Saturday, December 29, 2018

Encouragement

Encourage Someone Today

Joshua was taking over a momentous task from Moses, leading the children of Israel, who by the way had not been the easiest crowd to lead.  God gives Joshua that infamous charge in Joshua chapter one.  Something really struck me this morning because the last words are from the people to Joshua and were incredible words of encouragement. 
Hey Joshua we are with you, we will follow you and do what needs to be done.  And if anyone whines and complains and stands up against you, they are done for.  Hey Joshua BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, God is with you but we are with you too. (Steve falible paraphrase of Joshua 1:16-18)

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Swerve

Don't Swerve

If you want to avoid serious accidents in life don't swerve.  "Turn not from it (don't swerve) to the right hand or to the left." Don't swerve from what?
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."  Joshua 1:8 

Thursday, December 20, 2018

I Love You Daddy

Daddy

Thoughts of daddy for some are harsh, violent and abusive.  For others, there is nothing sweeter than the love their daddy had for them.  We have a heavenly daddy who loves us unconditionally and can't wait for us to come running to Him in complete dependence.  "Our Father (daddy) which art in heaven, hallowed be they name..."
"I remember when the present Queen Elizabeth was growing up. I followed her life since she was a wee little topped. Overtime when she was walking about the palace with her dignified but kindly old grandfather, George V, the Old King left the door open. Little Elisabeth turned to him and said,  "Grandpa, go close the door." And the great king of England went and close the door at the voice of a little girl! He couldn't pull any of that "your majesty" business a little Elizabeth, she was just his granddaughter. And so, no matter what awful terms the Philosopher's want to apply to the power that rules the universe you and I can say, "Our Father (Daddy) which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." AW TOZER

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Loyalty and Faithfulness


We often pride ourselves in proclaiming our loyalty to certain things yet in our everyday circumstances we often abandoned our loyalty to God by discrediting His hand in all the events of our lives.  Listen to Oswald Chambers.....
"It's only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances.  We may take liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men.  To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to the Lord."

Do I really believe Romans 8:28 in the good, the bad and the mundane?

Monday, December 17, 2018

God and Santa

How Do I Treat God?

I was struck this today as I read..."God is not a glorified Santa Claus, who gives us everything we want then fades out and let's us run our own way.  He gives, but in giving He gives himself too. And the best gift God ever gavebusnis Himself.  He gives answers to prayers, but after we used up the answer or don't need it anymore, we still have God."   AW TOZER

We can crawl up in "the lap" of God anytime, anyplace and anywhere; not just at the mall around Christmas time; and pour out our hearts to Him in love, adoration, praise and thanksgiving seeking Him. 

Friday, December 14, 2018

Deep

Diving Deep

Growing up close to the ocean most of my life, provided the opportunity to develop a love for snorkeling and shell collecting.  Tucked away in my mother in laws attic are several boxes of incredible displays of God's handiwork.  Sometimes those shells can be found washed up on shore but they are most beautifully seen and found when you dive deep.  Not only do we see beauty but all seems calm and serene.

Joni Erickson Tada said it this way..." when you dive beneath the surface things of God, you also discover an endless calm... a world of Divine Life that is quiet and deep. There, in the depths, God will reveal a quiet and gentle kind of interior Beauty. The Lord is so generous! Even when we choose to live only on the surface of things, where we are often tossed this way and that, God still reveals himself through thrilling displays of his power. But there's much more to God than what we see, what we all see of him, on the surface. When we dive deeper into God's heart, all the turmoil of our daily lives, the problems that crash around us like huge waves, seem somehow... Distant."

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.  Psalms 107:29‭-‬30

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The Love Of God

The Love Of God

The song writer tried to pen it, preachers have tried to explain it, but words just cannot describe it. 

"Talking about the love of God is like going around the globe, visiting every country in the world, then spending five minutes telling your friends about it. You can't do it!"  AW TOZER

Frederick M Lehman(1917)
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Holiness

Holy

The word itself is rather daunting and seemingly impossible, not to mention we perceive rather ho-hum.  God is holy, I am not. Forget it, it's not even worth trying.  If that were the case, God would have never instructed us to strive for holiness.  The reality is we can't be holy apart from Him.  And speaking of the   
ho-hum of holiness....

