Let Faith Arise!

They had been through a tornado of F-5 proportions. For 3 years they had followed Jesus – camping, traveling and sharing meals daily. All he taught them had pierced their hearts with fire.

He said he would restore the kingdom to Israel but then they crucified him. They killed him dead! If that was not enough, he was buried, not like God, but like a human. Then his body disappeared from its tomb! Woe to us all!!

But then he reappeared as alive as you and me and proved to us in multiple ways YES it was HE! Wait...what? He who said He was God was God but then they KILLED him? And how can GOD be KILLED? But then he wasn't just human because HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD! But it doesn't surprise us because we've seen what He can do!

And here he is... talking with us and explaining what needed to be done. “Stay here in Jerusalem and wait for the gift my Father promised”, he said. And he left us. Again. In those years we had walked with our teacher he had been right there to tell us what to do....to instruct us and mentor us hands-on. So, HOW are we supposed to fulfill all that needs to be done without Him?. Jesus..where are you? Help us!

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4

We are all faced with times when we feel as though Jesus has disappeared. We have all tread water through those storms where we cry out and wait in silence. When we feel like we are on our own. But we are never on our own. Jesus explained in john 14 that he would ask his father (God) and God would send another advocate - The Spirit of Truth – to help you. In Acts 1 Jesus says, YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES ON YOU. AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES...TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT ME.” In fact, you will do greater things than I have.

And the stage was set...Jesus knew that he had to leave earth so the very power that empowered him...would be sent and made available to each one who asked for Him.. He who is called the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit the Counselor, friend and helper.

How deep is God's love for us that he sent the Holy Spirit to be all that Jesus had been in the flesh.

Alone? You are not alone for you are filled with the power of heaven! Let your Faith arise!

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God
You are faithful, God, forever

LET MY FAITH ARISE!

Remember What You Know.

Today I am reading Deuteronomy 26.  Moses is instructing the Israelites on "How to do life" after they had entered into the promised land.




Do you remember the story?  God used Moses to free His chosen people from slavery and oppression in Egypt.  And though it took 40 years of wandering in the desert places, God finally delivered them into their promised land. 




Gods instruction was clear and had a purpose.  He said, "When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you and you take it and possess it -- take some of the first fruits and put them in a basket.  Go to Gods dwelling place and say the following to the priest:




"I declare today to the Lord your God that I've come to the land the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us".




When the priest sets your offering before the Lord you shall declare:




"My father was a wandering Aramean and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.  But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer enslaving us.  Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression.  So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders.  He brought us to this place and gave us this land - a land flowing with milk and honey.  So now I bring the first fruits of the soil that you O Lord have given me.  Rejoice in all the Lord has given you."




Was this a message only for this people in this time?  I say no.




You see, we are all Israel.  We are all prior slaves - enslaved to sin - for we have all known the crush and oppression and bondage of sin. Some of us are still enslaved privately. And just as the slaves of long ago Israel, God has set some of us free and we have been free indeed. 




Do you remember that moment you realized you were walking in freedom again?  Do you remember the joy of freedom?  You see we are no different from our first ancestors who walked to freedom between two great walls of water through the Red Sea.




Why was it important for Israel, Gods Jewish people -  to make those particular declarations before the Lord?  It was an admonition to REMEMBER...




Remember how hopeless your existence was when once enslaved...
Remember the pain, the abuse, the torment and devastation.
Remember how you cried out for release and for healing.
Remember the abject misery you lived in.




Then...




Remember how the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand.
Remember how He appeared with miraculous signs and wonders.
Remember His faithfulness and every movement He made.




The reason for this is necessary for it serves a mighty purpose.  It is in the remembering that we remain tethered, anchored and grounded to how we need to live -- which is CHRIST centered and not self centered.  We need to be CHRIST dependent and not I - dependent which is "in"dependent.  It is good for us to remember our salvation, our freedom - does not depend upon us, but rests solely upon the power of God.  All we have to do is realize our need for him.




Remember it is a sign of strength and not weakness to understand the need for God and our dependence upon Him.




Entrust yourself therefore to God Almighty and Remember what you know!.  Be quick to glorify Him with all you are and all you have.

Gods Word is Alive

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men."


 I like to think of it this way...in the beginning was God and all life flowed from him with all power. Gods word is transforming yesterday, today and forever.


When Moses went up the mountain and spent days in the presence of God, HE WAS TRANSFORMED.  His spirit literally became infused with the mightiness and holiness of GOD. When he came down from the mountain -- everyone could see the transformation.  He shone with LIFE. 


That same power was seen by the Israelites as they were led by Moses in the desert places. His very presence was with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In our day i would call a pillar of cloud a tornado. Imagine that...a tornado that was lasoo'd and restrained but powerful nonetheless. That same power parted the red sea providing his people with an escape route. 


All consuming...all knowing, all seeing, all supplying is Gods power. It reverberates with life and still does today. Applying Gods word which is really Gods heart and thoughts and ways like a salve to life's problems brings forth life and hope and healing. Just ask the couple whose marriage was saved after infidelity....just ask the woman brought back from the brink of death by suicide...ask the teen who mutilates herself in secret but is able to put the knife down....ask the hopeless infused with meaning and hope --- the dead that rise....the sick who are healed...the grieving who live... the poor who eat and the fearful and poisoned who overcome their demons --- the demon possessed who find peace...the addicted who find freedom. 


Ask those who were filled with hatred....who now love.


