Only By His Grace

The Wife's Note: First Thing's First

2011-12-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in this Christian walk we come too a place where we feel that we are empty and not at all where God wants us. I know we do because i myself have been there and i am sure a lot of you have. I think back to when i first got saved...i was so on fire for God. I wanted to do anything i could for him. I had a desire to just be with Him and only him whether that be in prayer, reading, just driving down the road, or anywhere. But I have realized that this flesh will try all it can to distract you from Him. I guess about a year after i got saved it seemed it was so hard for me to read or pray. I seemed like i was always busy with school or work and by the time i got home i was worn out all i wanted to do was sleep. And i thought “well it is just all this stuff going on, I’m in college and i work but once i get settled everything will be alright.” Well.. i will tell you this...i am through with college and i do not work a secular job anymore yet i still struggle with reading and praying. I still feel like i am busy a lot and sometimes i am but like my husband tells me “there is no time wasted when you stop to pray.” I know your life may seem hectic or maybe you feel disappointed in yourself. And feel so far from God , even though you feel you still have that desire in your heart to do whatever he would have you to do. Sometimes we have to just stop and say “No everything else can wait, God comes first.” When satan tries to distract you with everything else going on in your life. Just try to slow down and put first things first. And the very first and most important thing in your life is God. Satan hates that you are saved and he hates what God is going to do in your life. Don’t let him defeat you! You are victorious through Christ! Don’t let him make you think otherwise! He has no power over Christ that is within you! You are a child of God! So remember God loves you and he longs for that intimate time in prayer. He longs for you to read his word and spend time with Him. Don’t sit around and wait for it to just get better...Today come out of that disappointed state. Spend time with God today and everyday. Ask Him to help you, my friend he longs to do so.

The Wife's Note: CHRISTmas

2011-12-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again. Families gather together and eat a wonderful meal, We put up a beautiful tree, Sing songs, and open up gifts.
But if we are not careful we so easily forget what CHRISTMAS is all about. It is ALL ABOUT HIM! We use this same quote at our church. Yes this holiday that we celebrate is not about the gifts, the songs, or the tree…but it is all about HIM.
So this Christmas when you gather with your family and friends make sure you remember why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Make sure too thank Him for choosing to die for our sins and Thank him for just being who he is. He is our Savior! Praise the Lord!

Psalm Of Buddy

2011-12-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

A Psalm of buddy

sang unto lord the one true god in search of his unending faithfulness

Mine heart was wasted by the plague of self, I, yea even I was too far down to reach His hand.

Roaming, too & fro I went in diligent search for my God, finding only a moment of provision by faint breath of His nostril’s.

I restlessly lay upon pillow at night, pale become my eyes from tears. His nearness was no longer made visible to His child.

“My God, whatever doth separate my life from Thee, do remove, lest I fall to death upon the wickedness of religiosity.

Allow my soul to capitalize upon Your everlasting love. Yea, if falling is essential before rising is possessed, then in Your arms let me fall so my heart & Yours may no longer be apart.

Allow mine eyes to behold You, the Only One True God. Ye have beheld my desire for You & You Alone, grant me this day to rise above my naturality in Your Spirit.

Permit Thou, I plead, Thy servant to be nothing other than Yours.” I cried aloud to My God, the One True God.

Mine heart will remember His faithfulness that He hath manifested unto a thousand generations before.

Moments of joy shared with my Beloved & I, will my heart choose to remember.

Upon His Word will I continue to believe & in prayer will I seek until His face He reveals once more, for back is death & He is Life.

The Wife's Note: What's Next?

2011-12-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

This life is full of responsibility whether it be work, school, children, marriage, and so on but what about the biggest responsibility of all? The responsibility of being the Christian we are called to be and allowing Christ to live through us? What about being a light to this dark world? Although we as Christians know we are called to do this sometimes things can get in the way. We know we should pray and spend time with the Lord because how else are we supposed to reach a lost and dieing world if we as Christians do not maintain our relationship with Him like we should? But oh it is sooooo easy to put everything before prayer and time spent with him. But it seems that every time I have ever gotten to the spot of "where did my prayer time even go?" or "how in the world did I even get to where I am at?" I can only blame myself but though I feel dry and empty I still hear that voice speak above it all and say "spend time with me, come pray just come and spend time in my presence". Isn't it amazing how we get so busy sometimes but God still sees us and he still no matter what longs for that special intimate time with us? So next time you hear that voice in your head saying what do I have to do next? Put yourself in check...see if what you are planning to do is interfering with your time with him and if it is...choose to put Him first above anything else.

2011-12-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Beloved,

Tonight as I ponder the unfathomable love of our Savior for us, as I just begin to surface a glimpse of His somehow loving a heel as I, how can my thoughts be any less than grand? I have often made a mess of things but still yet He hates me not. No, rather He loves me more! Love I mostly do not see nor feel but greatly take for granted. Dear people of God, let us truly overpower the high places where our pagan lovers proudly abode claiming deity over us, scoffing at the One True God we so conveniently misplace after Sunday worship by disbelief & laziness. We have broken the heart filled with true love for us enough, yes, I indeed way too frequently. I want to see Christ as the Church of Act’s did see! I want to live that life which is truly governed by nothing other than His. I want to stop taking His love for granted by living, moving, breathing and being animated of His invincible life. I want to walk by His side literally living out every promise He left us in His word. Though I cannot comprehend, I will by Grace & through the baptism of His Spirit walk in His fullness. Lowly in all manners I am but a heel, yes. But I am His & if I be but a heel I know one true thing, His heel has & will continue to bruise the head of Satan. Let us seek such power & demonstration of His Holy Spirit again. It is time to live His Life of love & victory.

Only by His Grace,

Buddy Riddell

The Wife's Note: Listen To His Voice

2011-11-26T00:49:00.000-08:00

First off I would like to apologize for not writing last week. Buddy’s parents have just recently taken over a church to pastor and things with the church have been very busy. We had our first youth meeting Friday which Buddy, Jacob, and myself are in charge of. We are also in charge of the youth Sunday school. Our lesson this past Sunday was a little different than your average Sunday school lesson. Buddy, Jake, and myself set up this rather large maze in our Sunday school room downstairs and all throughout this maze we posted signs that read different things like: cussing, pride, doubt, lust, un-christlike movies and tv, un-christlike music, and so on. The back wall behind the kids was labeled death and the wall in front of them where a cross stood was labeled heaven. Buddy played the role of Jesus and the key to this maze was simply this LISTEN & TRUST THE VOICE OF THE LORD and you will make it through just fine. So this is what we did we had the kids start on the back wall labeled death. We blind folded them, spun them around as if we were playing pin the tail on the donkey and then told them to go. Now while the kids were trying to get through Buddy was at the other end(playing the role of Jesus) while Jake and myself played the roles of the devil and the discourager and we followed each kid through the maze trying to distract them and get them to listen to us rather than Buddy. If they were to listen to us they would fall, run into walls, or trip up but each thing they would trip over or run into was all labeled with those different things I listed above such as cussing and pride. Oh and also if Jake and I were not enough of a distraction we had the kids waiting for their turn to go yell things out to distract them too. Surprisingly, most of the kids made it through just fine with only minor injuries(just kidding) they all did very well only stumbling here and there on the things we had laid out before them. But it was all to show them how those little things do have an impact on your walk with Christ whether it be a bad word here and there or a bad relationship but if they were to listen to Christ(buddy) they would make it through life(maze) just fine but only if they listened and trusted in the lord. I told you about this tonight not to just fill you in on what is going on with our youth but to show you how easy it is to listen not only to satan himself but our friends, co workers, family and so on who can sometimes be a distraction when the Lord is trying to lead us where he would have us to be. It is so hard sometimes to listen to that sweet voice of the Lord when you have all these other distractions around you. And sometimes we do feel as if we are blind folded and we can’t see what is before us BUT… if we trust in HIM & LISTEN too HIM everything will be just fine. I am thankful not only for the youth group and the Sunday school class we had but for the trust we can put in HIM. So I would like to leave you with a verse today Proverbs 3:(5-6) says “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” God Bless!

2011-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2011

Buddy Riddell

Title: Little Love

Dear Christian,

Oft times we become entangled in devising our plans of life and the love for our Savior gradually slips away. As we build and toil in a life called “ours” we suddenly look up expecting to see Jesus and to our amazement He is just at eyes dim view. We ransack the corridors of our heart searching for anything in hopes of bringing His life near us once more. We pray, pleading for His return to us but only out of fear, for eternal death in hell weighs upon our minds far greater than the hurting heart of our Beloved. Finally we stumble upon a memory filed away nice and neatly in the cold case compartment of our lives entitled “love”. Searching for any hope we examine this file closer and find that there is only a small portion held within. But as we remember those tender moments we once shared with Christ we began to miss this thing called love. Examining the “love” we see that all that is truly missing is our heart. And, beloved, you don’t have to have some magnificent love to give Christ if you have strayed away a bit too far. No. ALL HE REQUIRES IS ALL YOU HAVE. So take your little love and put your heart into it and as you seek Him once more you will find Him. He promised! “Come near to God... and He will come even nearer to you.”

In Christ,

Buddy Riddell

The Wife's Note: Thankful

2011-11-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone! It is so good to finally be writing again. A lot has happened while the site has been down. As most of you know I dislocated my shoulder for the fourth time about 3 weeks ago. I was taken to Bethseda hospital in Lebanon Ohio to have it put back into place. Since this was the fourth time and it did come out so easy doctors were saying that more than likely I would be having surgery because my labrum(muscle in shoulder) was probably torn. I had x rays and MRI's done throughout the 3 week period. Today I went to the doctor to see exactly how bad the damage was to my shoulder. We were hoping and praying for the best but there was still a little part of me that expected the worst. But...today the doctor walked in very calm and looked at buddy and I and let us know that I was not going to have to have surgery. In fact, he saw a little wear and tear from the MRI but as far as surgery went I was fine and was in absolutely no hurry to have it. He told me to call him if there was anymore trouble but other than that I was in good shape.What a great god we serve! God has not only shielded me from surgery once but he has done it four times now. Most people do not just dislocate their shoulder four times and walk out of it without some kind of surgery....but thanks to the Lord I have. We do not realize just how big he really is but even in all his wonderful glory he still takes care of us. Sometimes we take for granted the little things like our health, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the warm bed we sleep in every night....I'm just so thankful for a God that loves and takes care of his children. We should thank him everyday for just being the wonderful God he is. Be thankful today and remember I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.

Fall Construction

2011-10-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Fall Construction!!

Hey readers, just dropping a brief note concerning the layout of our devotional blog. We have a new plan that we will be launching starting Friday, November 4th, 2011! As of now we will not be writing any devotional thoughts until that date. Watch via Facebook for the news about the fall update. (click here for facebook link- http://www.facebook.com/buddynkirsten )

As always, it is our prayer that you will continue growing in His love. See you back here in just 11 short days!

Sincerely,

Buddy & Kirsten Riddell

Continue In My Love & He Knows My Place

2011-10-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Continue In My Love

In the book of John, 15:9, Jesus says, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” As I thought of this verse today I simply wanted to write a short message of encouragement to my fellow believers. Beloved, our Heavenly Father has so delighted in Jesus His Son. Words can truly never describe the relationship that our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, hold so deeply. But then we read these words of our Savior, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you…” At the point of truly reading these words we can sit back with arms folded and unhesitatingly declare the phrase, “wow.” Christ delights in us. We have the ability to hold such a deep and living relationship with Him but we must “continue” in His love. So as we go about the busy pace of today take time to continue in His love and enter into His Presence.

The Wife's Note: He Knows My Place

Psalm 139:16 "You saw me before I was born. Everyday of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had past." I probably could not count on one hand the number of times that I have felt out of place and may have even questioned if I heard the Lord the right way. The devil loves to try and shake our faith and bring confusion. Our faith is oh so important as a believer. And if the devil can get your mind in a state of confusion...my friend it can surely shake your faith if you allow it to. I have questioned myself so many times about what God would have me to do and half the time I do not even feel like I am doing anything at all. I ask God very often to help me find my place in doing his work and the devil tries to make me believe that God does not even want me to work for him. But I have been encouraged...because he knew me before anyone else did and he knows exactly where he wants me and what work he has for me. His word let's me know that everything is going to be alright I just need to be patient and wait on him. I am so thankful to have a God that knows me in the most intimate way possible....he knows my absolute heart....and he knows exactly where he wants me and where I will go. Be encouraged today but also be thankful...for you have a God that knows you better than you know yourself.

Let Me Remind You & Though I'm Not Worthy

2011-10-07T12:03:00.001-07:00

Let Me Remind You

Isaiah 40:28-31, “Hastthou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, theCreator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is nosearching of his understanding.”

Weariness of faith most likely is produced in usby our effort’s of self-preservation. When we come to a mountain we begin tocalculate how we can trounce the rocky points using our own substance of life.God patently await’s as we hold back His hand from carrying us along until wefail the task repeatedly and recall His ability is far greater than ours. Iknow I have done this same stupid game over and over again and maybe you arefinding yourself dreading the situation before you. But, beloved, do not dreador disdain the coming day’s for God in His infinite wisdom and unfailing loveknows what is best. Allow Him in His great strength to fulfill yourinabilities. Let me lovingly remind you to trust Him... no matter what.

The Wife’s Note: Though I’m Not Worthy

“Though I'm not worthy to see your precious face
I bow before thee pour out your holy grace
For you alone can wash my sin
And cleanse my soul so deep within.

Heal me, wash me in your mercy
Mend these broken pieces of my heart
Love me though I am not worthy
Cleanse my soul and make me whole again
Only say the word and I shall be healed.

Though I'm not worthy in your grace I long tostand
And bow before thee, stretch out your healing hand
For you alone can purify
And heal these wounds so deep inside

Though im not worthy to feel your love oh lord
I bow before thee my savior be adored
For you alone break hardened hearts
And bid old bitterness depart”

Above I have written the lyrics to one of myfavorite songs called "Though I'm Not Worthy" by Kari Jobe. This is alittle bit different of a devotional than what I normally write but this songministers to me and it has been on my mind all day so I feel that the Lordwould have me to write about it. In a way this song humbles me....I know I amnot worthy to even speak his precious name. I am not worthy of his wonderfulgrace and mercy. I am not worthy of his forgiveness but still yet...he alwaysseems to willingly shed his mercy and forgiveness on me when I need it themost. There have been many times in my Christian walk that i have stumbled and feltso undeserving of forgiveness but just when that thought would enter my mind hewould show up so full of mercy and grace. I am thankful for that today. I amthankful that though none of us are even worthy to receive such grace, mercy,and forgiveness that we have a savior that is always willing to show us that hecares and that we are not alone. Today if you feel God is mad at you restassured he is not...he only wants to forgive you and show you his wonderfulmercy and grace. All you have to do is ask and mean it with your whole heart.He has not given up on you...be encouraged he is there waiting.

Little People, Huge Dominion & How Great is Our God?

2011-10-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Little People, Huge Dominion

We are as flowers which quickly fade in the heat of a noontime sun. What we obtain in natural standpoints throughout the course of life’s span is beggarly and weak at highest value. As the tide carries in a wave only to swiftly roll back to open sea, life itself is spent as fast. Compared to the Creator we are such small creations. We hold nothing to use in our defense for we simply are too powerless. Yet, even in our meager state God has loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins that we may have the capability to hold a relationship and be filled with His Life. Beloved, we are to seek above all the relationship with God through Christ but this is not to be where we end our searching desire. We must move on and obtain, though we be but little people, the huge dominion that Christ desires us to dominate in the Spirit. Somehow try and grasp the fact that though we are nothing in ourselves Christ in us desires to be through us everything that He is. As the result of such a marvelous action we are to become world dominating saints. The Church has the ability to control the environment of the whole world simply because it is Christ in us glorifying His name. Yes we are such little people, but we have a huge dominion! Do not take a backseat to the enemy any longer for you are in Christ and He is in you. In faith and the working power of the Spirit stand up and possess the world for Christ!

The Wife’s Note: HowGreat Is Our God?

How Great is OurGod? Have you ever just thought about how truly amazing he is? Our God is notsome wooden statue that is completley meaningless and powerless. But Our God isfull of meaning and full of power. The power of God is so so real. The longer Iwalk with Christ the more I come to see just how big He is. He has personallydone things in my life that seemed impossible. Thevery same god that created this world is the same one that hears me cry out inmy time of need. The very same God that walked on the water is the same Godthat walks with me everyday. How amazing is that? Sometimes we forget just howwonderful He is and that he is the same yesterday,today, and forever. Let usstrive to always remember just how Awesome He Is!

Priorities Matter & The Wife’s Note: Is That All He Gets?

2011-09-30T11:26:00.001-07:00

Priorities Matter

Beloved, do we ever really think about what it means to hold a relationship with God? How do we let such a magnificent beauty slip by us? We trade moments with God for movies with pizza and popcorn. We keep late hours working our world to the fullest potential and fail to remember our world at best will never save us. Neglecting Christ for our wants while others this day are on trial for their committed love to Him. I am among the worst for showing Him I love Him by my priorities. Let us expose our love to Him today through our genuine faith and our placing Him first no matter what. Priorities really do matter.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” -Jesus Christ (matthew 6:33 k.j.v.)

The Wife’s Note: Is That All He Gets?

We call on him when we feel lost. We call on him when disaster strikes. We call on him when we stumble. We call on him when we feel alone. We call on him when we have nothing else…

But what about the good times?

Do we call on him like we should when we are found? Do we call his name when we are walking with no hindrances? Do we call on him when we have plenty of company? Do we call his name when we feel that everything is going just right?

You will find for the very top statements that if they were questions your answers would be yes. And believe me I am not taking away from the fact that we should call on the Lord in our time of need because we should, but with that being said that should not be the only time we call out his name. Friend, I have to ask you this….Is That All He Gets? Does he only get our time when we need something? Is that what our savior deserves? No Way! He deserves so much more. It is time to stop putting him last and start putting him first because that is what he really deserves.

Lord, I Lost The Sparkle Of My Eye & The Wife’s Note: Hope For The Hopeless

2011-09-26T11:12:00.001-07:00

Lord, I Lost The Sparkle Of My Eye & The Wife’s Note: Hope For The Hopeless

As I was reading yesterday I came to Psalms, chapter 13. Reading through the verses I soon felt a touch in verse 3, which says, “Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.” (New Living Translation).

Have you ever felt, as I often have lately, that somehow through the pace of life you lost the true fellowship you once enjoyed with your Beloved and you? Reading the touching words of King David has showed me that at some point we all come to a place where the light or “sparkle” of our eyes grows dim. Our vision of who He truly is becomes impaired by the enticing pleasures of this present world. Sinning and falling short becomes inevitable for we no longer hold the true value of life in our grasp. I will be among the first to admit that I have at time lost the sparkle of my eye. I have become weary of my own self and in frustration somehow lost the sight of Christ my heart truly depends upon. I am here to say along with the mighty King David, “Lord, I am sorry... but I have lost the vision of you, the true sparkle of my eye. Please restore my sight of you once more! Allow me to have the Godly countenance which speaks without words that you dwell in me. Lord, restore the life which makes me tick! Restore the sparkle of my eye today.”

The Wife’s Note: Hope For The Hopeless

This world today is full of troubles and trials. We have homes that are broken apart. We have murders and robbery’s everywhere. We have kids without a loving mother and father. We have people without a home or shelter. We have people going hungry. We have wars raging. We have the economy that is basically crumbling apart. All in all there is trouble around every corner. When we begin to really think about this world and it’s current condition it can seem so hopeless. But praise be to God that we have hope!

I have often thought about Paul and Silas when they were thrown in prison. If anyone could have felt hopeless it would be them. But instead of dwelling on the trouble around them they sang praises to the Lord. I put myself in their shoes. Could I have held on like they did? Could you? Problems are raging all around us and I know at times the word hopeless has crossed your mind. But when you begin to feel overwhelmed remember Paul and Silas. The word of God did not hold their accounts in there for no reason. The same God that was there with Paul and Silas is the same God we serve today! How wonderful is that? There is hope for the hopeless and his name is Jesus Christ.

