Guard Your Heart , Mind and Soul!

by David W Cowan

How many times have you heard someone claim to be "overcome" by an emotion or feeling? What has overcome you at points in your life...grief, fear, worry, shame, guilt?

We are called to be overcome by one thing and that is the love of Christ, by which He has overcome the world. Jesus explains to His disciples in John 16, verse 33.

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world."

The tribulation we face, lest we stay close to our Lord and Savior, can drag us down, can be overpowering unless we stay in the peace of Christ. Peter warns us about this very situation in 2 Peter 2:19.

"...for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."

Many times at funerals I have heard it said, "I am overcome with grief" Believers who slip have been known to say "I am overcome with guilt and shame."

A momentary emotion is not a bad thing. It shows we care and love. It goes to far when we allow it to overcome our ability to move on down the path God has set for us.

We have to remember that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus and he has overcome ALL the world and its sinful emotions with His love for us and His covering for our sins past, present and even future. We are, however, to be sorrowful and repentant when we realize we have not lived up to God's expectations, to turn from our sin and move on, but Christ has already overcome what we are facing and we rest in His work and we move down the road to sanctification and eventually His perfection.

Thank you, Jesus! 

You Have To Be A Sheep!

Another for the Standing On the Promises Series

by David Cowan

We are all familiar with the 23rd Psalm, but have you ever thought about it as, I think, one of the greatest set of promises in the Bible.

David tells us, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

These are another set of covenantial promises and are all available to us as children of God, but it requires that we are His sheep if He is to be our shepherd. If you grew up like I did, taught by parents in an age when you were to be self sufficient and depend on no one, the thought of being a sheep took some getting used to. Sheep, however, depend upon the shepherd for everything, as we read in the 23rd Psalm, food, water, protection, etc.

In Biblical times and locations, grass was not plentiful and sometimes, like the water also, might be days from the homeplace and not always easy to find. A good shepherd knew where the best was to be found. I read an article that said David even kept the sheep in age groups and that when they came to a pasture, he would bring the youngest in first for the tenderest part of the grass, then the middle group and, finally the most developed could handle the tougher part of the blades. David killed lions and all kinds of animals that would attempt to prey on his flock. He was the protector of what his father had.

The same is what God wants to do for us, but He will not force His provisions on us and our "self reliance" often gets in the way. Sheep, on the other hand just all clump together and depend on the shepherd. If we learn to be thankful for His love and depend on Him for everything instead of taking the approach that we will call Him if we need Him, we will be amazed at the provisions He made for us from the foundation of the world.

David knew this for in 1 Samuel, Saul was told that his kingdom would not continue, for God had sought and found for himself a man after His own heart, David the Shepherd. Not that David was perfect my any stretch, but his faith in God never wavered and he was a man, as Paul testified in Acts 13:22, that would do whatever God wanted him to do. He depended on God for everything and God blessed him abundantly, gave him protection and on many, many occasions, saved his life.

I want to be more like my name sake in that aspect of his life. I am striving to be less mule like and more sheep like and so should you!

Make God Your First and Not Your Last Resort

3rd In Standing on The Promises Series

by David W Cowan

God calls us all away from our "I got this. I will call on you if I need you." attitude that the flesh teaches us through our years. He knows that little by little this self confidence turns into pride and our Creator cannot abide a prideful heart.

In Proverbs 29:23 it says, "A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will bring him honor."

Our Lord's intent is to save us disappointment and heartache in every thing we do, in every decision we make and it is so important to Him and our relationship with the Father that He gave us a promise to stand on that saves us from our regret.

Also in Proverb, chapter 3, verses 5 and six spell out this promise and it's conditions.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight,"

How many times have you made a decision and found yourself caught in the middle of the consequences? Personally, I can't count the times on the fingers of both hands! Usually, then, we get on our knees and pray about it and God either shows us a way out or lets us know we just have to come out on the other side.

