Tag Archives: spiritual blessing

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Love’s Perfect Harmony

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“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Beloved, we are called to live in perfect harmony as the people of God. Though we may disagree on some things we believe true: gifts of the Spirit today, healing, your assembly or mine, your style of worship vs. mine, etc., we can surely agree on these things and find harmony:

* God, the Sovereign Creator, IS Love

* God sent His Son to pay my debt and yours out of Love

* Out of Love, Jesus is returning one day, to bring those who believe, receive, and live for Him home.

* We are to love as He loves us, loving all, even those we would count as enemies.

* Out of love for God and each other, we are called to live together in harmony, encouraging one another in His righteous ways.

I’ve had a unique opportunity to cross divisive barriers and minister in many differing assemblies, and in that, I found Love’s harmony. Think about that word.

In a harmony, each has their rolls, each sings a different part, each moves up and down the scale in seeming opposition, and yet in a beautiful harmony, when each is following the conductors orchestrations. That is what I saw.

As I talked to people of each assembly, I found each group had a major focus on the scale of God’s calling: each having an underlying motivational emphasis that powered their overall obedience in service to God and the fulfillment of His purposes. One group’s underlying heart was evangelism; one’s was ministry to the body, strengthening them for individual service; another’s was a call to purity; and so on it went. All the gifts of God were covered: each group having an empowering call to a focused priority, yet all focused on the whole of God’s professed will and way, powered with passion for their emphasis.

As I looked for the ONE working in and leading each, we all came together in harmony as our love for God and each other coupled with desire for the will and way of God as His witnesses.

Beloved, perhaps what we see as separation is truly the Conductors Orchestra, each movement of every section of His instruments adding harmony to His song on earth. Without being as He is, in a position to see and know all, all we can see clearly right now is self and those within our section. We cannot truly see the whole and recognize the harmony until we hear the recording or watch the video coverage.

Instead of always looking at our differences and messing up our harmonizing by watching how others are playing their part and paying little attention to our part, perhaps we should each look for God and move with His baton to work together in Love’s perfect harmony.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Heart Check: Hope Rightly Focused

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“But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” (Psalms 146:5 NLT)

Take a minute for a heart check, Beloved. Where is your Hope? If we are not careful, our hope can slip away from God and onto our own ability to have faith. People unrighteously accuse, “Well, it hasn’t happened because your faith is not strong enough.” Jesus said, “with a mustard seed of faith, you can move a mountain.” The smallest seed of a faith planted in the right soil where it is capable of growth is all it takes. That soil is totally rested on God trusting Him.

Hope can slip to land on our idea of what the best outcome should look like. More still is that hope can truly be settled on our own strengths and abilities; or on that of someone or something else we see as hope’s solution.

True hope in God rests on Him with understanding of His care. It trusts His sovereignty. Trust’s hope does not put God in a box made up of our expectations and ability to dream.

God’s Word says that He, by His power that is at work within us, “is able to carry out His purpose and do SUPERABUNDANTLY, FAR OVER and ABOVE ALL that we dare ask or think, INFINITELY BEYOND our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams” (Ephesians 3:20 AMPC).

We cannot even begin to think of the great things of God. When we limit our hope to our expectations, we can miss what God is doing. Because our eyes are set to see what we think will be, we can fail to follow God to the abundance He truly has for us. We essentially box Him into our finite thought, and when we refuse the path of His leading as a result, we put a lid on the glory to be seen.

So, where is your hope, Beloved. Because of God’s grace, “Rethink Possible” (ATnT commercial).

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Visual Acuity

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“Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; FOR MY EYES HAVE SEEN the King, the LORD of hosts.”” (Isaiah 6:5, NASB)

God is perfect and His ways are perfect, perfectly fulfilling every intent and purpose.

We’ve talked a lot about all that God is: love, good, light, etc. All His thoughts are pure, His Words are Life, His actions and reactions are dictated by all He is, being intent on pure and eternal purpose. Beloved, God is all that we aspire to and need for ourselves and from ourselves. It is only as we draw near to see Him as He is that we can be the people of His desire and design.

Here through Isaiah, we see that the clearer our view of God, in all His glory, the more we realize our own inadequacies. Only then can we bow to seek Him in ways that make us the people of His design.

Thus, it is vital that we, who are called by His Name, draw ever closer to see Him as He is. Paul tells us, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34, NASB)

We are intended to draw near to Him, to see Him as He is so we may become like Him, His image bearers. This is vital, for through Isaiah’s testimony, I discern that, only to the degree that we see God as He is, can we fully discern our lack of godly likeness. People need to see God to know there need of Him, and that is the purpose of God’s desire for us as His image bearers.

We are called to be His revelators, making Him and His ways known by living in stark contrast to those of this world, so those watching can see God in us, recognize their destitute estate, and bow in recognition of their own need of Him. What they need is not constant taps on the head, beating them down for things they can’t fully see without first seeing what can be. That just makes us look like them, being judgmental, unloving, uncaring. They need to see clearly the pure Love, bright Light, true Good that gives visual acuity for realizing their own destitute need of One True God. And we are the portrait God chooses to reveal Himself through.

Take stock, Beloved, draw near, and move out where God’s Light in you is visible to all. Distinguish yourself from the world, so those trapped there may have light for their path to saving grace.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Soul-Dance

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“Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” (Psalms 86:4 NASB)

Soul: our mind with it’s thought-life, beliefs, and comprehensive understanding; our wills, going after what we want in disciplined fervor; and our emotions, too often dictated by our raging hormones and the rush of our bodily chemistry. God desires us to love Him, live for Him and serve Him with ALL OF OUR SOULS. Yet, sadly, many people frown and put down those who let the surge of emotions soar free for the Lord.