God So Loved & The Wife’s Note: I Know He Can, But Do I Believe He Will?

2011-09-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

God So Loved & The Wife’s Note: I Know He Can, But Do I Believe He Will?

God So Loved was originally posted on November 20th, 2009. As always it is my prayer that some phrase may catch your heart and the Holy Spirit may be made to freely minister to your heart and life. To all who are weary of life it is my prayer that you once more see the love of the Heavenly Father. Be blessed this day in reading “God So Loved.”

God So Loved

In the gospel of John we find one of the most quoted verses in the bible, John 3:16. Most reading this could quote it at lighting speed. But do we ever really pause to understand the total beauty of this great verse? Lets try to pray and better grasp the truth of it today.

For God so loved the world…

We was sinners, without salvation. We was hopeless, without a escape. We had no way to God. We was a creation, without the companionship of the Creator. There was no life in our souls. There was no love in our hearts. No forgiveness for our mistakes and sins. We had nothing!!!! But then… “God so loved the world,” came to our rescue! We had now found something gentiles had never before known… Grace!! We was wondering in the stench of our own flesh! God had no reason to have communion and fellowship with us. We was idolaters… but God so loved! We was fornicators… but God so loved. We was dirty, nasty, unholy, uncontrollable people, that would live worse than dogs… but God so loved. We was sick and selfish… but God so loved. We was senseless wonders, searching for pleasure, and longing to satisfy the appetites of our flesh… but God so loved. We was sinners, without a Savior… but God so loved. He didn’t have some half hearted kindness, but if you study John 3:16, you will soon find out that this love goes beyond all other. You see it goes beyond kindness! It moves beyond caring! It even moves beyond the love of a friend. This love is the highest form of love. It is undeserved love. It is unconditional love. It is un-comprehendible love! It is the Love of a holy, sinless, perfect, everlasting, all knowing Creator… for a unholy, sinful, rebellious Creation!! For God So Loved The World!! When He says “world” that takes in every ounce of life that is breathing. There is no prejudice of any kind in that word. For God So Loved The World, That He Gave. That word “gave” simply means… to be made a present and yielded over. For God So Loved The World, That He Gave His Only Begotten Son. He literally wrapped His only Son in the very grief of sin, as a present of freedom to us. For God So Loved The World, That He Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Whosoever Believeth In Him Should Not Perish. He not only gave us the gift of Life… He gave us the power to believe. Before this we had nothing to believe in. We now must believe in, and on Christ, and trust Him fully with everything, and we wont perish. For God So Loved The World, That He Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Whosoever Believeth In Him Should Not Perish, But Have Everlasting Life. In other words God is saying “its not what you deserve… but what I desire for you!” But it all began from something simple… God So Loved. Sometime today try to thank your Heavenly Father for loving us that much.

The Wife’s Note: I Know He Can, But Do I Believe He Will?

I have been dealing with a personal battle here recently. It seems every time i think i am about to come out....i don’t. If anything it seems as though it gets worse and worse. I realize that coming out of this battle is not just an overnight thing and i don’t know how long i will be where i am at.

Ever felt this way?

Last night as i laid in bed i had the thought “I know he can, but do i believe that he will?” I have come to realize that knowing and believing are to separate things. For a simple example I know the sky is blue, but whether or not i choose to believe that is a choice i have to make. I know God is the one true God, but whether or not i choose to believe all he is that is a choice i have to make. Every christian has to make that choice.

And as i laid there last night i thought to myself “I know God can bring me out, but do i believe he will?” So i made the choice i knew i had to make and i chose to believe that HE WILL. I believe he will bring me out not just half way, but fully.

Christian friend God never places more on us than we can bear. He knows how much we can take. I am in this battle because he wants me here to become more like him. This is probably one of the hardest things i have ever dealt with in my Christian walk, but i choose to believe that he will. It is a choice we all have to make. So if you are in the battle make the choice to Believe He Will. He wants the best for you and I both. Just remember the darkest hour is just before the dawn. Choose to believe that he will.

You Just Wait & The Wife’s Note: My Very Best Friend

2011-09-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

You Just Wait & The Wife’s Note: My Very Best Friend

Beloved, I know we make mistakes and there is many times when the love of Christ seems to be too far gone for our hearts to except His presence near. I also know about the moments of extreme wilderness trials when we want to except His presence but no matter how much we beg and plead it seems He just will not reveal Himself to us. I myself have been in both of these places just the past few weeks. I have experienced raging doubt flooding my soul trying to cause me to not just simply doubt Christ’s love and power, but even as far too doubt His total existence! But oh folks, this day I am so grateful that I simply relied on Him even though I could not feel Him anywhere. He has unmasked His face from me once more and my Savior and I are once more enjoying sweet communion! I did nothing to deserve such love once more other than trust Him, seek Him, believe Him and miss our communion. To all who are weary this day I give you this personal word of hope; You Just Wait! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He SHALL direct your path!” If you are in a spiritual place that you do not enjoy right now you must understand by faith that you are here for His glory and your best interest! “God will not place upon you more than you can bear but with the temptation make a way for your escape!” “He gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might He gives strength! Even the young shall become weary and the young men shall utterly fall: but THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW (EXCHANGE) THEIR STRENGTH! They shall mount up with wings as eagles! They shall run and not be weary! They shall walk and not faint!” Beloved, wherever you are spiritually, no matter how drastic the measures YOU JUST WAIT UPON THE LORD and victory will ultimately be yours in Him! Oh people, communion with the One True God is sweet and it is ours for the expectancy! Please don’t give up, you just wait!

(all scriptures used were paraphrased from heart not any specific biblical translation)

The Wife’s Note: My Very Best Friend

I want to talk to you this morning about my best friend.

He is the one who saved me. He filled me with the holy ghost. He knows my every thought. He knows every tear that i have ever shed. He knows exactly what it takes to fix every problem i have. He knows what is going to happen in my life tomorrow. He is the best listener. He keeps me safe. He is the healer. He is the redeemer. He is alpha and omega. He is salvation. His name is....JESUS!
He is my very best friend. Through the thick and thin he is always there! He is not just a temporary friend, but a forever friend. Thank you Jesus for being who you are!

Do you need a best friend? Someone you can always run too? Someone who always understands? If so i know who you can talk to....it is JESUS....just call his name.

Who's Calling The Shots & The Wife's Note:Remember Christ

2011-09-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

The following devotional was originally posted in October of 2009. As always I pray that as you read this your heart is once more convinced to place Christ first with the thought "Who's Calling The Shot's".

Ever been in the place where you feel like stopping? It's not that you want to leave God and backslide but, just out of exhaustion you want to stop fighting for a day or two. You've been fighting the flesh and Satan for what feels like forever, only to find yourself where it seems like you're in the same place where you started. Trying not to doubt God, you go to prayer again and ask "Lord can I really win this battle? I feel so empty! I have no more strength! I used all my spiritual ammo! I'm not feeling your help anymore!! I've prayed and read my Bible faithfully but I have no more battle tactics. Lord I don't have nothing else."

I think all true Christians have gone through that sometime or another. We feel like Uriah when king David wrote and told Joab, in 2 Sam. 11:15 " put him in the front of the hardest hottest battle, then pull back and let him fight alone so he will die sooner and be out of my way!"

Although it's easy to feel that way toward God, we must remember He loves us and, as 1 Corinth. 10:13 says " but God is faithful, who will not suffer or permit us to be tempted above that we are able."

As you know God is flawless and king David was not. Although we feel like Uriah, alone and in the front of the worst battle we have ever been in, we are not. Christ is there and can easily win our battle but we must stop putting our trust in our ways and weapons and, do nothing but trust in Him and fight on!

Know He loves you greatly and will take care of you if you let Him. So don't stop fighting weary soilder! Just stop trying to lead! Let Christ call the shots.

Isa. 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

The Wife's Note: Remember Christ
Ever wonder why am i here? Why am i having to continually deal with the same situation over and over again? Why do i try so hard only to get negative outcome? Why can't this situation just be over? Doesn't God see me trying?

I wonder those things quite often myself but, I'm coming to the realization that any situation that i am in God is allowing me to be there. He allows the trials and situations to come because he wants me to be more like him. Even if it means we have to go through them for a while. It is a test. Will i respond with love and compassion doing what christ would do? Or will i respond in a fleshly manner? Will i show grace and mercy like he does for me so often? Or will i turn my head never to give grace or mercy a thought? The easy thing to do would be to allow flesh to have control but, the right thing to do and what i choose to always strive to do is to remember Christ.

Things may seem rough and hard at the moment, but it will only last as long as God wants it too. And know this when it is all over and the battle has been won you my friend will be more like Him. Just choose to remember Christ and all he stands for!

What are you loving & The Wife’s Note: On Hold

2011-09-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

The following devotional thought was originally posted in December of 2009. I hope you enjoy reading the question we all need to ask “What are you loving”?

What are you loving & The Wife’s Note: On Hold

What are you loving
Psalms 18:1, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
This verse has become a favorite of mine over the past two and a half years of my life with the Lord. Sometimes I would find myself feeling alone, and where I didn’t think He was going to help me. I felt as if He had left me. Then I would look at my life closer, and I would see how that I had drifted from Him a little. It wasn’t that He left me at all. I was as a child walking with its natural father in a huge field of cotton candy… that his father hade made special for him. The child being so overjoyed with the gift he had gotten from his father, walked off a little to far from his fathers side. This is how it sometimes is with us in our spiritual walk with our Father. We get so in love with the blessings He has given us… that we get away from really loving Him, our total strength. So just take a moment today, beloved, and ask yourself, “am I loving my blessings more than my Father, the giver of those blessings?” I remind you today… what are you really loving?

The Wife’s Note: On Hold

Ring Ring Ring “Please wait until one of our costumer service representatives can take your call. We appreciate your service.” ten minutes later….. “We apologize for your wait. Please wait until one of our customer service representatives can take your call. We appreciate your service.” This goes on and on until we become impatient and hang up the phone.
I know you are probably wondering what my point of describing the situation above is and it is to simply explain to you what we do as Christians to our one and only savior.
We put time with our precious savior on hold. We put our prayer life on hold. We put off bible reading on hold. It is amazing how everything else seems to be more important when we know CHRIST is supposed to be first. Whether you are a procrastinator or just a busy bee it does not matter both can be wrong when you put your wants or plans before Christ.
Thank you Lord that you are not impatient like we are! We become impatient by being put on hold that we hang up the phone, but Christ keeps on waiting. Christ does not hang up the phone on us. He is patient and merciful and Thank the Lord for it! Where would we be without and savior such as this? Where would we be without a savior that gives second chances, a savior that never puts us on hold? Friend, I have done it. I have put my Lord and savior on hold I have.
It is time friend to start putting him first and I am not talking about just saying that we do I am talking about whole heartedly putting him first. No more putting him on hold because we are to busy or we procrastinate. He deserves nothing less than to be our first each and every day. So let us put him first above everything else and stop putting him our Lord and savior on hold.

Will You Leave Me Also & The Wife's Note: The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength

2011-09-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Will You Leave Me Also & The Wife’s Note: The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength

“Will You Leave Me Also” was originally written April 13, 2010. I pray that you enjoy this challenge of faith in seeing the tender words of our Savior. Let Him speak to you.

Will You Leave Me Also

A few weeks back, I had went to the wal-mart with my family. After walking around for a short time, I realized there was nothing I needed, so I decided to go grab a bible and set in the lawn and gardening until my family finished. I sat there reading the bible as the Spring shoppers rushed by and the following verses is where I found myself reading.

John 6:66-67, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?”

As I read the previous verses that led to this passage portrait of a multitude of Christ’s followers leaving Him, and Him asking His twelve disciples this heart wrenching question, I found that the reason all these followers had turned their backs and walked away, was simply because He set the standard too high. Why did He do such a thing I wondered, but then later I realized, He was testing them. He wanted to know who was just religious, and who was truly spiritual. Those that was merely religious would not dare even entertain a thought of trying to jump a hurtle that would put their cozy life in jeopardy of collapse. But the spiritual would realize this Christ is the only answer to life, and outside of Him there is no life. The spiritual would say, “it is too high for me, but with God all things are possible. I cant …but He can.”

I had heard this passage paraphrased many times before, but I had never read it before. I felt a sweet presence come over me as I read. And at the time of beginning this writing, as I looked over some notes I had jotted down that day there in wal-mart, I felt the same sweet presence of Christ come over me again. It seemed as if I could almost hear Christ speaking these very words once more, but not to the twelve disciples, but directly to me. It is almost as if I could feel His rays of love, as beams of sunlight penetrating my humble soul, as He said, “Buddy, my beloved, I have set the standard too high for you to reach. You see all your friends around you turning their back on me? They haven’t learned to love me yet. They have decided this way is too hard, and that they cant risk their life plans to reach the place I’d have them be. So many around you are walking away, simply satisfied with being religious, and yes it breaks my heart, but I have only one question… will you leave me also?”

Beloved, can you hear Christ asking you this question? Asking you if you will turn away with the religious crowd also, or if you will trust Him and keep on walking with Him? Can you hear Him so tenderly ask your soul, “Will you leave me also?”

The Wife’s Note: The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength

I often wonder how I let my attitude get the best of me sometimes. When things get hectic or I have not been praying like I should my attitude can go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. I don’t get physically mad it is just something in me may get aggravated quickly even if I don‘t mention it to anyone. When deep down inside of myself I know I am supposed to be SLOW to anger not quick to anger. I feel deep down that this comes when I lack that special prayer time with my Lord and Savior. I have to remind myself that I may not be happy at that point and time, but the joy of the Lord is my strength. See friend there is a difference between happiness and joy. Joy… well that my friend only comes from the Lord. Joy looks past circumstance or situation and sees that everything is going to be just fine. It may not be so pretty at the moment and I may not like it, but the Joy of the Lord is my strength. Happiness on the other hand all depends on what is “happening” at that point and time hence the word happiness. Happiness is based on your physical surrounding where as Joy looks beyond and sees Christ. I may get frustrated sometimes, but I have to remind myself that the Lord, he is my joy. Friend, it is time to stop being simply happy and live in the joy that we have as Christians. Be Joyful!

There’s Not An “App” For That & The Wife’s Note: Jesus Loves Me, This I Love

2011-08-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

There’s Not An “App” For That

In this wonderful technological generation we find ourselves in it becomes so common for us to want to have everything on the spot. We often began to skip past the depth of the love of Christ and neglectfully maintain an “on the go” relationship with Christ. What once was only obtained by days of agony and seeking in the Spiritual realm is swiftly pushed aside now for it is not convenient to be devoted to such drastic extremes. We say we desire to see Him in all of His Glory yet we give Him our spare time as a dog receives the scrap leftovers. Beloved, I am not at all being the voice of criticism for I too am mere human but I do preach this message to myself now. To know the fullest expression of His love in the momentous manner He is we will have to set ourselves once more to seeking Him first and coming to grip with the reality of who He is. We should work and provide for our family but never placing our work before our Savior. And so it should be with every other blessing in our life. It must be Him First! There’s not an “app” for that... it’s just doing it.

The Wife’s Note: Jesus Loves Me, This I Love

Driving to church last night I looked over to see a church sign that read “Jesus Loves Me, This I Love.”

In the last devotional I talked about underestimating his love for us. This sign made me think how he loves us more than we can comprehend but, do we Love Him with all we have in return? It is sad but, most of the time I think definitely not. He would lay down his life, sacrifice it all but, what do we do? Will we die for him, lay down our life for him, sacrifice it all for him? I am not just talking about physically giving our life but, more so spiritually. I’ve heard my husband say it time and time again “we must die out so that he can live through us.” If we can just get our selfish ways out of the picture and start worrying more about what he wants...friend you and I would be a lot better off. Give your life to him. After all he gave his life for you! Jesus Loves Me, This I Love!

Jesus Loves Me but Do I Love Him & The Wife’s Note: Underestimating His Love

2011-08-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

Jesus Loves Me but Do I Love Him

“Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so” is a song we mostly adore because our toddlers are just too cute while singing it. But there has been many times in my Christian walk when I would rehearse those words again in my spirit. At moments of rushing doubt and frustration and times of seemingly endless confusion I would began to lose sight of His love. I would read and seek Him to reveal Himself to me afresh and sometimes the words to this small song would come into my heart giving me fresh hope. I know beyond all shadow of doubt that Jesus loves me. I know not just because “the bible tells me so” but more so because I have experienced this great love within my own heart. But the thought I really would like to leave with you today is this; you can know the sweet love of Christ right now with limits only you yourself can make, but do you love Jesus enough to remove those limits? Do you love Him enough to remove the limit of doubt? Do you love Him enough to expel all fear of your future? Do you love Him enough to give Him your all? The real question of the hour is not if Jesus loves me, but do I love Jesus?

The Wife’s Note: Underestimating His Love

It is amazing sometimes how we underestimate Christ. We get in those hard places of life and automatically think he has left us, which he promised he would never do.

Friend, I do not think that you and I realize how much he really loves us. This is not some fairytale or just a crush. Christ is not some young boy or girl that says they love you and runs away when trouble comes in like a flood. He doesn’t leave you because your physical appearance changes. He does not walk away just because everyone else does. Christ’s love is not some petty love. Christ loves you enough that he died for you! I think we underestimate that love because we are not able to wrap our minds around a love so strong and faithful. His love is the one and only true love.

Christ LOVE’S you! I promise if you will push past your feelings you will see that right in the middle of what ever you may be facing Christ is in the center. You are not in the middle of the battle alone. He is right there with you.

Jesus Loves Me but Do I Love Him & The Wife’s Note: Underestimating His Love

2011-08-22T09:49:00.001-07:00

Jesus Loves Me but Do I Love Him & The Wife’s Note: Underestimating His Love

“Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so” is a song we mostly adore because our toddlers are just too cute while singing it. But there has been many times in my Christian walk when I would rehearse those words again in my spirit. At moments of rushing doubt and frustration and times of seemingly endless confusion I would began to lose sight of His love. I would read and seek Him to reveal Himself to me afresh and sometimes the words to this small song would come into my heart giving me fresh hope. I know beyond all shadow of doubt that Jesus loves me. I know not just because “the bible tells me so” but more so because I have experienced this great love within my own heart. But the thought I really would like to leave with you today is this; you can know the sweet love of Christ right now with limits only you yourself can make, but do you love Jesus enough to remove those limits? Do you love Him enough to remove the limit of doubt? Do you love Him enough to expel all fear of your future? Do you love Him enough to give Him your all? The real question of the hour is not if Jesus loves me, but do I love Jesus?

The Wife’s Note: Underestimating His Love

It is amazing sometimes how we underestimate Christ. We get in those hard places of life and automatically think he has left us, which he promised he would never do.
Friend, I do not think that you and I realize how much he really loves us. This is not some fairytale or just a crush. Christ is not some young boy or girl that says they love you and runs away when trouble comes in like a flood. He doesn’t leave you because your physical appearance changes. He does not walk away just because everyone else does. Christ’s love is not some petty love. Christ loves you enough that he died for you! I think we underestimate that love because we are not able to wrap our minds around a love so strong and faithful. His love is the one and only true love.
Christ LOVE’S you! I promise if you will push past your feelings you will see that right in the middle of what ever you may be facing Christ is in the center. You are not in the middle of the battle alone. He is right there with you.

The Unheard Testimony & He Has Already Been There

2011-08-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Once more today we take a moment to read some of the thoughts of the past that we still believe God is speaking to us about in this time. All of us become weary in faith at some point but as this devotional thought says, do not let your life become “The Unheard Testimony.” Originally Posted November 30th 2009. Also enjoy the newer addition to the site “The Wife’s Note” with her encouraging words entitled, “He Has Already Been There."