Only someone resonating with power could bring about such wonder, such life and such hope.  Only someone all powerful could infuse a book with such ability.


Just how powerful and alive is God? I love the picture this passage creates... Luke 11:20 says, "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." Demons cast out by just the power in Gods pinkie? Let that wash over you with this final thought..."For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God". 


 It was all things human that led Jesus up Calvary. It was all things mortal that nailed him to the cross and murdered his life. But it was the mighty, living HAND OF GOD that resurrected Jesus and raised him to life as it reverberated power. And it is that knowledge we place our trust in.

Blood Moons. What Are They Saying?

If you are like me, you've realized that there has been a lot going on in the heavens. We've had eclipses, meteors and not one but three blood moons to thrill us. These signs in the skies had me heading for scripture to better understand what is going on.  Three have already occurred and the next unusual event to happen in the heavenlies will occur on August 27^th when Mercury will be next to the moon in the sky. The fact that we've not experienced just one but a myriad of many signs in the skies has had me scratching my head with so many others. Is this just coincidence or is something else going on....and why?

John Hagee's book "Four Blood Moons" opened my eyes to that which is seen and happening on earth and is connected to the unseen spiritual world around us.  What I discovered i wanted to share in hopes that his book might shed some light into your life as well because we were experiencing too many things in the heaven's for me to ignore. 

To quote the author John Hagee, “It is rare that Scripture, science and history align with each other. Yet the last three series of Four Blood Moons have done just that.” Did you know that they did? What do they mean? I wanted to know. Why am I so curious? Because throughout scripture God revealed often that,

“There will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars..Then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:25, 27-28

The book “Four Blood Red Moon's” masterfully begins to reveal an alignment of scripture, science and past history to reveal prophecy that has come to pass and reveals our seat upon the precipice of history about to be made. You see not all of prophecy has come to pass yet....but we are close.

So lets see how the irrefutable science of what was happening in the skies perfectly lined up with what was happening to Gods chosen people Israel and the Jewish people.

We are experiencing a thrilling reveal of Four Blood Red Moons but it is not the first time in history this has happened. 


When four appear they are called a Tetrad. There have been several Tetrads since NASA first recorded their occurrences, but Tetrads linked to significant Jewish history have happened only 3 times in more than 500 hundred years. So science has paralleled with scripture and prophecy before and is about to happen again. The first three happened in 1493, 1949 and 1967.

Each of these tetrads is linked to specific Jewish holidays and feasts. For example, the first Tetrad of Blood moons occurred on the Jewish holidays of passover and feast of Tabernacles as shown here :

1. Passover, April 2, 1493


2. Feast of Tabernacles, September 25, 149


3.  passover, March 22, 1494


4.  Feast of Tabernacles, September 15, 1494

The second tetrads sequence occurred in 1949-50

1. Passover, April 13, 1949
2. Feast of Tabernacles, October 7, 1949
3. Passover, April 2, 1950
4. Feast of Tabernacles, September 26, 1950.

The third tetrad sequence occurrencedin 1967-68.

1. Passover, April 24, 1967
2. Feast of Tabernacles, October 18, 1967
3. Passover, April 13, 1968
4. Feast of Tabernacles, October 6, 1968.

The fourth tetrad began in 2014 with

1. Passover, April 15, 2014
2. Feast of Tabernacles, October 8, 2014
3. Passover, April 4, 2015

and will conclude on September 28, 2015 on the same day as the Jewish

Feast of Tabernacles. Coincidence? I think not. Read on...

So what do these dates have to do with Jewish customs? Good question!

Is it by chance or divine orchestration that these signs in the heavens correspond with Jewish customs but more importantly Jewish history? Mr. Hagee notes in his book that each time one of these tetrads has occurred, something significant happens regarding Gods chosen people, the Jews and or Israel. Every time. Case and point...

The First Tetrad - 1493-1494

In 1493-94 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain consolidating their power by uniting Spanish kingdoms into the nation of Spain. In 1481, fearing Jewish influence the king and queen allowed a catholic controlled Inquisition by one Tomas de Torquemada who created villainous acts of torture to attack the Jewish people living there. 


Many were murdered during great atrocities of torture. Those who survived were exiled in the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jewish people from Spain who refused to convert to Catholicism. The ousted Jews were stripped of their wealth and all they had and were cast away to nothingness. 


Its interesting to note that in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue...doing so for Spain he would write,

“in the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with sufficient men my expedition of discovery in the indies.”

And we all know that Columbus discovered America which would later become a haven for many Jewish people. Its interesting to note that Columbus' voyage was financed with Jewish monies stripped from the Jewish people. 


As Columbus sailed out into the sea toward the new world he would pass by many ships laden with over 200,000 surviving Jewish refugee's. Indeed, the year 1492 was a significant year in the history of the Jew's as well as the history of America. 


Coincidence or divine orchestration?

The Second Tetrad - 1949-1950

When the second tetrad occurred in 1949-50 they occurred during the rebirth of the State of Israel which began in 1948. The land of Israel was given to the Jewish people by God in what is called the Abraham Covenant.

“Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Genesis 13:17

The gift is recorded between God and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob repeatedly and repeatedly powers in this world have tried to strip it from them. Coincidence? This power struggle for the land God gifted to those he chose and those who die in their pursuit of taking it away? Why? Why such a struggle over and over if its only coincidence?

In the book Mr. Hagree lays out 25 various scriptures showing that God emphasizes his desire for the Jewish people to exclusively own this land. Among them are the following:

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:

Get out of your country,

from your family and from your fathers house,

To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation:

I will bless you and make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-7

“the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look for the place where you are --- northward, southward, eastward and westward: for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendents forever.”