I try to say this verse at the start of most days, acknowledge to God, who already knows. that I trust in Him with all my heart and ask Him to direct me through my decisions of the day. I also do my best not to get caught up in the day and talk with Him about my decisions before I pull the trigger. I try to compare what I feel I should do with His nature and if the two don't match, I rethink my decisions.

In dealing this way the decisions of the day, I am standing behind my trust in Him, I'm putting my understanding under the direction of my creator and acknowledging Him in all my ways....all the things I must do to stand on His promise for direction. Now, if I could just do that perfectly!

Think about the words "In all your ways acknowledge Him". Then think of all the decisions we make in a day and ask yourself "Did I acknowledge God and what He would want when I made all those decisions?" The truth is, probably not. I think that we think that some decisions are just to small to bother Him with, but that's just not true.

In the twelfth chapter of Luke, verse 7, Jesus tells us "Indeed the very hairs of your head are numbered." I think that if He keeps track of each hair on our head, the decisions we make in our life, which became His when we came into relationship with Christ, are far more important and life changing for our journey home.

I challenge you to try it and see how much better your day is, how much more peaceful your mind and heart feel. Start by asking Him what you should have for breakfast and, then, thank Him for your daily bread. 

A Peaceful Promise

 The next in the Standing On The Promises Series

by David Cowan

In the 26th Chapter of Isaiah, verse 3, we are given a promise of peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, who's mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

What steals your peace? What keeps you from calm and rest during your getting up and laying down?

For me, it is worry, worry about things I cannot change. There is a difference between worry and planning your day. I always plan out what I will do for the next day and what my guys will work on for the day, but gradually that planning seems to turn to worry and my peace is gone.

What if it rains? What if my parts don't come in? What if someone is sick tomorrow? What if what I measured to fit, doesn't fit correctly? All these things I have no real control over, but they steal my peace.

So, let's look at God's promise again. "You will keep him in perfect peace, who's mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." 

When we remember that God is in control of all things and especially those things we have no control over, we can breath a sigh of relief.  Jesus talked about this very thing in the 6th Chapter of Matthew. Starting in verse 25, He sums it up starting in verse 31. "Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

There will be disruptions and troubles in our life, but God, when we trust in Him, will handle the eventual outcome to our benefit. Our job is to rely on Him, reflecting to the outside world our trust in Him, and deal with the present days complications as He has taught us and shows us how. That, personally, gives me a peace in the midst of chaos that only comes when I know in my heart God has my back.

It's a promise. 

Standing on the Promises...

By David W Cowan

If you find yourself here reading this post, you have started a series. How many times you return is up to you. How many teachings will be in this series is up to God. 

I think that we can all agree that within God's Word there are many promises for His people and if God made a promise, He is not going to take it away or fail to live up to the promise. Unlike us, His children, He is always faithful and can never fail.

To stand on one of these promises, we must fully understand the promise and how it fits in with the nature of God who made the promise. There are many I have read and counted on over the last 50 years of my life and some, when I did, discouraged me because standing on them did not provide the results I had hoped. In every case, it was because I didn't understand the promise or failed to align myself with God's nature.

I first want to address Gods promise in Deuteronomy 31:6. Israel is getting ready to cross over the Jordan River, after refusing the first time and wandering through the desert, again, for all those years. Moses tells the people the word he received from God, "Be strong and of  good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Now, some will say that was an Old Testament promise and doesn't apply to us of the New Covenant, but the Apostle Paul makes it plain in Hebrews 13:5 that we stand on that promise, too. He says to the church, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

Most believers have, at some point, stood on a promise because of some situation in their life, but not felt that things were getting any better, like God was moving away from them instead of closer; ignoring them instead of remedying the problem or situation.  Here is where understanding God's nature and the promise you are standing on becomes vital.

I  want to share an example of what I mean from my personal life. A little over twenty years ago,  I went through a divorce. Totally unhappy for years, I decided that  was the solution to my unhappiness and along with the divorce, I began a path of  bad life choices which did not align with the rededication of my life to God. I had made new commitments to that relationship and Satan came at my life with renewed vigor.

