EMBRACING MY LORD

When we are born again, we are born of the spirit.  Jesus said," whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh and that whatsoever is born of the spirit is spirit. Also in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  Well, if our spirit is become new; why then does everyone want to judge us by the flesh?  It is true that you will begin to change outwardly, but only after you learn to bring that flesh under control of the spirit.  This does not happen overnight, it is a slow, continual process.  The apostle Paul said he had to mortify his flesh daily.  What ever did he mean?  Simply this, he had to make an effort to control his flesh by the leading of his spirit.  Salvation in and of itself is FREE, however, discipleship cost you everything!!  My flesh does not want to follow what my spirit would have it to do.  Here in lies the greatest challenge for the individual and the biggest problem within the church.  If people would just understand that the flesh is not saved and is never going to be saved; we could make great spiritual strides.  We are going to put this body in the ground one day, it is not going to heaven.  It has been my observation that most people in the church today never grow beyond infancy.  This is a problem and many pastors are partially to blame.  1st, they either dont know the fullness of the triune being, or they are flat out job scared!  I venture to sat it is the latter case mostly.  We have far too many pastors who choose ministry as a career path because they want to do good in the world, yet are not specifically called of God to do so.  These men will not dare tell you the realities of Christianity for fear of losing their job; others simply dont know those realities.  The apostle Paul worked and paid his own way, during his ministry.  Am I saying that we should not financially support our pastors?  No, this is not what I am saying; I am merely trying to point out that Paul was not scared to give the people the truth, because they could not fire him!!  I have a dear friend of mine who is a pastor; when he 1st took over at the church he now pastors; he told me he fully expected to be fired within three months.  Why would he make such a statement?  Did he feel inadequate for the job?  Quite the opposite, he fully intended to give the people the truth.  Not a watered down version, but one that would peirce the hearts and bring about change.  He would not allow " observers" in his congregation.  These are people who are always there, just dont apply anything to their lives.  He knew going in to that pastorate that people were going to leave that church, because of him.  He also knew that he had a mandate from God to speak the things he has spoken.  This pastor is not a judgemental man, he fully understands the triune being.  He also knew there where many wolves among the sheep!  You see, a wolf will not stand up under the scrutiny of the Word.  Well, if we are not to condemn those who have faults, then why am I now calling them wolves?  Understand this, there is a difference between someone who has a saved spirit...

Psalm 119:28  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.  Have you felt a heavy weight upon you lately? I have, and it is not pleasant.  Sometimes, no matter how much you pray, read the word, and praise God; you feel emotionally empty.  I Peter 1:5-7 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:  That the trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  I wish I could give you an easy answer to this oppresive emotional state of being; I dont have one.  All the theological stances on why this happens, wont make you feel any better.  I have tried to live by this statement:  WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, PRAISE GOD!!  As I begin to praise the Lord I find relief from this depression.  You might comment: I dont feel like giving praise; -me either.  I just know that God inhabits the praises of His people.  I cannot tell you why God allows this, other than to prove Himself strong and to Glorify Himself.  The enemy will lie to you and try to break you; dont give in.  The trials of Job far surpass any that we will face; yet he was a righteous man who loved God.  He held fast even when he was emotionally drained, physically sick, and falsely labeled by his friends.  Isaiah 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.  These trials will come and they wil go, but they will polish you into a shiny vessel.  We all love the mountain top experience, where we feel the presence of God and get all tingly.  However, this is not where you get to know God.  The valley is where you get to know God.  That place where you dont sense His presense.  It is here that you learn how to walk in His word.  To follow those things which are difficult.  No one holding your hand, no one witnessing your descisions to obey or not.  Only you and God know how you react to these trials.  And you and you only will learn how to lean on God, even when you cannot sense Him.  When David wrote the 23 Psalm, he did not have an emotional sense of God's presense, yet he knew that God was with him.  Praise God today when you are alone and watch what God will do! May you praise Him loudly today!  God Bless

