4/30/2010

I wanted to update you on what the Lord is doing in my life. Lately he has been influencing me to seek his Word more and more. For many months now I have heard absolutely nothing from him about "the end of the world" or "the rapture" although either one of those events could be right around the corner, maybe even tonight, yet he is not emphasizing them. Curious huh?

The push with me appears to get me more "right" than I was yesterday or the day before etc. I have noticed an insistence to abstain from all criticism, even criticism of christian apostasy. It's just not a focus today. I speculate that he is perfecting his church, his bride before he comes back. He wants a spotless wife to present to himself, the true church.

For months now I have been engaged in a struggle to overcome myself, to be better, to produce fruit in keeping with the parable of the talents in Matt 25. I would like to write to you more so that even if 1 person is benefitted by one thing that is written here, something will have been done to benefit mankind through these pages. Not that I will have done anything, but that the Lord will have loved someone through this vessel and for that I will rejoice.

All of our battles in this life are spiritual, although they may seem everything but, all the battles are spiritual. All of the losses we incur in this battle can be learned from so we grow. Our Lord is GOOD, He is faithful, He is kind, He can be trusted. Pray, ask, seek, knock and the doors will be opened to you....in time. Be patient. Keep the faith. Encourage the brothers.

These are the things I hear the Lord saying to me today. We are dearly loved children. Grace and peace

Faith, Hope, Love..

Greetings..I wanted to write an update today regarding what the Lord has been doing in my life.

What I am going through these days is kind of a reinvention of sorts. I am groing and groing sometimes comes with pain. In my case all this pain is internal as I strive to be a better man today than I was yesterday and the day before etc. In the midst of this pain, as I struggle to grow internally, the Lord has reminded me of some important facts. Namely, he reminded me that in the midst of this growing, or anything else that our lives might be consumed with today, the way to get through it, and thrive through it is.........faith, hope, love.

The keys to success in this life are not being the most organized, being the best planner, the hardest worker, or having the most insight or wisdom or anything like that. The Lord recently impressed upon me to REST in him. He impressed upon me that although my past is flawed due to all my own screwups, I have gone from one success and triumph in life to another. He asked me, "how did this happen? Was it because of all your wisdom and superior strength and foresight and planning etc?" To that question I had to laugh, and cry and answer no.

The reason for everything good in my life has been faith in him, hope in his lovingkindness, and love for him. Through all my internal ups and downs, the Lord's faithfulness has come through for me again and again and again. What's so great about the Lord's love and faithfulness is that I didn't have to know the future, or be perfect, or be the best, smartest, strongest person in this race called "life." Because I did not have to "be" all those things, and yet I still prospered, I can REST in him. FEW things are required to succeed in this life. What things are required? Faith, hope, love.

I want to add a note on what "love" is here as God defines it...John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Love means obedience. My past is checkered with failures however the Lord's grace, his mercy and his strength has enabled me to pick up the broken pieces of my screwups day after day after day and re-engage life again and again...following these things, faith, hope and love.

I have been very encouraged today that the Lord has reminded me of these things. Its not all on my shoulders to figure everything out. I don't have to "be perfect." I have to have faith, keep up my hope, and above all...LOVE, my God, my family, and all of mankind to the best of my ability.

As I rest in the Lord in faith, hope and love, he is encouraging me to push forward to be a better man. He is sustaining me in this pain that is growth. He does expect us to put forth, to bear fruit, but he is a gentle taskmaster to those who remain broken before him.

Because I ramble, I want to wind up with this as a message to you. What is happening between me and the Lord today, may have some application to you today. We do not live on islands apart from each other, although to the eye it appears we do. We are all one "in Christ" so I want to encourage you to REST today. When you are resting, remember that the battles are not yours even though you seem to be the "star" of the movie called "your life" you have a great helper who loves you. Keep the faith, rest, hope, love, believe. Know that you know that you KNOW the Lord is going to help you again because you love him, and he loves you. STRIVE, put forth effort, GROW where you have been planted today knowing that whatever you are today is temporary, whether where you are is good or bad..