The debts  I took with me after the divorce and a strained credit climate ended up taking me into bankruptcy and I felt God had deserted me. The downward spiral began to make me feel  like God had indeed "left me and forsook me". The bankruptcy plan I chose was one to pay back my creditors over a five year period. In this case, the court decides how much of your paycheck you can keep each pay period and it isn't much.

Oddly, the thing I noticed, after a short time, was that the lack of money sometimes meant little to eat towards the end of the week, not much activity outside of work, things like that, but those things bothered me less than not being able to tithe. I  had gotten involved again in my church and tithing to me was a heart felt gift and worship for me. I didn't look at it as paying for anything God had done for me, but it made me feel, I don't know, ...appreciative! There just wasn't anything left over at the end of the week. I spoke to my Pastor about it and he assured me that it was okay, that God knew my heart and suggested that I might substitute some physical service to the church body. I began helping in  Bible Study, etc.

It still bothered me, though. On one of my morning runs, my prayer and meditation time, I happened to notice a dollar bill sticking out of the corner of a fast food bag someone had thrown out the window. I stopped and picked it up, along with some change and kept running. As the run progressed and my meditation continued, I prayed to God and said, Lord from this day forward until I get back on my feet, any money I find is Yours. For the next few years, I would find anywhere from five dollars, up to forty one week and I was able to tithe through the bankruptcy period.

Along with God answering my prayer, I begin to realize that He had not deserted me, I had deserted Him, in part. He was right there  where I left Him, ready and willing to take me back and comfort me in my distress. The fact is, God cannot be in the presence of sin. I had to confess and repent and return to Him and things began to look up even down that difficult road I had chosen. The consequences of my decisions did not go away, but I was comforted by God's presence in my life.  Now, I am much more conscious of how my current nature and God's unchangeable righteousness can fit together and, that, only because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

2 Chronicles 7:14 spells it out. "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek  My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

I see these two verses as bookends of the same promise. God knows He will never leave us, but that we will move off the path He has set for us. He has, however, included a way back for us.

A Friend For Eternity

"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" Luke 22:31,32

As we have grown up, we've all had friends, best friends, who we thought would stick by us to the very end no matter what. I've had five or six in the 62 years I've been alive and maybe two or three are still there and haven't deserted or turned their backs on me for one reason or another. The others I would like to think I would hold up my end of the deal for regardless of how they have stuck, or not, with me, but I have my doubts.

When you look at this passage from Luke, remember...Peter was one of Jesus' closest disciples. He was the rock. Jesus knows, however, as we read in the verses that follow, that he will deny Him three times, vehemently in the end. For the man part of Jesus (fully God and fully man) this had to be an almost heart breaking denial, but what did Jesus do? He prayed to His Father, Almighty God, that his faith would, ultimately, not fail and that he would return to Jesus and bring strength to the Brotherhood, which we see come to fruition.

That is a friend no matter what. We know Jesus as a Savior to all who believe in Him, but this, to me, reveals Jesus as that Savior and the friend we all sang about as kids and taught our kids to sing...,"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

I note a change, if temporarily, in their relationship. Simon was his given name. Jesus had changed his name to Peter , the rock. At this point, the rock was not going to be there, but Jesus prayed for him and the rock would return and strengthen the brethren who would take the Gospel to the world.

Jesus, an eternal friend, no matter what. He knows your heart. Maybe we should take the heart of our friends into consideration when we feel neglected or abandoned and pray for them, that they may return to us in the future.

This verse has always given me hope. I know I am not always what my Savior expects of me, but I know He is praying for me and I do always seem to return, sometimes a little worse for the wear, but that is my own fault. Without my eternal friend's prayers, I would still be wandering in the eternal darkness! 

Thank you, Jesus!