Psalm 109:22  For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.  There are things we face in life that wound us.  They cause us anguish and hurt.  Unkind people, a mean spirited boss, the person who can't stand you no matter what acts of kindess you bestow upon them.  Family that you love deeply, yet they regard you with contempt.  These things wound your heart.  King David understood this and so He gave us many words of wisdom regarding this area of life.  Psalm 73:26  My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.  God will uphold you when you feel like the whole world is against you.  Truth is: if you are truly serving God, then the world is against you. The 119th Psalm is the longest Psalm in the bible, it has 176 verses.  Over and over again, David writes about hiding God's word in your heart.  I cannot stress how important it is to read the bible and get yourself in line with it.  God heals us and gives us comfort, He promises us these things.  If you dont know what God has promised you in His word, how are you going to stand on His promises.  David wrote: Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  We are going to be wounded in life. When you cut yourself, that wound will heal; but it leaves a scar.  This scar tissue is callous and tuff.  Our heart is much the same, it hardens, every time someone hurts us. When it heals, it leaves scar tissue.  This is not physical scars, but rather spiritual scars.  You can recognize people who have been wounded deeply many times.  Life just seems to way heavy on them.  They are callous and grumpy toward others, even those people they dont know.  There is healing for them, if they will accept it.

    Ezekiel 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you :  And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.  We dont have to allow the wounds of life to scar us and cause us to become bitter and callous.  We can let God heal those wounds, each time we are cut.  His Spirit in us will cause us to love our enemies and pray for them.  Prayers of love and repentence; to bring salvation to them.  If you have been deeply wounded by things and people in this life, let God begin a healing work in you today.   You can once again know joy and happiness, peace and rest.  These are things that God has promised His people.  He sent his Son, Jesu, who died on a cross for us.  It was the greatest act of love, ever bestowed on man.  Dont let His gift of salvation pass you by.  Jesus will restore your heart and remove the scar tissue that has made you tuff and callous.  If you do know Him, then begin to hide that word in your heart, cause there are probably things that you are still holding on to.  Trophy scars, so to speak;  let them go!  I pray God will Bless you today.

Psalm 1:1   Blessed is the man that walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.  Can you identify any of these people?  I am sure you can, only here is something to think about.  When we are saved and born again, it is something that takes place in our spirit.  It is our spirit that undergoes this transformation.  Our flesh remains exactly what it is, flesh.  Why then do we always want to judge our brother by what we see. All we can see is flesh, so how are we to judge their spirit.  The apostle Peter saw Jesus, he walked with Jesus, he saw the miracles with his own eyes; yet he denied Him and turned away in confusion. If we were to judge Peter by the standard that many use today, we would come to the conclusion that Peter obviously wasnt saved. 2 Timothy3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  However, we know this is not the case; only because we have the "rest of the story" so to speak.  What about the guy at church who is always there participating; then you see him break the rules, he sins.  What then?  The apostle Paul wrote that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  He also said to mortify your flesh, or put it to death.  He understood that even if your spirit is saved, your flesh will rise up against you.  We dont have the end of the story on these people and they most certainly will not stand before you or me in the judgement, so why do we judge them so harshly here on earth.  Paul also tells us that there was given to him a thorn in the flesh, even though he prayed three times for the Lord to remove this obstacle; God did not.  He also wrote that were sin abounds, grace doth also abound. So should we sin as a means of having grace? He said absolutely not.  We can however judge others by their fruit.  Do they cause you to think of Jesus when you see them? Are they the kind of person that makes you feel uplifted when you are around them? Do they give you hope?  These are qualities of a person who knows Christ !!  If someone is always speaking ill of others and being critical of how others live, beware.  Our only duty as a Christian is to point people toward Christ !!  I cannot save anyone or give them revelation.  I can only point the way to the river of life.  The Holy Spirit then draws them, gives revelation of the word, and Jesus alone saves.  Let us be beacons of hope today !  God Bless. 

Ever hear something in your spirit and it makes no sense whatsoever? The other day I was sharing the word with three young men about Manna and having to possess your blessings. I heard in my spirit," It is getting ready to rain blessings, build a boat !" Well naturally I thought, build a what? I am a carpenter by trade and a servant by the grace of God; but I dont know about building boats. Then I heard it again, just as clear as if someone standing there was speaking to me. I got excited, and when I did, these young men wanted to know about what. When I shared that God told me to build a boat cuz it was getting ready to rain blessings on this community. God did not want us to be overwhelmed and drown. What He was telling us, was that we needed tp prepare for what was coming. Noah did that for over a hundred years. Well, these young men hooked-up to the vision and we began to build a boat. Now this is gonna be small river boat, but it isnt about the boat. It is about hearing the voice of God and being obediant to what you hear. Jesus spent a lot of time telling people, he who has ears to hear, let them hear. Has God been speaking to you lately? Are you doing what He asks you? I know that sometimes it can seem like foolishness, but then He said he would confound the wise with the foolishness of preaching. If you want God's blessing on your life, learn to hear His voice and simply obey. God isnt in to denominational squabbles, He only wants humble people who are hungry to know who He is. May God bless you today and call your name. Jesus called them friend!