“The Unheard Testimony”

“Look at this storm raging in your life! The sun is so hidden behind the clouds, you won’t see anything. It’s to dark. You know you’re tired, wet, cold, hungry and thirsty. Why would a “loving God” lead you to this unbearable and unreachable place? Look!! Your heart is broken, and your mind is so torn and confused. Where do you even go from here? How do you even get to wherever it is when you do find out? What could be the point of God calling you to this spot? Why does He let your heart be broken?! He is God, isn’t He?!! Why won’t He help you now?!?! I believe He has made you give up all your fun, happiness and your whole life, and brought you here to leave you and make fun of you!! What are you going to do now Christian?”

Is that some of the lies the devil is telling you? If so, look up soul!! You have a special reward coming to you. God has allowed you to come here to this place of desperation, because He has a special work that only you can do. But you must first come to full selflessness. He has placed you right here, right now, to be a wonderful testimony to the lost and hopeless around you. He wants to proclaim Life through your continual trust in Him, to all that you come in contact with.

The making of such a testimony is rough and difficult. Often times we do feel forsaken and alone. But don’t let the thoughts of despair way you down. Put out the voice that says compromise. I know you’re tired! I know your worn! But HOLD ON!! The souls that God reaches through you will be well worth it. Don’t let Satan take you down. Think about the lost souls around you that God will speak to through your life, and this very trial. So I beg you!! Don’t let your life be.. The unheard testimony.

Luke 21:13
And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

The Wife’s Note: He Has Already Been There

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4(15-16)
I would like to encourage you today. You are not walking in your situation alone. Christ has already been in every situation imaginable, but he held firm to what he knew was right. There will be hard times and troubles. You will be tempted and tried but rest assured Christ is right there with you. You will come out if you cling too him. He will be there in your deepest darkest nights. He understands just trust him with all you got. Be encouraged today!

Can You Hear Your Song & Redemption In The River

2011-08-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

The following is a devotional thought I wrote a couple of years ago and I would like to repost it today once more believing God to speak to someone through this short writing! Hope you enjoy as we read some of those early thoughts of my Christian life with today’s thought entitled, “Can You Hear Your Song” & The Wife’s Note: Redemption In The River.

“Ever made a mistake? It’s like you know better than what you’ve done, but somehow you slipped into a sin. Maybe one that returned from your past. Or maybe just simply something that you have never had happen before. I know I have. I have fallen in both areas in my two and a half years. I don’t like to fall, but sometimes I do. Whenever I make a mistake, I often think about that great king in the bible, who wrote most of the book of Psalms. King David. What a awesome man of God he was. But as we all know, he had failed many times in his life with God. He had made many mistakes over the course of his life. And yes… he had to pay for some of those mistakes. We cannot live in sin forever, we will have to pay. But today I have a message for someone who loves the Father, is even walking with Christ and being led by the Holy Ghost, but has slipped up into a mistake. The first thing I want to say is… get up fast. When you fall don’t lay in your mess of flesh. Get up swiftly, and call ask for the mercy of Christ. But the second thing I want to say is… don’t think that your Heavenly Father is mad at you. Although He is deeply sorrowful, He isn’t mad.

Psalm 32:7 was written by a man that had fallen into sin, and found forgiveness. King David writes, “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Now when you study this verse out a little deeper, you soon realize that this hiding place is a place away from the enemy. But it means so much more. It is a place of safety from the consequences of sin. David is literally saying, “you Lord, are my safe place from my sin. Even though I have failed you! Even though I have hurt you, and deserve the punishment of my sin, you are that place I can hide within and be safe. For the punishment for my sin, weather it be great or large, big or small, is death. But you Lord, have hide me in your greatness. Where death finds me not. You are my protection… even though it is you I have sinned against.”

This love we see is great & truly unexplainable. “Why would He? How could He? Why does He?” I don’t understand how our Lord does it either, beloved. But there is another wonderful side to this verse that we have yet to cover. The second half says “thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah” That word compass means simply to surround. So we could easily say this… “Lord… even though I have messed up, and have asked your forgiveness, you not only take me to a safe place in you, but also surround me (or totally engulf me) with songs of deliverance. Songs that proclaim my freedom from sin to me! Such a beautiful sound!! I hear it in the sweet songs of the birds! I hear it in the gently whistle of the wind. I hear it in the low roar of the ocean tide. I hear it in a slow trickling creek. Everywhere I go I hear it!! It says… “be glad!!!! For your Father has set you free!!!” Selah! (which means to pause and calmly think and understand that)”

Beloved, although you may have made many mistakes… try and grasp this verse deeply. If you have truly repented and asked for forgiveness for your mistake, your Father has surrounded you in lovely songs of deliverance. So don’t get weary! Don’t give up!!! Soon you will hear your song!”

Beloved, He is not mad at you! He loves you with an everlasting and unfailing love. Listen in prayer and in seeking for your song in which God is singing personally to you this today.

The Wife’s Note: Redemption in the River

We were at a church a few weeks ago and I noticed on the back wall, behind the pulpit, a picture of river rapids. I thought about that picture for a few weeks and I feel God wants me to write about it in this devotional.
When I picture river rapids I imagine the roughest part of the water right before the waterfall. I picture fast moving water. I picture the rocks underneath the water making it difficult to survive. I picture myself there and struggling to hold my head above the waters.
Christian friend…it can be this way in our Christian walk. There are places in our walk like the rapids of a river. We can go through some of the roughest and hardest times in our walk with Christ. Sometimes things come at us fast just like the water of the rapids. It can become overwhelming at times and we can feel as though we are about to go under, but remember he never promised it would be easy. He did promise however, that he would never leave you and never forsake you.
In a river there are rapids just like this life. But also in that same river is a peaceful place where the water moves slow and things seem to go just right. God did not place you in your rapid to leave you. He placed you there for his purpose.
There is Redemption in your River. That peaceful place in the river makes me think of that sweet redemption. And the overwhelming peace that we all receive.
So as we go through this river called life just remember that the rapids wont last too long and your redemption is on the way. Just trust him. He will keep you through it all.

Maintaining Relationship & Hungry Not Comfortable

2011-08-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Maintaining Relationship

Beloved, we live so beneath our God-given privilege. The God of all Existence who creates life itself has established a living relationship with us. Dear folks, let me be short today… do you truly maintain your relationship with God to the best of your ability? I am broken hearted as I write this but this past week I have allowed the cares of this life to sway me from the caressing of His Life. I know “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness” is a personal relationship not just a rule. Let us get back to true deep intimate moments with God. Get lost in His love and find His glory. Maintain your relationship.

The Wife’s Note: Hungry Not Comfortable

I have been thinking lately about hunger. And no not the growling in my stomach kind lol. I remember how hungry I was for the Lord when I had just been saved. How I would do anything. If there was something going on in the church I was there. I wanted to do anything that had to do with Jesus. If it meant me having to go to the end of the world and back I would have done it. But something happened….something happened after about 6 months of being saved. I became comfortable. It is dangerous to become to comfortable. It can happen so easy though. When things seem to become routine, or we get tired, or we get busy, comfortable is the place we normally end up. Sometimes we may not even realize it until one day it hits us. Where did my prayer time go? Where did my longing for his word go? Where did the simplicity of just pure love go? Where did my hunger go? Ill tell you where it is….it is right where you left it. So get back to the heart of worship. I would rather be hungry and know him like I am supposed to than to try and fill up by merely getting by with the crumbs from the table. You are a child of God. You were not meant to eat crumbs from the ground. Its not that you are not born again, but it can leave you in a backslidden state if you are not careful. So get back today. Get back to being hungry and not comfortable.

Do Not Touch His Glory & Breaking Through The Darkness

2011-08-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

Do Not Touch His Glory

Have you ever just thought about the awesome holiness if God? I am not referring to any set of rules or man made imaginations of Holiness but I am speaking directly of the Source; HIS HOLINESS. If you are trying to make it to Heaven by your set of rules and forcing that into the guise of Holiness then you are simply dead wrong. Do not call clean what is unclean nor make unclean what is clean for your human holiness, as pious as it may seem, is at best still corrupted by you. We are but mere humans, and if we were capable of obtaining a holiness in a certain method of rules then Christ never would have came to our world and died to bring us into His. So, seeing that I can freely say that my form of "holiness" is nothing but a hypocrite mound of flesh playing church dress up and expecting that to glorify Christ. His Holiness, on the other hand, is what we seek and still yet fear. His Holiness killed Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5, because they "lied to the Holy Ghost" thinking God was like a man and wouldn't see their sin. Beloved, they touched His Glory and had to die. I think of Uzzah who in 2 Samuel chapter 6, touched the Ark of God (which is a old testament representation of His Life among the people) to keep it from falling from the cart and God struck Him dead instantly. You cannot soil His Holiness with your human flesh fingering all over Him or you will instantly die to what is left of your Spiritual Life. Holiness is not just a possession God can use but it is who He literally is. Just as He is Love, Righteousness, Peace and everything else we are to obtain in this Christian life. But today I just want to speak of Him in His Holiness. The old testament was clear about the entrance into the small room in the Tabernacle called the Most Holy Place, and by that we know that God never wanted anyone to enter without first being cleansed and without secondly burning the incense. He would strike anyone dead that tried to enter into His Presence without first doing these things. Beloved,the cleansing is a representation of repenting of sin but the incense is a representation of His Grace. The reason God wanted the incense burning was that it may produce a smoke as it were and the human that went it, though he still be flesh was covered with the smoke of incense and God was pleased because He did not have to, nor indeed can, look upon the sinful flesh. Dear people, because He is so Holy He cannot look upon our sinful flesh. Oh, but because He is so Holy He loves us enough to cloak us with Grace that we may be Born Again into His Life which is Holy. I am so thankful that Christ did not come to bring God down to our level, but us up to His. No, we will never be a God but the One True God will be made alive through us! Do not touch His Glory friend.

The Wife's Note: Breaking Through The Darkness

There is a place i have been too and still sometimes have to fight so i wont go back. It is lonely, cold, dry, and just flat out miserable. This place you can visit and no one can even know you are there or gone for that matter. You can still put on a smile and act like everything is fine even though inside...that is definitely not the case. Here in this place is where the enemy seems to think he has you and that he is on the verge of winning. He does some of his best work here...he tries to completely destroy everything that is christ like inside of us and he tries to destroy us as humans also.
This place is called darkness...and oh how terrible it can be. It can come out of nowhere and you be confused on how you got there. When darkness tries to surround you, it can make you feel like everything you do is wrong. You feel like no one hears you. You definitely don't feel that God heres you. It is cold and when i say cold i mean you can grow numb. No emotions, no tears, no love. It is dry and when i say dry i mean you don't feel Christ or even hear him not because he cuts us off or moves but because we move away from him somehow. The devil tries to bring confusion upon us in this place. He tries to make us believe all his lies.I have been here friend, I have neglected spending time with him and it has led me to this place of darkness. If we are not careful as christians we can end up here. No matter how long you have been saved we can all end up here and the only one that can bring you out is Christ and Christ alone.
Even when you don't feel him...Pray. Even when you don't hear him...seek. Like i said in the last devotion he hears you, even in this place of darkness. And let me reassure you HE WILL BRING YOU OUT! Just believe and trust him. Things may be dark and cold right now but the lord will show up just in time! He loves you, he did not save you to leave you. He definitely
did not die on a cross for nothing. He died for you! He will never forsake you. Just keep on going. The darkness wont last much longer.

Do Not Touch His Glory & Breaking Through The Darkness

2011-08-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

Seeking Christ in the Tomb & Walk by Faith Not By Sight

2011-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Seeking Christ In A Tomb

Beloved, why do we play games with Christ? We know His word yet we live contrary to it. Why do we become so satisfied with partial obtaining? He so deeply desires us to allow a living relationship with Him but yet we seek nothing further than our religious mode. We seek the latest tv series and keep up to date with the latest celebrity but we seek not the Living Christ. Let me ask you this, do we truly believe He is alive? If so why do we shove Him to a distant place in the back of our crowded lives? We don't allow Him to be the prevailing force within us but just a dead form of our religious actions. This Living Christ is more than the place we stand and praise! He is more than the tears sliding down our face produced by a sad song! He is more than we could ever estimate. He is Alive!! We will never find Him ALIVE in mere human measure or by our theology and ideology! Nor will we find Him ALIVE continually pacifying our flesh. Oh Beloved, listen to the words spoken of our Living Savior when those He loved so much came to anoint Him as their dead religion; "Why seek ye the Living among the dead? For He is not here but is Risen!" Dear folks, why are we seeking Christ in a tomb acting as though He is dead, trying to make Him fit our lifeless fashion of religion? We claim to believe He is the Son of God but we do not believe (take to heart and act upon) His word. Christ desires us to know Him as our Living Savior which gives us His Life. Throw our dead religion out the window and our appeasement to flesh along with it. Let us seek Christ alive once more and watch Him turn the world upside down through us for His glory. Get away from religion now for Christ is not in that tomb. Seek Him Alive and find His Life as ALL you need.

The Wife's Note: Walking By Faith Not By Sight

When we hear the word faith what are some things that pop in our head? Ponder on that question a moment. What really is faith?
Hebrews Ch.11 V. 1 states that "now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen".
There are many times in this Christian walk we must all walk by faith. Things go wrong and we still have trials. Sometimes it is hard for us to even feel like God hears us. Sometimes it feels like our prayers don't even reach the ceiling much less our heavenly father. But let me encourage you today to walk by faith and not by sight nor your feelings. The lord hears you whether you feel like he does or not. He knows your situation and your circumstance. He will not put on your plate more than you can bear. Keep praying, keep seeking, he loves you, and he hears you. Cling to his promises and walk by faith not by your current situation. Be encouraged today. He still hears you.

Overrun or Overcome & He Desires Our Affection

2011-08-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Overrun orOvercome

“And we knowthat ALL things work together for good to them which love God and are calledaccording to His purpose.” I quote it almost daily now. This past week has beenprobably one of the most trying weeks in the course of my nearly 10 years ofministry. My prayer has changed over the past few weeks from asking God to simplyhelp me in this and that to “Jesus, just be glorified!” So naturally trialscome in volumes from battles with deep anger in my heart to plans of leavingthe ministry totally. Small things come such as my wife and I both losing ourtemper to more expensive things such as also losing both of our computers. Trialsin the family have been waged with things such as my mom and my brother’scomputer power cord’s breaking therefore placing both of their computers out offunction as well, and other smaller things like the electrical cord to the motorhome burning up leaving us with no power in the whole unit. Beloved, hell hasthrown almost all its fiery darts in this one week. Inwardly there has beenfighting of fear, lust, jealousy, bitterness, resentment, faithlessness,complaining, showmanship, laziness, pettiness, worldliness and all this hascome just in this week alone. The last trialof the week was last night when my brother and I were performing a routine operationin which we drove our van upon the car dolly that we pull behind our motorhome. We have done this many times and never with any major trouble. But, I askedfor Christ to be glorified and all hell was mad. As I drove upon the dolly allappeared to be going fine when all of a sudden I heard a thud and my brotherwho normally stood right in front of the van moved to the left and with raised eyebrails frantically motioned me to stop. Not completely sure what had happened werushed to get out. To our surprise neither my wife nor I could open the driveror passenger doors for the setup of the dolly so we crawled over the seat andbegan to exit through the sliding doors. When finally getting out I began tofigure out what was wrong. Someone previously had barrowed the pin that holdsour trailer hitch in place. This was fine until they forgot to replace it. WhenI drove upon the dolly the hitch slid out allowing the trailer to fall and thefront of the van to jump over the dolly itself. The tire deflated and the van absolutelyflat out stuck we seen another attempt of the enemy to steal our victory. Some ofthe first words I spoke to the family were “And we know that ALL things worktogether for good to them which love God and are called according to Hispurpose.” Beloved, if my brother would have been standing in the place he movedfrom just a few seconds before there is a huge chance of him being criticallyhurt. After the help of a few good friendly church folks we found the true extentof the damage was only one flat tire. In one week all of this and more I won’teven mention came against the family and I, but dear folks Christ was all thewhile glorified! Eight souls we know of came to know Jesus Christ as Lord andSavior this week though hell continually fought. Listen, I know that none ofthese trials are comparable to some others go through but still yet God isfaithful!! When troubles come your way ask yourself if you will allow yourfaith in Christ to be overrun or if you will hold your grit and understand thatHis plan will be performed and He will be glorified through it all. Will you beoverrun by the enemy or overcome through Christ? It’s your choice.

The Wife’sNote: He Desires Our Affection

A female desires affection. Beingthat I am a girl I know what I am talking about. This morning Buddy came infrom putting the car on the dolly. When he opened the door I expected him tosit down right next to me. Well, he came in, stood there for a minute and hesat down in a chair across from me. I thought to myself “surely he will moveover here”. He never did. So finally I spoke up and said “that is fine I won’tsit by you anymore either” just joking around with him. He looked at me andchuckled a little and said “Babe I just wanted to sit in this chair”. I got tothinking though about how he was when we just dated and I can promise you thereis noooooo way he would have passed up sitting right next to me lol.

On a serious note however Christ islike that about us. He desires and wants our affections. He wants ourattention. The bible says that our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). He doesnot want our affections set on things of this world, but on him. I know there havebeen times in my walk where God must have felt like I did about Buddy. Hewanted me to sit next to him. He wanted my attention. When we as Christiansfirst got saved there was a strong desire to read the word, to pray, to fast, andto just spend time with him. If we are not careful we can let that slip away. Wemust have discipline in our relationship with the Lord. I know Buddy and I mustspend time together if we didn’t our marriage probably would not work out. Itis the same way with Christ. We must sit next to him and spend time with him.He desires for your affection will you give it to him?

Just Be Glorified & Change Of Plans

2011-07-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Just Be Glorified

A Prayer:
Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus, I come before You this moment. Life gets really crazy here Lord. I get really confused in when to go and even which way You want me to go. I don’t want to make a mistake and hurt our relationship. I truly desire to please You but I feel as though I will never perform great enough. I want to be a true minister! I want to give myself to Your use alone. Will You use me that people may see You greater? I will try and not complain about the circumstances. Lord, with all of my heart I want You to just be Glorified through my life to this world!! Please, let it be. Amen.

The Wife’s Note: Change of Plans

Before I got saved my main focus was getting into Troy University and becoming a nurse. I had planned on going to Troy for years, probably since I was in the 7th grade. My senior year of high school I graduated with honors and I was headed to my dream school. My show time was finally here. I was about to start my life and everything seemed to be going just like I planned.
In October of my senior year however I got saved. I still believed that my plans for college and dream to be a nurse was how my life was going to play out but things did change in my life when I got saved. Friends changed, the way I looked at myself changed, the places I went changed, etc… I had no idea however that my dream of Troy would come to a screeching halt.
About a month after college began I realized I was not very happy. I dreaded going to school. I honestly felt alone when it came to having friends in college. I had a few close friends but I really only had time to speak to them occasionally. I began to feel out of place. Little did I know things were about to completely change.
I ended up changing my schooling. I started doing online classes to become a dental assistant and worked pretty much all the time. Before I knew it I was in full time ministry. Talk about a turn around of plans. Trust me, if you would have asked me about 3 years ago if I would be in full time ministry, especially one that is on the road like we are, your answer would have been a big fat NO! You see in my mind education was really all that mattered and education is a good thing. I am not against education at all, but once I met Jesus he simply took my wants and changed them.
Even though the things we want may not be anything bad and it may seem like it makes perfect sense, the Lord may have a different plan. I don’t know where my life would be if I stayed at Troy for four years. The Lord has a plan for each and every one of us. We just need to pray and make sure that our plans match up with the Lord’s. He has bigger and better things in store for our lives if we just allow him to have His way. Seek the Lord about every decision you have to make. He knows exactly what you need to do. I sure am glad he has full control, aren’t you?

All of God & There's No Loss, So Choose the Cross

2011-07-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

All of God

There is a place in Christ where few have dared to tread. This is a place of literally living in the Spirit. When someone does learn the key to living in the Spirit and they launch out into the depth of His love they almost always become labeled a fanatic, even to most Christians. This Life in the Spirit to which I refer is the purpose of Christian’s though. Christ came not to make us happy but to bring us to relationship with Himself, and out of such an awesome relationship comes joy unexplainable. Beloved, what is the key to living a life in the Spirit? How did the men of the New Testament do it? These simple common folk became empowered by the Living God and were charged as “turning the world upside down.” How did they obtain such a phenomenal God-filled life?

