Knowing A Love

Recently, I got a chance to share Scripture and poetry as a testimony. Truly I was able to Glory in My God and my infirmities, As I did this In was able to acknowledge God's love for me. Truly God has blessed me by thinking about God's love and that Christ gave Himself for me. Now all I have to do is think about that love and know that love. Truly, this love is casting out my fears and anxieties. By applying Ephesians 3:14-20, I am finding a rest in the breadth and length and depth and height of His divine love. As the song says, "Think about His love, think about His mercy, think about His love that sees us through." I find this love by simply dwelling on Jesus. I have also been blessed as my faith is being tried and patience works itself in me.

Faith and Money

As an American we are naturally bent towards thinking money is the most important way for God to meet our needs and desires, We are truly blind to how God really wants to work in us. I myself struggle with this kind of covetousness. God clearly declares we can't love money and God both at the same time. I've discovered an answer to this focus on money. This is not a one time confession to solve this. This is a weed that must be cut down daily. It is so strong a sin that we can understand how it could be a root of sin. What is our answer? As we find ourselves thinking daily about money, we must remind ourselves where true worship should be. We must apply the command, "Thou shalt worship the Lord your God and Him only shalt thou serve." For with this weed daily confession is needed and redirection toward the Worship of God. As we apply this truth we shall discover that we shall know the Truth and the Truth will set us free.

God And The Promise Of Riches

“My God shall provide all your needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.”

God has blessed me with the ability to share Christmas poetry with over 160 people. I also was blessed to share Christmas gifts with a friend of mine's children and grandchildren. It was such a blessing and opportunity to share. It was so worth doing.

I had a trial come about over this and how God provides. With this giving I used up all my funds. I thought that God would provide for all this giving. Yet it didn't happen. I also thought God would provide for every good work. I trusted Christ for this promise. I went to God and asked why He had not provided.

God lead me to a greater Truth. If God always provided for all needs at all times, what about those in prison and those faced with starvation. Our culture is so focused on money that we think this is how God always blesses us. I think of Paul in prison. If God always provides, He would have to apologize to Paul. God declares food and raiment therewith to be content. Truly God has blessed me with my true needs being met. What about those believers in prison, hungry, and persecuted? What is God's true riches in Glory by Christ Jesus?

“Being content with such things as you have, for He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The answer to the hardship is God's Glory is found as Christ being with us in every trial, every hardship. This is truly the blessing God will always provided.

A side Truth is that when I was pondering the answer to this trial. I thought of this promise.

“My Brethren, count it all joy when you face divers (trials) temptations., Knowing this that the trying of your faith works patience, but let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him.”

Truly the promise is when trials are happening, we need to find God's wisdom for this trial and gives us a deeper understanding how God works.

Hope Maketh Not Ashamed

I've been thinking about the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. One is the Jewish New Year and the other is The Day of Atonement. Jewish legend says that during this period God looks down on the Earth and considers the Jewish people. I was thinking this would be a good time for the Rapture to take place. The Bible clearly says we are not to know the hour or the day, but the times and the seasons. As I focused on the Rapture coming, God then blessed with a desire for Christ's return and a greater assurance of my faith. After Rosh Hashanah came I was a little anxious. Could I possible be left behind? God led me to various Scriptures for assurance. Then God gave me a promise that was God's answer to the question, why should I let you into Heaven? The answer is the promise, God loved me and gave His beloved Son for me. I've God's Word on it. Oh, what Great joy. Oh, what Great love. Oh, what Great assurance. What a great Promise.

My Goals

It's good to have goals to shoot for in life. We are made internally to work towards to these goals. I have spiritual goals for my life. They are: Glorify God and enjoy Him forevermore, touch lives, keep myself unspotted from the world. My new goal I received from a message my Pastor on a Sunday night service. It is the highest goal We can seek. To live a life worthy of the Gospel. God has also been showing me the constant need to ask for wisdom. We never arrive at wisdom, but need to be hungering and thirsting after that wisdom. The promise is if we ask for wisdom, without wavering, we will walk in this. Another way is to walk in the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. Truly we can learn to be seeking day and night.

Psalm 1
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Take Me To The Father

After hearing a fresh presentation of the Prodigal Son story, I learned that in a Jewish family when the prodigal son left and squandered his money that in order to keep the family intact, it was the older brothers role to seek out and find the younger brother. It was his job to bring the erring brother to the Father. In this story we find the self righteous older brother was not even happy to hear that his younger brother was returned to the family. An interesting insight that this fresh telling of this story is that Jesus is our true older brother and truly He seeks to find and save the lost. This unique picture of Jesus coming to find me inspired me that it is truly through Jesus that I am brought to God the Father. I called on Jesus with a renewed understanding that Jesus will take me to the Father. After this Jesus revealed His love toward me as the work of God's love would be Jesus being my advocate to come to the Father. How can Jesus do this? It is by the love that He showed on the Cross that makes it possible to bring us to the Father. Truly think about His love, think about His mercy, think about His love that will see us through. Another insight in coming to Jesus that I am both like the sinning prodigal son and also the self righteous older brother. Truly in this story God the Father wants both to come into a loving family relationship with Him.

Worship and Money

I have been pondering for sometimes now, how to not to love money. For this is the root of all sins. The Bible declares we must love God and yet despise the love of money. Recently I have gone to my Pastor to learn the stewardship principle. The first thing I needed to do was to track what I was spending on. I discovered that I was throwing money at things that had no value. Pop, eating out excessively, and gas. It was very eye opening as to my lack of control. As I looked at this for over a week, I realized I was not seeking to do good works God had prepared for me to do because of this abuse. Then God gave me a thought. How do I not worship money? The answer was to decide to worship God with all the money I had and not just Tithing. This thought liberated me. I made the decision (a realistic decision) to limit myself two bought drinks at quick stop stores and only one eat out one meal a day. I now take with me canned fish to stop paying for snacks. For the first time in my life financial freedom is in sight. PTL