Genesis 13:14-15

The land of Israel is the only nation ever created by a solemn act of God.

To read the other scripture verses write me and I'll give them to you or go and buy the book!

In AD 70 Titus forcibly exiled the Jewish people from Israel. Since that time they had been scattered across the face of the earth (in keeping with prophetic scripture) ...until May 14, 1948. It was then with accordance with a decision of the United Nations General Assembly and with the support of the United States that the State of Israel was established.

The first permanent Israeli government took office on January 25, 1949. During the next several months, a series of four Israeli War of Independence truce agreements were signed: with Egypt on February 24, with Lebanon on March 23, with Jordan on April 3 and with Syria on July 20^th. All of these agreements created armistice demarcation lines which established Israel's borders.

It was during this process of Israel's rebirth and the establishment of her borders that on Passover 1949 God splattered the heavens with the first Blood Moon of the second Tetrad. The Jews had endured great hatred, severe tribulations, Inquisitions, imprisonments and the Holocaust and finally were given their homeland back. And the celestials responded in kind.

Hmm. Another Tetrad and another red letter event in the history of Israel and God's people the Jews.

The Third Tetrad - 1967-68

Though the Jewish people were filled with great joy at yet another biblical prophecy coming to pass, their joy quickly turned to fear as Israel's (and God's) enemies began to try and reclaim the land they had lost. Israel was at war from the moment they declared their statehood.

In the War of Independence, may 15, 1948 to March 10, 1949, seven Arab nations came against Gods people. In this bloody war fought along its entire border 6,373 were killed in action.

Then there was the Six Day War and the Sinai War fought between October 29 – November 7^th 1956.

March 1967, Arab nations began to rally their country's with the intention of driving Gods people into the sea. Consider this....in Psalms 83 David writes:

“See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.

With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.

“”Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation so that Israels name is remembered no more.”

And on May 18, 1967 the Voice of the Arabs radio station proclaimed:

“As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence.”

Two days later Syria's defense minister threatened Israel with a declaration of war that would make one faint with fear.  May 27, 1967 Nasser of Egypt leveled a threat of destruction upon the Jewish state.  May 30^th, King Hussein of Jordan signed a defense pact with Egypt stating:

“the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle. The critical hour had arrived.

All of this rhetoric was matched by the mobilization of approximately 465,000 enemy troops with over 2800 tanks and 800 aircraft.

And Israel won the war.

And Israel won the war. No this is not a typo. Its to emphasize the miracle of what happened in those 6 days. You see there were many eye witness accounts of miraculous things that happened during those 6 days that impacted both Israeli, enemy and journalist bystanders. 


Those accounts undoubtedly led to the miraculous triumph when by all accounts it should not have happened. Consider this:

The Conquest of Schechem – This city was an important asset and expected to be one of the bloodiest battles they would encounter. The enemy of Israel assumed the army would enter through the coastal region so the Jordanian army placed their artillery there. Israel however entered through the back door of the city. When the Israel Defense Force or IDF entered in, rather than being met with opposition they encountered their enemy waving flags at them as they were mistaken for Iraqi fighters. By the time it was realized the fear of the God of the Jews fell upon all. They raised their arms in surrender.

A Direct Hit – An IDF truck loaded with arms and shells was loaded and ready to deliver armaments to the front lines. If the truck was hit by enemy fire it would explode bringing down all buildings near it. In the night an enemy shell was heard whistling through the air and scored a direct hit upon the vehicle. The shell never exploded.

Eighteen against Two – Two fighters for Israel were sent out on patrol. They each had a gun and some ammo. Suddenly a half track with mounted machine guns and many fighters turned a corner and headed straight for them. The two Israeli fighters were filled with despair. As they watched them approach they pointed their two weapons at them waiting for a barrage of bullets. No bullets flew. After some time the two decided to approach the vehicle. They found 18 soldiers inside with a petrified look on their faces. When they asked why they had not fired they each told a story of losing the use of their arms and bodies.

There are more stories told in the book and I strongly encourage you to read it and additional stories of “the finger of God' moving on behalf of his people as found if nowhere else in the total people killed. In that six day war Israel's enemies lost 21,000 people while Israel only lost 779. Think about that.

And the fourth blood Moon occurred on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles October 6, 1968.

This book went to print before the 4^th Tetrad began April 2014. This tetrad will end September 2015. 


Remember in 2014 we had the first Blood Moon on April 15, 2014 which was also Passover. Later that year we had the second Blood Moon on october 8^th which happened on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Our third occurred on Passover, April 4, 2015 and here the world is poised for the fourth and final moon.

Doesn't it make you wonder what is going to happen given the history already made?

This is where I defer to Gods own word. You see, already prophets of old who forecast events they saw in their minds eye and in dreams foretold of events and those events came to pass including the Jewish people receiving their homeland Israel back. I find it interesting that the Bible refers to moons that will turn the color of blood (blood red moons) and the sun that will go black

(eclipses). 


Those are familiar to us now, like a neon sign in the sky telling us......what?

And this is where we are given our charge. Gods word says when these things happen –

the prophet Joel says in Joel 2:30-31 -

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth;

Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness

And the moon into blood

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

The neon sign is blinking people.

So is it any wonder --- should I have been surprised that last nite I opened an email from Charisma magazine and the headlines of an article shook me. The headline, “10 Things That Are Going to Happen Within 15 Days of the End of the Shemitah”.

