What is The Lord Saying Today?

Before I tell you what I hear the Lord saying to me today, I'll tell you what he's not saying:

he's not speaking to me at all about the time of Jacob's trouble/the tribulation/the rapture_escape from all (Luke 21:36), and or the end of the world.

Why is he not speaking to his servants about the end that appears to be near?

1. Maybe its not as near as we think
2. Maybe it is near but he prepares his servants for these things in a different way than we would think

The Lord has dropped this into my heart this morning:

We must figure out how to get these things right before we stand before our Lord:

Focus on Jesus
1. Rejoice ALWAYS in him: Phil 4:4-7
2. Delight ourselves in him: Psalm 37:4
3. Maintain Jesus as our first love...always: Rev 2:4

I'll be honest with you when I say that I am not sure that I have quite figured out how to do these things yet. The Lord has dropped them like a cluster bomb in my heart and my request/prayer back to him is "Lord, please show me how to do this?"

Although I am a bit foggy on the "how" I believe the initial response back from the Lord on "how" is: we will ourselves to do it. We use our God given free will to decide "I'm going to rejoice in my God today, I don't care what the world looks like or what my circumstances look like. As an act of my will I choose to delight myself in my God today, Lord I choose to delight myself in you today, please allow me to do this according to your word today. I choose you as my first love today Lord Jesus, everything I am and every will be, everything I have I lay at your feet that I may have you. You are my treasure in heaven, you are my treasure on earth. I consider all things rubbish in comparison with the surpassing greatness of gaining you, Christ Jesus my Lord and master."

^^This, or something like this being said and meant within our hearts and minds is what our Lord is looking for.

Self Talk
Read your bibles and see the miracles and other ways our Lord has responded to our "self-talk." What we are saying to ourselves is being read directly by our Lord moment by moment and he responds to what we say within ourselves. Example:

Matt 9:18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.

Conclusion
Our God comes first, every time all the time. We must learn to get this right....rejoice in him, delight in him, maintain your first love. HE is everything. grace and peace

Keep Watch

Matt 24:42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Although I think the Lord has given me a number of nudgings that we have to wait longer to meet him in the clouds/escape from all (Luke 21:36), we must always be watching and ready.

Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

There are people in the world who tell us there's no reason to obey the word of God and watch today. Their 'wisdom' will be shown for what it is. For us who take the word at face value, we must continue to be found doing what we were told to do. We are to PRAY that we will be counted worthy to escape ALL of what's about to happen, and we must WATCH for our Lord's return.

And, let us do this ^^^^^ with patience:

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

grace and peace

The End is Not Yet

I asked the Lord recently about how much time was left, how long until Luke 21:36 was fulfilled? I believe his answer was a familiar scripture that tells us the end is not yet:

Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Luke 17 and Matt 24 are loaded with imagery for the day we leave this planet. Yes, there are many scoffers in the world who hate the escape from all and anyone who mentions it. Those scoffers will be exposed on the day we go into our 'ark,' the day we leave our 'Sodom.'

Our Lord gives us a picture of the day we leave. What does the picture look like? What are the words used as paint to 'paint' this picture for us? The words are:

Eating
Drinking
Buying
Selling
Planting
Building
Marrying
Being given in marriage

These are the words our Lord used to paint a picture for us. The words our Lord used describe a day for us. Look at the words in the list above. If all you knew about the day that our Lord comes was that the words above best describe that day, would you say the words describe today? I don't think so. Do you think the words above describe a 'great depression' that people keep telling us is coming? I don't think so. The words our Lord used to describe the day he is coming had everything to do with a prosperous day. The words used describe to perfection what the days looked like not too long ago at the height of the housing market bubble.

We cannot add or subtract from the words our Lord used to describe the day he is coming. We have to take what was written at face value and face value indicates more likely than not, we have more waiting to do.

Look around you, listen to the pundits who try to piece together a vision of the future for you using today's "news," how accurate have they been in the past. Who saw today's economic collapse coming? Few did. How many today are predicting days of prosperity ahead of us? Nobody is. Yet the word of God paints us a picture of a better day than the days we are in today. In that day, he comes back for us and the same day the world spins into the abyss.

Why would the Lord come back in a day of prosperity and not in a day of wordly distress?

Here's why:

Hosea 13:6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

The world is in distress today. In days of distress people cry out to God for relief. I believe the days we are in today are the transition from 3rd base to home plate. I believe we are seeing days of distress today as a last great act of mercy by our Lord before all hell breaks loose on earth. Act of mercy? Yes, that's what I said. If you are jobless and homeless and sick and tired but you are truly "in Christ" then you have gained more than all the world has to offer and your momentary troubles will fade away. The people who have not responded with faith to the days of distress will have missed their last pre-time of Jacob's trouble chance to set things right with the Lord.

People are crying out to the Lord today and what happens when he feeds them? They become satisfied, they become proud...and you finish the sentence... Luke 17 and Matt 24 both paint a picture of a day in our future that is characterized by prosperity not depression and distress. The coming day of prosperity we see painted in Luke 17 and Matt 24 will be turned on its head the very moment we leave this place. We are told that with both Noah and Lot, the "good times rolled" right up to the very day they went into the ark and left Sodom. 30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

The Lord is always many steps ahead of this world. People can't see more than inches in front of their own faces because they do not look to the Lord for wisdom. People look to this world for their wisdom and strength and guidance and substance. The Lord could come back for us any day, but we likely have to wait for a more prosperous day to see it.

The signs of our Lords coming are:
Eating...today people are starving
Drinking...today the world is thirsty
Buying...the news headlines tell us people are not buying anymore
Selling...the news headlines tell us that sellers are going out of business
Planting...less people are planting because of bad weather, government regulation, no profit etc
Building...builders of every type are filing for bankruptcy due to the economy, housing and commercial real estate glut etc etc
Marrying-marriage today is the "out" thing to do. "Hooking up" is the "in thing"
Being given in marriage--ditto^^

Think about it. Be patient....grace and peace

Courage and Faith

Please take 20-30 seconds to read Mark 4:35-41 below:

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

This is an amazing piece of scripture that shows us the disciples, who walked with Jesus every day, who had Jesus in their physical presence at the time, faltering in their faith. They failed the test here. A storm was raging around them but they had God Almighty with them in the boat yet they still faltered in their faith. That amazes me. That's why I say to you not to beat yourselves up when you find yourself without the physical/touch/see/hear Jesus right in front of you and you feel like your faith is wavering.

The disciples waffled into faithlessness with Jesus in their midst but we are called to do better than they did. When the Lord woke up, what did he say? First he calmed the storm, then he rebuked the disciples with: 40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

First they were terrified by the wind and waves then they were terrified of Jesus himself asking themselves "who is this?" How could the disciples ask "who is this?" when they walked and talked with him EVERY DAY.

The lessons learned that jump out from this are:
1. Don't be like the disciples in their faithlessness
2. Give the Lord and yourself some credit for the faith you do have today without having the Lord physically manifested before you
3. Maintain your faith in spite of the storm

The Lord is asking us the same questions today that he asked the disciples in the boat:
1. Why are you so afraid?
and
2. Do you still have no faith?