"How little people know who think that Holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing... It's irresistible." CS LEWIS

And when it comes to God, we should be gloriously ecstatic that he is Holy. If not, we are in deep trouble, because then he would be just like you and me.

"God, being the Eternal, holy God, cannot change. He will not go from better to worse. You cannot think of God being any less holy than he is now, any less righteous than he is now. God must remain infinitely holy, fixed, forever unchanging in holiness. He cannot go from worse to better for the simple reason that God, being absolutely holy, cannot go beyond himself. He cannot get any holier than he is now, or go from less good to better.  God is not better or greater, he is simply already the apex, the fountain, the top and great." AW TOZER

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Great God!

God, Both In and Above All Things

There is indeed no one like our God as the song writer has said.  If we could, in our finiteness, fully comprehend or adequately be able to descibe Him, He wouldn't be God.  Yet it behooves us to contemplate, ponder and as best we can wrap our finite minds around His absolute greatness and infiniteness.

"God’s immanence refers to His presence within His creation. (It is not to be confused with imminence, which refers to the timing of Jesus’ return to earth.) A belief in God’s immanence holds that God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there is no place where God is not. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously.

Pantheism and deism twist many people’s view of how God relates to His creation. Pantheists believe that everything is God or is a part of God, making Him equal with His creation and unable to act upon it. Deists hold that God is distinct from His creation but deny that He plays an active role in it. Contrary to these and other false views of God, the Bible says that God is both different from His creation and actively upholding it.

Transcendence (God exists outside of space and time) and immanence (God is present within space and time) are both attributes of God. He is both “nearby” and “far away,”" (From GotQuestions.org)

"God is above all things, beneath all things, outside of all things, and inside of all things. God is above, but he's not pushed up. He's beneath, but he's not press down. He's outside, but he's not excluded. He's inside, but he's not confined. God is above all things presiding, beneath all things sustaining, outside of all things in bracing, and inside of all things filling. That is the immanence of God." AW TOZER

Indeed How Great Is Our God!

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.   Colossians 1:17

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Big God!

"How Big Is God?"

As a pastor from time to time I get asked that daunting question by a sweet little child.  To which I often reply from my Veggie Tales Theology..."God is higher than the boggie man, He's bigger than Godzilla and the monsters on TV..."

Well that is true and He is even bigger because He is transcendent.  Now try defining transcendence to a 3 year old. 

You may find this hard to believe, but God is just as far above an archangel as he is above a caterpillar.....Why? Because both the Archangel and the caterpillar are creatures. And God is an uncreated one who had no beginning, the self-existent one who was never created, but who was simply God, who made all things.  There is a vast gulf, and all but infinite gulf, fix between that which is God and that which is not God between The Great I Am and all created things, from the Archangel down to the tiniest virus that cannot be seen with the naked eye. God made all that and is just as high above one as He is the other. God's uncreated quality of life causes him to be transcendent, to rise High Above All Creatures."  AW TOZER

Yet God, in all His trancendent infiniteness, has chosen to reveal himself to us, and desires to have a personal intimate relationship with us through his son Jesus Christ.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9

Monday, November 26, 2018

Be A Blessing


It certainly is wonderful to be blessed, but an even greater joy is to be a blessing.  The old hymn is never out of date.  Who will you bless this week?

Make Me a Blessing

Out in the high-ways and by-ways of life,
Many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
Making the sorrowing glad.

 
CHORUS:
Make me a blessing, Make me a blessing --
Out of my life May Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,
Tell of His power to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
True, every moment you live.

Give as 'twas given to you in your need,
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
Unto your mission be true.

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
Proverbs 11:25

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Power Source

The Source

Generators are great when the power goes out, the light switch is wonderful when the room is dark, the floor jack is remarkable when the tire is flat but all power must have a greater source.  What source of power are you grasping for? When all the lights go out in life, where is the adequate power needed to see and navigate through the maze?

"God is the source of all power there is. There isn't any power anywhere that doesn't have God as its source, whether it be the power of the intellect, of the spirit, of the soul, of dynamite, of the storm, or of magnetic attraction. Wherever there is any power at all, God is the author of it. And the source of anything has to be greater than that which flows out of it." AW TOZER

‘O Lord God , You have only begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do such works and mighty acts (miracles) as Yours?  DEUTERONOMY 3:24

Friday, November 23, 2018

Eager?