The word “shemitah” refers to the Jewish celebration of “Shabbat” or sabbath which refers to allowing the land to rest every 7^th year similar to the way the Jewish people rest every seventh day. Observing this law guarantees abundance but neglecting it leads to judgment and is recorded throughout the Bible. 


Jewish tradition (which are Gods traditions) teach that exile is the penalty for the three cardinal sins of murder, idolatry, sexual immorality and for neglecting to keep the shemitah laws.

So what does a Jewish tradition have to do with the United States?

Though we generally are not a Jewish nation, we are a Christian nation and one who has been --- until recent generations – committed to following Gods word. But our disobedience as a nation to the precepts of Gods word is begging for a correction from Abba Father. 


Consider this...

2001 was a Shemitah year. We all remember September 11^th when we were attacked on our own soil for the first time since Pearl harbor.

7 years later we landed on another Shemitah year. 2008 saw the American economy collapse 777 points on September 29, 2008.

You do the math.... seven years later we enter September 2015.

The article in Charisma magazine does not predict any one event but it lines up for us what the world DOES know is going to happen. Take a look:

Sept. 14^th Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year. (This ends the year of rest – Shemitah and ushers in the new year.

Sept. 15^th The Jade Helm military exercises are schedules to end.

Sept. 15^th: The 70^th session of the U.N. General Assembly begins on the date. It has been widely reported that France plans to introduce a resolution that will give formal U.N. Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state shortly after the new session begins. Up until now, the U.S. Has always been the ONE blocking such a resolution, but Barack Obama has already indicated that things may be different this time around. Understand that God WILL continue to uphold Israel regardless of what anyone in the world desires. Continuing to uphold, support and pray for Israel is the salvation of America!

Sept. 20^th to 26^th: The “World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel” sponsored by the World Council of churches.

Sept. 21: The U.N. International Day of Peace. Could this be the day that the U.N. Establishes a Palestinian state?

Sept. 23: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement for the Israeli people. It is the holiest day of the year).

Sept. 23: Pope Francis arrives at the White House to meet with President Obama.

Sept. 24: The Pope addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

Sept. 25 to 27: The U.N. Is going to launch a brand new sustainable development agenda called “the 2030 Agenda”.

Sept. 28^th: This is the date when the Feast of Tabernacles begins. This is also the date for the last of the four blood moons that fall on biblical festival dates during 2014 and 2015.

Author Jonathan Cahn released a new video in which he expressed his belief that a great shaking is coming to America and the world. He points to the biblical pattern of desecration preceding judgment and he is convinced that we recently witnessed a historic act of desecration here in the United States.

I do not pretend to know everything and I do not presume to forecast the end of the world nor have the ability to prophecy. However I am not blind and I do read Gods word and I know from deep in my gut that Gods word never lies and Gods ways cannot be erased just because a foolish country wishes it so. 


Gods word stands and it never changes. His ways are yesterday, today and tomorrow regardless of where we live or who we call ourselves.

With the arrival of the Charisma magazine article I felt a strong urging within my spirit to finish this lengthy book report and put it out there for all to read.

Jonathan cahn's book “The Harbinger” is a gripping read as well as his other books that allow the non-Jew to understand how God works and has worked throughout history. Look him up and buy the books.  It was in reading that book almost two years ago that opened my eyes to how scripture, current and past events can reveal the hand of God and his ways, at work.

And when you read these books, cross reference the scriptures they note with Gods word and read what God has to say about the signs he is leaving in the skies.

My prayer is that we as a nation will not be who the prophet Jeremiah describes in Jeremiah 6:10 when he says,

“To whom shall I speak and give warning

that they may hear?

Behold, their ears are closed

And they cannot listen.”

I pray we will listen.

Recharge

We are told to 'eat your veggies they will make you strong'. We gravitate toward people who are encouraging and uplifting. We can hardly wait for our vacations which allow us to set aside directed time for rest, relaxation and revving up our drained batteries.


We live in a world that drains us of power, belief and hope. Often times we encounter people who re-create us negatively through word and action -- people who take advantage of us and chisel away at our spirit. Is ...it any wonder we need R&R aka Recharging and Rebuilding. 


Acts 20:32 says "So now bretheren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified". 


Basically what this passage is saying in modern language is ... my friends! I point you forward and give you over to God and to his word of Grace because it is able to BUILD YOU UP and lead you toward an inheritance along with all others heading the same direction. 


You see there is no power like the power of God. Only HE is able to refill, recharge, repair, redeem, restore, re-do you, your heart and life. He is the master of "re-". Don't wait any longer....reconnect now to the optimum recharger of life...the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Be Persistent

Is there nothing more persistent than a child asking for a treat in a store?  Ah, I see you smile.  It starts out as a request which turns into a plea which turns into a bellow which turns into a louder bellow and....well, you get the picture.  And it doesn't stop either does it?  Even threatening bodily injury through clenched teeth often will not stop them.  What a perfect definition of "persistence".


In my bible reading this morning I read a parable out of the book of Luke, chapter 18.  The story finds a widow who continually goes to see the judge of the town who "neither feared God or cared about men" in search of justice from an adversary.  The widow was persistent.  Day after day, continually she sought out the judge, over and over again seeking justice.  Remember, the judge could care less.  But the judge is quoted as saying, "Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!"


Of this Jesus says, "Listen to what the unjust judge says!  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly."


