So why do we worship Him as if He is silent, dead, and far away?
... That is, if we worship Him at all...


'For this God is our God for ever and
ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.'
[Psalm 48:14]

'My salvation and my honor depend on
God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. Selah.'
[Psalm 62:7-8]

Ch. 682 - Provoked

' "But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves." '
[Jeremiah 25:7]

Okay, in all honesty... I don't think I even want to attempt to imagine what a provoking of the Lord would bring upon me. Frightening.

Ch. 668 - "Incline Your Ear"

' "Thus has the Lord of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother...' " '
[Zechariah 7:9, NASB]

' "And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the Lord of hosts.'
[Zechariah 7:13, NASB]

I am so thankful that God turns His ear to me continually... even when I do not take the time to turn my ear to Him. And for the most part, that's technically fine. God loves me no more. God loves me no less. But this doesn't mean that I should not feel it necessary to do so. It's one more way to strengthen my obedience to Him. And by listening to Him, God will teach me how He wants me to "dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion" to my brothers and sisters - as well as nonbelievers.

Ch. 667 - People Get Ready

How can something meant to be uplifting be so very disheartening?

Even through the praise and glorification, I come to be discouraged. My heart breaks. Do they have any idea of what they're missing out on? I honestly have no clue. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's difficult to do so.

WAKE UP!

Distraught.
That is what I am.
Distraught.


'He who testifies to these things says,'
"Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.'
[Revelation 22:20-21]

Ch. 666 - Number

'This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.'
[Revelation 13:18]

Haaahahahahahahaha.

I couldn't resist.

Forgive me.