Unfortunately most of us today, myself included, learn to except the crumbs of the table when Christ wants us to be eating the full course in fellowship with Him. We become so willing to just settle for an occasional moving of the Spirit when God desires us to dwell there. He wants us in the Spirit at Wal-Mart! He wants us yielded to Him in the restaurant, at the mall, in the park, at the game. Wherever we are He desires to be there in fellowship with us and speaking through us. The key is simply this… When you truly give your All to God NOTHING can stand in His way of giving you His All. Do you want to live a life in the Spirit? Do you want to turn this world upside down for Christ to be more so Glorified? Do you want all of God? If your answer is a whole hearted yes then all God asks is that you would give Him your ALL. The ability is in your hand… but will you be available to except such a God in full?

The Wife’s Note: There’s no loss, so choose the cross

We were at a singing in Michigan this past week. I sat there as various groups sang and the words “Choose the Cross” popped in my head. I was unsure of what it meant, but I knew it wasn’t something I could just come up with so it must have come from the Lord. I thought about it throughout the next few days and a few more words came “There’s no Loss, so choose the Cross”. I was still confused at how all this was coming together. I didn’t know if I was about to write a song or what I just knew I had these few little words on my mind. I thought and asked God what exactly it meant and this is what I believe it is. There is no loss in salvation, though the world may try and make it seem that way. There is no loss in our times of decision to choose Christ over petty things of this world. There is no loss in dyeing out daily to our fleshly selves. There is no loss friend, only gain! The world has salvation all twisted into its own view, but oh how wrong they are! Don’t get me wrong when you get born again you will have to give up things of this world that is only right. You can’t try to hold on to the Lord and the world at the same time, but just realize that giving up those things is no loss it is only gain. Living for Christ above all else is no loss it is only gain! Having to die to those fleshly things in the end will be no loss only gain! The lord is with you above all else so choose the cross I can guarantee that there is no loss.

The Christ Definition of a Minister & Firefly Christians

2011-07-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

The Christ Definition of a Minister

Most of us in this 21first century have adapted the wrong idea of a true minister. When we say that we are a minister or speak of one who claims to be we most generally are referring to somebody who speaks upon platform. We often gage the person in which we call a minister by his leadership skills and his speaking ability. A lot of us associate the expertise of church growth with the quality of our minister and make this the telling statement of whether he should be deemed as good or bad. My point is that most of us totally have the wrong presumption of a genuine minister.

In Mark, 10:43-45, Jesus explains the true definition of a minister. Aside from all our religious beliefs Christ states “…whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Christ undeniably was the greatest portrait of a minister and within this text He plainly exposed true ministry as a “servant of all” which gives their literal life to bring people to true relationship with God. Beloved, we all are called not to fancy suits and big building programs but to be a minister of God. God is calling us to be a people in which counts their physical body but as a vehicle to serve Christ to men and themselves to Christ. We are to be servants in action, not just word, uttering our fleshly life void and wasted in the eyes of the world in order to glorify Christ in ALL. We are to simply give up all life to others for His Purpose. We are to be totally at His disposal to death itself. This was is the true ministry folks! Seeing such now let us all ask ourselves if we are living within the “Christ definition” of a minister. Remember beloved, the true minister is Christ, all we must do is totally yield ourselves to Him. Do not forget the rewards of giving your all daily to the call of Christ. Wherever your love ends is where your ministry ends, for you will never give to what you do not love.

The Wife’s Note: Firefly Christian

We were at a tent revival this past Wednesday night in Columbus Ohio. As I was standing during the altar call I noticed a few green lights start to flash around the tent. As it got darker more little green lights started to appear. This little green light was none other than fireflies. I stood there and began to think about these little creatures. How amazing it was for something so small to catch a person’s eye like they do and how much light just one can put off. I remembered being a little kid and catching them in glass jars. I would catch as many as I could and sit them in my room next to my bed because the light amazed me. I was drawn to it. Fireflies are bioluminescent meaning they must put off light for survival.

Then it hit me we are to bring light to this darkened world….
Matthew 5 :(14-15) says ^“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

We are called as Christians to bring light to this world. Imagine this, if a little firefly can catch the attention of a human how much more can Christ? Christ is that light within us. We must allow him to shine. The best thing about allowing our light to shine is that the light within us will not just catch someone’s attention it can save their soul. Christ is not looking to just catch someone’s attention but to save souls, too turn lives around, to put our feet on the solid rock and establish our goings. We as Christians must allow light to shine in order to survive in this dark world. Don’t be afraid or scared to allow your light to shine. We are told that we are the light of the world. Oh how happy that should make us that we were chosen for this purpose!

The string Thought & Shouting Before the Walls Come Down

2011-07-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

The String Thought

As a guitar picker I know my fair part about guitar strings. It just so happens that I am writing this particular story because of an incident I had at church this past Sunday morning. “I’ll fly away” is what we were singing when all of a sudden in the middle of the song I was disturbed by a pop. I looked down at my guitar neck and seen the string laying limply across my hand. It had broken under pressure. No sooner than I seen the string and pulled it out of the way than it was time for my solo break. Needless to say I was wounded as a picker but by His help managed to make it through the break. As soon as I could I left the platform and went to find another string. Sitting in the seat putting the new string on is where I thought about this devotional.

The string when freshly put on the guitar will almost instantly slide back out of tune when first tuned normal. You then must place the string under a few moments of intense pressure with a step that I simply call “stretching”. When stretching a string I normally tune the guitar a half-step higher than the usual tuning and physically pull the string away from the body of the guitar. After I release the string I tune it back up to the same place and repeat the action again. Each time this pressure upon the string is brought to breaking point. In a few moments the string will be holding tune and not sliding flat under pressure just as it was intended to do. Dear soul, God many times places us in positions of intense pressure. We mostly grumble and complain but we truly should be thankful. Out of these moments God is “stretching” us to perform His perfect tune through us. He will not use someone that will always flatten under the pressure so He has to bring us to our breaking point that we may learn to be strong in Him. He literally is stretching the world out of us. Beloved, it is all for His Glory. Be patient.

The Wife’s Note: Shouting Before the Walls Come Down

I know many times in this Christian walk we all face troubles and trials and sometimes we grow weary. In the bible it states that Joshua and the Israelites marched around the wall once each day for seven days and seven times on the seventh day.
I’m sure at times Joshua and the Israelites felt as if the walls were not going to fall down. In the midst of their problem however they shouted and kept on walking around that wall. Though sometimes we become discouraged in our trials we must realize that the same God that is in our good times is the same God that is in the bad times with us. We are not alone! We must keep shouting, keep worshiping, keep praising, keep on seeking the face of God. Just because our circumstance has changed does not mean our God has. God will not let you down, because he is God. Things may seem like they will not change, but just be still and know he is God. He will fix things right on time. God wont put more on you that you can bear. So let us be thankful that we have a God like this! Let us be thankful for our trials! Let us shout even though the wall is still before us.

Passive Possessors & Going The Extra Mile

2011-07-08T13:00:00.001-07:00

Passive Possessors

Within the grasp of any true Born Again Christian’s life is the ability to obtain God in unbelievable measures. God has so freely given Himself to us in all facets but these gift’s are to be believed for. Believing, in my own simple definition, means to persistently possess by faith. Beloved, God has made Himself so apprehensible to those who simply dare enough to believe. If we ever truly desire to see God in this present life then we must move beyond our passivity and become persistent. The passive believer will never be a total possessor of the fullness of God. Whatever area in our spiritual life that is yielded to passivity is where the devil will setup his kingdom. I urge us to please rise in the Holy Spirit and possess what God has for us. I know not about you but as for me, I deeply desire to see revival burst through the earth once more. Only those who believe to the obtaining of God in such a manner can be the conduits in through which revival will come. We must be a possessing channel of believers broadcasting His Life in which He endues us with. We simply cannot be passive possessors for these are total opposites in this Kingdom. We must believe because all else less than believing is sin.

The Wife’s Note: Going the Extra Mile

Matthew 5: (38-41) “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

There is always somewhere in our walk with Christ that we could do better whether it is prayer, reading, etc... I know personally in my walk that I struggle to read. It is not because I don’t love him, I just have never been one to read. But once I begin to read the Word I do fine it is just that initial starting point of pushing past laziness. I believe however that God allows me to feel this way to see if I will Go the Extra Mile for Him. To see how much I really love him. To see if I will push everything else aside for him. You can never do too much for the Lord. You can never read too much, pray too much, or simply just spend time with him. Going the Extra Mile in your walk with Christ will only better your relationship with him and most of all you will come to know him more intimately. We all have imperfections but the Christ that is our salvation is Perfect! Don’t let laziness, fear, or trials keep you from going the extra mile for him. Christ went the extra mile for those who despised his name and did not like him. We as Christians(Christ-like) are supposed to do the same. Love those who hate you, resist those bad feelings towards others and push towards the higher mark. We as Christians all face this, but push past everything to do whatever you can for the Lord!

Be Faithful & The Wife's Note: Hope For The Hopeless

2011-07-04T11:01:00.001-07:00

Be Faithful

Many obstacles and hindrances will arise along the Christian pathway. There will be grief, trials and pain. But, unless you are playing with a willful sin and bringing these misfortunes upon yourself by leaguing up with the “old man” then you can understand that GOD has permitted you to be tested. It is a way of purification which brings a man or women closer to Himself and causes them to leave the world behind. Most of us understand this mildly but we never really understand the joy it truly is that God desires to bring us closer to Him. So, we murmur and mumble our way right back to the flesh, always pacifying the “self” we love so deeply. Beloved, we have all been there but we must at any cost cut the cord which draws us back to ourselves. If you are in one of these rough times today let me simply encourage you to be faithful. God has never failed you and He never will. Wait for Him to deliver you for He will come. Just do your best to fight in His strength even though you may not feel His Spirit within a hundred miles of you. You know what is right and just and simply be faithful to those things as God is faithful to you. God will destroy the whole Egyptian army just to save His imprisoned people. He would die all over again this very moment if that’s what it took to free you. Whatever the trial, whatever the test simply be faithful and YOU WILL SEE GOD!

The Wife’s Note: Hope For The Hopeless

I think we can all agree that when Paul and Silas were thrown in the prison they must have at sometime felt hopeless and not understood why they were in the situation they were in. They soon realized however that they were not alone God was with them. Sometimes throughout this journey I know we all feel alone or that there is not one ounce of hope to get us out of where we are. But, that is where we are wrong. The Lord is our HOPE! Even when it feels like he is a million miles away just Be Still and Know He Is God and he will show up just in time. There is no prison strong enough to contain His power. We serve an awesome God today and he is our only Hope! What a wonderful God we serve!

I Lost The Word & Stepping Out Of Our Comfort Zone

2011-07-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

I Lost The Word

Have you ever felt as though you lost the word of God in your life? This past week we were in Louisiana, and somehow, somewhere I misplaced my bible. Although I have many bibles, this one had a different place in my eyes and heart. I first bought this bible when I was freshly saved and over these past 3 and a half years or so I have truly come to know Christ so much through His Spirit and reading this very bible. Notes upon notes, personal treasure that most likely wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else but means more than a million dollars to me, all these things were held within this bible. All of a sudden I found myself without my word. Don’t get me wrong I still will read my other bibles but this tool that God had used so much to bring me nearer to Him is gone. But also with the hurt of not finding my beloved bible, I was reminded of some times in my Spiritual life where I felt I had lost the word.

There has been days, even weeks in my life where it seemed as though the soft words of promise the Lord gave me seemed to be utterly lost. Not as though I had forgotten these blessed promises but more so that the promise itself seemed to be lost. I would become restless of waiting and began to look for Jesus but to no avail. I couldn’t hear Him, see Him, neither could I feel His existence. Beloved, you yourself may be going through this very trial of faith as we speak, but do not give up! He is still right by your side just as He promised. Keep praying! Keep believing! He will once more reveal Himself to you in His perfect time. You will know Him deeper, more passionately in the end. Have faith in God.

The Wife’s Note: Stepping out of Our Comfort Zone

There have been plenty of times in my life that I have felt God may have wanted me to move beyond my comfort zone and I stood still. In my head I would come up with excuses such as “Maybe I just feel I should do that and God is not really calling me to make that extra step” or I would feel like I would just embarrass myself, at the end of the day though I always ended up regretting that I stood still. I felt as though I had failed the Lord and of course I would ask forgiveness and for HIM to give me the knowledge and courage to move beyond the point of worrying about myself to just focus on him. Pushing past the concern of “Self” and moving when the Lord says move has always been a struggle for me, not because I want to fail the Lord, but simply because I am shy. The Lord will change that though and he is changing that! Being on the road for the short time I have I realized there is no room for shyness, the Lord knows exactly how to help break past our comfort zone. He is using this ministry to help me move beyond my comfort level to a new place for the Lord. There is no telling what he will be doing in my life since I have come into the ministry. The doors are wide open and I am ready to set all comfort zones aside and give it my best shot. The question I have for you is simply this… are you? Let us take that step of faith.

Pure Worship & Open Up The Door

2011-06-27T01:27:00.001-07:00

Pure Worship

Though the Christian life at times becomes rocky and a worship service of the heart is the last thing one desires, I am writing this simple word of encouragement to challenge you not to lose your praise. Beloved, just for one solid day dedicate your mind to think upon how awesome our God is. Although this should be done daily sometimes a challenge as this will bring this need of worship back into focus. Dear folks, God loves us so much, we need to de-clutter, if you will, and really allow ourselves to fall in love with Jesus. I am not saying we must totally band ourselves from all fun of life but I will say that the more time we spend with Him, though we may at times have to lay down some earthly joy, the closer our relationship with Him will be. To be near Jesus is such a awestricken pleasure. We really are living under our potential of this Christian life. Let us return to real heart worship. Let us bring worship home with us in our daily living, not just 2 or 3 times a week. Jesus loves you beyond imaginable comprehension, love Him back with all you are. Bring Him Daily Pure Worship.

The Wife’s Note: Open Up the Door

As we were traveling to Louisiana from Florida a song came on the radio and some lyrics struck my attention. “Lead me Lord I follow, anywhere you Open Up the Door” this is just one line, but the main part that got me was “Open Up the Door”. I started thinking about the scripture, Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me.” This is simply Salvation. I will be quite honest tonight I don’t feel as though God has placed many words on my heart other than salvation. Since I have been traveling on the road just for the few weeks, I have come to realize even more that Salvation is so very special and important and is the main reason that we as Christians are here. As humans we were created to worship. God designed us that way for a purpose, but he allows us to choose what we worship. It is impossible to serve God and the Devil at the same time. You are either saved or you are not. It sounds harsh, but I am not trying to be hard, I just want for every individual to realize how important true Salvation really is. The Lord said himself that he stands at the door and knocks, all he is waiting on is for us as his precious creations to allow him to come into our hearts. He is an awesome God, and he still saves. All he is waiting on is YOU!

The Dark Clouds & A Way Out of No Way

2011-06-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Dark Clouds

This past week my lovely wife graciously bought me an itunes gift card for her ipod which I so often barrow. With receiving such a gift I had no other goal than to buy a bible that I have been looking at for some time now. As I paid and proceeded to download this wonderful ipod bible I was shocked to realize I had almost 10 more dollars I could spend. So I remembered that old classic book that so many forefather Christians have read and highly recommended me to read as well; The Pilgrims Progress. I had tried to read the book when I was somewhat younger but its enormous size made me faint hearted and I just never would press into it. So, I looked it up in the audio format! Amazingly enough, I had just 35 cents more than enough to purchase the great book. After I bought the book and began listening to it within the first 10 minutes of the introductory statement by the great man of God I had picked up a great truth to live by; “The Darkest Clouds Bring The Rain…” I began to ponder upon just how and what this Writer was saying. John Bunyan pinned what has been notably called the greatest book next to the Bible itself. Maybe some don’t understand but this man of God spent literally years in prison for just preaching Jesus. He wrote the whole book of the Pilgrims Progress in prison and many others also. But listen to just what he understood about this Christian life… “The Darkest Clouds Bring The Rain…” Beloved, most of us that face a small physical ailment would complain to God and try to describe our battle in such an painful manner to anyone who would listen, but this man knew Christ was also in the darkest clouds! It cannot always be sunshine and fun or we would never grow, but we must have the rain. Yes these times are dark and sometimes disturbing to our spirit but let us learn to rejoice! As I have spent the month of every June in the great state of Texas for the past eight years or so, I have truly came to see over the past few years the great need for rain. This is directly a result of too much sunshine living and no dark clouds bringing rain. Understand that always living in the sunshine and never going through the storm brings nothing but death to everything. If you have ever prayed to be filled with the Living Water then be prepared to go through the dark storms. If you are in this place right now then allow the water that the Holy Spirit will bring to soak deeply in your soul. You will need every trial you go through to better know your Wonderful Savior. If you have been a dry thirsty soul as I have often been then thank God for the dark clouds, and just wait for the rain.

The Wife’s Note: A Way Out of No Way

This thought occurred too me a few months ago and it came to mind tonight during a church service at Moody Assembly of God. As Buddy took his place behind the podium to allow the Lord to use him for HIS GLORY, this thought came back too me. He is “A Way Out of No Way”. I heard a sermon one time about “Knowing who the Lord is too You” the preacher went on to say He is Healer, He is Deliverer, He is a Provider, He is Salvation, and so on.. Knowing that the Lord must be my everything I started to realize what this preacher was getting at. Yes the Lord is all these things to each and everyone one of us but when you have a personal experience with the Lord these things become more and more real. A woman diagnosed with cancer and given a certain amount of time to live with a unexplainable recovery knows the Lord as her Healer more than a woman who has never had a sickness. A man lost in drugs and alcohol who stumbles in a church and is saved knows the Lord as his Deliverer. A single mom struggling to make ends meet knows what it is to have the Lord as her Provider. It is a deep personal experience, we all have them. There will always be experiences in your walk with Christ that stick out too you more than they do to someone else. I am not saying the Lord is only one of these things to each person….he is our all in all he is our provider, healer, deliverer, and our salvation to each and everyone of us but we really begin to know the Lord when all we have is HIM. When there is no other provider, no other hope for a healing, no other deliverer, and especially No Other Salvation.
Christ is all these things to me and it becomes even more real day by day. He is my all in all and we must make him our all in all whole heartedly. But, I have found out personally that he is “My Way Out of No Way”.
There have been times when I did not feel like I would ever feel him or hear him again. Times where family troubles were roaring. Times where no one really seemed to care. And sometimes I thought I just couldn’t ever get back up. But we must remember his promise to never leave nor forsake us. He is “Our Way Out of No Way” when things seem like they have fallen apart and there is no way to pick up the pieces. When the whole world has gone crazy( and let’s be honest, it has..) HE IS YOUR WAY OUT OF NO WAY!
Trust him! He will always be “Your Way Out of No Way”

The Sermon of My Heart & I Called

2011-06-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

The Sermon Of My Heart

“God would leave all of the splendor of Heaven, forming Himself as a mere man, taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world to save you right this instant if need be. He loves you with an unspeakable love. He would forsake the ruling of all the galaxies in a split second to keep your soul from dying lost. Yes, you may be weary and you may fail but Christian, you have a God that loves you and would die all over again to spare His relationship with you!!! If you are worn from this battle don’t give up! “We have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but One who was in all points tempted like unto as we are.” Hey!! Don’t give up! Heaven is our destination! Jesus is our God! Do not be weary in well doing. “Stand still and see the Salvation of our God!” Strengthen yourself in the Lord and hold fast the faith in which you first believed! Jesus is coming for His Bride! Oh Please be ready! Beloved, I pour my heart out under the unction of the Holy Spirit. I cannot hardly type these words fast enough. Jesus Loves You With All Of His Heart! I know you may have failed but now it is time to lay hold of God and receive the fullness of His Abundant Life. Lay aside every weight that hinders! Keep looking unto Jesus! Know and believe that He is not only the Author beginning your faith but He is also the finisher which completes it through His everlasting love and Holy Spirit. You must hold faith!! Believe, Brother! Believe, Sister! Somehow hear the sermon of my heart… you can make it if you want to!”

