The Clouds Parted

The past few days I haven't been feeling great, good enough to function, but not great. As as I sitting in my fog yesterday morning, it was as if the Lord parted the clouds in my mind and transported me into a beautiful day. Instantly light was shed on my heart and mind and I saw everything in my life the way it should be. I was overjoyed and greatly motivated. The Lord went through a host of different issues with me that can be summed up by the scriptures listed below.

Psalm 97:11
Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

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

Psalm 25:15
My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Proverbs 8:34
... Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily
at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

The Parable of the Talents
Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

19After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The Lord clearly impressed me to follow Him "to the exclusion of all else." Just as Israel followed the Lord out of Egypt in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, so we are to follow the Lord. The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. We are to separate ourselves from the world. The word "church" as it is translated in Greek is "ekklesia." Literally, that means nothing close to what people today call "church." Ekklesia literally means "the called out ones under authority" or something very close to that. Note especially "the called out ones."

We have been called out of this world system, out of babylon and her harlot church which is ruled by the nico (conquer) laitans (you) (Rev 2). Yes, we are in the world but we are not of it. We admit that we are aliens and strangers here with a kingdom that is not of this world.

The Lord is coming soon for us, when exactly I have no idea. What I believe the Lord has impressed upon me is that while we watch and wait for His return daily we are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12) as Paul said and to employ the "talents" the Lord has revealed to us by faith (Matt 25). We are to do these things with much thanksgiving and rejoicing always. We are to have faith in God, pray and ask for what we need, then believe we have received what we asked for (Mark 11:22-24, James 1:8).

Also, I've been put on an internet "fast" again (meaning no worldy "news" of any kind) for 30 days other than what I need to do for work. Again, the world is falling all over itelf to "stay connected" which is why you can't drive by a car without seeing everyone with a cell phone sewn permanently to their face or walk by someone on the street who isn't "texting." Meanwhile, the Lord has pointed me in the exact opposite direction with the instruction: disconnect. I am 100% positive that I can follow the Lord to the exclusion of all else, without a crack-berry or cell phone or Ipod permanently attached to my face and come out in the end light years ahead of the people I see around me. That is to say, I believe that if I do what the Lord has instructed me to do, I will benefit. These things are written here today so that you too may benefit.

We will find the Lord when we seek Him with all our heart. The enemy and the world are found in the noise and chaos of the world. Our Lord is found in stillness and quietness of spirit. He speaks to us in a still and quiet voice. I recently watched the new "karate kid" and one line in the entire movie really stood out to me. Jackie Chan said to his apprentice "there's a big difference between being still and doing nothing." To that I say AMEN. Let's be still and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches today.

grace and peace

A God Who Answers Prayer

The Lord is good. He is so very very good. Our God, the God of the bible is a God who answers prayer. Although His answers to prayer may take years in some cases, in many other cases, He is answering prayer every single day. Consider:

Luke 11:2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:“‘Father,a hallowed be your name,your kingdom come.b 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4Forgive us our sins,for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.c And lead us not into temptation.d’”

Each day that we receive our daily bread, is a day of answered prayer. Any what does "daily bread" mean? Well, obviously it means the food you put in your mouth each day, but I would also submit to you that it means everything we need to make it through each day.

In recent days, I have asked the Lord for help just to make it through the next 12 hours at times, and everytime He has come through for me. This writer has received exactly what was asked for. This writer knows for a fact that it was his Lord that answered him.

The Lord absolutely does provide for his people...daily. Another example of this?

Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

One of the things I have learned about the Lord is that His way most of the time is to provide for us at the point of need, not before, not after, right exactly when it is needed. Does that make sense for a God who requires faith of us? Sure does. Does it make sense when we consider we serve a perfect and all powerful God who can provide at the perfect time, every second of every day without fail? Yep, that makes sense too. The hangup is, will we trust Him? That's the part the trips most people up. They ask, but they really don't expect anything to happen. They really don't believe.