With Eager Anticipation....

I remember a a child eagerly awaiting the coming of Christmas morning.  Opening the gifts, what sheer joy for a child's heart. 

Am as eager about the coming of Christ? The gift has been partly revealed in the Bible yet the fullness of all that awaits in heaven, we will be opening for an eternity of Christmas mornings.

He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  REVELATION 22:20

Thursday, November 22, 2018

I Am Thankful For What I Can Count On

Thankful For What You Can Count On?

The floor, a calculator.....okay you get the idea, but what about something other than an inanimate object?   We would like to think we will always be there, or that we can be counted on to always be faithful...but no the reality is we can't be. You spouse won't be, nor your children or your neighbor, your job, really nothing.  However there is one you can always count on to be faithful.
"That is the fact before us: God is faithful. He will remain faithful because he cannot change he is perfectly faithful, because God is never partly anything. God is perfectly all that he is and never partly what he is. You can be sure that God will always be faithful... this faithful God, who never broke a promise and never violated a covenant, who never said one thing and then another, who never overlooked or forgot , this Is Our God"  AW TOZER

God is faithful [He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise--He can be depended on], and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:9

He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded and established to a thousand generations...PSALM 105:8

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

The Glory of God

In all the hustle and bustle of everyday life we(I) miss the glory of God all around us.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

"Reading my Bible, I am greatly impressed by the manner in which Godly men of old revealed in their writings an intense love for every natural beauty around them. They saw nature as the handiwork of an all-powerful and all glorious creator!  In our generation, how rarely we get into a situation where we can feel the impulses of nature communicated to us. We seldom have time to lift our eyes to look at God's heaven-except when we are wondering if we should wear our boots!" AW Tozer

Watch this an be re-amazed at the glory of our great God and Creator!

https://youtu.be/F79Ck8rFIes

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Don't Forget The Cost

Never Forget

I was reminded this morning, reading Oswald Chambers, that my sin(and all to often my continuing sin) and insuing forgiveness came at an agonizing cost.

" The only ground on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ; to put forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive sin and reinstate us in His favor is through the Cross of Christ, and no other way. Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony of Calvary. It is impossible to take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification with a simplicity of faith, and to forget at what enormous cost to God it was all made ours."

For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.  1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

Monday, November 19, 2018

Mercy

Praise the Lord ! (Hallelujah!) Oh give thanks to the Lord , for He is good; For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever!
PSALM 106:1

"God is merciful.  As I said about the other attributes of deity, Mercy is not something God has but something got is. If Mercy was something God had, conceivably God might miss lay it or use it up. It might become less or more. But since it is something that God is, then we must remember that it is uncreated. The mercy of God always was in being, for Mercy is what God is and God is eternal. And God is infinite." AW TOZER

Mercy is God not punishing us as our sin deserves.  I am so thankful mercy is who God is not something He has. 

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Cheap or Infinite?

Is Your God Cheap or Infinite?

There are certainly times that we shrink the greatness of God, we must be careful that we don't bow to reductionism.  That is not to say we can't use anthrophormorphic(human terms that describe an indescribable God) terms, because that's the best we can do with our limited vocabulary.  However don't reduce God to a genie in the bottle. 

"God, to be God, must be infinite in all he is. He must have no bound and no limit, no stopping place, no point Beyond which he can't go. When you think of God or anything about God you'll have to think infinitely about God. You may have a charlie horse in your head for two weeks after trying to follow this, but it's a mighty good cure for this little cheap god we have today. This little cheap god we've made up is one you can pal around with-"the Man upstairs," the fellow who helps you win baseball games. That god isn't the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He isn't the God who laid the foundations of the Heaven and the Earth; he's some other god."  AW TOZER

Now to the King of the ages [eternal], immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.  1 TIMOTHY 1:17

Friday, November 16, 2018

Don't Grow Weary

"Right now you may be in the middle of a long stretch of the same old routine. The beginning of your Christian Life was exhilarating. Your spiritual adrenaline was pumped up. But now there are miles behind you in miles to go. You don't hear any cheers or applause. The days run together, and so do the weeks. Your commitment to keep putting one foot in front of the other is starting to falter."   Joni Erickson Tada

Don't loose sight of the finish line nor the beauty even in the hardships and mundane along the way.  God has you right where you are for a grand an glorious purpose.  He is not finished with you yet. 