CUFI Daily Devotional April 17th 2020

The Path To The Cross

I am getting ready to start an on-line Bible Study with Bible Gateway. The Study is called The Path To The Cross. I opted for the accompanying study book and began reading it today to prep for the first video class next week. At the end of the reading prior to the video, the study book asked two questions.

The first was what I thought a life of passionate obedience and faithful devotion to God looked like.
The question brought to my mind two verses from the Bible, one from the Old Testament and one from the new. The first was Micah 6:8

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Wow, sounds simple. I thought about it, though. I must take every thought and action and hold it to the light of this verse. Are they just, even if my worldly mind does not feel just response is required? Are they merciful, even in the face of the unmerciful? And, are they humble even if the humility goes against what I feel I deserve. Not as easy as the few words of the Lord's requirements.

The second verse was from the Book of Romans, Chapter 13, verse 8: "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Another wow, when you really think about it. Every thought and action must now be exposed to the light of love. They must be totally loving regardless of the thoughts or actions that my own are prompted by from another, another maybe not so loving.

The second question was equally thought provoking. It wanted to know what sacrifices might be required in order to obey God and love Him with all my heart, soul and strength? My list started pretty quickly.....1) My pride, 2)The self-importance of my desires, 3)My personal opinion, 4)My personal vengeance, 5)My goals, my wants, my desires. Basically the "My" part of life. Sacrifices really are uncomfortable when they invade your personal space.....

If you feel the tug, share your comments or personal observations on the two questions.

Just This Side of Understanding

Do you ever read something, scripture in particular, and feel that there is something there you just don't understand?

It is good to contemplate those things. It may be that God wants you to look deeper, to reach into His Word and pull things together, to pray and meditate about the passage that puzzles you. If that be the case, the Holy Spirit will reward your efforts with new understanding.

It may also be that you are not ready at this point in your faith; that you are yet to have the ability to understand that which escapes you. It may that you are, as God said to me this morning, "You are just this side of understanding." I believe that is part of our faith; the part that says even if I don't understand, I believe and trust.

If we get all tied up in having to understand every little (or big) thing, we can miss a lot that God has for us on the road that we are traveling. At times we have to be an Abraham....just pack up and head out to a place He will (at some point) show us. This can be physically, vocationally or theologically. Jesus told His disciples, when they were brought before the courts, not to worry about what they would say, that The Holy Spirit would speak through them. Do you think that they really understood? I don't and I doubt they did when it happened, because they were "just this side of understanding."

 God tells us "My thoughts are not your thoughts." I am just happy when God decides I am ready for something knew and opens my mind and understanding just a bit! So, I keep reading and praying and listening. I can't imagine what it will be like to cross over to the side of understanding and be illuminated by all of God's Glory, to worship the Source of all knowledge, to understand the bottomless love and compassion of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, to give eternal thanks to my Savior.

Its all just over there....

Crowder - Back To The Garden

THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON I COULD EVER TEACH - Francis Chan

Don' Be Afraid To Give Up Your Demons!

In the last few weeks passages in The Gospel of Luke have spoken to me about things I haven't thought about before and I thank God for the insight. The passage I am writing about today shows a situation that I myself occasionally find myself in, but are committing to avoiding with the help of my prayers, and hopefully yours! I will be praying for others in the same situation, whether I know them or not.

The passage is about Jesus healing the demon possession man, a man possessed by "Legion" because there were many. The demons knew Jesus and begged Him to let them enter a herd of pigs. He did and the swine ran down the hill, into the lake and drowned.Witnesses who normally fed the pigs and saw what happened fled the scene and told of it in the city and throughout the country.

The reaction of the people is what spoke to me.

"Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him (Jesus) to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your own house, ad tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him." Luke 8:35-39 NKJV

When we contemplate our lives and how we are and what we do in reference to Scripture, do we not, if not in words, but, maybe, through our response to what God shows us, ask Jesus to leave us alone?
By not responding to the correction or conviction of  the Holy Spirit is that not what we are doing?
God please forgive us and strengthen our conviction to respond to your leading as we travel down the road of sanctification!