Yea, the Lord sees the storm around us but he could care less about the storm, he's looking at our REACTION to it.....Do we respond to the storm with fear and faithlessness or with courage and faithfulness? How we respond is very very important.

Instead of the disciples waking Jesus up and asking him "don't you care if we die?" The Lord was looking for them to say to themselves and each other "I'm going to respond to this storm with courage and faith, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME I will walk and stand in faith. Either what I believe is true or its a lie and I'm betting every fiber of my being, my present, my future and everything else that I have found the truth and I will stand on it. The same God who has sustained me every day up through today will continue to make me stand tomorrow if he wills it. My times are in my GOD'S HANDS not the storms hands PERIOD."

Our God is looking for courage and faith. He is looking for BOLDNESS in the face of the storm. He is looking for people who will slap down that finger that the storms of life put in our faces and stick their fist out at the storm. The storms of life do not challenge us unless we let them. When we stand in faith, the storms of life challenge our GOD, not us. He who watched over me yesterday will watch over me today. I will not fear, my God has my back<----that kind of "self talk" puts the problems we face into our God's hands. Our response in faith transfers the problems we face from us to our God, do you see the power in that? If we do not stand in our faith, we will not stand at all, its really that simple. Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And ... But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast

See that word "if" in there?^^^ People don't like that word because it means they have to do something. It means they play a part in what our God is doing. The key words there are IF and WE that means us.......if we hold onto our courage and the hope of which we boast THEN we are God's house. IF/THEN are CONDITIONAL statements.

We can find this idea of courage and fear taught to us from both directions. Above is the teaching on us being courageous and below we see the end of the fearful:

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Conclusion

The disciples failed many times in their walk even when they had our Lord in flesh and blood standing before them, so don't beat yourself up too bad when you fail. Don't let yourself off the hook though because we are taught that in the end, we make the choice of how we respond to the storms of life. There is an end for the fearful and cowardly and faithless, and there is an end for the courageous, and faithful. We have been given a free will to choose for ourselves which end will be for us. Let us choose wisely.

Grace and peace

This is What Everyone is Looking For...

Isaiah55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Our God comes right out and says it...listen to me! Why does he tell us to listen to him? So our souls can "delight in the richest of fare."

This right here is what all humanity has been searching after since the very beginning. Human beings are constantly, continually chasing after what will make them "happy." Think about everything people do, they chase after sex, drugs, money, power, you fill in the blank here, but why? Why do they chase these things? To make them feel HAPPY. To put a finer point on this, they chase wordly things to satisfy their souls.

Our Lord tells us clearly to listen to him. He says it twice. LISTEN, LISTEN TO ME. He's trying to get our attention. He knows all about the grand canyon sized hole in the deepest part of each human. He knows about it because he put it there. Our Lord tells us to stop trying to feed our soul wordly junk food that will eventually kill us and to pay attention to him so we can feast and delight in the richest of fare.

Stop and think for a moment what it feels like to have your soul feast on the "richest of fare." Do you think you would still be feeling hunger pains after the soul feast our Lord offers us? I think we will be deeply satisfied after our soul has feasted on the richest of fare. I also think I would be looking with great disdain on the things of this world after such a feast.

What's the bottom line here?

The Lord alone is our answer. This world cannot satisfy us. This past week the Lord has repeatedly brought to my mind that we are to delight ourselves in him:

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the ... Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I believe the Lord shared with me that we are not to wait for heaven to delight ourselves in him. We start now. Think about that for a moment. What makes heaven such a great place? One thing: Jesus lives there. Heaven would not be heaven without our God in it. We are told to find our delight in the Lord right now, today. We are told to feast on something that really does satisfy the grand canyon sized hole within each of us. We all have a God sized hole within us. That's a big hole and it takes the real, one and only King of Kings to fill it.

This past week I have been asking the Lord, okay Lord, so how do I delight myself in you? The answer is, at least the first step is, to set our will on that desire. That is, as an act of my will, I set myself to delight myself in the Lord. The Lord has to take care of the rest.

In addition to these ^^^ thoughts this week, I believe it has also crossed through my mind that we have to return to lives of simplicity. We need to get rid of alot of junk in our lives and focus on the few things that matter. Less is more :-)

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace.

Huge....Just Huge

This week the Lord spoke to me about:

Isaiah 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I've read it lots of times but I guess I never really "got it." Here's the interesting part that I believe the Holy Spirit highlighted for me (and now you). It's this idea of the word from the Lord's mouth "returning" to him. Think really hard about this. Think about this idea of the word "returning" to him. How does the word of the Lord "return" to him? How does the word of the Lord "accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it?"

Answer? We pray his word back to him....Think about this, how else does the word of God "return" to him except that we PRAY it back to him? There is no other way.....

We really need to get this idea and start incorporating it into our prayer lives starting now. The word of God was sent to accomplish and achieve purposes in this world. Question is HOW does the word of God accomplish and achieve what it was sent for? It must return to him....and HOW does it return to him? We pray it back to him.

What a simple question: The Lord sent his word but how does it return to him?
What a tremendous answer: We pray his word back to him.

What happens when we pray the word of God back to God? It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The Lord has made many promises in his word. He has made many SPECTACULAR promises to us. Want an example? How about this:

Psalm 103:1Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

This word says that we are to not forget all the Lord's benefits. Benefits? Yea, that's what it says. Benefits like what? Like he forgives all our sins and heals ALL our diseases. Does the bible really say he will heal ALL our diseases or just most of them? Read it for yourself. The Lord sent that word to "not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

So we have our example of the one of many promises SENT by our God to accomplish a purpose. Question is, is that word/promise that was sent (by the Lord) RETURNING to our God? In your case, only you know that right? Only you know if you are returning the word that was sent to our God in prayer. And...IF the word IS returning to the Lord we KNOW that it will not return to him empty but will accomplish that which it was sent for.

Conclusion

All this was a long way of saying that our Lord sent his word to accomplish things in this world. The way the word accomplishes things is when it is returned to the one who sent it by us in prayer.

As with everything else in our walk on earth, this takes patience and perseverance to see fruit from it. We don't plant a seed today and see a fruit tree tomorrow. Our Lord determines the "how" and "when" prayers are answered. We supply the "what" when we pray. Let's make sure that our "what" is wrapped in as many promises as we can find in the bible when we offer it up to our Lord.

Done for today, keep the faith, grace and peace

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :-)

I have much to be thankful for and if you feel the same way then please refocus your attention for a moment on the Lord and tell him that 1. you understand at least some of what he has done for you and 2. you are thankful for it.

I am truly deeply thankful for all that the Lord has done for me throughout my life. Although I have missed the mark so very many times he never gave up on me. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Anything that has been done for me can and will be done for you as well. Our God is GOOD. If things don't look good for you right now then be patient, pray and persevere for your day to dawn. Your day is certainly coming if you keep your focus on the Lord.

May the Lord bless you and keep you today. May his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace.

Do Not Fear What They Fear

Isaiah 8:12
Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear,and do not dread it.

13The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread...

Over the past 7 months or so, the Lord has been turning me around. He has gently turned me in a wide radius to focus on what we read above in Isaiah 8. One of the things I love about the Lord is that when we are listening, he does not "jerk our chain" in violent redirection. If we listen, he gently turns us.

