Fighting Worry & Trusting God

How many times have you wondered when you'll get to the point of being able to trust God in every situation and not worry? After years of seeing God's faithfulness and how He comes through for those of us who rely on Him, doesn't it seem that we would eventually get it? Somehow we leak faith! Good news!! If we recall God's promises from His word and remind ourselves on a regular basis these things, we will be encouraged and faith will rise in our hearts! THEN, great things will happen! I MUST: #1. Commit my way to the Lord (roll and repose each care of my load on Him), trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him>the promise: He will bring it (His good plan) to pass (Ps. 37:5 Amp). #2. Not envy sinners, but continue in the worshipful and reverent fear of the Lord all day long>the promise: there will be a latter end for me (a future and a reward) and my hope and expectation will not be cut off (Prov. 23:17-18 Amp). #3. Love God, and since I am called according to His purpose and design>the promise: I can be assured that He will work everything together and fit it into His good plan for me (Rom. 8:28 Amp). #4. Be consistently righteous, trust, and take refuge in Him>the promise: He will deliver me from the wicked and save me in the time of trouble (Ps. 37:39-40 Amp). These are just a few guarantees from the Word of God for us. Read the Psalms and dig more out. Use a concordance, there are thousands of promises. Have you ever seen the bread box promise holders? They were popular in the 70's. It was a little box in the shape of a loaf of bread with cards in it that had promises from the Bible on them. If I recall correctly, they didn't include the conditions. I hope you noticed the conditions that preceded the promises above. I've never seen a promise from God apart from a condition that must be met. As we line ourselves up with the conditions, then the promises are inevidable in time. I can testify of God's faithfulness to His word. This is true for me: I was young and now I'm old(er), yet I have not seen the (uncompromisingly) righteous forsaken or their seed begging for bread>Ps 37:25 AMP. Take Him at His word. Prove Him and you will be able to testify of His faithfulness too!

Subjects of Extortion

Why are there so many ministers these days becoming subjects of law suits and extortion? I just saw in the news where Bishop Eddie Long, a pastor of an Atlanta megachurch, was accused of keeping company with 3 teen boys for sex and took "good care" of them financially. Whether or not the allegations are true, this minister has put himself into a position of vulnerability. Not to mention the well-known ministers that have fallen in the past years. There is a hook that the devil uses to get these people. But the devil puts a nice bait on the hook . First of all, some of the bait that nicely covers the hook include extreme wealth, without proper accountability, too much power and fame, to name a few. How is it that some preachers and ministers of the gospel become so focused and entrenched with the wrong things and then become prey? I believe that it is a lack of wisdom and lack of the fear of God. We see in 1Tim. 3, 4, 5, qualifications for church leaders. In these chapters lay treasures of wisdom that will keep a minister on the right path. Some of the requirements are as follows: 1. He must be above reproach. 2. Self-controlled 3.Well-behaved 4. Sensible(This means that he should have enough sense not to allow himself to become vulnerable) 5. Hospitable and a friend to the believers 6. Not a lover of insatiable wealth. These are just a few nuggets in Chapter 3 that will keep a minister out of trouble. (There is still a wealth of wisdom and knowledge in the rest of the book.) Chapter 4 mentions that in the last days there will be some who will turn away from the faith through hypocrisy and pretensions of liars. We should be on guard! Pretention and lying is a trap! In Chapter 5:24-25 we see where some of the sins of men are conspicuous going before them to the judgement and proclaiming their sentence in advance. But, the sin of others appear later following the offender to the bar of judgement and coming into view there. This should be a scary thing if you are living a "secret" life. It's also an encouraging thing to know in vs 25 that even when our good deeds aren't evident now, they will not remain hidden forever! All will be revealed>(1 Cor. 4:5). God is holding all of us accountable for our life's deeds, good or bad. What makes Christians think that somehow a life of disobedience is ok with God? I've heard "Christians" say, "God understands..." "He knows I'm not perfect..." This is true, and He is merciful to immature Christians for awhile>(Heb 10:23-29), but when ministers, who are supposed to be mature (1 Tim 3:6) fall headlong into a lifestyle of sins, they will be found out...eventually at least, and they will be judged! I pray for Ted Haggard and others through the years who have brought a reproach to the Kingdom of God. I know that they can sometimes repent and we must forgive, but to be reinstated into ministry? I'm not so sure that this is always right. I think the Biblical path to restoration should be a life of humility. The restoration should be toward their relationship with God, not toward a ministry that could very well take that person down the wrong path again! There must be a fear of God and a fear of falling into the same sins again>1 Cor. 10:12. I pray for these ministers to have their eyes opened to the fact that they could very well be on their way to hell. This reminds me of the old hymn, "I'd Rather Have Jesus". Having Jesus is far more important than anything else! Oh how I love Him! I know that there are wonderful "famous" ministers that have faired well, to the glory of God (Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Reindhart Bonke to name a few), but they must be doing what they should. My prayer is for the Lord to guard me, keep me, and cause me to be faithful all the days of my life. Whatever it takes Lord, discipline, deliver, protect. Do this for me...for all of us who love you!