Here is what this parable teaches me:


1.  Because the widow was persistent, the judge in the story finally gave her that which she asked for to satisfy her.  It was her persistence that made her noteworthy.


2.  The judge admittedly neither feared God nor cared about the affairs of man.  But how different our God is!  Jesus himself uses the story to convey that because we are his chosen one's God the father will bring justice to us.


3.  What is persistence?  To be persistent means to be never ending, tenacious, always occurring!  Bulldoggish, demanding, devoted, obsessive, perseverant.


When you have a need go to the Father in prayer not once, not twice but praying without ceasing.  1 Thessalonians 5 says, " Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."


In various other passages the plea or call to prayer includes such words as praying always, in every situation, devoted, faithful.  We are given an awesome direction on how to pray!


Why does it say in Thessalonians that this is Gods will for us?  Because in his rich wisdom he knows we will be changed from glory to glory when we spend time in his presence and our outlook and hope will be buoyed.  He knows we need him as much as he wishes to spend time with his chosen ones.  


If your heart is heavy ladened, gather up your cares and go to God in prayer and use this prescription "bulldoggedly" pray for that which is pressing upon your hearts.  Be like that widow --- don't give up, sink your teeth into it and rattle the gates of heaven with your requests!


"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need".  Hebrews 4:16

Spending Time With Christ

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.  Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.  psalm 143:6


They say you become who you spend the most time with.  I remember watching my children choose their friends and I tried to instill within them a list of what attributes were important when choosing their friends.


I've watched people as they choose "outside their normal crowd".  As time passes I've witnessed how they begin to morph into the ones they spend the most time with.  One observation showed one person who spent time with someone with a foul mouth and a lean toward sexual innuendo.  It did not take long for this person to slowly begin to take on the veneer of the crowd he hung out with.


Spending time with Christ has become paramount to having a life infused with all the things necessary to live a successful, stable and victorious life.  It is vital that each morning I have time with him, listening to him and reading of all things "him" to become more like him -- which is my life's goal.


Time with Him is time well vested as I learn how to sidestep life's pitfalls; I learn how to combat the traps that satan sets for me; I find comfort -- almost like medicine for whatever ails me or I am reminded again of how big my God is.


Spending time with my friend provides the necessary time to become more like him. 

My Drug of Choice

Sometimes there are no words that can mend the pain we bear.  Well meaning people, myself included -- want so much to offer some anesthetic, some hope or power to someone in pain but lets face it, sometimes our pain is so deep and so great and so PERSONAL that there is nothing anyone can say that will cut the pain. 


Reading my devotion today I thought about this as the writer quoted an oft given "pain shot" from Gods word that says, "God never gives us more than we can handle" from 1 Corinthians 10:13.  I agreed with the writer who said this scripture refers to temptation, not to pain from a loss etc.  Even Jesus faced a time of great pain and might I say fear -- that night in Gethsemane when he was praying so hard he bled?


He was begging God to take the cup from him aka: Father please isn't there another way to save our people?  Do I have to drink from this cup of torture, pain and humiliation that is surely coming my way?  Please, please remove it!  Please find another way!  We have all found ourselves in those dire straights.  Our own failures, battling an illness, cancer, financial devastation, barely surviving a tempest at someone else's hands or natural disaster... we have all found ourselves begging for mercy. 


I sat contemplating this and my thoughts ricocheted to how amazing it feels when we are depleted and exhausted and we fall back on our own bed.  Oh the comfort....the feeling of safety.  It's that "ahhhhh" feeling.  It's like holding your beloved pet or blanket or how we feel when our "safe person" envelopes us in a huge hug.  Think of the embrace of your mother, father, spouse or loved one.  During that embrace, the pain eases and there is if only a moment of pain relief. 


In all honesty the best anesthetic I've found to my life's pain has been falling back on who God is....who I've experienced him to be --- who I've seen him be to others and wrapping that knowledge about me like a soft meemo (my sons word for his blanket when he was a toddler).  It's remembering every time that I've cried out to God and somehow, some way he has answered me -- perhaps not in my time frame but seriously GOD has never left me abandoned.


Yes, my anesthetic of choice has been the word of God that I wrap myself up in.


"The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms".  Deuteronomy 33:27


You may say yeah but how does that work?  I mean do you feel those arms around you?  No.  It's more like, I know that I know that I know who God is because of what I've proven is so.  One day long ago I came to know Him.  I've spent over 30 years learning of Him -- from Him.  I've spent time talking to him, questioning him, and waiting and watching not only in my own life but in the lives of others who have entered into the same relationship with Him.  And its been in this proving ground...this relating that I've experienced the glory of God. 


 I've come to know that the words on the pages of my Bible are not just words on a page.  They are alive and active still today -- tested and proven.  So when I read that passage and it says, "underneath (me) are the everlasting arms" it says to me...you KNOW it...his arms...his truths, his promises, his presence, his power they buoy you!!  The comfort that you yearn for...that you search for will come.


And as I look back on my life it is then I realize this --- my greatest revelations of Gods ability and power have been during the most painful seasons of my life.  They say hindsight is clearer than foresight and it is true.  It is only when I look back that I realize that when I needed God the most -- when I was writhing in pain and uncertainty and my cry to God was "I don't know if I can do another day Lord"....that those arms...carried me to another day and another and another and my dependence upon him grew all the more.  And that's when it happened.  The revelation of his ability and my need for him in pain and out.