So the Lord has told me not to fear what others fear or call conspiracy everything that others call conspiracy. Why not? There are many reasons. For starters what is presented to us as "news" in the world is anything but. It is important to realize what the media is and is not. The media IS NOT a news delivering entity. The media is a PROFIT generating entity. The media is in business for one purpose only, and that is money. How does the media make money? Advertising and "selling" whatever it is that people want to see and hear. So, if people are in a dark mood and selling "the end of the world" is what people want to see and hear, then that's what the media provides. For example we have all these "end of the world" movies and TV shows here recently and yet the "end" that is portrayed tarries and tarries. Why does the media produce movies like "2012?" Because that's what's selling today, its that simple.

The Lord clearly tells us not to call conspiracy everything that "they" call conspiracy. Who is the "they" in the case of Isaiah? it's the backslidden religious people, the house of Israel at the time.

The most important point that is made in Isaiah 8:12-13, or at least the one the Lord has impressed on me is that our focus is NOT to be on fear and conspiracy, it is to be on HIM...period. What does he tell us in Isaiah 8:13? "The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread..."

Did you read that^^^? Are we "getting it?" Doesn't what we read there go against everything the religious world sells today? He is the one we are to fear? He is the one we are to dread? That's what it says but are we "getting it?" Todays religious systems tell us that "fear" of the Lord is nonsense, but Jesus tells us it is the beginning of wisdom:

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

Its not the swine flu or the new world order conspiracy or the mark of the beast or the corruption in politics or the implosion of America or where our next paycheck is going to come from or any of a million other things that we are to fear, but we are to fear the Lord. Another way of saying what needs to be said is: he is to be our focus.

Recently I believe the Lord asked me, "what's going to happen when Dec 2012 is just another anti-climactic event?" All kinds of people are expecting Dec 2012 to be some kind of major tipping point, but should we? Who were the Mayans anyway? They were a bunch of devil worshipping human sacrificing people with a demonic inspired knowledge of the stars. So the mayans had a demonic/supernatural understanding of the stars and seasons. Question is, how much do demons know? Do demons know the mind of God Almighty? No, they don't. Do demons know our Lords times and seasons? No they don't. Demons know alot, but they do not know our Lords hidden times and days. Were the Mayans the people of God that they should prophesy for the people of God? Hardly. So the mayan prophesies along with every other "prophetic" utterance or writing that come from people who are not filled with the Spirit of God should be treated with piles of grains of salt.

What happens when days come and go and the "end of the world" does not come? What happens to the people today that call themselves Christians who follow the "end of the world" playbook and the end doesn't come? Here's the danger in that:

Matthew 24:48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; ...

We are to be patient and we are to focus on the Lord. That is what I hear the Spirit saying today. I ask the Lord constantly for words to write here and I have been hearing the same exact thing now for 7 months. "Wait...be patient..focus on me" and that's it. There is nothing sensational about that. There's nothing "sexy" about "wait." In fact "wait" and "be patient" puts most people to sleep which is exactly what's happening across the world right now. People don't like to wait, people don't like to be patient, especially not these days. People today want everything now which is unfortunate for them.

The swine flu is an example out of todays headlines that tells us we have more waiting to do. I have no doubt that something was released into the masses of humanity to cause mass death and yet so far humanity has been resistant to what has been released. Why is that? The Lord threw a monkey wrench into the "swine flu's" machinery. The end is not yet. Neither mankind nor the devil himself determines the how and when of the final act on the world's stage, our Lord determines it. A quick look at Rev 6 shows us 25% of humanity is erased by war, plague, famine and the beasts of the earth. What are those things? They are seals. Whose seals? They are our Lord's seals, only he is found worthy to open them. Until our Lord opens the seals that will unleash real hell on earth, we are to be patient.

While we wait we are not to fear. John 14:1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

and

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid, could he say it any clearer?

With all this said, today could be the last day any of us spends on earth so we must act wisely with today and tomorrow and the next day. There is a day coming (with no warning) to confront this world. There is a day coming that will be just like the days of Noah and Lot. We are to live each day with our eyes fixed on the Lord alone, not on conspiracies or on any of a million fears in this world, but on our God. That is a lesson the Lord has been turning me to for over 7 months now.

Yes, there are conspiracies in this world, yes there are a million things to fear in this world but we are not to focus on any of it. Has the Lord not spoken to us? Not through my words but through his words. How can we go wrong if we keep our eyes and hearts and ears focused on the Lord? We can't go wrong with that. Want more confirmation of this? How about this:

Luke 12:31 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his justice, and
all these things shall be added unto you.

This world and the things of the world hold no answers or solutions or fixes for mankind. The answers and the solutions and the "fixes" that humanity needs are found in one place: "IN CHRIST." So let us wait with great patience and endurance for the answers and solutions that can only be found in Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's focus our thinking in accordance with what we have been told:

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that ... We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge
of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Be patient, keep the faith, focus on the Lord, redeem the time that is left here, stay in the word, pray without ceasing.....done for today...grace and peace

Big Things in Small Packages

I've been asking the Lord to give me something to give you. Yesterday I even started to write then felt like the Spirit wasn't helping so I just stopped. This evening he has spoken to me about: big things coming in small packages.

As I have found with many other things involving the Lord, he does things the opposite way the world does. This world is all about flash and dash, glamour and the showcasing of BIGGGG things...its all about big cars, big houses, big money, big personalities, hollywood "stars" etc. The Lord comes from the exact opposite direction. For example, where did the Lord choose to be born in this world? Answer? A stable, not a palace, a stable...a place where the lowly, the poor, the animals, the 'nobodies' of this world would be given birth.

So staying with this idea of the Lord coming from opposite directions, we get to this word from the Lord today. The Lord reminded me of the necessity to have the faith to move mountains. From the perspective of this world, to move mountains we would have to be some kind of 'special' person wouldn't we? We would have to be some kind of spiritual rock star like todays so called "pastors,"or some other rock star 'spiritual' type to move a mountain but what does our Lord tell us?

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

So tell me again, what does it take here on earth to do miracles like uprooting trees or moving mountains? It takes faith as small as a mustard seed....

When the Lord brought this to my mind, he showed me in my past where I believed him for things, and they came to pass over and over and over again. Now its important for you to understand that when he did these things for me I NEVER felt like some kind of spiritual giant walking around to slay the goliaths of the world. I believe what the Lord showed me to now tell you is that it only takes A LITTLE REAL FAITH to do very great things in this life. The other important thing is that this mustard seed sized small faith needs to be maintained over time...The Lord brought to mind the grand canyon to illustrate this point. A little water over a long period of time carved out a wonder of the world. A little faith in you maintained over a sufficient period of time will move your mountains and carve our your own "wonder."

I am more convinced than ever these days that its the 'small' things in life that are the big things. Think about the power harnessed in the atom...your eye can't even see the things yet when harnessed correctly these almost unseen things are known to be able to destroy the world. The same holds true for bacteria and viruses etc etc. The same holds true for the "small" things you do for family and friends and even people you don't know on a day to day basis. It's the small thoughtful things that over time move mountains.