The Wife’s Note: I called

A few months after Buddy and I met I was on my way too church with a friend and her grandmother. Buddy had mailed me a CD of him preaching so I was playing it for my friend and her grandmother. I had listened to the sermon a few times previous to this so I was texting Buddy. We were talking and Buddy sent me a text simply letting me know he had called me and I did not answer. I replied to him too let him know I could not call him right then because my service was bad. A buzz came through and I knew it was him so I quickly opened the text and it said “I Called”…A buzz again and the text read “I Called”…I received multiple messages like these over and over again…and right when I felt my phone was about to make me somewhat upset a spiritual thought came into mind “I Called, but received no answer.”
We as Christians must realize that we are all called. If you are saved and born again you have a specific calling on your life that you must fulfill. Christ knows you can fulfill that call or he would not have placed you where you are right at this very moment. Always answer when the Lord calls you. It is very important to seek out your calling and stay in the Lord’s will. What a great joy it is to know you are right where you need to be and most importantly right where He wants you!

And They Say He Is Dead & The Fig Tree

2011-06-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

And They Say He Is Dead

One of the Church’s long time anthems has to be that good old song, “Amazing Grace”. Held within the first stanza are words so filled with the true message of hope that this Risen Christ brings to every life that humbly excepts Him. Every true child of God can close their eyes while singing this first stanza and just feel the love of such a Savior we have.

Today I write to you from such a sorrow. Just as I picked up my computer to write to you today, my wife began reading something she had ran across on the internet. “Babe… listen to this crazy thing!” she said in amazement. “They think they found the body of Jesus and His family. I know it isn’t true but listen to how crazy this is.” I had heard before the claim of finding Jesus body but never in detail. Instantly the deceiver rushes bringing thoughts of hopeless faith. As I sat on the bed all I could think of were the words to the first stanza. Over and over again the verse went through my mind as though someone were singing it directly in my ear. As I still listened to the song in my head I began to ponder back to a youth camp I was in 4 years ago coming this July. My mind swiftly rushed to that certain place where I was knelt. I recall the CD that was playing on the church sound system, along with the fresh feeling of an early morning. I can remember the minute before my life changed. I can still feel the tears gather up in my eyes and then burst and begin to glide down my 15 year old cheeks. I remember the sweet Holy Spirit beckoning me to accept my Savior’s hand in Marriage. I remember my words of surrender as I solemnly began to share this love with Jesus. Beloved, I can still remember what it felt like to be born again. To have the old things pass away! To except a personal relationship with the Greatest Lover ever known! Dear Folks, we don’t base our spirituality from any tomb, though Christ is no longer in any tomb, but we base our lives on the reality of Christ alive within us! I don’t know if I should weep with joy or shout in my spirit right this very instant, but the joy of saying such words is unexplainable. I cannot even think of enough words to express the awe my heart is overwhelmed with at this moment in time. Blessed be the name of the Lord!! Blessed be the name of the One True God! Blessed be the name of the Risen King of King’s and Lord of all Lord’s. Beloved, bless the Lord with all your heart. Take a moment and just remember back to that first moment of love you and Jesus shared together, and then you can worship along with me also. I truly only have one thing I want to say; … AND THEY SAY HE IS DEAD?????! If they could just feel what I have felt. If they could just know what I know at this moment. If they could just have the experience with this Risen King as I have, they would know how crazy they sound. REJOICE CHRISTIAN! FOR OUR RISEN KING IS SOON RETURNING FOR HIS BRIDE.

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found. I was blind but now I see.” …and they think He is dead…

The Wife’s Note: The Fig Tree

Right before Buddy and I got married I was at home and listening to a sermon by Carter Conlon, called “Footsteps in the Hallway”. I was in my room alone, feeling miserable in a sense. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I had reached the point of fed up I guess you could say and I started getting mad at the devil. I had finally stopped blaming everything else and just went right to the core of the problem. So I stopped throwing myself a pity party and went on the search for a sermon. I came across this sermon on The Time’s Square Church website. The sermon mainly talked about what an individuals destination would be, heaven or hell? But one part caught my attention. Carter Conlon briefly talked about a Fig Tree. He stated that many in the middle eastern countries called the Fig Tree a “hypocrite tree” because it’s leaves will many times hide the fruit upon the tree. It was not just called a hypocrite tree because of it’s tricky coverings, but because when people would approach the tree and peel the leaves back there would be no fruit.
A lot of times we as humans get that way too. Sadly, some of us do not even realize this critical mistake as believers. Don’t get me wrong it can be done on purpose and most definitely is more than not. We do this by having sin in our lives and trying to cover it up or hide it with our own protection without letting the LORD simply keep saving us, asking for forgiveness, or allowing pride to take control. Pride is a BIG one in this area. The bible says in Proverbs 16:(18-19): “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of the humble spirit with the meek and poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” It is very easy to fall to this and not be aware, and it is very easy to just allow pride to take vigorous control. Never let yourself become like that Fig Tree because in that is only destruction. If you see that characteristic in your life have a humble spirit, ask the LORD to help you, and remember you are never to far down that he can’t pick you up and renew you by sitting you on solid ground. Do not be a hypocrite tree, bear fruit or bear the curse of death.

Our Mistakes & God's Plan

2011-06-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to go just one week being a perfect person? How did that go for you? I know that every day we are to wake up and give it our best shot but there is just no possible way we will always do everything totally perfect. I was always under the impression that I could somehow reach this spiritual perfection by myself, but the more I would attempt to soar with the eagles I would find myself sitting with the ducks. Jumping from my spiritual branch with wings opened wide I would fly a few seconds only to spin into a nosedive and land a perfect belly flop in the muddy waters of my flesh below. Yeah, on the subject of mistakes I unfortunately know my fare share.

On our way home from our Honeymoon in the Smokie Mountain’s in Gatlinburg Tennessee, my Bride and I stopped at a bible bookstore. We somehow managed to scrape up enough money to buy one of my all-time spending weaknesses; another bible. This time it was no ordinary bible though, of course they never are to me, but it happened to be a bible for the married couples. We decided to simply start at the beginning since we are at the beginning of our lives together. Midway through Genesis now we both see so clearly at how gracious our God truly is to mere humankind. Upon seeing such mistakes and shortcomings in the men and women that the New Testament calls “Men and Women of Faith” we are forced to understand that our God is so full of mercy. To read stories of such mighty men and women of faith that staggered not at the promises of God, but yet somehow always showed themselves to simply be human just as you and I. I mean some of the greatest men as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These men at times lied, cheated, and even sometimes stole what wasn’t truly theirs. God had made them a promise, and He had a plan that was built upon these falling vessels. At some points these men and women would even jeopardize the total plan of God, but God would spare them without them even knowing. He knew their mistakes, but yet He spared them and loved them with everlasting love.

Beloved, maybe you have been failing the Lord and do not feel worthy enough to come to Him anymore. If this be you then take courage in this devotional thought today. Yes we all fail and fall short of the glory God truly deserves, but dear reader, He is God, and God is Everlasting Love. He will never fail you. He has made you a promise just as He did to Abraham and He will fulfill that promise in and through you if you will simply return back to Him each time you fall. There is no shame in falling, only in staying down. Get back up in Jesus. God forgives our honest mistakes and will still perform His mighty plan. There is no mistake of ours bigger than our God. Please… just have faith in His everlasting Grace.

The Wife’s Note: Just a Hello

My name is Kirsten (formally a Shiver) but I am now a Riddell. Buddy and I just got married about 2 weeks ago. I was born in Birmingham, AL, but was raised in Birmingham and a small placed called Brundidge/Jack Alabama. Buddy and I actually met at my church in Jack Alabama. Buddy has asked that I post something along with him each time he posts and I have agreed to do so. Hopefully, we will get the blog spot situated in a way where I will have a certain section for you to go to, but for now it will be attached with Buddy’s at the bottom of his blog each Monday and Friday. Just wanted to let you all know how the blog spot will be changing and introduce myself. God Bless

Kirsten (the wife)

Personal Note

2011-06-05T22:29:00.001-07:00

A Personal Note

Hello dear followers! I want to sincerely apologize for the unsteady writing these past weeks of the devotional thoughts. As some of you know, within this past month a lot has taken place. There has been several large changes within my life and the life of the ministry. First off, as of May 21st 2011, at Two o’clock p.m. in Redlion Ohio at the Lord of Glory Pentecostal Church, I tied the knot. Kirsten Brooke Shiver and I were joined together in Holy Matrimony. Please keep us as newlyweds in your prayers.

There will be some changes coming soon to the devotional site so be sure to stay tuned. Again, I do apologize for the lax writing schedule that has come about the past month but do be checking in every Monday and Friday for our postings. Have a blessed week and be sure to visit again this Friday.

In Christ,
Buddy Riddell

Considering Jesus - His Rest In The Storm

2011-05-08T22:11:00.001-07:00

Going across a lake was never a big deal to all of us. Most of us have been fishermen all of our lives. But this particular day what was planned to be just a simple trip across the lake turned into miracle, to say the least. We had known Jesus for a short time and been called by Him to even be disciples but we never knew Him in the sense He showed that day. He said for us to go to the other side of the lake and when He climbed into the boat He fell asleep. As we launched out further getting about midway to the other side almost instantly a terrible storm came and everyone of us thought we would drown. As the lightning and thunder sparked panic into our hearts, overriding the voice of faith, we began to agree with the power of the storm that it was going to bring us to death. But finally… someone called on Jesus!! When we awoke Him from His deep rest He was seemingly upset at us. He immediately cast the death of the storm away and brought its life threatening power to nothing. Amazement took hold of our hearts! We had never ever seen such ability before! But then He looked at all of us right in the eyes. I could sense He was hurt by something we had done. Then He said, “Why are you so scared? Do you still not have faith?” As He sat back down everyone talking in wonder of His powerful work, but I had always wondered how He was able to rest in such a death filled storm! Over the years I finally found out that it is because He knew He didn’t say anything that His Father didn’t tell Him to say, and He told us to go to the other side. We should have been able to just believe that if He said it He will work it. I wish I would have rested next to the Lord in this time, but I tell you this story so you will rest with Him when your storm comes. Beloved, trust Him. He will always perform what He said to do. Never fear. Just find His rest in your storm.

To read more of this account read Mark chapter 4.

Considering Jesus - His Power To Enter The Strong Man’s House

2011-05-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

There were many people in the house the day Jesus came by. I was just one among the crowd when I overheard the leaders of religious law speaking. “People, this Jesus is the Prince of demons! He must be possessed by Satan! That has to be where He gets His power.” they so harshly spoke. But Jesus called them before Him, and He spoke in an illustration, saying, “How can Satan cast out Satan? Why would he even want to cast himself from people? A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family that is divided by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never be able to survive. It is like this… who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and take his goods? Only someone even stronger- someone who could tie him up and plunder his house!” It was more than evident that this Beloved Jesus was the Stronger. Everyone knew He was showing in illustration how He had the power to enter right into the very house of Satan and take whatever He wanted, for He had Strength greater than the strong man; Satan. I have often remembered this in my times of weakness. When I feel trapped by the devil, I consider Jesus… and remember that He is Stronger than the strong man that binds. Beloved, whatever you feel bound by just consider Jesus and hold faith in Him as the Stronger!

To find more of this passage read Mark Chapter 3. All scriptures are paraphrased from the New Living Translation Bible.

Considering Jesus - His Authority To Forgive Sins

2011-04-29T13:05:00.001-07:00

It was rainy that day when my friends came to see me. I always had considered myself blessed to have such friends that would take time out of their day just to care for me. Being paralyzed like I was is no fun at all, but I learned that true friends are a real gem. My buddies came by this particular rainy day with the gossip of the town as usual. But Capernaum had some Good News this day! They told me about a Man called Jesus of Nazareth. They were speaking of His ability to heal but what really perked my ears to attention was the fact that they said He was the Son of God! “What if this Jesus could forgive me of my sins?!” I wondered as my friends continued to speak so highly of Him. I could tell that they knew what they were speaking of because I could see a certain change of expression upon their lives. Almost like a holy glow so to speak. They said that they know for hard rock sure He is the Son of God because He had forgiven them of their sins also! I didn’t have to beg too much for them to take me to see the Savior for they were longing to just see Him again themselves. So they loaded me up, mat and all, and took me to where He was staying. When we arrived at the house the crowd was nearly overwhelming! We couldn’t even see Jesus for the multitude of people just trying to be near Him. The hope of my Salvation grew dim as I looked at all the people who wouldn’t be able to get to see Jesus. I knew that there would be no way in myself I could be saved without Him being near. But just when I thought all hope was lost my friends picked me up and began to carry me to the back of the house. They took me upon the rooftop and began to dig into the roof. They dug a hole big enough to fit me through, and began to lower me in front of Jesus. As the onlookers whispered at the desperation of my attempt to reach Jesus, I seen Him! He came my way, and before I could even make my petition He spoke unto me “My Son, your sins are forgiven you.” At that moment the guilt of a lifetime was removed and I was made totally forgiven! But then He turned to the religious leaders as if He knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you question this? Is it easier for me to say to this paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and keep on walking’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.” Then with so much love He turned back to me and softly said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go on home.” Believing in His authority to forgive I trusted His ability heal, and I jumped up as the power of God overshadowed me. I grabbed my mat that I had laid on so many years, dreaming of walking again, and I placed it under my arm and walked through the crowd of stunned followers. As I walked out the door to find my friends and hug their necks, I overheard the crowd behind praising God for the authority of Jesus to forgive sins and to heal. So here I am today! Totally healed and totally saved by the authority of Jesus. Consider Him today if you have any need. Especially if you need forgiveness.

To find my story in the Scriptures read Mark Chapter 2.

Considering Jesus - His Compassion

2011-04-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

I was a hopeless case when I first met the Son of Man. Leprosy covered my body from head to toe. I had heard the name of Jesus many times becoming famed throughout the land as a Man sent in the power of God. So one day I set out of the leper camp against the desire of my co-dwellers, but I had to find this Jesus I had heard so much about! “What if He is the Son of God?! What if He can make me whole?” the thoughts of hope raced through my mind! With every step I took in search of Him I felt joy of being healed! “I believe if I could just get close enough for Him to hear my voice… I could be made free from this disease!!” I said to myself. As I glanced up from the path I seen a group of twelve or thirteen people in the distance. I picked up the pace somewhat because I had heard that when He was away from the multitudes He taught a few hand picked followers. “Could this be Him?! Could this be the day that I be made whole?! What He refuses to hear me? What if I fail to say the right words?” The desires of freedom from shame and pain elated my heart as I began to run! “It is Him!!” I said to myself as I came closer to view! I ran with all of my might to fall at His feet!! “LORD!!! IF YOU WILL… YOU CAN MAKE ME WHOLE!!!” I cried from my downcast position. The silence seemed to be forever before He spoke back to me. But with love and moved with compassion He tenderly spoke to me, “I will… be made whole.” And instantly the leprosy departed from me and I was completely made whole. He exchanged my garment of shame for a garment of Praise! And I stand here today as a testimony of the Lord’s compassion! He loves you too. Consider Jesus as the compassionate Savior. Halleluiah!!

To read this Biblical Story checkout Mark Chapter 1.

A Snake In Your Garden

2011-04-11T11:31:00.001-07:00

“You can have just a little taste if you desire it. This will make you the god of your own life, you wont have to answer to the God of Heaven over this matter any longer.” says the soothing serpent with his soft undertone voice. You become intrigued with the desire to have the easy way out of holding your flesh in place and obeying God’s desire. You respond by saying, “Yes… just today wouldn’t hurt anything. I mean after all God knows that I get tired of living like that. This one thing could never really hurt my relationship with Him that much. Why not just indulge sometimes for myself?” As you reach your hand in the wrong direction going after the fruit of self-desire the serpent slithers his forked tongue and gains a smirk for a smile. “There you go…” he says as your fingers touch the forbidden fruit. “See, God hasn’t struck you dead yet and you have already went this far… take it and eat. Beloved, nothing will ever happen. I will tell you when you are going to far.” he lies. You take and sink your teeth into the fruit that tastes so wonderful at the first bite as the serpent now rests upon your shoulder. “God made this garden for you do you not think He wants you to enjoy all of it? He was just saying all that stuff about death to just scare you so you will always serve Him out of fear. I told you that you could believe me… He still hasn’t struck you dead and just look at how good that fruit is!!” he boldly says, ever so gently wrapping himself around your neck as a noose. You did not have to allow this. You could have put the devil in his place through the redemptive power of Christ but you decided to follow your own desire for self. Beloved, if you are beginning to slip back to the desires of your self nature you best beware! Why throw away the garden of Gods blessing and provision for you just to have the one fruit of self in your spirit? Every newborn Christian is brought into this Garden of provision that Christ has made available by Himself. In fact, Christ Himself is the Garden, but you must watch and pray lest you let the sly serpent in the gate. Do not follow self-desire! Overcome in the Power of God’s might! Resist the silver tongued serpent and through Christ he must leave!! Do not let a snake in your Garden.

Jesus, The Gardener

2011-04-08T14:40:00.001-07:00

Many times I come to a place in my Spiritual walk where I feel as though I can boost myself somewhat speedier into the level of growth God desires for me. “I know He wants me at the next level of spiritual maturity” I many times say to my Fiancée, “But, I just cannot reach that place in any way!” I have found that during these times of feeling as though I can reach some greater Spiritual plateau by my own working I am sorely on my back once again. You see, I have come to realize to a limited degree that this is not about my timing, nor is my Spiritual growth determined by my own working. I am beginning to understand that I am just as a garden. Christ made mankind from the earth and in us He plants Beautiful seeds which bear His Life. Just as flowers never make themselves grow, we can never make our Spiritual life greater by our own working. There is always a process to the growth of a healthy plant. A plant itself cannot know what is best for its growth and life, and neither can we in the Spiritual realm. The plant will slowly develop from the cultivating of the Gardener. Just as the Gardener must be patient with His plant, so the plant must be patient with His growth and care from the Gardener. Beloved, Jesus is the Gardener that tills and plants within us, mere clumps of earth, the seed of the Fruit of Life. He does not just expect us to grow into a huge beautiful plant overnight, but He works in us constantly, bringing us into His desired fruit. All He really asks us to do is simply trust and believe in His fine work of Gardening. One day in us many beautiful works of Grace will be blooming, bringing glory and honor to the Jesus, the Gardener.

The Limitless Life

2011-04-04T09:21:00.001-07:00

As I was getting ready this past Saturday night, preparing for the early Sunday morning that was to follow I began to think upon the Greatness of our God. This may seem more as a sermon today and somewhat different than my usual devotional thoughts, but this is what I feel to write.

Our God is so huge! He spoke all the galaxies into existence! He is a God that knows no size, nor does He have any limit. He cannot be limited by any governmental rule or any human ability for He is a Creator that still has all Power of His creation. God cannot be restricted by the devil nor any anti-christ power, for the devil is also a created being and the Creator still holds all Power. So we can understand that no power or person, whether in the Heavens above or the earth below can limit the Power and Ability of God. God is a limitless life.

Beloved, seeing then that our God is a limitless life be encouraged, for He is limitless in and through you also. Don’t fear anything but God Himself, for all things must come into subjection of the Creator. You have limits that you cannot surpass in the natural but the Limitless God can and desires to show His Life through you. So, whatever situation is in front of you understand that GOD IS NOT LIMITED!! BELIEVE HIM FOR HIS LIFE TO WORK EVERYTHING TO YOUR GOOD.