"Someone once said the challenge of living is,  to develop a long obedience in the same direction. When it's demanded, we can rise on occasion and be patient... as long as there are limits. But we balk when patience is required over a long haul. We don't much like endurance."  Joni Erickson Tada

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Where did God come from?

Where did God come from?  A question often asked by young and old alike.  "God is self-existent selfhood.  Novation, the church father said, "God has no origin" A W Tozer. Origin is a creature word and our God is no creature.  If God had origin, then He would logically be no different than us.  I am glad our God is unique and immutable.  He also became flesh and revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.   “At the beginning You founded the earth; The heavens are the work of Your hands."  PSALM 102:25.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Warfare

The Laws of Warfare

There have been laws of Warfare from the time of early ancient history.  Dueteronomy 20 gives laws of Warfare and the first law is....dont be afraid.  It doesn't matter how big or mighty your enemy is, remember God is bigger.  It might be a battle of emotions, a battle physically, a battle spiritually, a battle with an individual or a group of people or even a battle against humanities arch enemy, the devil.   Don't be afraid GOD IS BIGGER, STRONGER AND MIGHTIER THAN ANY ENEMY YOU WILL EVER FACE!
“When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. When you approach the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people, and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: you are advancing today to battle against your enemies. Do not lack courage. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble [in terror] before them, for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’
DEUTERONOMY 20:1‭-‬4

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Grace

We often think of grace as a only a New Testament principle, not so, grace began in the Garden of Eden.  Tozer said it well, "Grace indeed came by Jesus Christ, but it did not wait for His birth in the manger or His death on the cross before it became operative." 

Friday, August 17, 2018

Easier Said than Done

What does the Lord your God require?  Moses asked in a rhetorical question in Dueteronomy 10:12-13. Simply...fear the Lord, walk in all His ways, love Him,  serve Him with a your heart and soul, and keep his commandments.  How easy is that?  Apart from the transforming work of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit....mission impossible.  And even with His direct intervention I buck the system. Praise the Lord for His tender mercy. 

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Heart Transplant

A man in our church recently had a physical heart transplant that saved his life.  There is spiritual heart transplant that will save your life, and you don't  have to wait for a donor or perfect match.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

QUIT blaming everyone else!

Take Responsibility

We love to play the blame game as humans.  It started in the garden with Adam and Eve, and we have been playing it well from the beginning.  I was struck recently by Moses of all people who got caught up in the blame game.  In Deuteronomy 1:37; 3:26; 4:21 Moses said because of you (children of Israel) God will not let me go to the Promised Land.  No Moses it was you who struck the rock.   We are  just like Moses, always looking for someone to blame. 

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Mercy and Grace

Overwhelming  thought when we realize God has directed mercy and grace to us. 
"Mercy is God's goodness confronting human misery and guilt. Grace is God's goodness directed toward human debt and demerit." A.W. Tozer

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Discipline without Complaint

Discipline without Complaint

Moses nearing the end of his career and life is disciplined by God for his disobedience.  Moses doesn't plead his case, he doesn't complain about how bad everyone else is, he simply humbly takes the rebuke and the discipline and is more concerned about the people than himself.  The mark of a Godly leader. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain (Nebo) [in the] Abarim [range] and look at the land I have given to the sons of Israel. When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people [in death], just as Aaron your brother was gathered; because in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat me as holy [by following My instruction] before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) Then Moses spoke to the Lord , saying, “ Let the Lord , the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go out and come in before them, and will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.”  NUMBERS 27:12‭-‬17

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Why Daddy?

Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani.  My God My God Why Have You Forsaken Me. 

I am overwhelmed by the rejection of Christ by humanity, including myself because of my sin.  I am overwhelmed by the fact that God had to turn His back on His Son(in a divine act of "rejection") and pour out the wrath I deserved on Him, so that a sinful, wretched person like me could have salvation.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:3‭-‬5

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The Talking Donkey

So are you going to listen to God or is God going to have to use a donkey to get your attention?  Numbers 22. 

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Longsuffering

I Am So Glad He Is!

‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty , visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’ Please pardon the wickedness and guilt of these people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You have forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.”   NUMBERS 14:18‭-‬19

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Destroy Them All

What Would You Do?

The children of Israel dishonored God's promises in utter disbelief so God said okay Moses I will destroy them and start over again with you. 

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”  NUMBERS 14:11‭-‬12

Yes okay God they are a bunch of idiots, destroy them, let's start again with perfect little ole me.   Back up....( Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)  NUMBERS 12:3

Wow what would you do?  Hmmmmm....

Monday, February 26, 2018

God or But

It Is Either God Or But

God has made the promise....but
God said he would be with us all the way....but
God said I will defeat the enemy....but
The spies report sounds like us when we know what God has said.....BUT
They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip: “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Numbers 13:27-28

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy is a slowly developing, progressive disease that damages the skin and nervous system. Leprosy is caused by an infection with Mycobacterium leprae.  Treatable in our world it was a scurge of unfathomable proportions in bibilical days physically, emotionally and socially.
We may not be suffering from physical leprosy but spiritual leprosy can eat away at us very quickly because of a critical whining spirit.  This account in scripture gives us a vivid picture.

"Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, "You three come out to the tent of meeting." So the three of them came out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord , shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. "Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the Lord . Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?"  So the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed. But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous." Numbers 12:1‭-‬10

Friday, February 23, 2018

Despondent

Despondent

Ever felt that way?  Circumstances, people, life.... Moses the great patriarch of Israel became so discouraged over whining people he begs God to kill him.
Moses said to God , “Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I conceive them? Was I their mother? So why dump the responsibility of this people on me? Why tell me to carry them around like a nursing mother, carry them all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people who are whining to me, ‘Give us meat; we want meat.’ I can’t do this by myself—it’s too much, all these people. If this is how you intend to treat me, do me a favor and kill me. I’ve seen enough; I’ve had enough. Let me out of here.”                    Numbers 11:11‭-‬15 MSG

Live life long enough and you will no doubt feel that at some point and maybe several points along life's journey.....BUT don't loose heart

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psalms 46:1‭-‬3

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The Rabble

Watch Out For the Rabble Rousers

They will rub off on you and you will join the bandwagon.  Run from the Rabble or you will start acting just like them!
The rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate freely and without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing at all [in the way of food] to be seen but this manna.”
NUMBERS 11:4‭-‬6

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Complaining and Whining


It appears as though God is not real happy with our complaining and whining.  I am so glad God is merciful with us, and doesn't do as He did to the children of Israel in Numbers.  I might have been scorched a long time ago. I promise that singe odor is not coming from me....maybe.  $5 is a pretty cheap price for whining.  Is that you or me I smell?
"Now the people became like those who complain and whine about their hardships, and the Lord heard it; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and devoured those in the outlying parts of the camp."  NUMBERS 11:1

Monday, February 19, 2018

A National Disaster Response


Everyone is clamouring for the answer to the proverbial question...WHY?  In the midst of it all there are families,  communities and even our nation mourning and grieving.  The crisis goes much deeper than what we see on the surface.
We don't have just a killing crisis, just a abortion crisis, just a school shooting crisis, just a pornography crisis, just a violent movie, music and video game crisis, just a sexual harassment crisis, nor just a drunk driving crisis...we have a moral and spiritual crisis!   All of those things are simple symptoms of a far greater problem. Not a single school shooter grew up in a stable, loving, Godly home, where he(notice I said he because we have a man crisis as well, shooters are male) was taught and where he adhered to Godly principles including the gospel that changes the heart and in turn changes action.  What if more friends at school, more neighbors or more concerned parents had been concerned about Nikolas Cruz spiritual condition?  What about all the Nikolas Cruz's that live around us, are we concerned about what matters most?  It's not politically correct to talk about the transformative work of the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ that will take a depraved, sinful heart and life and make it brand new, giving that life new values, including valuing others lives. 
Am I saying we shouldn't have active shooter training, or metal detectors or armed guards at school or examine our current laws? No!  But the laws already on the books aren't obeyed so, more laws aren't the answer.  We really need tort reform. We need judges and a criminal justice system that will quit slapping criminals on the wrist and instead give them tough sentences rather than a motel suite with better conditions than at home.  We also need dad's and mom's to get their rearends up off the couch and their noses out of their phones and spend time with their children and teach them like Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says. 
I am nearly 57 years old, I grew up in an era when high school boys brought their guns to school in the back window of their pick up truck.  When I was in school we honored God, country the Bible and human life every day before school started by prayer, pledge and reading the Bible....in public school.  The per capita gun ownership when I was a boy is far higher than what it is now.   Look at the stats, 90% of the killing in school shootings have taken place post 1960.  What happened at that time in American history that changed the mindset of our country?  We took the Bible, prayer and the 10 commandments out of the public arena that at least taught a moral baseline.  Honestly I am more appalled at the fact that over 10,000 people in 2016 were killed by drunk drivers....why isn't this generation crying for prohibition?   Where was the outcry over Kermit Gossell?  "Gosnell...America's Most Prolific Serial Killer."  The book and story detail a horrific abortion mill that butchered babies born alive.   The crisis we face today runs beyond the school house and has engulfed our entire culture.  Let's cry out to God, not government for mercy, help and wisdom.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Scatter The Enemy