The last "small" thing I believe the Lord would have me write about is the answer to the small question "why?" It's a small question with huge implications for your life. I believe that the Lord told me to be sure that we can answer the question "why" we believe in the Lord Jesus. It's not enough to say you believe. You need to be able to answer for yourself WHY you believe. The answer to that question will very well get many saints through the horrors of the "time of Jacob's trouble" that lies ahead of humanity. If we as humans have a strong enough "why" for anything we want in life, then anything we want is possible to lay hold of. People need the answer for "why" when times get tough. For many people today times are already tough so they need to know "why" they believe what they believe so they can make it through to lay hold of the promises we have been given.

To sum up, big things come in small packages. We only need faith the size of mustard seed to move mountains or do anything else it is we have a mind to do in this world. We need to combine that mustard sized faith with persistence and perseverance. We must ask and keep on asking, we must knock and keep on knocking, we must seek and keep on seeking...and all the while we must hold onto our faith that we will find what we seek. We must believe that when we knock, the door will be opened to us. It is not for us to know the "how" or "when" prayers will be answered. It is for us to "ask" and "believe" and persist in doing "ask and believe" until we see an answer.

Our God answers prayers today, that is my testimony. I have seen mountains moved in my own life and I tell you the truth when I say that once you have seen a mountain moved you will never be the same person again. It's also very important for you to understand that there is nothing special about me. What the Lord has done for me, he will do for you. He is no respector of persons. Keep the faith, persevere, pray, believe with the little strength you have each day and expect good things from our God. We are dearly loved children.

grace and peace

Impressions From the Lord

This week the Lord has impressed me with a number of different things. I have some of those things listed here for you:

1. Forget not all his benefits

We need to remember that we worship our God for many reasons. One of those reasons is "all his benefits." One of those benefits is: he "heals all your diseases." Do you think that promise might be worth something today and the days ahead? I do. He also redeems our life from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion. If any of us really understood just how very very VERY bad "the pit" is, we would be falling all over ourselves to praise our God more each day. Being "redeemed from the pit" is a very big deal that one day we will understand better. For now, suffice it so say that our God benefits us in many ways today and we must praise him for all he does for us daily...

Psalm 103
1Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

2. See from a new perspective: fresh eyes

The Lord spoke to me about this one as well. What this means is that we should break out of our tendency to fall into the daily rut, seeing things just from our perspective in the ruts of life. We need to step outside ourselves each day and see what we have that many people in the world don't have, we need to look at our lives with "fresh eyes." We need to see the food on our table each day from the perspective of all those who are starving in this world. We need to see the roof over our head today from the perspective of all those living on the streets around the world. We need to look at our quiet and peaceful streets from the perspective of all those threatened with violence each day of their lives. In short, we need to "snap out of it" and give ourselves a dose of reality today. We need to BE THANKFUL for everything we take for granted today. Give thanks to him who created all things and who has taken care of you right up through today. Stop worrying about tomorrow and start giving thanks for what you have today..

2 Cor 10:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. <---we must step outside of ourselves to be wise....

3. Testimony his word is true, he still answers prayer

Every now and then the Lord leads me to offer a bit of my own testimony. Now is one of those times. I want to tell you that my testimony is that the word of the Lord is true. He has proven to me, without a doubt that his word is the word of God and it can be trusted. He has proven to me that there is wisdom in his word that transcends the words of men. If you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus, I urge you to take a hard look at the bible and prove to yourself one way or the other what you believe about it. Ask the Lord to give you "eyes that see" so you may understand the riches buried in the word of God.

The Lord would also have me tell you today that he still answers prayers today. He knows what you need before you need it but do you believe that he will answer when you pray to him? Remember that a double minded person, a person who waffles back and forth and does not really know what he believes, that person should expect NOTHING from our Lord. Our Lord answers prayer but he expects faith and belief from us:

James 1:6But 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. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

4. Knowing..faith
One of the most powerful or I should say empowering things the Lord reminded me of this week is that our faith is a source of power in our lives. Wherever it is that we are in life, if we believe and have faith that our Lord leads and guides us and answers our prayers, then we know that we are exactly where we need to be today to end up with a good or happy ending to this story called "life." Life can be full of doubts for those who do not believe and doubt is an initiative and motivation KILLER. Satan loves to create doubt because he knows that if he can create doubt in your heart and mind, he can take all the wind out of your sails for whichever direction you might want to travel in this life. When we proceed in life based on faith, we KNOW that we are where we are because the Lord placed us there to prosper. The Lord knows the end from the beginning of all things, he does not think like men do. We can KNOW today, that we are where we are because the Lord has put us there. We can commit ourselves to "growing where we've been planted" today because we know it is the Lord's will for us today. "Knowing" something deep down inside brings power, and power carries within itself transformation. If you don't like your current circumstances, pray, then believe, then act each day in faith that the Lord is bringing transformation.

All we have to do is believe which is another way of saying "have faith." Faith comes from the Lord so if you don't have enough now, ask for more. There is power in faith, faith can move mountains and raise the dead. I am convinced that the only limits we have in life are self imposed limits. We shut ourselves down and place ourselves in tiny boxes in life that our Lord never intended for us. As we discussed earlier, we need to step outside ourselves for a moment, we need to get a fresh perspective on life, then we need to pray and step out in faith and never look back.

Over the past 6 or 7 months, the Lord has spoken to me about things like what you read here today. There is nothing outlandish or "special" about anything here, its all basic fundamentals. I have heard the Lord calling us back to be children once again in our outlook. We need to unlearn everything we thought we knew about the Lord and learn again straight from his word like little children. There are many deceivers in the world today, especially in "churchianity" which is masquerading in the world as Christianity. Who can you trust when the foxes have taken over the chicken coup? You can trust the Lord, that's who you can trust. You can trust men only as far as the Lord gives you discernment to trust them. Remember the guidance our Lord gave us about such things:

Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

What you have read here today are the things the Lord has brought to my attention in recent days. Please keep the faith, believe, stay in the word of the Lord. Please continue to pray for all the brothers and for this brother especially who writes to you today. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace....brother d.

Proof of God's Existence

I wanted to write you today to share a thought. I have proof of God's existence. My proof is every prayer I have prayed and received an answer to. When the atheist and the other scoffers point the finger and tell us that we can't prove God exists, they are only correct as far as their statements apply to themselves. We cannot prove that God exists to them, but we can prove it to ourselves.

How does anyone else know how many times I have cried out to the Lord, offered up prayer and those prayers have been answered? Nobody knows that but me, but proving things to ourselves is of great worth, it builds our faith. Answered prayer is not the only proof of God's existence, all creation is proof that he exists. Everything around us had to be created by someone. Evidence of design is everywhere. The entire universe screams at the top of its lungs RANDOM DOESN'T WORK HERE.

Today's godless generation is fond of tossing about the idea that "universe" is in charge of everything that happens, but my first question is: who created "universe?" That's about where the conversation ends because the only answer they can give is "I don't know." We do know who created all things, our God did. The atheist can't prove he didn't and my thousands of answered prayers as well as all my senses that interact with this design filled world prove that he did.

