Coming back.... personal prayer thoughts

Oh, Father, it is Thanksgiving Day and I am alone here in my GA home by myself, but with you. You woke me this morning at 4:54 AM. You guided me when I asked you; “it is so confusing, Father. There is so much to do. What do I do? It is so confusing and there is so much to do. What do I do?” and you said, “Worship, Family, Ministry, Work.” WFMW That’s what you said!

I got up and wrote it down. I got on the computer and began my Worship. You guided me to my Outlook devotional and inspired me to get it out of Outlook and into the word document as it was taking too long to open in Outlook. The Word document was too long as well, so you guided me to save it in independent files, but, in the meantime, I was reading my inputs from 2006 as I was going to cut it up based on year.

What a revelation!! I was reading and reading and reading and saw your handiwork. I saw your inspiration in my life. I saw my prayers and my concerns and YOUR help and encouragement; faithfulness. Thank you!!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2066;&version=31;

Psalm 66:16 Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.
20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

You know, Father, how great my ‘fear’ for/of You is. I don’t want to be boastful about that, but, I know that I fear you. The evidence is how you have blessed me to obedience since August 28th. Honestly, how my life has become so more meaningful and lucid relative to your faithfulness, your presence, your leading, your providing; YOU!! I have seen evidences in myself and in those that I love. It is a great move toward sanctification. Praise YOU!! Thank you, Father, God. Glory to You. Amen.

“So the real test all along the Highway will be - are our cups running over? Have we the peace of God in our hearts? Have we love and concern for others? These things are the barometer of the Highway. If they are disturbed, then sin has crept in somewhere - self-pity, self-seeking, self-indulgence in thought or deed, sensitiveness, touchiness, self-defence, self-consciousness, shyness, reserve, worry, fear and so on.

So this is the Highway life. It is no new astounding doctrine. It is not something new for us to preach. It is quite unspectacular. It is just a life to live day by day in whatever circumstances the Lord has put us. It does not contradict what we may have read or heard about the Christian life. It just puts into simple pictorial language the great truths of sanctification. To start to live this life now will mean revival in our lives. To continue to live it will be revival continued. Revival is just you and I walking along the Highway in complete oneness with the Lord Jesus and with one another, with cups continually cleansed and overflowing with the life and love of God.”

“The moment you are conscious of that touch of envy, criticism, irritability, whatever it is - ask Jesus to cover it with His precious Blood and cleanse it away and you will find the reaction gone, your joy and peace restored and your cup running over. And the more you trust the Blood of Jesus in this way, the less will you even have these reactions. But cleansing is only possible when we have first been broken before God on the point concerned.

You see, the only life that pleases God and that can be victorious is His life - never our life, no matter how hard we try. But inasmuch as our self-centered life is the exact opposite of His, we can never be filled with His life unless we are prepared for God to bring our life constantly to death. And in that we must co-operate by our moral choice.

The Holy Spirit can and will keep you from sin, but only if you allow Him to, through heartfelt confession and willingness to turn from sin ... see Gal 5:16-17.”

Should have learned a long time ago...

Proverbs 4

23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Solomon cries out to us from Proverbs about wisdom; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Prov 1:7.

How I wish I had grasped this reality when I was younger!! I think back to my teenage years and how rebellious and full of the world I was. How the entire focus of my young life was on ME and what I wanted and desired and could see right in front of me. Seemingly, it was a blast, but, low and behold, now that I am 55 years old in my flesh and 25 years in my spirit I see an incredible emptiness in my soul because of not hearing wisdom "crying out in the streets."

"Keeping my paths straight" was not in my priority of tasks during those days and into my mid-thirties, even.

But, through the grace and mercy of my Almighty God, the father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I have been made clean. I have been redeemed. I have become an heir of Christ. "All things have passed away, all things are new."

He is present in me. He has healed me. He has given me the 'wellspring of life' and I am enlivened with His promises and His power.

He has a purpose for me, now as he did in my younger years. But, now I am filled with the wisdom He has planned for me. I have experienced the 'world' and can be more compassionate for those that are NOT in the Way. He has allowed me to witness the world; first hand!! Didn't our Lord experience the same thing just before His crucifixion?

I am, now, intent on His purpose. But, oh, I wish I had been focused on Him and His purposes when I was a youngster. How much more I could have accomplished for Him.

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you and give you peace.

A Crisis of Faith....

It's amazing! From the mountaintop to the 'slow fade' into faithlessness.

What?? Yeah, my worldly security is threatened, i.e. our family budgets and income a little shaky and my 'flesh' is searching for answers and worrying that the world is going to come crashing down!!

How can this be, I say? How can this be?

Twenty-four hours of stress. That's what it's been, 24 hours.