Let us all not be afraid to give up our demons and then tell everyone about what God has done for us.

"Therefore take heed how you hear."

The title words of this thought for today are cautionary words of warning from Jesus in the 8th Chapter of Luke. He goes on to say "For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have even what he seems to have will be taken from him." Luke 8:18 NKJV

Along with preaching about the Kingdom of God, Jesus took time to spend one on 12 time with His disciples who were, along with the Holy Spirit, going to build the church of the New Kingdom. Jesus did a lot of His preaching to the masses in parables and performing miracles that should have been recognized by Israel because of the prophesies of the Old Testament (sight to the blind, deaf hear, lame walk and the dead are made alive). In most all recorded instances, Jesus would pull His disciples aside afterwards and explain the parables, their understanding still dulled by the traditions they had been raised with as Jewish children and adults. They were yet to fully understand the "New Kingdom" of God.

Even to me, a good part of the parable of the sower seemed passive on our part. We were one kind of soil or the other and hopefully would be changed as we move forward in our relationship with God. But, today in Luke 8:11-18, I see this statement from Jesus. "Therefore take heed how you hear." Wow, I thought, we are supposed to control and chose how we hear. So, I looked back at Jesus' explanation of the sower to see how I can determine how I hear.

The first seed of the sower went by the wayside. These, Jesus explained, are the ones who hear the word, but the devil comes and takes it from their hearts so that they won't believe. So I thought about it and the only way this could happen would be not to already be a believer or to be living with un-confessed sin that separates us from our close relationship with God. We need to make sure our sin is confessed and forgiveness is asked and our hearts will retain God's word and our right relationship with Him.

The seeds on the rock are those who hear and are immediately overjoyed, but have no root, so they believe for a while, but in time temptation causes them to fall away. So, I thought, if I don't want to hear this way what must I do. How do we insure roots in our garden. We constantly cultivate and weed and fertilize and water the soil. That is the same thing that is required of God's word in our hearts. We must study and pray and add to the things of God that we put in our hearts on a daily basis. This will cause our soil to be full of nutrients and our roots to grow deeper.

Some seeds fell among the thorns. These are those who hear, but then they go out unprepared and are choked and knocked down with cares, lure of riches and pleasures and the word may not completely die in their hearts, but it does not mature and produce the fruit of discipleship. To avoid this way of hearing, we must put God first and deny ourselves when our focus overshadows our discipleship. Then we take this approach and add the cultivation and fertilizing and we confess our failures and sins along the way and we become the last type of those who hear....

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience." Luke 8:15 NKJV

Our noble and good heart, cleaned by confession and forgiveness offered freely by God, can keep His word and bear fruit with it, even through the trials of our faith. The Greek work here, translated patience, means to "bear with it under persecution of your faith."

This is how, with God's help, I choose to hear! Let me be the seed that fell on good ground. What say you?

Then, beware.....

Nestled in the middle of verses 11 and 12 in the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy are a set of simple words that are as alive and prophetic as when they were written those thousands of years ago.

"...when you have eaten and are full - then beware, lest you forget the Lord..."

I say, as believers since that time have said, forgive me, Lord, for forgetting the giver of  all the blessings of my life. Forgive me, Lord, for taking, in any way, credit for my sustenance and accomplishments, all of which You have graciously provided and made possible.

In Numbers 20, we see Moses, if for just a moment, take credit away from God and he is not allowed into the Promised Land. God expected more out of Moses and He expects more out of you and I. As I look back on my life, not only have I made decisions that have cost me, but I have taken credit away from God at times and claimed it for myself and, repeatedly the action has kept me from a "Promised Land" with which God was about to Bless me.

I thank God for sanctification. My repentance is quicker to come now as my humility is more pronounced and His forgiveness is fresh every day. I used to try and change on my own and I was terribly unsuccessful, now I ask God to change my heart and He is doing a work in my life! I fully expect to fail at times, as we all will, but I know He is there, when I "remember" Him, to continue His work towards that day of perfection He has written for me in The Lambs Book of Life.