Lord to any who read this and are in pain and need like you were on that night in Gethsemane so many years ago --- give to them that which they need to endure.  For every moment spent in pain I ask you would multiply it back to them in the knowledge of you.  Use this pain within them to bring life as only you can Lord.  Protect them from the lies of the enemy and give them ears to hear your holy spirit.  Fill them with comfort and peace O God!  For its in Jesus' name I pray....amen. 


God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble

Under Gods Hand

"Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for he cares for you." 1 peter 5:6-7.


 I read this tonight and was reminded --- we know not how powerful a savior God is until we need a powerful God to save us.


 Sometimes those seasons when we are in pain, need and sorrow are the ONLY seasons through which God will move with such force and power --- as He did before the Israelites in the desert -- and so capture our attention that we will then see and know that He. Is. God.


If life has you humbled...be encouraged. You are under the mighty hand of God.


He's got this.

Reconnecting

Tonite I stepped outside to rock a while in my chair. The patio was dark and I sat silently listening to the frogs singing nearby. There have been so many other nights like this throughout my life --- me, looking up at the silhouettes of mountain tree's, listening to the frogs.


I began to sing worship songs aloud. Sometime later I just had an overwhelming sense of Billy's presence. I sat there in the silence and began to talk to him aloud. A few minutes later my husband Wayne stepped outside and I began to tell him of how I had sat singing and then felt Billys closeness.


Wayne stepped outside from under the porch and said "Have you come out here to look at the night sky? There are thousands of stars out tonite." I got up and stepped out under the starry sky and looked up. Even that view has not changed for me.


 I related once more to Wayne of how from the time I was 10 years of age, as a girl I would lay in the back of my parents rambler wagon and would have that view for myself. I was filled in those days with awe and fear.....awe at the vast night sky and how the sky reminded me of chocolate ice cream with vanilla chips....and fear -- that at any time forest animals could amble up to the car and look at me through all the windows. Yes, I did have an avid imagination. But, I always knew I was safe as long as I could hear Billy's voice.


 At that very moment as I was recounting this story and looking up at that night sky with the forest sentinels standing so tall in the night air the biggest, brightest, slowest shooting star arced across the night sky like a firework! Tears had been gently flowing down my face as I recounted the story but my breath literally caught in my throat as I watched that slow star shooting across the velvet sky.


 A half cry came from me with a sob and I said to wayne....did I just imagine that or was that as significant as I feel it was? He said Doe - that was all you saw it was. That was for you, from Billy.


You see, long ago as I lay in the back of my parents wagon staring at that expanse of stars I could hear my parents and grandparents playing pinochle inside their small red and white trailer while Billy sat in a chair playing the ukulele and singing to us as we tried to go to sleep. As long as Billy played and sang, I was safe.


 I will never forget tonite and the shooting star in the chocolate sky with all the twinkling vanilla chips winking back at me. I know Billy....I miss you too.

Starting at the Beginning

I am so mindful on January 1st of each new year at the significance of "starting over".  We encounter "do overs" throughout life and I cant think of one time that we do not welcome them.  Fail a test and a teacher offers you a "do over" a second chance to "make it up".  Oh getting second chances and opportunities to begin again. 


If you are like me I am sure you can comb through the past years of your life and find instances where you'd love a "do over" card.  There are quite a few I can think of myself...instances where I would definitely present my "do over certificate" --- effectively erasing something I did or said and receive a clean slate.   If only that could happen right?


So here it is January 1st.  The first day of 2015.  A new year.  In the last few days I've contemplated what I wanted to launch on this day.  It's filled me with excitement.  Every year on this day.... I get to push a button a 'RELOAD'.  Woo hoo.


One decision I made was to start the "reading through the bible in one year" plan.  And not only that but keep a journal with it to chronicle the profound moments between me and God's word.  So, that is exactly what I did this afternoon.


What I've chosen to do is to write various thoughts that stood out in my reading segments.  The app I am using presents your daily reading sections of the bible in a format whereby the author of the format offers a little devo as they present to you the portions of the day from Gods word.  I liked that.  I managed to fill a page with four different pieces of info that stood out to me.  Of those four, I chose one to chew on and here it is:


God gave Adam and Eve far reaching permission in the garden of Eden (see Genesis 1:16.)  In short it says "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  When you do you will surely die.  You do not need to know and experience evil".  God wants you to know only good.


That resonated within my heart of hearts because frankly I've been struggling with this.  It seems every week I am reading a news story regarding the abuse or death of children by the hands of the very one's who are responsible for their protection and sustenance.  It is more than I can bear. 


This deep rooted grief I feel is also increased by the knowledge of the struggle of my own dear son and daughter in love whose greatest desire is to have their own children to love and nurture!  I watch their struggle with their hearts in their hands....yearning for children of their own and simultaneously read of others in this country who can easily conceive and bear children and they neglect and kill them.  I told my husband, "this is far too hurtful for me to bear".


As I read Gods word I thought about "the knowledge of good and evil".  What could be more evil than reading about the details of the killing of little children?  And yet our perverse society and the media churn out the stories like butter!  We watch programs on television that are called "entertaining" of the murder and torture of precious people.  What is wrong with us?


But God gave Adam and Eve the choice with a warning.  Don't pursue the desire of needing to know everything!  You will regret it for it will surely kill you.  But they couldn't stand it - the NOT knnowing and they took it in and the rest, as they say, is history.