But, this morning I am, figuratively, laying myself before the Lord. I am praying and claiming His promises. "You are God! You've promised us so much. You've been faithful. You've promised never to leave us nor foresake us. I mean, really, look at the past... where's the calamity? You have worked everything out, for the good." and next; "I am so sorry, Father. I am so worthless and weak and faithless. I believe, help my unbelief, Father. Strengthen me, guide me, bless us to be obedient, faithful and loving to all."

Monday after Sunday

I was marvelling at church yesterday while in Sunday School at how focused I have been on introducing non-Believers or 'waining' Believers to the Gospel, yet the focus of the Sunday School group is to grow in their relationship with Christ. It was evident that there was a huge difference in the point of view. There is very little doubt expressed in the class. It is accepted that the Lord is real and that the life of a Believer is all about maintaining a focus on Him and His Word as well as the acceptance that His will is pre-eminent and we are to trust Him and encourage others in their times of need.

As folks were sharing about the struggle to maintain hope, I was reminded of my own battles. The defense in those battles has been getting into the Word more regularly, confessing sinfulness and practicing greater obedience. This has cleared my 'conscience' and allowed me to see my weaknesses, yet grasp onto the Lord's strength.... witnessing His presence and my sense of peace following this transition. As I shared this, I felt a bit of a prideful twinge as I was listening to this wonderful group of Christian folks down here in Kingsland, GA. I caught myself 'preaching' and quickly remembered how much of a failure and how often I've been a failure at this 'faith' game. I just happen to be on a bit of a spiritual high right now, for whatever God's purposes are. I caught myself very quickly and repented and, even, attempted to apologize to a woman who was going through a very trying time in her personal life.

How easy it is to be 'prideful', even in this faith game. In fact, I believe that is part of what Paul alludes to in;

Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."

This is what I was speaking of yesterday; The Sinful Nature (Flesh) vs the Spiritual Mind and our ability to grasp onto the nature of God, 2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

We can participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by OUR evil desires.

"Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Amen

Lovely Sunday - In Him

Good morning, Father;

Thank you for a wonderful day, yesterday. You were evident in many ways, including my time with Anne, Reilly's tournament victory in CS volleyball, my interaction with Kyle Wrenn and his family as well as your fulfillment of prayer by meeting and getting to know Jonathan Kristy and Aaron from the CCHS golf team. Thank you for keeping Anne and Reilly safe with the high winds and rain from the storm.... Praise you, Father. Glory to you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Please be with me now as I share my heart reading your word....

There is such a clear distinction between those that Believe in God through a saving faith in Jesus Christ and those that do not... Romans 8 is a treatise on this fact as Paul states; "1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

We know exactly what the sinful nature or 'fleshly' nature is all about because we see it in ourselves; "I am better than him/her", "I've got to get mine first", "I would love to have her/him", "No-one will notice if I just take this one thing." or "That's so unfair, I should have been promoted/honored/provided something, not him/her." We all have these thoughts and feelings, don't we?!! These promptings are fleshly, sinful thoughts. They come from deep inside of us, don't they? We all have them, Believer and non-Believer because we have the sinful nature inside of us.

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires." Those that are not Believers and growing in the knowledge of God 'have their minds set on what that nature desires'. Their lives are based on what their nature (flesh) desires. The basis, search, dissatisfaction with life stems from 'what that nature desires'. Paul later says that "7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Get that.. CONTROLLED. We all have those thoughts, but are we controlled by those thoughts. Is that sinful (fleshly) nature what controls our lives? Are the standards for success or happiness based on what the world says is success or happiness? Is our entire life dependent on worldly success or happiness? If so, you are hostile toward God and cannot please Him.

"But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." NOT the sinful (fleshly) nature, but the Spiritual nature.

Paul says that "those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." "9 You however, are CONTROLLED NOT by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

When we Believe in God through a saving faith in Jesus Christ we are no longer CONTROLLED by the sinful nature, but are victorious over that sinful nature and God gives life to our mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in us. We now have the power to overcome the sinful nature and call upon Him to strengthen us, change our thoughts, give us power to ACT godly and not be controlled by the sinful nature in us.

2 Peter 1:5 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is what transforms us into godly people; counteracting the sinful nature and helping us to act in love.

Amen

The Beginning...

Welcome... please feel free to participate... I haven't determined the direction for this Blog just yet, but believe it will be a continuation of what I have been doing for a couple of years now. I have been attempting to communicate with my loved ones and provide Biblical text to them on a regular basis. All of us require time in the Word to continue to nourish our Spirits that we may be sensitive to God's prompting as we "Love God and our neighbors as ourselves". Remember, in this is the whole law....

So, to begin... at the beginning....

Genesis 1..... The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day

John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

We must believe this in order to see the Kingdom of God, to enter into the Kingdom of God. Again... we must believe!! Duh!!

Love you all

Bill