Okay, one more rambling comment on the power of words. The Lord recently gave me this mental picture of each of us waking up to each new day like an artist stepping up to a fresh, clean canvass to paint. What goes on that canvass is up to us. The words we use inside our hearts and minds are the paint on that canvass and WE CHOOSE THEM. Realize the power of the words you use. We were created to be like our God, and he tells us...John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The "word" was God, was with God and WAS GOD. The word of God is Jesus himself, and because we are like him, he has given our words power just as his words have power. We must be very careful then, to watch our words..both those we speak and those we think. Remember that as a man thinks, so is he. As we believe, so things are done unto us.

Let's be careful then to watch ourselves. Let us paint beautiful pictures within ourselves on the fresh canvass we are given that is called a "new day." Let us be encouraged to REST in our God. Let us strive to become more as a people because we love our God and our fellowman, but as we do this let us recognize that the battle and the outcome are the Lord's. That is not an excuse for us to lay back and say "well then, let him do everything!" because he expects us to engage in each day alongside of him.

Be encouraged today, continue to pray. Do not give up your faith or your hope or your love. Believe the Lord for BIG things in accordance with the growth of your soul and your walk with him. Our God is very VERY good, and his eye is on us today. Do not be fooled by his apparent silence because he speaks in many different ways at different times. Renew your strength today in the Lord and be patient for the answer to your prayers. Look for your answers tomorrow as you pray with great hope and expectation today.

One day, our hearts will swell with joy and we will be glad that we adopted the attitude of a soldier to fight on for one more day...for our God, for our families, for our brothers and for ourselves.

May the Lord bless you and keep you today, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace..BLESSED BE HIS NAME...grace and peace

brother d

The Power of Words

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Eph 6:17 ..and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and ... The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Luke 17:20-21

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Matt 10:24“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

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What's the thread running through all of the scripture written above? Words....The Lord has opened my eyes to something that has been hidden in plain sight (at least to me) for some time.

The Lord has impressed upon me the nearness of the kingdom of God (within us..that's kind of near). He has also impressed upon me the power of words and how we use them. Let's consider Phil 4:8 specifically right now. The Lord tells us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, etc. Have you ever tried to just hold those specific words in your consciousness for 20-30 seconds?

This is a big deal, this idea has the power to change your life, no kidding. I believe the Lord gave me a kind of mental picture of our spirit sitting inside our bodies looking like a fat flourescent long light bulb. Our spirit sits inside of us and irradiates our entire body with whatever is in our spirit. So what are we holding within our spirit, and, what is that doing to us? Okay, now back to holding a word for 20-30 seconds in our consciousness..

Holding a thought for 20-30 seconds these days is not easy. We live in the age of endless distractions and ADD. When's the last time you read the Pslams? Did you notice at the end of every other sentence you see the word "selah?" What does "selah" mean?

From Wikipedia:
Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen".

Selah means stop and consider, or "hold that thought" or let that thought marinate your brain. I cannot overstate the importance of this, so again I will ask you, have you tried to hold a single word like "peace" or "love" or "faith" in your consciousness for 20 or more seconds? I challenge you to begin to do this. It will affect you physically, emotionally, spiritually, no kidding..

Have you ever heard "you are what you think?" That concept goes hand in glove with why we are told to keep the word of God in our minds day and night, why we are told to "think about these things" and why we are told:

Psalm 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

What's so incredible about all this is the simplicity of the concept, yet how powerful it is. Everything, and I mean everything the Lord tells us to do is for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us, whether we know it or understand it or not. Words have the power of life and death. If you want to change your life for the better (I do) then change the words you hold in your consciousness most of the time. It's not that I've had a bad life, in fact I am unbelievable BLESSED, yet there is always room for growth while we walk this earth. The place of growth for me now, and maybe you, is in this area.