Could it be that simple?  From this sinful disregard of Papa Gods instruction our forefather and mother unlocked evil and it spilled itself out upon the world.  Evil.  Self righteous depravity.  And though there are millions of people today who do not partake and pursue and applaud such perverse acts, we DO take it in for we feed on the news of it.  With the dawning of the internet in the 90's we now can know everything that is going on at any one time,  at any one place in the world.  All the evil there is, we get to partake of it daily.   Every murder, every story and every incident of evil.  That is, if we choose to.   And it is more than I can bear.  Is this what God meant?  "When you do you will surely die".  An interesting thought.  But then there is our father God trying to protect his children with 'you don't need to know everything'.  I love how this passage of scripture reveals that like any parental, God only wants us to know and experience good.  What loving parent wouldn't?


And though it was not our choices and actions that took us to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, shame on us for partaking of depravity as entertainment!  It is still offered up, piled enticingly on a plate and we still make choices daily to partake of it when we watch some of the programs that we watch.  God forgive us.


Lord forgive us for not understanding.  Give us more understanding.  I pray for the little children of the world and of our country.  God, the little children!!!  protect them.  intercede for them.  punish those who demean and destroy the lives of your little ones in Jesus name.  Amen.

God Is Always Present

Our life's journey takes us to all elevations.  We have joy-filled mountain top experiences i.e.: marriage, birth of children and grandchildren, buying your first home or car and successfully accomplishing goals.  But there are also seasons in life when we travel the valley floor and experience challenges through losses of all kinds.  And with Jesus as our traveling companion, He makes life do-able.

 

When we are cresting high He makes the heights more brilliant and opens wide our understanding of spiritual things. He fills us to overflowing.  How we hunger for those times.  We feel Abba Father's presence, close and intimate.  It reminds me of how the disciples must have felt.  Jesus was present; life was intimately shared.  His lessons and his words were deeper than the ocean, inspiring and life changing.

 

Too often in life the path turns downward and we find ourselves walking through the wilderness.  Hope is fading.  Life seems to be ebbing.  The walk is endless, exhausting.  If it were a forest it would be rocky cliffs with high mountains to climb and overgrown with thorns. If it were a desert it would be blazing hot with no water, no tree for shade, and no hope of finding rest or sustenance.  Just loneliness. Fear. Doubt. Confusion. Hopelessness.  How well I remember feeling I would not make it another moment – let alone another day.

 

Regardless of what your wilderness looks and feels like one thing stays the same....the cry of our hearts.  “My God, my God – why have you forsaken me?”  Where are you?  I can't feel you?!  I cannot sense your nearness!  He has left me.  Lord, answer me! Many ask why – why does God allow us to go through these wilderness experiences and these times when it feels as though he has abandoned us.  Why does he stay quiet?  Why doesn't he intervene in the midst of my pain and stop it sooner?  While I do not pretend to know all the answers to all of these questions the following word picture came to me in my mind regarding where Abba Father is when I cannot sense Him.

 

I liken it to the parent/grandparent who is teaching a child to ride a bike.  As we teach and instruct we grab hold of the bike seat with a firm, steadying grip.  We run alongside of our dear little one and encourage and instruct on how to stay upright and steady and safe.  Back and forth we go, holding steadily and firmly, instilling confidence and strength.

 

But there comes a point when we have to let go.  With our heart in our throats we let go and watch our kid go like the wind.  Alone and wobbly, their sweaty, little hands grip the handle bars that careen back and forth a little too much for our well-being.  Now stop.  Where is the parent?  The good parent does not leave.  We are near – watching, praying and rooting our child forward on life's journey.

 

Here are a few lessons we can learn about Abba Father from this analogy.

 

~When we are wondering where God is remember – like a loving parent trotting behind the child – HE is never far away.  All we have to do is call out his name and he is there.  Remember what your father has told you –

 

Deuteronomy 3:16 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.  FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU.  HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.”

 

~Like any parent knows, we must release our child so they can ride alone.  When we release them it is with the hope that they will remain dependent upon that which we have taught them.  The ride involves learning what is truth and adhering to it.  When we do not, we crash.  Adhering to what we have been taught is crucial in keeping us on the straight and narrow path or to keep us upright and cruising along.  Remember – our dependence upon God alone is crucial -

 

 “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.  Psalm 37:39-40

 

 ~ Through the highs and lows of life, God is revealing himself to us.  He is using our life circumstances as the canvas upon which he can reveal his personality – his faithfulness and trustworthiness.  He desires that we trust Him without question.  As human parents, our desire is for our children to obey us without question because we know we teach them truth. To ensure safety and abundant life we teach and enforce in hopes that our children will not question the life-giving path in which we lead them.  In short, our children grow to have faith in us through our love and instruction.  

 

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  James 1:6

 

Unwavering Faith in our father's presence is important!  Besides what other option is there? 

 

“I'd rather walk in the dark with God

Than go alone in the light;

I'd rather walk by faith with him

Than go alone by sight. - Anonymous”

Dont Be Discouraged!

Oh, its hard to learn the lesson,

As we pass beneath the rod,

That the sunshine and the shadow

Serve alike the will of God. - Anonymous

Whether we like it or not life is sprinkled with hard times. There is no getting around it. In fact the Bible promises us that we will have hard times.

Jesus is quoted in John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

I recently read a story about Casey Seymour, a successful soccer player and coach. He always has his team run a 10 x 100 drill at the end of practice. Before the men can leave the field they must run at full speed - with minimal rest - 100 yards ten times. If they dont beat a prescribed time they have to do it again. The men hate it until the day of the game. Each game they find that they can play at full capacity for the entire match. Their effort has been rewarded with a championship!