I write to you today to tell you that our God exists, and he still answers prayers. Our God knows what you need, he knows we live in a temporal world with temporal needs like food, clothing, water etc. We are told to "seek first the kingdom of God" and all those temporal things we need will be taken care of for us. Seek his face, open his word and read it. Go to your knees and thank the Lord for everything you can think of to be thankful for today. The answers to all of life's question are "in Christ." It sounds so simplistic but its oh so true. My entire life is a testimony to answered prayer. If the Lord watches over and protects and delivers a pathetic nobody like me, what will he do for you?

I truly am one of the least of the brothers in the family of Christ, but I'm trying. I'm the least of the brothers but I do have a testimony that may be worth something to somebody reading this right now. This brother points you to the High and Lofty One, the Eternal God, the Almighty. Seek him and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart.

grace and peace

A Silent God?

Many people walk away from the Creator because they say "he doesn't speak to me" or "he is silent" or any number of statements to that effect. I believe the Lord told me to write about this by answering the question: "is the Lord really silent?"

The Lord himself addresses this idea in at least two places. Let's start here:

Isaiah 57:11 Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me?

Notice that was an old testament passage of scripture. What are we told now about the Lord speaking to us?

Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Now think hard about what the Lord is saying in this statement because its a biggie. Is the Lord really "silent" as many people claim he is? Not by a long shot.......... The Lord is speaking to us every second of every hour of every day. How?

Hebrews 1 tells us that "in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son".....Spoken to us by his Son? What is the Son of God?

Answer? The Son of God is the word of God....John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

and

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,d who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So putting this together we see that "in these last days" the Lord has spoken to us by the word of God which is an equivalent statement to saying in these last days "he has spoken to us by his Son." So if you want to know what God is saying to men today, open the word of God and start reading.

The Lord will speak to you through his Son, which is the same thing as saying through his word. You can read the bible cover to cover for a lifetime and the Lord will speak to you in new ways as your walk and your life move forward in time with him. The Lord tells us this:

Psalm 42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

Deep calls to deep.....thats Spirit speaking to spirit...God talking to us. The problem people have is not God being silent, its them not listening or their sin separating them from him. God is not the problem, we are. We need to change, we need to align ourselves with him not the other way around. Open the word of God and stay in it if you want to hear the Lord speak.

The Lord spoke to me about these things as I was driving home from work tonight. Grace and peace

Be Patient

We are called to wait patiently for our Lord. Behold:

Rev 3:7“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

We are called to endure patiently.....that kind of endurance means we might be waiting a loooooooooong time.

If things are going to "hell in a handbasket" here on earth but the Lord has not appeared for us, do not be troubled, we have more waiting to do. The sign of our Lords coming for us is no sign at all!!!!! You read that right....there will be no sign for us of our Lord's coming. We are told specifically that it will be just like the days of Noah and Lot when the Lord comes to take us out of here, THEN destruction will fall...

Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Read that again and again until you really "get it":
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....
Noah entered the ark THEN the flood came....

Luke 17:28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

Let's try that repetition exercise again:

the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down
the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down
the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down
the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down
the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down
the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down

30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Let's prepare ourselves to wait patiently. grace and peace

No Small Things

I believe the Lord reiterated to me today that we are to pay attention to all the "small" things in life because the small things really are the big things. This world glorifies the rock star and Hollywood star and TV star but dismisses the seemingly small and insignificant things in life.

An example from the news: a virus that is invisible to the naked eye, can wipe out millions of people (flu). Man, with all his "knowledge" is still absolutely helpless against the tiniest of organisms. Men still cannot cure the COMMON COLD much less some of the nastier viruses. It would make me laugh if it wasn't so serious. Small things, almost invisible things bring man with all his pomp and arrogance to his knees. <---There is a God inspired message in there for those with eyes that "see."

What's the effect of buying one $2 flower for your wife/husband once in awhile? How far does that one small act go in the eyes of the person receiving the flower?

There are no small things in this life...the small things ARE the big things, grace and peace

Blessed Are Those Who Hear It And Take To Heart

Rev 1:1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

This^^ is the opening statement in the book of Revelation. We are told here that there is a blessing for those who both hear the words and take to heart the words written.
Nowhere else in the book of Revelation are "the churches" spoken to directly. Is that an accident or is there a reason "the churches" are not addressed directly anywhere else? That's for you to decide. My point today is that we are spoken to right up front, in Rev 1-3. We are the churches. I was impressed by the words written there this morning so I thought it wise to write to you today to encourage you to flip over to Rev 1-3 at least once per week to read what is written specifically to us: the church.

Done for today, keep praying for all of our family "in Christ." Grace and peace

Rejoice, Dwell In His Presence

I asked the Lord to restore to me the joy of his presence today and as I was driving home from work he responded with this:

1. We are to dwell in his presence.....

Psalm 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty

DWELL:
1. To live as a resident; reside.
2. To exist in a given place or state
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dwells

2. Rejoice always:

1 Thessalonians 5:16
... Rejoice always
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Notice that "joy" is part of "re-joi-ce" and we are told to re-joice always. Question is, how can we rejoice always when we have days that are really not good?

Answer? Remain in his presence...There is something that happens when we are in the Lord's presence that cannot happen anywhere else. The Lord comforts us, restores us, strengthens us when we are in his presence in a way that happens nowhere else. For that reason we should be very motivated to DWELL in his presence, which basically means live there permanently. When we dwell permanently in the presence of the Lord, not only can we rediscover our joy, but we can also REST.

Many of us are heavily burdened by all kinds of things these days. The rest and peace and strength we must have can be found in our Lord's presence. We need to re-center ourselves in his presence every day.

Keep the faith, grace and peace

Growing Pains

I think the Lord made it clear to me tonight that what I am going through right now is a time of growth. Growth means:

1. Change
2. Pain

I am in a constant state of change and pain right now, that's about the best way to describe it. I feel constantly "off balance" in a way because I am not staying the same from day to day, I'm changing. This change going on in my life should improve my walk with the Lord and enable me to serve the brothers better. I am being confronted with my weaknesses and being challenged to improve upon them on a daily basis, that's painful. This process takes some humility and strength. I have no idea where things are going to end up but judging by the Lord's past faithfulness in my life the final destination should be better than where I started.

One of the many challenges facing me each day is to say nothing bad about anyone in my "self talk." That's going to be a real challenge when it comes to addressing Christian Apostasy won't it? The Lord has me on a diet of saying nothing bad about anyone, even bad people. This has required daily committment and the Lord's strength. This requires faith that the Lord knows what he's doing with my life. Perhaps my days of writing on "christian apostasy" are over and a page will be turned to writing about something else, who knows? I have seen this process unfolding for many months now, where the Lord leads I will follow.

I have no doubt that I am supposed to continue writing here. Until the Lord tells me to stop I will continue. I also know that I do not exist in a vacuum. Everything that happens to one part of the body affects the rest. Now you know a little bit more about what's happening with this insignificant part of the body known as "brother D" :-)

Keep the faith, grace and peace

Delivered From ALL My Troubles

Psalm 34:19
A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

This has been true my entire life. I have been delivered from ALL my troubles. Something to realize here is that in order to be delivered from troubles, you must first have troubles. I am like you, I've had many troubles in this life, but who hasn't?