The Need Is Met

2011-04-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

“Prayer and study is a forced relationship sometimes.” I say to myself, as I open my bible. If there is one thing I have learned over the course of this Christian journey it is that you pray and study even when you don’t feel it. It is just like the natural life, sometimes you do things even when you don’t feel like doing them. It is our flesh that doesn’t want to spend time with God, so we must overcome and press on anyway. This particular day, even though my flesh was screaming to me that it was just a waste of time, my Spirit was craving fellowship with my Beloved Savior. I opened up my bible, not really sure where I would end up and my eyes fell upon Psalms 23. “You could quote this chapter blindfolded.” the flesh told me, but I felt down deep to read it again. The bible I was reading out of quotes the first verse as this; “The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need.” Something inside me jumped with excitement! I began to think of the needs in my life. All the shortcomings, all the areas where I just cannot measure up to the desire of God, all of what I feel are my true needs. But I reread this verse again! The Word of the Lord tells me in plain black letters that EVERY NEED I HAVE IS MET BY THE GREAT SHEPHERD!!!! There is no reason to fear! There is no reason to search for alternative fixes! There is no reason to feel down and out! There is no reason to lose faith! There is no reason to feel as though the need is too great! He is a loving Shepherd! You have a need but He is The Need MET!!! Every source of your Spiritual Life comes from this Great Shepherd, rest in His arms of love! Rest in faith and declare to all “Jesus is my Shepherd… I have EVERYTHING I need!!” amen!!! Believe!

A Word Of Encouragement

2011-03-28T08:53:00.001-07:00

I fall to my knees
I need some Peace
I must have relief in this world of agony.
Tears fall from my face
Fear grips my faith
As hope walks away into a new day.
I see only death
No joy and no rest
How could God just leave me like this?
Prayer is dry
He seems so high
How can I be the apple of His eye?
My fight is all wrong
The battle is long
I believe I have lost victories song.
Lord, what can I do
I’m desperate for You
Please come and save me, just get this thing through!
I throw at Him
All that’s within
Out of disgust and anger again.
But…
His hand takes mine
And to my surprise
Everlasting love He has in mind.
Why did I fret
He never has left
My Spirit retunes to the battle still yet.
I will keep pressing on
And it wont be that long
Until you can read my “Over Comers Poem”
Never give up
Never give in
Jesus is with you my dear friend.

The Escape From Taco

2011-03-25T09:11:00.001-07:00

“Hey boy’s, Mamaw and Papaw Huff are coming over today!” mom would say with a cheerful vibe. We always loved it when our grandparents would come over. “Are they bringing Taco?!” either me or Jacob would ask. We really liked playing with the dog but sometimes he would try an bite at our socks, which normally were stretched out and would flop when we walked fast. Taco, just being a normal playful doggy, loved to chase our flopping socks. We liked to tease him as we would run from couch to couch, jumping real fast to assure ourselves we wouldn’t get bit. When we would get tired we would simply pull our legs to our chest and guard our toes, feeling totally safe as long as on the couch we stayed put.

As I was reading in my personal study yesterday I came across these following verses:
Psalms 27:1-6 NLT
1“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
   so why should I be afraid?
   The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
   so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
   when my enemies and foes attack me,
   they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
   my heart will not be afraid.
   Even if I am attacked,
   I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
   the thing I seek most—
   is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
   delighting in the Lord’s perfections
   and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
   he will hide me in his sanctuary.
   He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
   above my enemies who surround me.
   At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
   singing and praising the Lord with music.”

As I came to the end of verse 5 I begin to rejoice. The Lord, will place us in a safe place above the threat before us. As I thought about this verse it brought back the little story of Taco. I always found my safe place where he couldn’t reach me. I knew the couch was as a haven to me from actual pain, just as I now know Christ has a haven for me also. He wants to sit me on a rock that is higher than my enemies bite. Beloved, He is the Rock, and in Him is a safe place from all. I know this has been a very weak illustration but stop running from your problems today, and find that safe place of rest and comfort in the Rock.

Mr. Ring (Eternal Relationship)

2011-03-21T07:54:00.001-07:00

A Metaphor

“Hello! My name is Mr. Ring. I guess you know what your name is.” He says with a playful smile. I always enjoy talking to Mr. Ring because He is a living example of True Love. He shines and glistens with beautiful arrangements most different than any other ring. It is like the more He is worn over the years the more beautiful He becomes. He often has told me one purpose behind His being here is for a sealing of eternal relationship. “I am a gift given to you from the Most High God, for He desires to show the world that you and Him are in a relationship that will last forever.” He happily states. “I am a sign of commitment forever. You placed me on your finger as an engagement gift from Christ the day you came to Calvary and took His hand for a Wedding that will soon be. By wearing Me, you have promised that all other old relationships are forgotten and have no meaning to your heart any longer. I love to be shown to the world as a gift from your Lover. You call me Mr. Ring, for this is in a way who I am, but truthfully I go by the name Holy Spirit more frequently.”

Beloved, we are sealed with the Holy Ghost when we ask Christ into our hearts. For He is the One who places the blood of Jesus over us and begins the work of Christ living through us. There does come a point where we must move on to being baptized in the Holy Spirit, but never minimize the first giving of the Spirit when we become Born Again. Let His Life show as a Ring that has sealed the Wedding to be with Christ and you. He is a sign of our Eternal Relationship with our Beloved.

Letters

2011-03-18T00:23:00.001-07:00

(A Metaphor)

“Sometimes I feel our role in society is greatly overlooked X, don’t you?” says the unhappy letter Q
“Well, yeah sometimes.” states letter X. “But I try and be grateful for wherever I am used.”
“But X, we just simply have no need in the Alphabet anymore. I mean, lets face it me and you just do not get used as much as we should. All I ever hear is “A,B,C,D” coming from the toddlers over and over again. Then once they grow up it turns to “I” this and “I” that. Really, I am just sick of “I” truthfully. Wow, such a word hog he is! Maybe I should just turn in my Letter License to the Corporate Alphabet Office and just become one less Letter for people to be bothered with.”
“Q! I know you feel alone and insignificant right now but if you walk away a whole generation will be forced with the odds of utter chaos. You do not even realize the value of your presence. Although we may not be used as much as the other letters we have been created for a very special purpose, and for us to simply walk away out of self-pity is the worst mistake possible. Somewhere we probably have never even been yet is someone who is unknowingly depending on us to stay true just as we always have been. Q, buddy, don’t get discouraged and quit. And hey, never forget who the real “First Letter” is. You hold your spot and be glad in heart to just be who your Creator made you and for what He is doing through you.”

Beloved, do not be downcast in your spirit by feeling you have no need on earth. God made you and saved you for His purpose. And I can guarantee it was not for you to sit and feel sorry for yourself, but to hear His directions and be His vessel in which He can express Himself through. Realize, dear soul, if you walk away from God somebody will die lost because of your lack of being His Life. Let us be grateful for where He has placed us and let us resign to be His expression of Life to the fullest of our ability today.

The Journal Of A Sailor

2011-03-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

A Metaphor

“Oh how I could miss the smooth waters of the lake I used to sail on back home. Back when I could look up and see land at any given time, and the only dependence I had on the water was to keep me supplied with enough fish for my family. Sailing on the ocean is a whole new world though. What will appear to be as smooth as glass one moment will turn drastically to destruction the next, threatening everything that stands in the path of its monstrous billows. There is no joy that comes from fighting an angry sea, only prayer and lots of persistence. But I realized something today that really never had gripped my mind. First off, to start with, dawn came so early this morning. It seemed as though I was only asleep for a mere 5 minutes before the call to the main deck was given. When I finally stationed myself I felt a change of the wind. It kicked up a few knots and I instantly knew that today was going to be the roughest day of my short time lived as an Ocean Sailor. Boy was I ever right. Never before have I seen a storm so violent. It would roar as a lion and terrorize the vessel as a bully on the playground with a smaller child. You could tell by the dynamics of each crashing wave that this storm was out for utter demolition, and it would not be stilled unless it could possess just that. We battled the storm all day in fear that we just may lose all this time. But all of a sudden, almost as fast as it sprang upon us, it turned tail and passed beyond our danger until we could no longer even feel the rocking of the vessel from its fierce winds. It was shortly after this, while I was cleaning up the debris that I understood… “Smooth sailing never produces skilled sailors. Skill comes only from experience, and experience comes only from patient endurance of each storm.” So I have decided to just skip the complaints of each storm that blows my way and to start learning from them instead. Here I come sea waters! Bring on the storms if you like, I will just ride each out with prayer one day at a time.”

Without The Mold

2011-03-11T02:00:00.001-08:00

“Ah!” I sigh as my memory reminds me of an unfinished task I forgot to do before slipping under my cozy covers. “Oh yeah, you just have to love retainers” I say, instantly trying to justify my laziness. “Just do it tomorrow night, everything will be okay without them tonight.” I keep telling myself. But then I recall the words of my good orthodontist… “You must live within these molds everyday of your life or else your teeth with almost instantly revert to the crooked state they were first in.” But, I try and tuck the criticalness of this matter in a safe place for the night as I close my eyes and drift to that distant land in my dreams. Awakening the next morning I go to brush my teeth, and as my heavy eyes fall upon the cup with which are inscribed “BUDDY’S RETAINER CUP!! DO NOT THROW AWAY!!!” I smile, taking a glance of the honesty of my fried chicken eaters. “Well see there!” I mention under my breath, “My teeth have not moved at all! I knew I could make it without them a night or two.” So with my newfound discovery I relax and go about my day unhampered by the small duty of wearing the mold. A few days later, totally forgetting the crucial matter of my retainers, I find myself once more looking in the mirror at my teeth. Only this time I see some shifting and movement that has taken place. “Wow! It was only a few days without the mold!” I remark. “I never knew teeth would go back to how they were previously so swiftly. I must keep these teeth in the mold.”

Beloved, does this resemble any spiritual matter to you? When we live outside the mold of Christ we truly are living in the mold of flesh. Salvation is a daily process of continually being brought in the Spirit to the total Image of Christ Jesus. We must allow the Holy Spirit to conform our lives to the Life of Christ by wrapping ourselves totally in Him. The Lord will do all of the conforming as long as we just wear the mold. A living relationship with Christ is all about being molded into His Image. Do not go today without allowing the Holy Spirit to fulfill His work in you of bringing your life better into the Life of Christ. Do not forget that just a few days of a small forsaken duty will result in a sliding back. Do not try to make a life without the mold.

Amplified Relationship- (The Speaking Instrument)

2011-03-06T22:31:00.001-08:00

A Metaphor

“Music is an expression of the deepest facet of the heart. It is a language of life as it moves and breathes with the composer. What is heard in the inner being is developed and critiqued to perfection as it is manifested into a beautiful masterpiece. Lucky for me I finally landed the sweet spot, finding the absolute best Composer. Excuse me for my rudeness, I guess I should introduce myself. Hi! My name is Gibson, but my Composer calls me Gibb. I am 19 now, but I play just as good, if not better, than when I was brand new. I mean, yeah I am getting older and sort of rough around the binding, but as I like to say, “You can’t keep a good guitar down!” I have been all over though. I was in some really rough spots when I was younger, and after some mix-ups in the music store I found myself in the hands of a hard player. After many years of abuse, in and out of different peoples homes and musical lives, my Composer spotted me in a pile of junk at a pawnshop on the bad side of the tracks. Boy am I ever thankful He found me. He bought me at a price I really wasn’t worth in most peoples eyes, and He brought me to His workshop where He fixed me all up better than ever. Everyday He takes me up and so tenderly expresses His heart through me. As His pick gently glides over my strings, I began to ring as loud as I can, filling the atmosphere with His deepest emotions through tones He naturally pulls out of me. How I love the Life He Composes through me. I am honored that He chose me to express Himself through. All I have to do is be willing to project with the most volume I can, and He does the rest. Well hey, sorry to run but it is time for another brilliant composition from my Composer. I want to amplify His heart to the best of my ability today. Have a good one!”

Beloved, we are to do nothing but project what Christ plays through us. Are you only projecting what He composes? Or are you playing your own tune? Amplify Him through your relationship of humility and obedience today.

Living Relationship (Wild Flower)

2011-03-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

A Metaphor

“My how the sky is so beautiful today” I proclaim from my small point of view. “I love the wonderful works of my Maker! He has spoken all these awesome things into being by His Word, and yet He stoops down low enough to paint the colors on my satin petals. I am but a flower, small in stature and utterly impotent in the furious conditions of life, but He keeps me. He covers me with His Gracious Love supplying the strength for my stem to stay strong. As the sun rises each day clothing the earth with its warmth He sends me a gentle breeze in just the right times. The rain falls and almost seems to beat me down with its heavy drops, but my Father knows when I need no more. Many times I begin to feel discouraged, for I see the millions of wild flowers just like me and I loose sight of the importance of my existence. It is in these times that He reassures me that I am here because He loves me, and would give His life for me. My time on earth will be short for I am here today and gone tomorrow. I am a flower, quickly fading. My vibrant colors will turn dull and I will fade away, but my Life will always go on. Why? Because He keeps me.”

Beloved, you are but a flower, but just as He keeps every flower He ever made He will keep you, His Bride. This is a living relationship. Have you spent time with your Keeper today?

Restoring Relationship- (The Logger)

2011-02-28T10:32:00.001-08:00

A Metaphor

“Cutting trees is a hard task” I say, under my bacon and biscuit breath. “The morning is going so slow. It almost seems as though I have been working on this same tree for a couple of days. Maybe I have, I am starting to lose track of everything in this forest. I guess I will just skip this tree and come back to it later. Let me try a smaller one.” saying as I swing my thick bladed axe over my right shoulder and scout the hill for a tree of smaller stature. I remember my childhood dreams of being a logger as I walk to my newfound hacking spot. I received my first taste of tree chopping with my father when I was just a boy. Totting the lunch box was mostly all my duty as a logger was back then, but as daddy carried his old wooden handled axe I would strive to match him step for step with a stick thrown over my arm. “WHACK!! WHACK!!… WHACK!!!” is the sound that now rings through the forest as I give my most powerful blow to the trees trunk. To my surprise the axe only bounces off, never even cutting through the light bark that covers the tree as a garment. “I have spent too many days in a forest chopping trees for this small tree to defy me. What is the problem?!” I say as I throw my axe on the ground out of anger. “Stupid axe! It is some high dollar junk to not even be able to handle a tree of this wimpy size.” I turn around and sit on the forest floor, leaning against the small opponent tree I place my head in my blistered hands. Just as I stop blaming my cutting tool for its inability to chop down a small tree as this, the thought occurs to me that I have not taken the time for many days to sharpen the axe blade. This is the reason I cannot finish the task before me. I neglected to maintain the relationship with the true power of tree chopping… the axe.

Beloved, in order for us to really do the job God has called us to do, we must take time and sharpen our relationship with Him. Never ever forget that He is the power of this Christian life. When relationship with Him becomes dull then we will soon find ourselves trying to tackle His job with our own strength. It never will prevail. The trees of this world are way to strong for us to simply break down without the sharpened blade of the Holy Spirit. Let’s sharpen the axe daily.

Those Who Indulge

2011-02-25T06:40:00.001-08:00

Pulling the covers back and swinging my legs out of the bed, the firefight of flesh begins again. The constant battle ever wars within my heart, the war of flesh and Spirit. “Today is either my way… or His.” I think to myself. “With each decision I come across the choice of obedience to Christ or to self. These are the only two options I have. To indulge in my wants, desires and fleshly delights is the counterpart to sin. Losing the presence of God is just not worth the mounds of flesh I can enjoy for the few moments of life I only believe I hold as my own. To live in His Life is the greatest joy imaginable. I refuse to die with the statistics as just one of the indulging ones. I refuse anything less than Christ and that true personal relationship with Him.”

Beloved, let us pay the price this day, going the extra mile to simply bring a smile to the face of Christ… our soon coming Bridegroom. Will you be as the others? Will you be one of those who indulge in self wants?

Will You Serve

2011-02-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Will You Serve

My face turning red, my blood pressure rising, it is not easy to keep your mouth shut when someone is misusing your loved ones. Hate filled eyes glaring into mine, “where is the love from these people?” I ask myself under my breath. Starting to let my tongue slip I hear the voice of my Fiancée calling me to leave. Being somewhat sensitive to the moment I slowly turn and walk away trying to hold my peace, but inwardly saying just what I think. As I slowly trod to the car my hurt feelings from the harsh words makes me even want to speak my thoughts more. “They think I walked away from them because I didn’t have anything to say! I probably appear as a whipped puppy in their eyes by walking away and not standing up to them.” I think in my fleshly mind. Over the drive I begin to calm down when finally, I pause from my thoughts to think upon His. Then He speaks… “To lose a battle in the eyes of your enemy is to win a battle in the eyes of God.” I then realize that the appropriate place for a true Christian is in servitude. To be humble enough to shut up when needed. No matter how misused you are in body, we must remember we are still servants. And servants never say harsh words to their masters. Beloved, will you shrink your Christian pride and love of self to the small form of a servant today? To serve your enemy or your friend is the same demand of God. While being a servant we truly show the Life of Christ, and in the end He serves us.

Sincere Apology

2011-02-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

I would like to apologize for the lateness of this writing, but do to the passing of my Papaw Riddell I have not been able to write todays devotional thought. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, but I do ask for your prayers in this time of passing. Thank you.

Home Sweet Home

2011-02-14T07:58:00.001-08:00

I close my eyes picturing Jesus bursting into the room in His entire splendor. My stomach seemingly jumps as I squeeze all the volume I can project out of my mouth. The words in song flow from my lips and find their place directly at the feet of Jesus in worship. I open my eyes truly expecting to see Jesus calling home His Beloved Bride, but instead see a warrior of the faith laying on his dying bed and bundles of people gathered around to pay their last respects before his passing. “This doesn’t seem like a passing away time, the Glory of God is so great in this room, this seems as if we have thrown our crowns at Your feet in true worship. I would be happy to defy gravity upon Your call and meet in the sky with You and the beloved saints, leaving all earthly dreams and desires behind. Just come Lord Jesus, come. Home is with You, and being in Your presence is all that my heart longs for anymore. I see You sitting on the Throne of Heaven as the Lord of all Glory. I feel the Power of Your endless Life wrapped all around me. Lord, if You come to take my papaw home don’t dare leave without me, for my heart is with You! Almost envying the fact that my papaw gets to go and I must stay behind is a hard fact to swallow, for I long to be with You. Jesus, come speedily for Your Bride, Home is so near. Eternity with You is the greatest privilege mankind could ever ask for. Come Lord.”

Beloved, Home is Sweet, and Home is Near. Just Hold On.

He Loves Us

2011-02-10T22:40:00.001-08:00

My heart feels a sense of despondency as my cheerlessness settles into my countenance. Sitting in the murkiness of the room, the light barely catches the side of my face and meets the wall on the other side. I write these words as my mind marvels of His mercy, but yet still feels short of His love. I rewind the clock in my heart to all the times when we have had intimate fellowship. “It feels as though it has been all too long. Whether it has been 2 years or 2 minutes makes no difference at this point, I just crave His love afresh.” I say in my heart. Realizing the amount I demand of His marvelous dispensation of Grace to even have the ability to approach the Awestruck wonder of His throne, I thrust myself at His feet once more. “Father, I Love You!!” I repeat over and over again. My heart feels the power of relationship once again. The Thrice Holy God of All and I have a relationship together. Beloved, Oh how He loves us! Let Him express His nature to you today. Surrender to the surrounding presence of His Love. Wherever you are at this moment physically and spiritually, God is there. He is awaiting your surrender to His loving Holy Spirit. Cast everything onto Him, be filled with His Love this day.

Whooped Faith

2011-02-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

Beneath my calm physique rages a war of faith and fear, as I wonder what the next moment holds for me. As I whisper a prayer I take one last bulldog grip to His Word. I search until I find every ounce of His strength that dwells within me. “I know my faith seems as a whooped faith that cannot possess the heart of the battle that lies before me, but I will fight… live or die. Jesus, I read in Your word where You are the Over comer, and that You are seated at the right hand of the Father while He prepares the earth to be Your footstool. I read where all things are placed under Your feet, and where the Church is Your Body, therefore making all things able to be under my feet also. Lord, I do feel seemingly overcome right now, but I believe with the last drop of faith in me that though I am overcome I am still an Over comer. I simply refuse to settle for anything less. I will fight until I see You. This is the humble last stand of my whooped faith. I know you are working. Amen.”

