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.