Our Lord's word is true. We can count on it, we can depend on it. Recently I've had troubles drop out of the sky into my lap by the dozen (seemingly). Through this I comfort myself with the word of the Lord and with the remembrance of all the Lord has already done for me. I write this to you so you may take the same attitude and reap the same benefits. In all our troubles let us REST in the Lord. Let's hand over our troubles to our Lord who has the broad shoulders to take the burdens of the world upon himself and never break a sweat. We can be overwhelmed but our God cannot.

Only the Lord knows what the future will bring, but we know what he has done for us already. Let's remember what he has done let's praise him for it. Lets take a dismissive attitude to our problems and focus instead on the solution to our problems which is JESUS. It's just that easy, its one stop shopping.

There are many people in the world who tell us there will be no escape from all but the word of God tells us there IS an escape from ALL that is about to happen(Luke 21:36). The same people who tell us there is no escape from all also dismiss the idea that we can be delivered from ALL our troubles because somehow in their mind we need to "cowboy up" and take the weight of the world on our shoulders to somehow earn a special place in the Lord's sight. Such thinking is erroneous.

We CAN be delivered from ALL our troubles, my life is living proof of it. We CAN ESCAPE from ALL that's about to happen and stand before the Son of man, that is our blessed hope. Keep your eyes on the prize, his name is Jesus....keep the faith. grace and peace

Praise Him Through the Bad Times

This evening the Lord impressed me with a lesson from the story of Job. The lesson is, praise the Lord through the hard times and watch what comes out on the other side. That's it.

How many of us have had the wealth, health, status, family etc etc that Job had then lost it all? I'd wager none of us.... Through all that Job lost, he never sinned by accusing the Lord of wrongdoing. Because of Job's righteousness through his hard times he came out shining in the end.

Whatever it is that you are going through, praise our God through it all. Keep your focus on the answer to your problem: Jesus. Through patience, persistence and praise you can move the world.

The second thing the Lord impressed me with is to remember the source of our comfort. Many people find their comfort in circumstances they find favorable. When those circumstances change, their peace is demolished. Be sure to keep your faith, hope peace and comfort all centered "in Christ." In a world of constant change, the only place we can assure our peace is in our Lord. He never changes.

I have been very busy lately but in small moments each day the Lord is showing me how what I am doing now will benefit the brothers, my family and myself. Part of that benefit will be making me a better writer. I apologize for my terrible writing style over the past years. Now that I have to do some writing for work, trained eyes (not mine) are showing me how choppy and disconnected much of my writing has been. Sorry :-) I'm working on it, but it might take awhile because I often get in the way of my own progress :-)

Our God is very very good. With all my heart I encourage you to trust him. Believe that what he says in his word is true. Keep the faith, grace and peace.

Flaming Darts

Today the enemy reminded me of a sin I committed in the past. When I thought about it my guts turned I was so sick with myself. Then the Lord reminded me of something he taught me long ago. The Lord asked me "who are you to condemn yourself for something I have forgiven you for?" That's a good question isn't it? When the enemy shoots his fiery darts at us, we are to lift the shield of faith immediately and extinguish them. The enemy loves to torture us with our past sin if we let him.

Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of ...
... Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he ...
... As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us. ... As the distance of east from west He hath put far from us our transgressions.

If we repent of our sin it is forgotten, GONE. If the Lord has blotted it out and forgotten it, so should you. Don't let the enemy bend you over a barrel and beat you with memories of sin our Lord paid for and did away with on the cross with his blood...

A second point for today ties into what was written here yesterday. Remember what the Lord has done for you. REMEMBER. Thank the Lord every single day for his faithfulness and goodness to us. Remember every single good thing that has ever happened to you and give the Lord thanks for it. Remembering and thanking our Lord for past things builds our faith for todays needs and the needs we will have tomorrow. Our Lord always has a reason for telling us to do things. PRAISE HIM, and REMEMBER what he has done for you....

grace and peace

Busy Busy

Its been busy as usual for me lately. It used to be when the Lord showed me something I had access to a computer to knock out a post about it but now I have to wait most of the day to get back to the keyboard. I was impressed by a number of things today but the only bit I remember at the moment is this:

When the Lord comes back for us the sign for it will be......................no sign. Just like the days of Noah and Lot, no signs no wonders just ordinary days then WHAM!!! everything changes in an instant.

Now I remember one more thing that impressed me today:

Psalm 105

1Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.
5Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

Since we are called by our Lords name, and since we are "in him," we should always remember the wonders he has done. Read through your bibles and count how many times the Lord worked miracles for Israel and shortly thereafter they forgot him. Lets not make the same mistakes they made. Lets make every effort every day to REMEMBER what our Lord has done for the world, the brothers, our families and for us. We serve a very VERY great God, lets not forget it. PRAISE HIM, that's what we were created to do. We were created for his pleasure and to bring praise to his name.

Matt 21:16 Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?"

Matt 18:2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We are the little children created to praise our Lord...we are dearly loved, grace and peace.

Life is a Blur Right Now. The Flu-Your Health

Greetings Friends, I wanted to update you on what's happening in my life right now. I started a new (dream) job that the Lord has prepared for me to do for some time now. With the new work comes alot of learning new things. In addition to the new work, I coach my son's football team 3 nights per week plus games on Saturday, I'm also taking a language (Russian) class one night per week which creates homework. I spend time with the Lord in the morning and time with my family in between all this.

In Novemember things will slow down a bit, and I hope to post more often. For now while things are so busy the Lord is impressing me with the idea that no matter how busy things get, keeping him first will always be priority number one. Keeping him first is something the military calls a "force multiplier" because he helps us with everything we do in life.

I wanted to let you know something that the Lord let me know here recently through someone I have never met before and have never seen since. I believe the Lord brought him across my path to tell me (and now you) something important about our health. With all the pig flu, bird flu, seasonal flu and everything else floating around right now the timing could not be better.

1. Prayer and time spent with the Lord is your best weapon against the flu.

2. Use your blender (not juicer) to create fresh juices for your health. Forget the "juicer" use your blender. You will drink the pulp and all. I put things in like dark greens (spinach/kale) lettuce apple pear strawberry GARLIC banana and anything else I can put in thats not bitter/then just add fresh water and puree. The idea here is not to create some pleasant tasting smoothie, its to keep you alive and healthy when the food supply is polluted with genetically altered ingredients and there are constant attacks on the health of the population at large by viruses and whatever else is going around.

FRESH GARLIC is a powerful anti-viral. put a half clove of garlic and a little water in your blender and puree it, then add some strawberries and do puree again. The strawberry takes a huge bite out of the powerful Garlic oil taste but still allows the garlic to war against whatever is ailing you, then add whatever else you want. Cooking things kills many of the benefits you get from fresh produce. All you need to do this is a blender water and fresh ingredients. I have fought off a number of attacks on my health with this. Your doctor cannot prescribe anything to fight a virus off of you when you get sick but our Lord created things that will fight virus, its called: GARLIC. Onions work too but not as well. Combine both in a salad or whatever else you can think up but keep high heat cooking away from your food while you are fighting off all the crud floating around these days. DISCLAIMER: this is NOT medical advice. I am not a doctor. I believe the Lord brought someone across my path to tell me this and now I am passing it on to you for your benefit.