Try holding different words in your mind for 20-30 seconds and notice how they physically affect you. Try thinking about "energy" or "peace" or "love," then try "wickedness" or "death" and I hope you will understand that this will change your life.

When you understand how powerful words are (they are more powerful than any drugs), then you will also understand why we must go on a "news diet." This world system we live in is a gutter. The vast majority of news (to include bloggers) is world focused. Dirty laundry sells, people love it, but what is it doing to them? Each word you take within you is like a pill you swallowed that WILL have an effect on you...good or bad.

There is a narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7). On that narrow path are thoughts which lead to actions which lead to destinies (the small gate). We must labor to cut out all the mental weeds in our garden. We must learn to say NO to all the words and ideas that the broad path has to sell. We must do these things so we can be like the wise servants of Matt 25 who used their "talents" to show the master that we have produced more than what was given. We must have fruit growing on our tree from the seeds that have been planted (the WORD).

All words have impact on us..all of them, but the Words of God are formed and delivered to us as a perfect package. I believe the Lord showed me that a single word is like plucking a single note on a guitar, that note resonates throughout our entire being with certain effect. Words, grouped together are like playing a chord, again, there can be resonance that has a certain effect on our entire being. Music is not always beautiful though, there is not always resonance, which is why we must carefully guard ourselves from the words of this world.

Unfortunately many people calling themselves Christians have become "bored" with the Lord and his word. They have gone searching after politics and current events and what the devil is doing in the world because the Word of God and the kingdom of God alone are just not quite enough. Let us guard against this mistake. The kingdom of heaven is NOT in Washington DC, or Moscow, Russia ITS WITHIN US. The change we need for this life and the next begins and ends within us. Our joy, peace, abundance, happiness etc etc ALL begin and end within us. Don't take my word for it, take the Lord's Word for it.

What did Jesus mean when he said Luke 17 "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you?"

Why did the Lord tell us what to think about and meditate on day and night? WHYYYY? I believe that what is written to you today is at least in part an answer to "why?"

Take your words like you would take a prescription from a physician. We follow the Great Physician who has prescribed certain words for us. Let us not turn a deaf ear to him.

Grace and peace

A Quick Update

The Lord has been dealing with me personally. To change the world, we must change as individuals. Making things better in this world and the next begins within us. Remember when Jesus said:

Luke 17:20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The kingdom of heaven is where?????? Within you. These past days and weeks and months, the Lord has been showing me what that means. What a ride it has been. I thank the Lord for his infinite mercy in dealing with us. Each day that goes by, I look back at the "me" of yesterday and think "wow Lord, thank you for being so patient and merciful with such a massive screwup..."

Since my self esteem/self concept rests "in Christ," I can deal with healthy doses of "kick in the butt" medicine, provided that its packaged the right way and delivered gradually :-)

The Lord knows what he is doing. Keep asking, keep searching, keep knocking, and doors will be opened for you, just as the Lord is opening doors for me. What's happening out in the world is of little consequence today. Did you read that? ...little consequence. How can I say that? What did we just read in Luke 17? Where is the kingdom of heaven? Within you. Where is our focus? In the world? NO, our focus is in Christ, and on Christ. If we take care of the kingdom of heaven, the world (and those who belong to the world) will take care of itself.

The change we need in the world starts in us.

Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Lord didn't spend much time focusing on the politics of his day, or what the romans were doing, or how mankind was overrun by the devil and look at how terrible it all is. The Lord focused on his kingdom and what he was doing. He came to "pro-act" on this world, not "re-act" to it. The world will be shaped by the light shed upon it and the darkness has nothing that it can say or do about it. When light comes in, darkness leaves...IMMEDIATELY. It has no choice.

These are the things that have been in my mind and on my heart recently. Our God is good. He hears the prayer of those who belong to him, and his word is true. You can bet your life on these things....I am. Grace and peace.