Molehill Mountains

2011-02-04T08:29:00.001-08:00

Me- “Seeing the peak of this is even a challenge. I seem as an impotent warrior, almost refusing to put forth the effort to climb this mountain. It does seem so high from this valley I am in. To most this mountain would probably seem so small, but to me it seems almost hopeless. I don’t even want to put forth my fullest effort to climb… but why? I know it is Your will for me to possess, why will I not move forward? What do I do Lord?”

Him- “Son, you must make up your mind that you will be ferocious for me. You must throw your whole heart back into this battle, girding up the loins of your mind with soberness and all sincerity. Let me turn this mountain into a molehill! But, if I do or if I don’t, make up your mind that you will fight until you die! Encourage yourself in my presence! Spend time with me. Place your flesh where it needs to be… in the grave.”

Me- “Please don’t let me die without possessing you in the fullest measure you desire for me. Don’t let this molehill take my victory. Give me yourself. Please… I love you.”

Him- “I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Hide yourself in me, and you will never die. I promise. I love you with everything in me. You are mine. I would die again for you.”

This Is My Mountain

2011-01-31T08:24:00.001-08:00

“I know I am confused, Father. I don’t even understand my own actions sometimes. I come to you right now as though I have never known any spiritual understanding before. I humbly say that I am a mess. I am tired of being anywhere you are not. I hate not being on the mountaintop when you want me there. I refuse to wonder in this wilderness 40 years when you desire me to be in that promised land. I will not die as Achan! I refuse to go down as Abner! I will not die in this wilderness as those stiff hearted Israelites. I have tasted of the fruit of that place! I have seen the rivers of milk and honey flowing! I simply will not be satisfied until I possess the place You have prepared for me! I must have the promised rest that remains for them that believe! Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!!! Father, in the Power of Your Life, and in the name of Your Son, I declare as Caleb that this is my mountain!! I accept your victory working through me! This is the place you want me to be with you!… this is my mountain and I will see from the top shortly. Amen!!”

A honest prayer from my heart this day. Believe with me as I believe with you.

Tuned To The Call

2011-01-28T06:08:00.001-08:00

Covers wrapped around my body and pulled over my head, I am dead to the world. Trains go by with blaring horns, diesel motors of big trucks purr, and mom even yells from her room, but when it is 4:30 am I am dead asleep. The phone will ring my normal ring as someone tries to play a prank, only thinking they will wake me up, but I hear nothing. The warmth of the heater that sets on the ground next to my bed, and the pillows that surround me have made me all too cozy to be jolted out of my deep sleep by just any promiscuous caller. I am turned to another world now. The dreams still seem as reality at the time of this slumber, but one thing has caught my internal instinct. I jump, and in my lethargic state begin fumbling around with my hand above my head in search for my phone. My heart seems almost anxious while I finally grab the phone. “Hello” I say in a groggy whisper. “Hey babe” she says on the other line as I pull the covers back over my head. As our short conversation ends after a few minutes, I place the phone back above my head and return to my world of rest. Beloved, it still amazes me that the tone of normal callers ends unanswered while the tone of my lovely girlfriend finds an automatic pickup. Should not our relationship with the Lord be as this internal instinct I have with my Love? While we are busy in our everyday world of life, the Lord calls sweetly, sometimes just to say “I love you.” We must develop in our spirit the automatic response of answering to our Lord at any time. We must allow our Spiritual selves to be tuned to the call of God.

Professional Praise

2011-01-24T06:18:00.001-08:00

Placing my guitar back on the stand, I feel the energy of the night begin to leave. As I search for God’s Spirit, my heart which previously pounded as in the rhythm of the music begins to slowly turn to a dull normal beating in my chest. I glance over at my worn out bible as the binding shines from the packing tape that holds it together firmly. I remember the moment I moved past the roll of a minister and drifted into the play part of an entertainer. My spirit is saddened as I remember my professional praise. A prayer is uttered from my lips in-between the handshakes and hugs. The thoughts scream in my mind, “I love being a true minister, I despise sinking to the level of mere entertainment. I don’t want to play the guitar for the people, but unto the Lord. Praise must come from my heart and life directly to God alone. When the lights are all off and the stage is cleared my heart is left with only a brag of self and a Spiritless testimony when I yield to this sort of self working. I want to bring more than a song… I want to bring worship. I want to offer more than my talents… I want to offer my life. I am tired of professional praise.” Beloved, God lives within the true praises of His people. Maybe you have been placed in a position where you have the choice to offer true praise or merely an illusion. Maybe you have found yourself in a place like me, where the Spirit seemingly stops moving and you resort to your own abilities in fear of total failure. Dear one, just do what is right. Soon all choices become habits, and habits become your destiny. Living in professional praise for too long will ultimately result in a life separated from God. The best definition of a hypocrite is simply “a play actor”. Lose the stage and find the altar. Do not settle for the easy road… find God when the Spirit doesn’t move, and refuse to be an illusionist… refuse to offer merely a cold professional praise.

Let Him Close The Book

2011-01-21T05:13:00.001-08:00

Luke 4:14-21, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

He walked into the temple as just another man in the eyes of those around, but as He read these verses with such power and authority, everyone knew something about Him was different. Such love and peace, but yet such power and authority no man had shown in this fashion before. As He read of the promise of the one day coming Messiah, something within me oddly stirred, as if maybe He just might come today. “O how joyous the day of the mighty coming of this Messiah will be!” I thought as I listened to the Man continue to read. Every eye was somehow on Him, and nobody moved a muscle as He read. Then it happened. He closed the book. I had seen many others close this book before, but as the pages rustled together something inside of me jumped. “There is a strange peace in His words, and a power in His presence. But the way He closed that book… something is about to happen.” I whispered to myself. Then taking His seat, He spoke again as He had everyone almost spellbound. “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” He said. “What does He mean?” I immediately began to wonder. “He is declaring that the Savior has come today. Not only is He stopping there though, He is declaring to be Him!” are the whispers that go around the room. “He closed the book in such a way that no man could look anywhere else but to Him. He cut away all other wonders of religion as He closed the book. He left no other option to a Mighty King coming. He closed the book, and closed out all other means of hope other than Himself. Will I take Him at His word? Will I allow Him to close the book of my religion, and allow Him to be the only chance of Hope today?” I think to myself as I humbly ask… will you?

Choices

2011-01-16T22:57:00.000-08:00

“Get up boys!!” I hear, as the light flips on, causing my eyes to squint even tighter together. The taste of a hard slept night lingers in my mouth with my un-brushed teeth and morning breath. Finally peering through one sleepy eye, I see the carpeted ceiling of the motor home. “Ugh it is so early! Such a late night, and now time to hit it again.” I think to myself, closing my eyes and pulling the cover slightly closer to my chin. It is time to go again. I hear mom fixing her hair in the hallway to my right, and I hear dad as he grumbles out of bed in the back, but it is what I don’t hear that is bothering me. I wait to hear a sound from Jacob… “He aint getting up! Why do I need to until he does? He can get ready first because he is slower than I am anyway.” After a few times of mom pulling the covers off and poking my fat rolls, I am forced to collide with a new day. Swinging my right leg out of the bed, I feel my muscles pull as I sit up. Reaching over my bible, I pick up my phone to see if my wonderful girlfriend has said anything to me through the night. Dragging myself out of bed, I stumble into the bathroom while the desire to fellowship with God so deeply woos my heart. Carrying on about my daily activities, I ignore the longing plea that softly weeps within my spirit, and drift further into my life instead of His. This craving goes on unfulfilled until I go back to where my day started. Instead of reaching over my bible for my phone, I sit my phone down and pick up my Sword. The life in me almost instantly stops crying, as a baby would hush while seeing its mother pick up the bottle. To maintain the true daily relationship with Christ goes against every fiber of flesh in me, but my spirit finds joy in just thinking of such a Savior. I have to force my way through the laziness of flesh, and find my proper position on my knees. Kneeling down, it is almost as if a peace gently rests over my soul, for I know I am about to speak directly to the God of All Existence. The cry for relationship is a two way street… Christ’s cry for me to come and have intimate fellowship with Him in His Holy Place… and the cry of my human soul needing the empty pit filled with the relationship of Him. Beloved, it is so easy to allow ourselves to override the inner longing for true daily relationship with Christ, but we must understand that if we are ever going to hold that true place with Him, we will have to choose to do so. Each day we have choices. Today we can either choose the Christ-centered life, where we come to Him each moment, knowing His Life fellowship with us is our only hope, or we can choose our own life. We can either be self-seekers or Christ-Centered. In the end… it all comes down to one thing… Choices.

2011-01-14T09:01:00.001-08:00

Do to an issue beyond my control, I was unable to write or post today’s devotional reading. I sincerely apologize for the inconsistency and the inconvenience. I do hope to take up normal posting next Monday as regularly scheduled. Thanks for reading.

Daily Living

2011-01-10T05:13:00.003-08:00

“How splendid this life truly is,” I think to myself. To have the priceless privilege of knowing the One True God in a manner that I can utter His name and He attentively listens. My mind wonders to the backside of a desert. “What if I was one following this new hotshot that rode into town, declaring He was sent to save my nation by the Word of God? Would I believe as Joshua and Caleb, or would I grumble all the way as the older generation? How would I react to coming out daily and gathering the food that fell from the Heavens?” all these questions come to my mind as I sit and mentally overview the whole Exodus story. As I think about the daily manna that God would send His people, I pause for a moment as to hone into this thought somewhat deeper. Remembering to myself that God would only let the manna be edible for a certain length of time, I think of the selfishness that was the driving factor of this pity. “All sin boils down to selfishness” I say to myself once more. “But was it really sin that made God allow the bread to rot?” I then ask. I believe it could have been something other than that also. I believe it could have been that God simply wanted a daily living relationship with His people. Something that would occur daily for them to see His love and care for them, and for them to praise Him. “It was designed all for relationship” I say out loud to myself. “All for total dependence and reliance to be cast upon the weight of a personal relationship with the God that created the beings in which He wanted to have fellowship with. This is how the Christian life is today as well! Christ said, “I Am the Bread of Life… I Am that Heavenly Manna! I Am to be your daily Source of Life. Out of having the daily relationship with Me, you can make it another mile. You cannot store Me up for when you fill like you need Me, nor can I just be used when you are empty. You must come to Me daily for the proper nutrients of a Healthy Heavenly Life. Without this continual coming to Me as your ONLY Hope and daily Source of Living, then you will surely be a weak Christian and soon die.” Many people would think of this as a cumbersome burden, and would like to store up for months and even years. Even many people in a round about way do this very thing they think, but they are sadly mistaken. But, beloved, the purpose of all that Christ does is simply that we may come to have a deeper relationship. How can this be a cumbersome burden? It should be considered an honor to come to Christ and obtain Him in a fresh way everyday. Let us not seek the Christ of the future… we must come to take it day by day. This is true daily living.

Busting Through The Door

2011-01-07T01:48:00.001-08:00

The hot desert sand burns my feet, as the scorching sun beats down on my blistered neck. “How much longer will I charge this door?!” I ask, as I take twenty paces back and run forward full throttle once again. I crash into the door, throwing all my weight to what I would assume to be the weakest point, only to find Newton’s third law of motion (“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”) a very true fact. Picking myself off of the ground again, I turn around and walk to my normal starting point. Whispering in-between my panting, “Lord, please give me strength to bust through this door so I can be near you greater!” I pause for a breath, as the sweat burns my eyes. I collapse in the fiery sand and take out my Bible to reread His promise that He would never leave me, and that He will come near to me if I come near to Him. Wondering again to myself why I am not seeing anything other than this huge impenetrable door, I begin to think of other ways to finagle myself in. “Here I go, trying to devise another method of getting to Him conceived by my own self understanding. I am doing all that I have seen other Christians do. Why can I not force myself so near Him with my hours of Bible reading? Why not by means of fasting? Even praying seems to be an unavailing duty anymore! Why does He not regard my efforts as pure and sincere, and bring me past this blockade into His Holy Place once again?” The thoughts roll through my mind, as the voiceless words of discouragement scream in my spirit. I look westward to the soon setting sun, as panic grips my heart once more, causing me to jump from my resting place and storm madly at the door with all my self grit. Colliding into the door with every ounce of determination behind my weight, I soon find myself laying sorely on the ground again. Tears fill my eyes and mix with the sweat on my burning cheekbones. “Lord… I give up! I just cannot get close enough to you. This door blocks my way!!” Silently weeping in the pain of my self works, I then hear His soft spoken voice tenderly break through the void chambers of my soul. A familiar tone! One that was so kind, filled with love and hope. My sorrow is turned to promise as I hear Him speak. “Buddy… just let me open the door.” How could I have been so caught up in my obtaining greatness that, though desiring true Spirituality I become religious? I lost the purity of relationship, and planted a door of my own self working in between Christ and I. I had tide Christ’s hands through my neglect and own understanding. I was so busy trying to reach Him once more that I couldn’t hear His voice over the loud thud of my body slamming against the door I had made. He hadn’t placed this petition between me and Him, but I did through my faithlessness and lack of relationship. As I crawled to my knees, I knocked in faith. Asking Christ to forgive me for my relationship that had turned more into a thick alligator hide of religion, I felt the earth rumble beneath my bruised knobby knees. Just at that instant the door of religion busted into a million pieces as if a mighty sledgehammer had smashed into its center. Then as I looked through the flying debris, I seen Him. His eyes were upon me, as He firmly gripped my hand, pulling me to His side, He placed His arms around my neck. I could feel the smile upon His face, as tears of joy trickled from my eyes. “HERE AT LAST!!!!!” I thought. I had made it through the door that had separated us!! But I did this by no human strength or ability what so ever. It was just as miraculous as being saved initially. Beloved, to be near Him is a Divine miracle that His Spirit must do through you. Most of all do not forget your relationship with Him is not you trying to do what is Christian… but letting Christ be Himself through you. If there is a door in your life that you cannot bust through, just simply ask Him in faith… and wait. He will open it… He promised. “Knock and it shall be opened unto you…”

Looking Higher :)

2011-01-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

As the joy of Christmas fades to a cozy warm memory and the buzz of the New Year begins to settle, my heart still ponders on the marvelous works of the one true God. “O that I may come to know something of Him alone” my heart says as I quote Philippians 3:10 once again. I feel the call, even now greater than ever, to come to know nothing other than Christ alone. My spirit feels restless of all the self-aided programs and gimmicks I have produced trying to know Him in further measure. I think over the few weeks break that I had, and ask myself, “What did God really show me about myself and Him? Where am I going wrong by simply trying to come closer to Him? Why is my Christian walk becoming more like a duty than a Life that lives Himself through me?” And then the Light shines Himself in, exposing to me all the cobwebs of religion stored in the corners of my very soul. “Where did these come from?” I ask myself. Then Christ softly speaks to me, “These came from you trying to know Me in your own power. Religion is very simple… it is someone trying to know God in his or her own ability. It can never work. There is only one way to know God… that is literally through Me. No man comes unto the Father but by Me. I Am the Way. I Am the Truth. I am your only hope of Life, and you can only come to know Me by humbly obeying My Word when I speak. Read and pray, yes… but do know that your reading and praying in itself is not what will bring you nearer to me…I demand faith and obedience.” Then I remind myself that faith is simply casting all of me at the feet of Christ, awaiting His Living Water to change the current of mine, resulting in Himself becoming greater alive in me. As I ponder these thoughts, I think of Hebrews 12:2, “(Looking away from all that distracts and) unto Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.” The Answer to coming to know Him is this simple… just keep looking Higher. Higher than where you are right now. Higher than the present circumstances. Higher than the new political agenda. Higher than the power of discouragement. Higher than the will of self working. Higher than the overwhelming pressures of common life. Higher than this world itself. Higher than the angels of Heaven. Look higher until you see Jesus as the fullest expression of total Salvation. This is your time, beloved, to look Higher… and see Jesus as All.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

2010-12-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Devotional's will be changing the first of the year..so please check back for a new updated blog spot. Please take time and read the previous blogs in the meantime. Thanks for stopping in. God Bless and have a Blessed and Merry Christmas. Devotion's will be re-posting January 3rd, 2011.

A Word For The Flesh Fighter

2010-12-09T09:49:00.001-08:00

As I was pondering on what to write about this morning these verses came to my heart. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Beloved, are you trying to fight this flesh in yourself? The whole Christian life goal is to get our self out of the way of Christ so He may Glory Himself through us. But one cannot be saved very long and not find that this self is more powerful and controlling than we imagined. Some of you are trying to fight yourself by yourself. When self crucifies self religion is always a definite product, and religion will not ever be true Spirituality. When you really understand that you have no real strength in yourself, and that in fact you have little strength over yourself, you are coming to a edge of true Spirituality. Christ has always made it clear that we can never overcome anything without His Life working it through us. When we finally come to this place where we see we are totally impotent in ourselves, we then wonder what we are to do to find the rest in Christ the Bible so clearly speaks of. Beloved, the answer is simply this, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden…” Christ is speaking to the world, but also to those struggling in Spiritual matters. Flesh Fighter, in these three verses we find our total answer for Spiritual victory. Christ boldly says, “Stop trying to work these things out on your own! Just come unto me! You are laboring and becoming weary with the burden you cannot overcome by yourself! Just come unto me! Take my Life upon you and learn that your victory is produced by your Humility, Faith and Obedience, and my Life will cure all your ills naturally! Just come unto me! The method is simple, come unto me as the humble lamb that has no other secure chance to survive other than the Great Shepherd, casting yourself at my mercy and grace crying “if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole…” I will take your fight, and I will overcome through you, and you shall rest in my Life. Just humbly come unto me…”

When God Shakes Your Enemy Off

2010-12-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

Exodus 14:26-30, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.”

I was reading the passage of the Exodus the other day, just once more seeing the almighty working power of my God when I read these verses. In deeper study I found that verse 27 says that God literally “shook off the Egyptians” into the sea. I began to think about how God promised His people they would be totally delivered from this enemy. Then I began to think of some of the things in my life that sometimes begin to appear to me as the Egyptians did to the people of God. But, God has given a promise to all believers in Him! He will always shake the devil off! You may have to walk through a red sea, but keep trusting God, He will prove Himself Faithful! Beloved, take courage! When God shakes off the enemy that is on your trail, if you will keep walking with Him, you will never see that enemy again! What a promise! Keep trusting! God will shake off your enemy into a sea that was supposed to be your grave.

Where Jehovah Dwells

2010-12-07T08:55:00.001-08:00

When we find our place of humility in Christ, and allow the Lord to live in us, we have at that moment broke all human standards of mortal life. When we allow this great God to live His life in and through our bodies we are living the life of Heaven. I was praying the other day, and I uttered these words from my spirit; “The God of all existence… now exists in me.” As I repeated what I said, I quickly grabbed my phone and wrote that down.

Jehovah means, “The Self-Existent One” for He Was, He Is and He Always Will Be. When this One True God lives through you and I, we are then living a life eternal as He is, for He is living Himself through us. Eternal life is the byproduct of God living through us. It is simply His nature!

Jehovah also means, “I AM WHO I AM,” and also “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.” This is the desire of God in us right now. If we resist God’s working in us, not allowing Him to be who He is through us… then we will lose the God of All Existence in us also. One cannot have the God of Eternal life without taking also the God who will rule. They are one and the same. You get a Savior and a King with Christ… don’t resist allowing Him to have full dominion over you. Wherever our God Jehovah dwells… there is the highest form of existence. Are you living with Him and He with you this day?

God Has This Fight

2010-12-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

As I was going to sleep last night I was listening to Pastor Carter Conlon, Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in New York City, and the Lord really spoke to me through the anointed preaching. I want to at least share with you today the text that he read in the sermon.