God's protection on the Anniversary of 9/11?

Here in Gainesville, Florida we are faced with a dilemma. A local pastor has generated news and anger from all over the world by declaring a "Burn a Quran Day"on the anniversary of 9/11 this coming Saturday. He has received death threats, and our city has received terror threats, not to mention the threats of retaliation from Muslims all over the world. The University of Florida is having a football game that day and many in our city are concerned about the risk of attending that game. My daughter works at a restaurant within minutes of the stadium and is required to work that day or lose her job. I have been concerned about her safety and on this Sept. 8 morning as I sought the Lord about it, I believe He gave me a verse to confirm that she will be safe, as will those attending the game. I am writing this in openness and humility because it is what I believe to be a prophetic word and I may be wrong. Although I have been concerned, I do sense a peace when I normally tend to panic and take the "fear" route. I did encourage her to pray and be sure of her decision to go to work that day. The verse I believe God directed me to is from Jonah 4:11. This is the story of the prophet Jonah whom God had asked to go to a wicked city called Nineveh and preach repentance to them with mercy and grace. Jonah did not want to go and deliver that message because Jonah believed that God should judge them. But God made it clear to him that He is merciful and gracious and that they must be given a chance to turn to Him. (You can read the story for yourself.) In this verse God said, "...should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons not yet old enough to know their right hand from their left...". I believe God has spoken to me that He will spare us from destruction, and that it is because of His mercy. I truly believe that God has a plan for Gainesville, and it is not to be blown off the map. It is for salvation. The people of Nineveh heard the word of grace and mercy, they repented, and came to God (Jonah 3). We Christians have the commission to preach repentance, but we must also realize how much God loves the world and desires that none should perish but that all would come to know Him (John 3:16). I am praying for God's mercy to flood this city and that the people would hear the Gospel, preached in love. I pray for an awakening to the Truth in Gainesville. I pray for His people to be faithful and take up the Great Commission, preaching repentance to those that Jesus died for and love them into His kingdom!

We must follow Daniel's protocol!

In my last post I wrote about my dream and the Lord's interpretation of it. Dreams are sometimes from eating strange food before bed or from thoughts we've had recently. But they can also be messages from God and there are many examples of this in the Bible. This post is about the interpretation of a dream King Nebuchadnezzar desparately wanted to know>Daniel 2:1-49. "A rare and weighty thing indeed the king requires!" was the response of the king's enchanters and magicians when they were asked for the interpretation of it. The King had even forgotten the dream, but it troubled him so that he demanded they tell him what the dream was or they would be executed! Their response was, "...no one but the gods can reveal this to the king and their dwelling is not with flesh." This angered the king and he called for the execution of all his "wise"men. Daniel and his companions were in that group. Daniel asked the executioner why the decree was so urgent. He explained the matter to Daniel and the Lord gave Daniel wisdom and knowledge in regards to their dilemma. Not only did God reveal to Daniel the dream, He gave him the interpretation. In verses 17-23 we see Daniel seeking God for help, praising God for wisdom, for knowledge, and for revealing the deep and secret things. As a result, Daniel and his godly friends were delivered from execution, made wealthy, and became governors of the land. God was given glory and honor by the King and throughout the whole kingdom. This is God's way. Instead of being self-absorbed and defeated in a quandry, we need to believe that God has an amazing plan for our good! In Jeremiah 29:11-14 God's heart for His loved ones is revealed. He says that He has thoughts and plans for us that include hope and goodwill. He says in this passage that as we search for Him with all of our heart as a vital necessity, we THEN will find Him and He will deliver us! In these days of financial uncertainty and with ungodliness all around, we must follow Daniel's protocol. We will THEN see God as our KING, DELIVERER, PROVIDER, and LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER!