Scatter The Enemy

The enemy(the devil) is on the prowl seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8), then we have our own wicked flesh that gnaws and screams within us, wanting to be fed and satisfied and the world that is constantly plastering things around us.  HELP!
GOD instructed the children of Israel to blow the trumpet when they battled the enemy, who would attack them (Numbers 10:9) and the chapter concludes with Moses shouting RISE UP OH LORD AND LET YOUR ENEMIES BE SCATTERED! If they are our enemies they are the Lord's enemies.  HELP US LORD TO OVERCOME THE ENEMY!

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Pray for India


India has 17% of the world's population and by 2020 will be the largest nation in the world.  Here is a quote I received this morning from Sam(our contact on the ground) in India..."there are 120 million people in my country, in that only 20 million are Christians in that 10 million are Protestant in that very few we can find the real believers brother"
Pray for us as we travel to India in March to share the gospel in evangelistic crusades and Pastors conferences. 
If you would like to participate in supporting the India event inbox me and I will share the financial needs for the trip.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Glory of God


We really just cannot comprehend the Glory of a incomprehensible, transcendent God.  In A W Tozers little, yet profound book;  The Atrributes of God  THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY (which every Christian should read) Tozer reminds us of who God is in many remarkable, descriptive ways. This little poem by Isaac Watts says it well. 

How shall polluted mortals dare to sing        Thy glory or Thy Grace?
Beneath Thy face we lie afar,
And see but shadows of Thy face. 
Isaac Watts

Monday, February 12, 2018

Divine Appointments


When we think of a Divine appointment, a number of ideas come to our mind.  Maybe one of those "chance encounters" that was really orchestrated by the hand of God.  I was really thinking, after I read numbers chapter 7, of a scheduled appointment when we talk to God. That's what Moses did. 

"When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord , he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way."
Numbers 7:89
What did the Divine God say to you today at you appointment?

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Frozen


In an exchange between God and Job, God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind and  reveals He even gives birth to His creation encased with ice and frozen.  What an awesome, spectacular, indescribable God!

“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? “Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? “Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.
JOB 38:28‭-‬30

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Blessing or Cursing?


You will choose today to either bless others or curse them by your words, spoken or unspoken.  James 3:10 reminds us that out if the same mouth comes blessing and cursing, but that shouldn't be so.

Let's be determined to bless others today.
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:  The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:  The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers 6:24‭-‬26

Thursday, February 1, 2018

God Spoke To Me!?


As you read the OT especially you hear this kind of statement over and over again...
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
NUMBERS 2:1
So the debate rages does God still speak?         I love the wisdom of teacher/author/theologian, Henry Blackaby when he said..."every time you open God's Word He is speaking to you". Wow...God spoke to me too! If you ever want to hear the voice of God just open His Word.  Did He speak to you yet today?

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Rejoice In Those Bright Spots


I am reading in Numbers and came upon this bright spot in the life of the Israelites. "Thus the sons of Israel did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did." Numbers 1:54
Our life in Christ is not dependent on performance, yet we are called to "strive for the mastery". Every once in a while we do exactly as we are supposed to do and our obedience is stellar.  When those moments come, and if your like me,  not often enough....rejoice in the "bright spot". If not...do as I have to all too often do, admit my wrong doing and ask my merciful heavenly Father for forgiveness.            (I John 1:9).