"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is it's light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there), and they shall bring glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."  Rev. 21:22-27.

Now, How Shall We Live?

As the elect of Almighty God, how are we to act? How do we change our approach to life in response to the election and gift of salvation we have been given in the life and sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

First, let's look at the groundwork that provided our opportunity to become children of God.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:3-6

"For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' Now when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." Acts 13:47, 48,

"He was in the world, and world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:10-13

"...he prophesied that Jesus would die for the the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad." John 11:51,52

So, as God called us to be His children through faith in Jesus Christ, the only perfect life ever and our Savior through His sacrifice on the Cross, where He took on our sins (past, present and future), it becomes obvious that our life should be lived as He lived His.

"You have heard that it was aid, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say (Jesus) to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven..." Matthew 5:44,45

In the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus lays out the perfect life, knowing full well we are incapable of living it as He did. Throughout the New Testament, Christ shows us and tells us how God wants us to be as His children. So, did God call us and provide us a way unto salvation just to set us up for failure?

Of course not, that is why His forgiveness is never ending in the face of our repentance. His word says He separates us from our sin as far as the East is from the West. He also knows we are a work in progress and has, upon our placing our faith in Jesus, given us His Spirit and power. This is a gift that is more than sufficient for our new life, but we must learn to use it and rely on Him and not ourselves.

"...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

When first reading this verse, I asked myself what the "fullness of God" could be. I know that the Holy Spirit will teach us and guide us when we recognize His instruction, but then another verse came to my mind and, to me, it was at least one example of the fullness of God.

In Romans 8:26,27, Paul tells us of yet another provision God has made for our walk as children of the Most High, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Is that not wonderful! Jesus told us that all we have to do is ask in His name and, if it is within the will of God, it will be granted (John 14:13,14). And here we find that our human inadequacies are even covered in our prayer life by God's gift of the Holy Spirit.

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." Romans 8:16,17

It is our task to give up the way we used to think and the way we used to do things and submit totally to Gods direction and path for our life. I Corinthians 10:13 is a promise to live by....."No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

So, I say, let us give up and get on with His plan!

Blessing In Trouble

"Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble."  Job 14:1

Probably not a verse chosen by most for encouragement, but in context with my life, I find it gives me hope (and by hope I mean expectation), encouragement and it works to strengthen my faith in God.

To give me all these things, I had to accept that this verse is a very concise and accurate description of the fate humanity brought upon itself  with original sin. No where in God's word are we promised happiness, peace and the good will of our fellow man. On the contrary, Job points out the "trouble" we have to look forward to in the few days we are on this earth.

When I examine my life in the light of this verse, I have to admit that I have had a good share of trouble, stress, lack of peace and joy, but I do have many patches of the opposite. This verse in Job helps me to understand that those periods of peace and harmony, of relaxation and lack or worry, they are each and every one a Blessing from God. It helps me to cherish each and every moment of God's peace and be thankful. These days without trouble bolster my expectations through Jesus Christ and they affirm for me that God is ultimately in charge!

No matter what He may allow in the spiritual realm and in our world, He has already won the battle for us and gives us these glimpses of His plans for us as we wait, sometimes not so patiently, for the fullness of time.

Thank you, God, for encouragement through the darkness!

He Is My Refuge

My Old Testament reading on a recent morning was Psalms 73 and 74. All of it was beautiful, plaintiff and inquiring, but one verse among them all, Psalms 73:28 stood out to me. It reads "But my chief good is to be near You, God; I have chosen you, Lord God, to be my refuge, and I shall recount all your works."

As I thought about the verse, I realized, thank you God, that His greatest work in my life was to choose me to give refuge. Not only did He choose me, but He had to make a way because I am not, on my own, worthy to be in His Presence.

In John 6, verse 44, Jesus says it plainly, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."