My Dream

I had a dream last night that I believe will paint a picture of what it's like to resist the devil and follow God fearlessly. I was at the bottom of a hill looking up and seeing a couple of people at the top. I won't mention who they were, but they are people that I respect and are strong spiritually. As I approached the hill to go up, I noticed a huge badger, larger than normal, standing between me and the bottom of the hill. I knew that I wanted to go up to the top of the hill, but the badger was quite intimidating. With a strong desire and awareness that I must go to the top, I began my approach. I noticed that the badger didn't move. It looked stunned and didn't notice me. I passed by it and began my ascension. The hill was slippery and difficult, but I continued and made some progress, at which point I looked back to notice that the badger looked dead. It hadn't moved. As a matter of fact, it looked like a statue just sitting there at the bottom of the hill. There didn't seem to be power or life in the badger. At that point I was immediately on top of the hill in the arms of one of the people, feeling secure and safe. I believe the interpretation is as follows: The hill symbolized the challenging path to the will of God. The slippery slope is a picture of the natural difficulty we all encounter when attempting to rise to God's call and will. The badger is symbolic of the evil spirit that is set to daunt us and deflect us into another direction. A definition for badger is to tease or pester someone. This is what the devil attempts to do. But he has no power or ability to stop us, unless we don't move forward because of what appears to be a fearful encounter. The Lord showed me that following God's call is not easy. It's an uphill climb. It's going to be difficult in this world, because the world is naturally resisitant to it. The devil always puts a decoy in front of us. A decoy is a thing used to lure, as into a trap. It's meant to mislead. Isn't this what the devil does? He deceptively works in our life to keep us from pressing on to the high calling of God. None the less, there is a place of safety and security in Christ. It is in the will of God for our life. I want to encourage myself and you to press past difficulty and fear. Go up and find the place of rest and deliverance from what is not real. The Bible says that we are not to fear>(2 Tim. 1:7). The Father has delivered and drawn us out of the control and the dominion of darkness>(Col 1:13). We are to press on, Jesus is calling us upward>(Phil 3:14). Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you>(James 4:7). Don't fling away your fearless confidence...for you have need of patience and endurance so that you may accomplish the will of God>(Heb.10:35-36). I do not cease to give thanks for you who follow Christ...I pray that God would grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him...that you may know and understand what is the immeasureable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe...>(Eph 1:16-19 Amp. version).

The Plumbline

I wrote a blog similar to this one dealing with the subject of hypocrisy this past year. But God has put this subject on my heart again lately. The Lord actually gave me a word on it at church a few Sundays ago. The word went something like this..."The day of hypocrisy and compromise is over." Our claim to Christianity must be a lifestyle of total committment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. These days and times are obviously the latter days Christ spoke of. Difficult times bring out what is in our heart. Our life will become more righteous or more wicked (Rev. 22:11-14). There's a line from an old song that says, "Do they have enough evidence to put you away?", speaking of a Christ-like life. Of course none of us are perfect, but a lifestyle of love, repentance, and godliness proves our authenticity. Jesus said that our light should shine like a city on a hill. Have you ever driven at night in the mountains and coming out of a valley you see the lights of a town in the distance. There's no missing the city lights in the midst of the darkness. Are we lit up in the darkness around us? Do we truly love others? Do we have peace, joy, and hope? What is in our heart comes out eventually for all to see. Therefore, our #1 priority should be that our heart is given over to God. This results in a life that will bless and glorify Him. Our heart's desire should be for Him. If you desire authenticity in your Christianity, then sincerely ask God to do what He needs to do to purify you. Brace yourself and get ready to take up your cross daily. The crucified life is the only true life. St. Francis of Assissi made this profound statement, "What a man is before God, that he is and nothing else." This should be our plumbline. A plumbline is a tool used to measure a precise straight line, a standard of what is on the level, what is right. Our heart condition is the evidence of whether or not we are on the level with Christ. The PLUMBLINE is a willing heart to follow the Lord throughout our whole life, allowing Him to call the shots. It is the awareness that we are in dire need of transformation and we are allowing the Lord to purify us, conforming us into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29-39). My prayer today is for the Lord to be merciful (He is very much so), forgive (as He so wonderfully does), and help us to stay with the PLUMBLINE of His Lordship (He is faithful), enveloped in His love, and enabled by His grace to live for Him all the days and hours of our lives. To Him be the glory, honor, and power for ever and ever.

God Longs for Me

My heart's prayer is "Lord, draw me close to You!". His Word promises that if I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me (James 4:8). I hunger and thirst for more of the Lord's presence in my life. Everyday I desperately crave the awareness of God with me. Besides the fact that we all need the blessing of His protection and provision, we need His love. God wants our love. He longs for us to draw near to Him. Jesus spoke of His desire and longing to draw His children like a mother hen draws her chicks under her wings. The problem is that many of His children tend to refuse His calling to intimacy with Him. As a result, the resistant children are left abandoned, desolate, and destitute of God's help>Matt. 23:37-38. I pray that I won't be so taken with the world and life in general, that I neglect the place of closeness that He has for me. Everyday, I will run to get under the wings of my Father. I don't want to refuse His call. Besides the fact that I need His protection and care, I deeply crave the awareness of Him being close to me. This is the deep longing for satisfaction that all people sense. Nothing in this world will fill that space inside. People all over the world are looking for satisfaction. No relationship, no material possession, and no amount of power will fill that longing that was created for God and God alone. Let's run to Him. Let's rest there under His wings and enjoy the peace, security, and satisfaction found only in that secret place, under His covering, with Him.