We are all playing the game of life, running the gamut – dodging balls, sidestepping boulders, having to learn offensive and defensive strategies. And one thing remains the same.... the injustices of life – the unfair turnabouts will come, question is how will they affect us? Will life's problems, tragedies and injustices rob us of life, joy and love, or will we utilize those seasons and turn them into strength and endurance training?

During his time as a missionary to the Gentiles, Paul submitted to the instructions and drills of God amid great hardship and suffering. Paul was no stranger to suffering. He endured beatings with whips and rocks; he was lost at sea; he was shipwrecked three times and had to learn to survive; he labored and toiled for a days food; he was transient – never putting down roots; he spent time cold, naked and hungry and was falsely imprisoned.

But Paul set the bar for us. Though he endured these unfair, unjust hardships he never allowed any of them to embitter him. Paul endured and thrived. Is it even possible? Yes! And he showed us how....by keeping our eyes fastened upon the person of Jesus Christ!

You may say “Easy for you to say Dori. You dont know my life. You dont know what I've been through and suffered.” You are right. I do not. But I have experienced a training ground of my own.

While I am no Paul I have a resume of my own – suffering the years' long consequences of someone else's choices (talk about unfair!), losing your home, financial devastation, a marriage re-written by my husband's injuries due to a disabling accident 8 years ago; being homeless, selling your belongings to survive, moving 3 states away from your family because that is where God led you to go; finding my mother dead and enduring a loved one's battle with addiction – all these are but a few of the things I've encountered in the last 8 years including the death of my father.

During this last decade my life was so disassembled. Whether I knew it or not at the time - every thing, person, value and belief was tested and or removed in this refiners fire - especially my faith in and knowledge of Christ. The one thought that ocurred over and over was “how do people survive these tragedies, these storms – without God?”

You see Christ was my anchor in these times. I clung to him. With each new storm my voice grew louder and those storms became HIS proving grounds. I witnessed firsthand the power of his ability and miracles. I chose Christ – to cling to Him and to believe in Him, come what may.

Looking back I know that I had every reason and every right to choose differently. For all I witnessed and for all the details I alone know I could have chosen to hate various individuals especially the man who attacked my husband and to be bitter at the disability system for how it ravaged our lives and my husbands body. I could have allowed my heart to be overwhelmed with the desire to get even. I could have easily worn the clothes of a victim of someone else's bad judgement – the victim of “the powers that be”. Churches, pastors, believers in Christ, have let me down sorely. I could be angry at the mortgage companies that would not help us, heartbroken over the one who broke promises, the list goes on.

What would I have gained if I had blindly taken the well earned “right” to be this way? What would it have profited me in life had I chosen to allow the troubles to win? Yet so many do succumb as they blindly demand their rights to suffer on, which only leaves a swath of debris in lives and hearts that are reminscent of paths of destruction left by tornado's and hurricanes. May I say the choice is ours? We can either allow life's troubles to destroy us, or we can turn our tough seasons into training camps.

The apostle Paul often used metaphors of training and competition in his letters to the church. Using his words we can find important training principles:

Galatians 5:7 says “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?”

Life was good. You were running (living) well. Then trouble happened. Who or what interrupted your life, your stride – to trip you up? No. Go back to what your training (what the word of God tells you to do and apply it.). Guard your heart and your mind against unholy thinking and reaction. Find your stride again.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “let us throw off everything that hinders and every sin that entangles us. And let us run - with perseverance - the race marked out for us.”

In guarding your heart and mind be aware of putting on the coat of “right” --- for it will bleed through your chest to your very heart. Throw off that coat – that “I have a right to feel this way” feeling, for it will only grow in length and weight and hinder your stride, tripping you as you run. Do not agree to become weighed down by things that will hinder your race.

“Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last – but WE do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer beating the air; No. I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Recognize that life is a training ground. There is a war being waged for your soul. Our enemy, satan, intends to rob you of your faith in Jesus Christ in an attempt to de-robe Christ and de-stroy the truth of God's power and ability. Satan desires to leave you de-feated and hopeless. Decide and determine to deactivate that power. Land the deathblow.

Here are your training instructions as set forth by Paul –

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up your shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all of the Lord's people.” Ephesians 6:10-15

I challenge you to lace up your running shoes. Let's run.

Embrace the Silence

Lately God has been impressing upon me the importance of silence. 

With the advancement of technology, "noise" fills up our lives -- yet Jesus set the example for us to disconnect daily to seek the voice of the father. In Jesus' time "noise" came in the throngs of people pressing upon him, clamoring to get near him. He was always busy speaking, teaching, working. But he set time aside at least ...once daily to seek out solitude and silence. 

We need that time to refocus. We need that solitude to listen to the rumblings of our own hearts and to hear what the voice of God would say in response. 

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God, exalted above the nations". 

Exodus 14:14 says, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be silent." 

Matthew 14:23 says, "After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came he was still there." 

And yet so many of us run from the silence and fill our lives with more noise. 

Stop. Turn it all off. Go find a mountain and pray. God is faithful to answer. You might be surprised at what he might say.

Precious Father.  Give me the ability to draw myself to a quiet moment and shut out the world.  Help me Lord to sit before you and to listen to my body breathe in and breathe out.  Let all my troubles fall away.  I pray Lord you would be faithful here in the quiet place where just you and I meet together.  Faithfully speak to me O Lord and minister truth and healing to all that is within me.  Lead me.  Guide me.  Love me I pray.... In Jesus name, amen.