Exodus 14:13-14, “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

As I was laying in my bed, and he read those verses, I almost jumped trying to get to my phone so I could write these notes in my phone. Beloved, it has always been… God brings us to places in the journey to the promised land where we cannot win on our own. He wants us to surrender to Him, find His peace, and watch as our He fights our battle. We cannot win in ourselves! He literally must done all through us, or all is nothing. When we try to produce victory through ourselves we produce religion that has no part with God. Hold faith and keep waiting in prayer, fasting and reading your bible, but understand you cannot win anything by yourself! God has this fight! Give it all to Him, and watch as you walk through on dry ground.

My Battle

2010-12-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

This morning I was texting a friend, just asking her for prayer for a situation in my life, when I noticed that I was placing the emphasis all on my efforts. I was speaking to her of “my battle” and how “I don’t know” if “my” methods of victory are correct. As I was writing it out to send, it was just like something said, “there is your battle. Your battle is not the circumstance before you… it is the fact that you are trying to overcome it in yourself. That is your battle.” I then understood that when I make it “my battle” then He cannot make it His, and I will never overcome in myself. My battle is not what lies before me… my battle is letting go so He can make it His. Don’t make it your battle…

If He Isn't There

2010-11-30T08:49:00.001-08:00

Let me start by asking you a question today… If Christ isn’t where you are then who is? To be absent from the life of Christ must mean we are either hanging out with the devil, or flirting with our flesh. Beloved, I made a statement to a friend a few weeks back saying, “The fullness of Heaven isn’t the streets of gold, the angels and all the beauty. No, the fullness of Heaven is simply the fact that God is there visible. If He isn’t there… then Heaven would be hell. The torture of hell isn’t because the flames and pain of the devil, but it is the absence of His Life. Heaven would be the same if He wasn’t there.”

If Christ’s Life is not present in your life… then you are living in hell on earth. Let us realize that our life must be based on obtaining His, or all is lost and hell is gained.

Semper Fidelis

2010-11-29T10:11:00.001-08:00

The United States Marine Corps has had the motto “Semper Fidelis” for many years. This is a phrase that is actually French, and it literally means “Always Faithful”. What a proper motto for a soldier. Now I ask you, is this your motto as a soldier of Christ? Are you pressing the battle with the made up mind that you will be faithful to God even if you die trying? Have you made up your mind that, live or die you will serve Christ to the best of your ability? Will to do His will. Will to be faithful at all times, no matter the cost.

Thanks For Giving

2010-11-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

As this wonderful Holiday approaches us very rapidly, we look forward to the thrills of the season. All the food, family and laugher will bring much joy to our hearts. This year will be my first year on the road for thanksgiving. As I have been thinking about the way everything fell in the schedule, I also have to remember that none of these things is really what thanksgiving is about. They are just byproducts of why we really are thankful. This year, let us remember the greatest event in the history of the world… Christ coming to this earth to save us from sin and ourselves. Let us thank the Father for giving His only Son and allowing Him to die upon a cross, and enter into the depths of the earth for three days, obtaining the keys to death, hell and the grave, and rising on the third day with the victory for lost mankind. Let us thank Christ for giving the Holy Ghost in His Name on the day of Pentecost, that we may have the ability to be filled with the same Resurrection Life that raised Him from the tomb. Let us thank the Holy Ghost for giving us a revelation of Christ, and convicting us of our sins that we could see we where absent without Christ. Let us accept all the giving of God, and let us never forget to thank Him for giving. Happy Thanksgiving!

Note- Since this is a Holiday week, we will resume our writing on this coming Monday. Have a safe week! Allow God to be the central point! God Bless.

The Father's Desire

2010-11-22T11:31:00.001-08:00

Luke 12:31-32, “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Beloved, the Kingdom of God is simply Christ. We must understand that Christ is All or All is lost. Now, seeing that Christ is the Kingdom of God, we just read where it is the “Fathers good pleasure” to give us Christ. Let us encourage ourselves when we fail and fall, in the fact that God’s greatest desire is to place us fully within Christ. He will bring us into the fullest place of the Kingdom, even though we may make mistakes, if we will simply come to Him with a humble heart, and a seeking spirit. Never forget that it is the Father’s greatest desire to establish the Life of His Son within us, and for us to be established within Him.

Shut Up Devil

2010-11-19T10:51:00.001-08:00

As I was speaking with my girlfriend a few days ago, she preached me a sermon with just a few short words. She said this, “when the devil comes at you, and he is speaking to you, and he is attacking you spiritually… don’t sit around and take his trash! You don’t have to! Just tell him to shut up!”

Well, as easy as that may sound, I can tell you that it is the truth. Beloved, you don’t have power within yourself… but you have a Life living within you that is All Power. When the enemy is coming, trying to trip you up, just tell him to be gone in Jesus Name! Tell him to shut his lying mouth and go back where he come from. Stand your ground… and keep willing to do the will of God. God says that we have power of the enemy through the Life of His Son… believe it! Believing is an action…

God Don't Want Your Isaac

2010-11-18T10:58:00.001-08:00

As I was setting up my music equipment last night, I was just thinking about Abraham and Isaac. The whole story of Abraham offering Isaac, is a story of obedience and faith. But, as I unrolled cables and set up guitars, I just felt these words in my spirit… “I didn’t want Isaac… I wanted Abraham.”

Beloved, God will bring you to a place where He asks you to lay down a promise. This may be through fasting and praying, or it may be a physical object. If you feel God has given you a gift that brings laughter to your life, and maybe is for the benefit of others, or whatever the case may be, there will most likely be a point in your life where God asks you to lay it down. Dear soul, understand that if God is asking, He will raise it up again if it is of Him. If He doesn’t then you don’t need it in your life anyway, for it must be contrary to His Word. And again, we must understand that God isn’t after our joy and the things He has given us… He is after us ourselves. He has to ask for obedience to prove faith.

It's His Love

2010-11-17T09:39:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 12:5-8, “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

There comes times, in throughout the Christian walk, where we accuse the devil of things that God has willed. Sometimes God allows chastening to come upon us, simply because He has to correct us, and make us greater into His image. Maybe you are going through some correction from the Father right now. If so, find comfort from these verses. Understand that, if He is correcting you… then you are His child. If He isn’t correcting you then you are an illegitimate child, so thank God for His correction. Realize that His judgment is His mercy. He has to correct us now, so we can spend forever with Him. So understand that His correction is His love for us, making us more like Him.

In His Name

2010-11-16T10:16:00.001-08:00

When we are being led by God, we soon find He requires Humility. Humility is what leads us to Obedience, and Obedience is what leads us to Faith, and Faith always leads us directly to God. Of course we know that everything in the Christian life is because of Grace, so that is the foundation of our work as well.

God leads us, and when we humble ourselves to His leading, following Him, He will always lead us to the same place.

“… He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for HIS name’s sake.” Psalms 23:3.
Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

As we walk with God, everything He does within us is to bring us to the image of His Son. He brings us to the place where we are living in His name. When we become born again, we totally lose the title of our name. Just as a bride takes the name of her husband, so do we take upon us the name of Christ. God has to continually lead us in His paths to keep us living in the name of Christ. See, to live in the name of Christ literally means to live in His nature. God leads us down His paths, to bring us to His nature. Are you found in His name today?

Mustard Seed Faith

2010-11-15T12:06:00.001-08:00

Matthew 17:14-21, “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

I am so excited about today’s writing. As I sat with the Senior Pastors of Living Waters Church last night over an after service dinner, Pastor Duke brought to a head something that had been stirring in my heart for months. Today I feel to write it to you.

I made a statement to my girlfriend some months back that, faith is literally God. At that time the Lord had just revealed to me that He was All or all was lost. But, I was unsure about saying that God is literally faith. By the information revealed to me last night it has all been pieced together, and I can tell you that just as God is Holiness… He is Faith.

We always try and make the mustard seed faith something that we can work up. This is a dead wrong approach. Faith is not a feeling, a positive confession or a nervous twitch. You cannot work faith up within yourself. The mustard seed is the only seed that cannot be germinated with a hybrid growth. Now that simply means that the mustard seed is a seed that cannot be mixed with any other seed. Seeing this, we can understand that this is a representation of God and His purity. So when Christ says that if we could have “the faith as a grain of mustard seed” He is literally saying… “if you will die to yourself, and allow My Life to enter in… just a portion as small as a grain of mustard seed of My Life will move mountains!” Beloved, we have looked at faith, for the most part, from our fleshly view. Let us see that this Faith is God! We simply must understand that we cannot get this Faith naturally, we must pray, fast and wait before God until He gives us His Overcoming Life in that area. Faith Is God.… wait for Him, and you can move every mountain He says move.

Sometimes We Fail

2010-11-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

This Christian life is very demanding. One cannot live the Christian life without realizing that Christ demands all of you. We must allow Him to work that work in us, where we continually surrender all to Him, even as the path of life goes on. The Christian life is one of ascension and surrender. As we walk with God, continually moving upward, we must continue to lay ourselves down. Seeing all of this, we know that this is the Christian duty. We understand that Christ requires all of us, but what about when we fail? I make mistakes, and sometimes I wonder this same thing. “How did I get here, and what do I do to get out?” I often think to myself. Talking with my girlfriend this morning on the phone, this topic came up. I will paraphrase to you what she told me.

“Sometimes we fail! He understands our weaknesses, and although He expects us to do our part, we must never forget that He is still God! He still loves us. He wont leave us when we make mistakes. If we come to Him and just lay out all the broken pieces, He is still God that He can mend us better than ever. He cares, and He changes, because He is God… and ONLY HE CAN!”

Beloved, people may look at you like you are the strongest Christian. You feel the eyes on you, and you feel that even the smallest mistake will kill you. But, realize that sometimes we fail. I am not saying go and mess up on purpose… but I am saying if you find yourself in a place of failure, and you feel as if you cannot run anywhere without damaging yourself more… run to Jesus. He understands. It isn’t as much of a shame to fail, as it is to stay there. He will bring you out, if you will trust Him with your whole life…

Reasonable Service

2010-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Do we ever look at living a disciplined life as being a reasonable service? A reasonable service is something that really isn’t asking a lot of someone in comparison with what has been given to that person by the asker. We ask of God very liberally, but yet when He asks of us we feel like He has asked just too much from us. Beloved, Paul said that to live this life of continual sacrifice to God, which He demands, is no big deal. Don’t be expecting medals for your prayer life, it is a demand. Don’t be expecting any pat on the back from God because you read you bible for so many hours a day. This life of sacrifice to God is a demand and a reasonable service. Beloved, I don’t mean to sound harsh, but we always must deal strictly with that flesh, or it will once more consume us. Let us see that to be a Christian, to fellowship with God through praying and reading, to know Him… is the greatest honor of life. Let the words of the verse posted sink deep into our spirit. Let’s get it right… it is our reasonable call.

The Key To Accepting Spiritual Strength And Victory

2010-11-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Today’s writing will be very brief and direct. There may be many ways to obtain spiritual strength and victory, but looking from the Word of God, let us realize that it is actually very simple. I would like to narrow this all down into one compact word if I could do so. We don’t obtain victory and strength for this Christian walk by just simply using the modern term “taking it by faith”. We really must realize that to ever take it anything by faith, we must be obedient. To be obedient simply means we are disciplined to acting upon Gods wants. This is what Paul was writing about here in the text given above. God places us in a race, it is our part to run. “… So run that ye may obtain.” is the words that show God demands disciplined obedience. We must “keep under” this body of flesh we have, and this putting flesh to death is an obedient work, but demands discipline. So, we must comprehend the greatness of discipline in our Christian life. We cannot just pray when we feel like it… prayer is a demand of God. We cannot just study when we have nothing else to do… studying is essential to fellowship with God. We cannot just do what we want, whenever we want! This age of “I do what I want, when I want” is not to be the life of the Born Again. The Christ that lives in you fits no modern age, nor any past age… He is eternal. You don’t fit into any age. You must stand against the unbridled age of flesh that lives within you, and do what you know to be the will of God. Don’t let that flesh tell you what to do, you tell it what to do… die ! Beloved, we are not here to play patty cake with flesh… we are here to kill it. This is obedience, and obedience is faith. So I submit to you that to ever be obedient, you must be disciplined, and if you are not, then in the end you are faithless, for obedience and faith are inseparable. Let us discipline ourselves this day, to be obedient to Christ. He will only come for the faithful.

The Fullness Of The Last Day

2010-11-09T09:49:00.001-08:00

Ephesians 1:3-10, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him”

When I study, I read everything in the King James Version, and then will read from the Amplified Bible. Today I read this, and was so joyously impressed that I had to write about it. I would like to quote the main text today given above, from the Amplified Bible.

Ephesians 1:9-10, “Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, [He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth.”

Beloved, there will be many things happen in the last days. I truly believe that we are right now within the last moments of the last day. We are just about to see catastrophic events taking place before our eyes. But, we always hear about the sad events, but today I want to simply give you a word of encouragement. Dear people, don’t get so busy looking and waiting for the terror to come, that you miss the point of the end time. The end time is literally for the Glory of Christ and His Bride the Church! Wow! We are at the very climaxing peak of the ages! Christ will soon come! If it be 10 years, it is still upon us. God will unify the Bride of Christ, preparing a wedding! All things will soon be placed in Christ, and even the devil himself will have to confess that Christ is Conquering Lord! Beloved, there will be a rapture, and it will not be too far off! Don’t be on the flesh side of life, refusing to bow your complete self to Christ’s desires and ways… for you will bow one day… don’t let it be on the wrong side of eternity. But, Christian… shout the victory, and be ready! Christ is coming for a Bride, and all that are found in Him will be that Bride. Every horrible and terrible thing that will occur is to bring Christ to the forefront of the world! He will show all that He is. This is the promise of the Word. Christ is the fullness of eternity. It has always been about Him, and it will be that in the last days as well.

The Jailer Needs To Know

2010-11-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why God allows us to go through times of severe testing? Sometimes it is as if He places our whole Christian life in a situation where the circumstances scream that there is no way of escape, and God has forsaken us. I believe that these moments come to everyone who is living the Christian call.

Look at the great men of God, Paul and Silas. They were living the life of Christ in the fullest, seeing people saved, casting out devils, simply being His vessel. But, all at once they find themselves in the place of dire straits.

Acts 16:19-24- “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

Sometimes we will be put in these places of difficulty, but we must understand that, if we are led by the Spirit, then God has a plan for our being right where we are. It is up to us to use those moments wisely, spending them in the praise.

Acts 16:25-26, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

If we will praise God in these times of trial, He will always prove Himself more faithful than we knew. And, beloved, there is another person many times for our prison trials… God wants to save the jailer. The only thing God ever needed was a man, and the only thing that man ever needed was God. He places us in the prison cell to be His life.

Acts 16:27-34, “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”
Beloved, it is all about us being His life. Be encouraged in the Lord wherever you may be, for someone there needs to see the life of Christ in action. Don’t ever forget that the jailer needs to know…

Where I Am

2010-11-05T10:26:00.001-07:00

As I slept last night, I dreamt that I was preaching this following writing. I pray that this encourages you.

John 14:3, “…that where I am, there ye may be also.”

At the giving of these words by Christ, I would like to look at where He was at that moment. Christ was both fully God and fully man. Most believe that this verse is only speaking of mansions in Heaven, I believe it is speaking of much more than that. I believe it is speaking of our union with God through the death and resurrection of the Christ. Christ being the temple, (read John 2:21) us dwelling in Christ, and God being found in the Fullness in Christ, this brings us together in total union with God. I believe this with all my heart. Christ didn’t die just to bring us to mansion of Gold! No! He came to bring us into the total nature of Himself, and this is produced by our union with Him. By Him going to the cross, and to the grave… He prepared a place for us in Himself. Beloved, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” He came to bring us to a state of Heaven on earth. This is not our Home… we must keep looking upward, but we can be at Home while walking in the Spirit. Draw nigh to Him today! Be where He is, being a man in a Heavenly atmosphere all at the same time. Be His Life today.

You Have A Call

2010-11-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Acts 23:11-15, “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.”

Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”

Beloved, as we look at the life of Paul we see that he was placed in hardships many times in throughout his Christian life. Have you ever stopped to think about the words given in the texts above? Paul remind us that with Christ, we can go through ever moment of pain with the understanding that He has a plan for us, and that plan is our only purpose for being.

Looking at the time of Paul’s trial in Jerusalem, the bible says that the Lord told Paul he would be going to Rome to bear His life. No matter what Paul would go through… no matter who tried to kill him… no matter how little food there was… no matter how many shipwrecks, stoning incidents, and moments death would try and set in… Paul knew He had a call to fulfill. Beloved, He was going to be in Rome, no matter what. God said he would be there, he knew he would be there. We are as immortal as God is, until our work is finished, as long as we are ever moving forward at God’s pace. God has given everyone a call, that call is to simply be the life of Christ… no matter what circumstances may come, rest in faith, knowing that you are called to Rome… you will be there as soon as God wills it. You wont go down! Don’t get discouraged, for you are called to be conformed to His image, you keep striving and you will be there.

Obedience and Faith part 2

2010-11-03T07:06:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 11:1-13, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith…”

There is one thing I would like to point out about the text given above… all of these men and women of God, though knowing that some of them failed God and produced large amounts of flesh which is always against God, they all have one thing in common… they had to first act upon God’s word before they were counted faithful.

11:4, “By Faith Abel offered…”

Genesis 5:22, “And Enoch walked with God…” Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated… he pleased God…”

11:6, “…He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him…”

11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark…”

11:8-10, “By faith Abraham, …obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned… For he looked for a city…”

11:11, “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed… because she judged him faithful who had promised.”

I can tell you today, faith and obedience must go hand in hand. None of these would have been counted in the faith hall of fame if they had not acted upon what they heard and believed. Oh if we would just act upon the Word of God… He said “Tarry here until you be endowed with Power…” and “Go unto all the world and preach my gospel…” BUT ARE WE LIVING IN TRUE FAITH???! IF SO WE WILL BE LIVING IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD. Anything less than meeting His condition is faithlessness. Yes we fail, yes we fall… but the shame isn’t so much in us failing and falling, but the shame is in us staying there. Let us get up, obey… and find the true faith of God.

Obedience And Faith

2010-11-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

True Faith doesn’t just move mountains… it finds the Grace to Trust God to help climb them. True Faith doesn’t say “God will not put me in the fire…” but true faith says, “I will go through anything and everything He wills, and in the end, by His Grace, I will be more like Him.”

Beloved, true faith is not just knowing that God can, for James tells us that even the devils know that God can and they tremble, but that doesn’t give them faith. If a devil could have the true faith that Christ requires, and that we have mostly let slip through our understanding, then that devil would be as saved as you and I. So we must understand then that just knowing that God can is not enough. Seeing this, we then must look to what true faith is.

James 2:20-24, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”

Hebrews 11:8-10, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

We see in both of these passages that faith is only faith when we obey and work His will. We must simply will to do His will, and faith will always be there. Faith isn’t just some blab it grab it thing. We don’t work faith by our emotions… we work faith by trusting God enough to do what He asks. If He said to climb that mountain... then climb it, for that is true faith.

Works And Obedience

2010-11-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

As I was reading the book of James this week, the Lord allowed me to finally understand what that book truly is about. If I was to summarize the book of James today I would simply say that it is a book of Faith and Obedience.

James 2:17-18, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”

We have mostly misunderstood this book, beloved. Most think that this book says that if we do good actions, take care of the poor and justly treat everyone good, then we must have faith. But that is not what this verse is saying at all. By taking a brief overview of this verse on surface value, it would almost seem as if James was going against Paul’s message of Faith and Grace. This is why for the past few years I have read through James I came out in the end somewhat confused. James is not teaching any different message than Paul, he is simply using different terminology that we easily misunderstand today. James is simply saying that, you cannot have faith without having obedient actions to follow. One cannot be obedient without also having faith, and one cannot have faith without being obedient, the two are inseparable. If we claim to have faith, and yet are not obedient to the written Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, then our faith is a façade. If you do not move to the voice of God, then you don’t believe anything and you are rendered faithless. Only by our works of obedience do we have true faith. Works is not just living by some moral code… it is simply being totally obedient to God. I pray this excites you as much as it has me this week. Don’t worry with the works of religion… just simply be obedient and you will always see Jesus.