Bottom line here: PRAY first, spend time with the Lord daily. Also use your blender to blend up various concoctions from your supermarket fresh produce department and see your health improve daily, fight off the crud going around these days.

The Lord loves us dearly and I am always amazed at how he provides for us in various ways at various times. This whole juice from the blender thing is something that came out of nowhere from someone I met once and have never seen again. He was an angel sent by the Lord whether he knows it or not. I was not going to say anything about this on this blog but how could I call myself your brother and hold something like that back if I thought it could help you?

Keep the faith, grace and peace

Praise Him

This morning I get the same impression from the Lord I had yesterday:

PRAISE HIM.

As I read through the bible today and ask the Lord what word he has for his people, "PRAISE" is the answer I get back. My heart starts to warm with joy as I meditate on it more and more.

It becomes easier and easier to praise him when I remember all that he has done for me and my family. I remember how recently he brought people across my path, seemingly out of nowhere, to deliver important messages to me. Our Lord speaks to us in many different ways at different times. One way he speaks to us that many of us overlook is through other people. Our God uses people to do his will. Sometimes he even speaks to us through other people. Usually its not until later that we recognize the person we spoke with was an angel in disguise, a "messenger" of the Lord.

Do not fear, do not be discouraged but be strong and very courageous for the Lord our God is with us wherever we go to help us in our time of need. Let us PRAISE HIM with every ounce of strength we have today. Let us remember the great and mighty things he has done for mankind, the brothers, our families and ourselves. Remember also that our Lord answers prayer, he speaks to us in many different ways and at different times as it pleases him. Be patient, be persistent.

We are dearly loved children. Our minds cannot come close to comprehending how wide and deep the love of the Lord is for us. Keep the faith. grace and peace

Tried to Post, Would'nt Let Me

This morning I tried to post something that I felt has definite resonance with the Lord. For whatever reason, google and blogger would not let me in. Now that I can write, here's the super short version of what the Lord would have me say to you today:

PRAISE HIM

Guys, we've got to learn to praise him continually. If we get nothing else right, lets have thanks and praise for our God overflowing from our hearts minds and lips at all times.

Thats it. Let's get this right, lets spend whatever energy we find ourselves with each day praising and glorifying our God. He is worthy.

We are dearly loved....grace and peace.

Very Busy, The Lord is Good

I wanted to post this evening to let you know that I think about you always. I am very busy these days but the Lord has not released me from writing so words will continue to appear here as he leads.

For the past 5 months or so the Lord's finger has been pointing my mind directly at the fundamentals of the faith. Pray, obey, have faith, and stay in his word. Another way of looking at those things is: focus on him. We must keep him as our "first love" (Rev 2:4). There's nothing more important we can do.

The faster life comes at us, the more we need to remember to spend time with our master. I remember you daily in my prayers, please pray for me and my family. The Lord has been incredibly good to me and my family. He is faithful, you can trust him, seek his face.

grace and peace

New Work

Thanks be to our Lord, I have been given a dream job. I don't want to elaborate on it except to say that our Lord does answer prayer, although sometimes we may have to really wait for it.

My posts my be erratic for awhile while my schedule is in flux, but as the Spirit leads, I will follow and post the thoughts that he gives me.

As I was typing the sentence above, for a brief second the Lord really impressed me with how much he loves us. I actually kind of "felt it" for a moment. Know that we are dearly loved, he cares for you. Continue to pray always, keep the word of God in your hearts and minds and the praise and thanks for our God on your lips at all times.

Blessed be his name, grace and peace

Perseverance, Patience, Led by the Spirit of God

The bible has much to say on the words perseverance and patience:

Romans 5:4
..... perseverance, character; and character, hope. ...
James 1:4
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may bemature and complete, not lacking anything. ...
Ephesians 6:18 ... With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view,be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints ...
2 Peter 1:6
and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness ...
Revelation 2:2
..... I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. ...
Romans 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, becausewe know that suffering produces perseverance ...
2 Thessalonians 1:4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faithin all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. ...
2 Corinthians 12:12
The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance. ...
Revelation 2:19
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,and that you are now doing more than you did at first. ...
James 1:3
..... because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ...

James 5:10
Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ...
2 Corinthians 6:6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness;in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love ...
Proverbs 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. ...With patience you can persuade a ruler, and a soft tongue can break bones. ...
Proverbs 19:11
A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. ... The learning of a man is known by patience and his glory is to pass over wrongs.

Then we add this:

Romans 8:14
because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

I am impressed today by the need for perseverance, patience and most of all being led by the Spirit of God. For some reason the Lord is not allowing me to elaborate on this, I'm hitting a stone wall trying to go beyond the words: patience, perserverance, follow the Spirit of God. Since it appears the Lord will not allow me to write more on these things I will leave them for your consideration today.

Whatever it is you have going on in your life today, think about the perseverance and patience necessary to be a follower of Jesus. Also consider the need to follow the Lord's Spirit instead of the ramblings of men. We are to follow the Spirit of God wherever he may lead us, and we are to do this following with patience and perseverance. That is a simple recipe but not always easy one to follow.

done for today, grace and peace

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14:1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

As the media ratchets up the fear factor with the fear topic du jour (swine flu) it is helpful to remember what our master told us. Do not let your hearts be troubled...Notice that he tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. This is something we make a decision to do, its an action of our will. We tell ourselves "in accordance with our Lord's word I will not allow my heart to be troubled." Next we move on to why our hearts should not be troubled....

Trust in God trust also in me. You know what trust means? Its another way of saying "have faith in" or "believe in."

I want you to let your minds drift back over the past 8 years with me. Since 9/11/2001 think of all the thousands of fear laden messages this world has bombarded us with, and what has happened? How many of the fears sold to us actually came to fruition? How about none of them....As I was running this evening the Lord pointed out to me what we should expect and where we see this in his word. Matt 24 and Luke 17 tell us clearly that we should see pre-flood days right up to and through the day we go into the ark. We should expect days like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah right up to the day we leave the place.

The picture the Lord paints for us of the day he comes back for us is more or less a normal day. There are no fearful sights in the heavens, there are no piles of dead bodies for us to step over to get into the ark, there's just the sound of normal things.

The word portrait our Lord gives us paints a picture of a day like today:

Matt 24:36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,f but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

The "days before the flood" point us to days like today.

Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

The lesson here for us is this: up to the day that Noah entered the ark, things were normal. Up till the day Lot left Sodom, things were normal. It will be just like this when the Lord comes back for us. The day we leave this place will be JUST LIKE the day Noah went into the ark, and the day Lot left Sodom. Until then...do not let your hearts be troubled.

Our God is a God who meets temporal needs. If you have need of something ask him for it then believe you have received it in accordance with Mark 11:24. Remember this as well: Phil4:4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My testimony is this: the Lord has watched over me and taken care of me from the womb up through this very moment AND there is nothing special about me apart from him who lives in me. Those of us who boast can boast in one thing: the Lord God Almighty. Be encouraged, trust him, do not let your hearts be troubled.

We are dearly loved. Grace and peace.

Pray, Watch, Give Thanks, The Test of Time

Here we have instruction from the Lord on things we should be doing:

Col 4:2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Same theme as we've been on here for months: pray, watch, give thanks....