I may have made my decision for Christ, but it could never have happened unless God had chosen me first. Thank you, God, and I know that I have and will have many more works in my life that I can recount to others that You have chosen.

"I Am He"

As Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to a close and thought of the things He was about to endure, what must have been going through His mind? The answer is the condition of His disciples and the eventuality of us.

In John 17, verse 15, it reads "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one." In other words, we have a job to do, one that was laid out for us before the foundation of the world. Some might say that He was talking about the disciples and apostles in this verse, but continuing to verse 20 we see that we were in His thoughts also...."I do not pray for these alone,  but also for those who will believe in Me through their word...."

Jesus had been talking to His disciples about what was going to happen and He knew they were frightened and really didn't understand that this had to happen and that Jesus was going to "let" it happen. God's word says that Jesus said that they did not take His life, but he "layed it down".

John 10:18 says, "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

When the time came.....I noticed a difference in the account of the arrest in my readings in John and that difference, to me, just further indicated Jesus' concern for the mindset of His disciples who were going to build His church. I don't know why I had'nt notice this before.

In chapter 18 of John, starting in verse 4, it reads "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him went forward and said to them, 'Whom are you seeking?' They answered Him, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them, 'I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground.

Jesus divinity and power could not have been more evident at the time, especially to His disciples. It seems as though Peter took it as a sign to fight and pulled his sword and attacked, but Jesus rebuked him with these words..."Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given me?"

I am confident of His divinity and comforted by His prayers for me. I am sure I am going to falter and get weary and wonder how I will survive, but I know He has a provision for me. That provision is the Holy Spirit and my prayer life.

In Luke when Jesus found His disciples asleep while He prayed, He woke them with these words, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into tempation." Luke 22:46

Lord, help me to remember to bathe everything in "prayer and supplication in the Spirit..." Eph. 6:18

Take Up Your Cross

In the ninth chapter of Luke, the 23rd verse, Jesus says to those who want to follow Him, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

That has always been such an ominous verse to me. With visions of Christ on the cross, reinforced by scenes from 'The Passion of Christ' it has always seemed such an impossible task for a mere mortal, and imperfect mortal at that, to accomplish.

But, as I contemplated God's word and it's implication for me and prayed about what God wanted of me, I began to see a picture. The verse says to pick up my cross daily. I have come to understand that, as a believer indwelled by the Holy Spirit, God has promised to guide, convict and direct my life. His word says, "Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path."

To take up my cross daily, I am careful not to ignore or grieve the Holy Spirit, but to listen to His conviction and correction, repent, ask for forgiveness based on the work of my Saviour and nail that offense to the cross and move on in the work before me.

Does that mean it is over and done and I am good to go? No, even the offense crucified today may require it again tomorrow. That is why Jesus tells us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. And, it is why I can continue in the knowledge that He died and was crucified for my sins...past, present and future.

Another Generation

In Judges, after Joshua's death, we find in Chapter 2, verse 10, this notation and, personally, it is one that scares me.....

"When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel."

The book goes on to tell how the new generation "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and worshiped other gods and it angered the Lord and He "delivered them into the hands of plunderers."

The Jewish people had been told to write the law on their hearts and to pass it on to their children. Obviously, this did not happen. Did they not acknowledge God as He provided for them in both war and peace after bringing them to the land promised to their forefathers? Did they forget what He had done or just take it for granted?

Do our children know the Lord? Are we careful to acknowledge God in the many blessings and mercies that we receive? I was thinking that, yes, I do, but do I share that acknowledgement. It isn't enough to say a prayer of thanks to God, my children and my friends must know that my God provides for me in so many ways, including my salvation and eternity.

In the New Testament, Jesus said the "harvest is great, but the workers are few." We must spread the Good News in both Word and deed. I want to make sure that when I am "gathered to my fathers"  the next generation within my territory knows the Lord and all that He has done for me! I don't want to be any part of the reason God might have for delivering those who come up after me to the plunderers!