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Longsuffering

When you read the text and see God's judgement for failing to following His commands, don't forget to notice His "IF LONGSUFFERING".  (NOTE THE NUMBERS).  Even in the midst of God pouring out His judgements, He is longsuffering and if we at anytime will listen and obey He will stay His hand and demonstrate His merciful longsuffering toward us.  Leviticus 26:14-46

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.  (1)And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.  (2)And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.  (3)And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.  (4)And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.  And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.  And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.  And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.  And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.  And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.  (5)If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; (6)if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord .  These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
Leviticus 26:14‭-‬46

Monday, January 22, 2018

He Leans Toward Us


The blessings of God come in many different ways.  We tend to think materially yet there are so many ways God blesses.  Sometimes He just leans toward us, how incredible that the God of the universe would lean toward us.    For I will (lean)turn toward you [with favor and regard] and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish and confirm My covenant with you. LEVITICUS 26:9
In context He requires and desires our obedience.  Yet how often has He leaned toward us with mercy and grace even when we have failed Him.  Praise the Lord for His blessing of leaning toward us with favor and regard!

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Who's In Charge

Does this mean that Washington will now do things God's way?  No... that's right they said God was dead.  So who's in charge now?

Let's not be so cynical there Steve Hubbard.  Remember what scripture said. 

First of all, then, I urge that petitions (specific requests), prayers, intercessions (prayers for others) and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in [positions of] high authority, so that we may live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This [kind of praying] is good and acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge and recognition of the [divine] truth. For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time. 1 TIMOTHY 2:1‭-‬6

Free At Last


Free At Last, Free At Last, Praise God Almighty I Am Free At Last!  The negro spiritual that Martin Luther King referenced, as inspiring as it was, pales in comparison to the freedom we have in Christ.  The slaves would never want to go back to the slave owner, why would we ever want to go back to "spiritual Egyptian bondage" if we have been set free by salvation?
~‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men]. LEVITICUS 26:13

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

My Little Light

This Little Light of Mine

Reading in Leviticus 24 today(“Command the children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand], to make a lamp burn continually." Leviticus 24:2) and two thoughts came to life.  I went back to my childhood and that little song I will never forget.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, shine, shine
Let it shine!
Then I was reminded of Revelation  chapter one that describes the 7 lampstands and Christ standing in the midst.  The Lampstands are not only representative of the church but of us as well.  We are collectively and individually called to be the light of the world.  We are supposed to let our light shine in a dark world.  There is so much hoplessness and darkness in our world.  Let's be sure are lamps are burning brightly.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Banana In Your Ear?

Reading Oswald Chambers this morning I was reminded of a phrase I remembering hearing as a child..."what's the matter you can't hear me, do you have a banana in your ear?  That's the problem all to often in our relationship with God, we have a banana in our ear.
Chambers said it this way..."God Did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying,  "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few it's for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears and what I hear depends upon my disposition." 
Let's be sure we are listening as much as we are talking to God, otherwise we might miss a great opportunity to accomplish a task for His glory.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Timeless Great God

How Great is our God?  To really comprehend His greatness we have to start in the beginning, but that does not apply to God, because He had no beginning.  As A.W. Tozer put it..."Time marks the beginning of created existence, and because God never began to exist it can have no application to Him. "Began" is a time-word, and it can have no personal meaning for the high and lofty One that inhabited eternity."
Thus we would conclude there is no end or beginning of His greatness, because if He had no beginning He can have no end.  Hallelujah we serve a Great, timeless God.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Law

Reading through Leviticus is overwhelming.  The burden of keeping the law must have been mind boggling.  Then I was reminded of what the Psalmist said in Psalm 19...
"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward."
Psalms 19:7‭-‬11
The Law wasn't destroyed, Jesus just fulfilled it, thus the law still has great value, don't ignore it, it's sweet as honey.  Keeping them doesn't save, keeping them is just wise.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

What Will Last?

Solomon said it well no matter who we are or what we have done we will all die.  And it is unlikely, in time, that anyone will remember anything you have done.  Even if it is written down it may be revised in time.  As CT Studd penned "Only what's done for Christ will last"

"For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!"
Ecclesiastes 2:16