These are not hard things we have been given to do. These are the things we must do daily. It's important to remember how important "daily" is in our walk with the Lord. We have no idea when our Lord will come back for us, so we must always be ready to meet him. We do not know the "day or hour" he will come to meet us in the air, nor do we know if we will live long enough on this earth to experience the escape from all.

What we do know is that if you are reading this, you have today. What can we do right now to please the Lord? Pray, watch, give thanks.

The Long Run

We are in this walk with Jesus until the Lord comes back for us (rapture), or we go back to him in heaven (death). We could be at this for years. What is going to happen when 2012 rolls around and there still has been no rapture, no time of Jacob's trouble, just our troubled life on earth year in and year out? Will people become discouraged and fall away from the faith because they have been made to wait? We must guard ourselves against such things.

I am convinced that the change of heart the Lord has brought about within me has been to set a pace that is sustainable for a lifetime. We eagerly await our adoption as sons yet the Lord has a day and hour in mind that may not be for years in the future. I have no doubt that there is an escape from all coming for those who are "in Christ" but we have no idea when that will be. I now believe that it is unwise to keep a constant drumbeat of "rapture rapture rapture" because when "rapture" does not show up year after year, people become discouraged and some may fall away.

Don't get me wrong, the rapture/harpazo/escape from all IS coming, however I believe the Lord has impressed me with a different idea of how we approach this event. We maintain a daily readiness for the escape from all by walking daily in a way that pleases our master. If we are ready for the Lord every day then that particular "day and hour" the Lord has in mind for this world will not catch us off guard. If we are living a daily life of prayer, watchfulness and giving thanks we can live in victory for a lifetime and be ready all the time to meet the Lord.

As I have aged, I have seen more clearly what our Lord has done. He tests everything with TIME. The test of time is what proves we are "in Christ" (saved), not one decision on one day of someones life. Anyone can make a 10 second decision, that's easy. What's not so easy is living out our decisions day in and day out for a lifetime. Time is the simple and effective test of things. It is not those who start the race who get the rewards, its those who finish the race.

1 Cor 9:24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

We must settle this in our minds that we are in this to the very end. We must take the attitude that Paul did so that after preaching to others, we ourselves are not disqualified for the prize. We must press on toward the goal to win the prize.....This thinking is foreign to today's "christian" teachers and preachers. Today it is widely accepted that a 5-10 second "decision for Jesus" is all that is necessary to take hold of the prize. <---and that is why we are told to pray and watch.......what does "watch" mean?

1 archaic a : not able or accustomed to sleep or rest : wakeful b : causing sleeplessness c : spent in wakefulness : sleepless 2 : carefully observant or attentive

Notice that "carefully observant" part of watchful. We are to carefully observe what is in the bible then carefully observe what is taught in this world. When the world is teaching one thing and the bible teaches us something else, what should we do? We reject the world and press forward in the truth. Those who love the world find it hard to reject the world which is why they do not leave their social circles masquerading as "churches."

How many people today are willing to shed worldly friendship, their beloved social circles in order to be found spotless and in the truth? How many are willing to stand (seemingly) alone with the Lord for the truth? Time tests these things. The Lord himself teaches us so that none of us will have an excuse on the day of judgement. When the Holy Spirit knocks on our heart and tells us to do something, but we refuse because we love this world more than we love the truth, what is the price for that?

Let's pray that we may be counted worthy of the prize. Paul was concerned about being disqualified for the prize after preaching to others, are we better than Paul? This world is full of deception, so lets be watchful. Lets especially be thankful for all that our Lord has done for us. Lets spend time every day remembering the good things our God has done for us, the brothers and the world. In a world that sings "what have you done for me lately" let us sing a song of eternal remembrance. We must praise our God for everything he has done, from the very beginning up through right now. We do not have enough time in the day to praise him for everything so lets pick something and start praising him for it now. He is worthy to receive all the praise and the glory and the honor.

done for today, grace and peace

Driving Home the Message

Short one today... this is what stood out to me in the word of God:

Colossians 3:15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is just a short passage of scripture but look at how much "give thanks/gratitude" we see in there. Be thankful, keep gratitude in your hearts to God, giving thanks to God always....think there's something the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us there?

The other powerful lesson we get from this is that we teach and admonish one another.....That statement puts all of this world's "clergy" out of work in 6 words. If we teach and admonish and encourage each other, why do we need "clergy" for? Answer? We don't.

Lets be thankful today. Lets remember all the things the Lord has done for us today. Lets keep his praise on our lips at all times. Lets encourage one another while its still called today.

If you are "in Christ" then I pray for you daily. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace.

Rejoice Always

There were many things I could have written to you about today. This is what I sensed was the best topic among the many.

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Today we are almost through Rosh Hashanah/Feast of Trumpets 2009. This would indicate to me that we have to wait awhile more for the Lord. The Lord has made it clear to me that it is no use to try and pin down the exact "day and hour." We are instructed to be ready every day. There is no argument (except from the insane) against such a readiness. We are ready every day for our Lord.

This daily readiness is closely allied with our word from the Lord today. We are to rejoice in the Lord always. Always means constantly, every hour of every day and more. Paul said "I will say it again: Rejoice!" That was a point of emphasis with him. How can he tell us to rejoice always in such a sick and evil world? He gives us the reason for our constant rejoicing: the Lord is near...Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

"The Lord is near" is the reason for our constant rejoicing. What problems do we have that he cannot solve? What troubles us today that he cannot move out of our way? Who stands against us today that our Lord's cannot save us from? The Lord is near. He is our "one stop shopping" answer to everything. I know that there are many people in the world who mock such a notion. They consider the worship of our God to be a fantastic delusion and they mock us for it. These people only mock themselves. How do the mockers of the world explain away my 40 years of answered prayer? Do you know how many prayers I have said over my lifetime? Do you know what the statistical probabilities are against having lets say 1,000 consecutive prayers answered?

The Lord is near, so in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. We are to pray with thanksgiving...notice the wording here. How did Paul start of off here in Phil 4? REJOICE ALWAYS.....then he tells us to pray WITH THANKSGIVING. This is powerful stuff friends. If only we could learn how to fully declare our God's praise. If we could learn to keep his praises, his glory and overflowing thanksgiving to him on our lips at all times....well, we could turn the world upside down.

The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I see the simplicity he has called us to. Our Lord told us: Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I believe him. There are few things necessary for us to walk with our Lord. We are to believe, be humble, have faith, obey, praise him and tie that all together with love. We don't need any man to hand us some degree to figure that out do we? No, we don't.

It has been written here for months now. We are being called back to the fundamentals of the faith, to a simplicity "in Christ" that seems to elude this world. Men set themselves up as "guru's" and "experts" and "scholars" to control other men. They set themselves up in a system that attempts to force us into reliance on them. We are reliant on no man, but on our faithful Creator alone for everything. Our faithful creator is near, so do not be troubled. Pray with thanksgiving for the things you need and rest "in him."

We may have years to wait for our Lord or he could come back for us tonight, who knows? We don't need to know. We need to remain "in him," and watch for him everyday. While we patiently wait, lets do the things that please him. Lets love, be faithful, be obedient and especially lets have his praise on our lips with thanksgiving all the time. We are dearly loved children, grace and peace