The bible is clear that we are to expect results from our prayer. We are to ask with the expectation of receiving what we asked for:

Mark 11:22“Havef faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours

We are a needy people, we were created that way. Why? So we would ask, seek, and be knocking (Matt 7:7) constantly on our Father's door for provision. We are to be constantly face to face with our Lord, not only in asking, but also in thanking, praising, in requests of all kinds, in love, in fellowship, in admiration and the list goes on. Everything and anything we need can and will be found at the feet of our Lord who can be trusted to deliver for us. We do have a part to play in our provision though. We are to ask and believe that answers are on the way as we pray. The Lord has commanded us to do many things, those are the things we are expected to do. Read your bible, find out what the Lord has commanded us to do, and do it. Will you be perfect? No, but we are all expected to do and to give and to act with all the strength we have been given today to try to be perfect for Him.

Remember the parable of the talents in Matt 25? Each of us will be responsible to give an account for what we have been given. Some have been given little and some have been given much and we will all be accountable for what we have. Let's do our best, each and every day with what the Lord provides to please Him in every way. His commandments are not burdensome, and He is a wonderful, awesome God. He is worthy of our best.

This is all being written to you today to encourage you to pray and not give up. Hold on. Persevere, be tenacious. Give every ounce of effort you have today to be the person you are called to be "in Christ." Only you know what the Lord has called you to. Understand that we are dearly loved children. Keep the faith.

grace and peace

A God Who Answers Prayer

This one is short but sweet. Our God is a God who answers prayer. Many times we have to wait for the answers but He DOES answer. Over and over and over again my prayers have been answered. I tell you this not because there is anything special about me, but as a testimony to the truthfulness of God's word. Ask and YE SHALL RECEIVE. I am one voice crying in the wilderness that our God's Word is true and it can be trusted, that is why I write to you today. May our Lord's name be praised forever...

Grace and peace

A God Who Answers Prayer

The God we serve is very very good.

He just answered another of our prayers in a spectacular way. In this case, it was a complicated timing issue where we needed to move out of one rental home and into another with the timing working out perfectly between the two. Not only did the Lord work out the timing perfectly but I became aware over the weekend that the Lord held a pristine rental property just for my family for 86 days during the peak of rental season where we live. 86 days the Lord had his hand on this place for us while we were praying in faith, believing the Lord would take care of us but not knowing how or when. We looked at many places to live and none of them came close to how perfect this place is for my family and nobody touched it. Why? The Lord held it for us.

Prayer after prayer after prayer was lifted up to the heavens over this issue and once again the Lord answered in a spectacular way. Our God is a God who answers prayer. Today is a day of great rejoicing, thanks and praise to our God who hears the cries of his servants and answers them. I share this latest answered prayer with you to encourage you to seek the Lord's face for your own needs. Lay your faith on the line, stay in the bible praying the Lord's promises back to him in faith and watch what he will do for you.

Our God is loving and kind, full of grace and mercy for those who serve him. We don't always walk an easy road but we never walk alone. We always have the Lord our God there with us to help us in all our troubles, to deliver us from all our fears. We just have to trust him. We have to keep the faith.

Something the Lord showed me this weekend is that tested faith is not the same as failed faith. Sometimes when we feel our faith being tested we may be tempted to think our faith is weak or is failing us because we sense the strain and push of the enemy/the world/our flesh against our faith. Having our faith tested will be something we will deal with until we are with Jesus in heaven. Each time our faith is tested it grows stronger but that doesn't mean we will not feel the strain of testing the next time we lay our faith out, believing the Lord will come through for us. We will feel the invisible war going on . When what we see with our eyes pushes against what we believe by faith, we must stand immovable and push back against our problems, fears and difficulties by faith. We were given a will that allows us to decide when and where we will fight or give up. As long as we remain in the fight and we don't give up, we can expect to see mighty things from our God.

Engage your God given willpower to remain in the fight, by faith till the very end. We do not wage war as the world does.

2 Corinthians 10:1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We 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.

If the Lord answers prayers for a nobody screwup like myself, the least of the brothers who are in Christ, what can he do for you? Be very encouraged today. For those of us who are "in Christ" everything done to benefit one part of the body benefits every other part of the body in some way. Seek the Lord's face, keep the faith, stay in his word, pray without ceasing. We serve a very very GOOD and GREAT God!

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