What do I mean, when I speak about a "crockpot miracle"?  I am talking about those miracles that are slow in developing.  Most of us want a "microwave miracle," the instintaneous kind.   We stand and pray and expect God to wave a majic wand and presto, I get what I want.  Well, God is not like that , we  better understand that He is Holy, and we are to Fear the Lord.  Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
    Exodus 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.  Folks, that is a fantastic visual, jaw-droppin, kinda miracle!  As awe inspiring as this was, it did not change the hearts of those who saw it.  Then we have those miracles which take place so gradually, that we dont even recognize them.  You pray for an oak tree and God gives you an acorn, you think; what is this?  It is your miracle in crockpot form!  You have to take time to grow your miracle, nuture it, hang on to it.  Speak of it and get it to grow.  It will one day manifest so huge that it will overwhelm you, and you probably would not know how it happened if you had not possessed the miracle in seedling form.  Here is what I think of microwave style miracles, they are flashy, exciting, and if you have no "deep-roots,"  you wont hang on to it very long.  Things that take time to obtain, give you a better appreciation of having them.  My ole pappy youse to say " If it aint worth working for, it aint worth havin."
    Lets look at the crockpot analogy:  When you cook in the crock pot, you throw everything in and turn it on.  At 1st each item has its own flavor. The bell pepper is bold, the onion is strong, and so on.  But as these things are put under heat and begin to "simmer," the flavors begin to intermingle. The 1st day that meal is good, the 2nd even better, but by the end of the week; that crockpot is erupting a sweet succulent smell that permeates everything in the house.  Nothing is untouched by it's fragrance.  Now that is what God wants for you!  Your miracles should be so deeply steeped and ingrained in you that it exudes from you and envelops those around you.  Acts 5:15  Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.  God wants your miracles to bless all those who come in contact with you.   Food for thought! God Bless.

Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hell were cast into the "Lake of Fire." This is the second death. And whosever was not found in the book of Life was cast into the "Lake of Fire." So I ask you, do you know Jesus? He is our advocate, the lawyer who will stand with you and cover you with His Blood. This will blot out your sins; but only if you belong to Him! Paul writes in Colossians 1:13-14 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Our own "self-righteousness" will not get us into the Kingdom. Clebe McClary is a man who had always lived a good clean, moral life. He was wounded severely by mortar fire on a hill in Vietnam. He states that he was dying and realized that he was about to go to Hell with high moral standards!! God spared his life and now he travels around the world sharing the gospel. Dont let yourself be deceived into thinking that being good is good enough! King David writes in Psalms139:23-24 Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ask God to reveal to you things that you might not even be aware exist inside you. He will show those things that are not of Him. I plead with you to examine yourself and ask God for strength to be what He wants you to be. To do the things He wants you to do. The options are obvious: Smoking or non-smoking! Shall you spend eternity in the presence of the Almighty God, or shall you perish? God Bless!

Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and you would not! How often have we looked upon those who are consumed in sin, and prayed for their calamity? I began to pray over a young man this past week, that I have never met. I know that this young man is full of evil. I began to interceed on his behalf. My prayer is not for his downfall, but rather his salvation. I'm not talking about half-hearted efforts here. I cried over half the day yesterday, over this man's soul. I have such a burning desire in me for his salvation, as if he were my own child. I cannot explain this other than to say that it is like "fire inside of me." Jesus cried over the condition of the children of Israel. If we are to be like Him, what makes us think that we should not do the same. If I only love my family and those who like me; I havent truly obeyed the commands of God. Have you felt a burning deep down inside for the lost? As we approach the advent of Easter; let us truly examine our hearts. Look at what Christ did for us, what He gave up, His sacrifice. His was an offering of love not matched by any other. We have heard John 3:16 so often, that I think we have become immune to it. We have hardened our hearts to the point of religious piety. We should have a burning passion for the lost; a desire so strong that we cannot escape it. Do you cry when you see young men selling drugs on the corner? Or do you think, I wish God would wipe them out ! Do you look upon those caught up in an "Alternative Lifestyle" and pray for them to go to Hell; or do you begin to weep for their souls. God hates sin and we all have it in our lives in one form or another. However, God loves His creation; in spite of us. Lets look at John 3:16 one more time: 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. Do you not realize that our sin pains Him. We drive those nails deep into His hands and feet daily, without regard to the cost He paid. His passion was one of absolute 100% commitment. His commandment to us was nothing short of what He did. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said unto His disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Do you really desire to follow Jesus?