God gave us emotions so we can “feel” His Presence and worship Him with exuberance: meeting with Him in the truth of all that we are, overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval. We see it in David, when his joy over the ark of God’s Presence caused him to dance the streets in worship, dressed only in a loin cloth. It took hold of Miriam, who took timbrel in hand and led the women in the excited dance of worship to the Lord, for He delivered them from Pharaoh’s grasp.

God wants our all involved in worshiping Him. He is not ashamed of our dance when done in wholehearted sincerity and in trueness to who we are as an individual. A quiet person, in their quiet, private self, worshipping in silence with whole heart is precious to the Father, Who meets them in the quiet. An emotionally, exuberant person is just as precious to the Lord, and He meets them in the dance flowing from the true of heart.

Beloved, true fellowship with the Father, flowing freely out of sincerity to the true inner person He created us to be is a must in worship. Fearlessly giving our all in love to God is a biblical mandate (Mark 12:29-30 NASB).

“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Psalms 86:11 NASB)

Here David asks the Lord to teach him truly, asking Him to unite his heart in fear’s reverence toward Him. In verse 4, the word in original Hebrew that is translated “soul” is lebab. It means: inner man, the mind, the will, and the heart (the essence of the person that includes one’s emotions). The word used in verse 11, translated “heart” is nephesh. It means “a soul, living being, person, with all their desires, passions, appetites, and emotions.”

The soul. It is the sum of what makes us who we are, and God wants us to use all of it to His glory, even – and I believe especially- our “feelings” – emotions. Like David and Miriam, we’re not to fear getting excitedly emotional over the joy of the Lord and His work in our midst. God loves our exuberance for Him.

So, Beloved, if you are emotionally exuberant in your worship, FROM A TRUE HEART, let no judgmentalism from mankind shame you into silence. And if you, being just as emotional in your quiet way, worship God with your all, let no one make you ashamed of your quietness. However, and here comes the warning for us who are exuberant, be careful that you rule your emotional outbursts.

David marched in the procession, worshipping God WITH OTHERS. Miriam led the PROCESSION of worshiping dancers, with song, everyone joining in with her. These were all worshiping together in timely fashion. There is an appropriate time for exuberance, dancing, and loud merrymaking.

However, we are not to be controlled by our emotions. We must control our emotions, knowing when to express them and when to control the expression. Running around, whooping and hollering while the pastor is trying to preach WILL be used of the enemy to distract the heart of man for the purpose of keeping some from hearing and receiving the Word.

Fear not, Beloved, the expression of true and sincere worship. But do fear getting in God’s way through uncontrolled, emotional outbursts. Tongues is an excellent example. God’s Word says, in the absence of an interpreter, keep the tongue between you and Him (1 Corinthians 14). From my understanding, those who believe they have no control over their audible prayer-tongue are mistaken. It is not to be a constant, loud raucous that can be used by the enemy of God to rob Seed from the heart of others who are deafened by the distraction.

God frees us to be who we are, but He also blesses us with the fruit of self-control. Use your freedom liberally in the controlling power and wisdom of the Spirit of God, and bear much good fruit to His the glory of His awesome, praiseworthy Name.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

God’s “Good” vs. Humankind’s

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“A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘ DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”” Luke 18:18-27 NASB

This passage has long captivated my attention. That Jesus, the very Sod of God, The God in flesh, does not number himself with God as a good person, is intriguing.

I don’t know about you, but I know a lot of people that, to me, are a defining parameter for the place of a “good person.” That opinion is gauged by human standards. Jesus corrects that understanding with His pronouncement that “only God is good.”

Have you ever had The Spirit pop a question into your head, immediately followed by an answer? That’s exactly what happened as I read this familiar passage today.

The question: “What makes the difference between God’s‘good’ and our ‘good’?”

The answer: “Motive and source.”

God IS good. He doesn’t need a reason to be or do good. Good is what He is, and thus, what He must do. He doesn’t need an incentive to do good. He doesn’t have to receive some return before He will continue to be good.

There is no external source for His good. He is good. Goodness resides in and flows from Him. Good is what He does. That’s why Scripture says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. He is good and the source or resource for every good.

We are not as He is. We have incentives to be good, most often out of necessity. We too often fall away from goodness when our good never meets a return. And, according to Scripture, without God, who is the source – resource for all good, we cannot be or produce good.

Another difference between us and God, is that we too easily grumble about doing good. God does not. He may get upset with our ungrateful response to His good, our never being satisfied with what we get and always wanting more, better, greater, but he never grumbles about an opportunity to do good or the inconvenience of the needs timing.

Even Jesus, being in the flesh, took no credit for being good. He, too, as example to us, relied on the Father for any good expressed through Him.

For me, this understanding makes the discourse that followed make better sense. The ruler wanted eternity, and, as implied in the passage, he did all the good he new to do, hoping for the reward of the eternal. Yet he lacked one thing, to die to self, having no other desire or motive than to follow and please God alone.

Some long ago commentary says that Genesis 15:1 is more accurately translated, “Fear not, Abram, I AM your Shield, your abundant compensation, and YOUR EXCEEDINGLY GREAT REWARD.” This is the only, truly-needful motivation for Christlike goodness and it’s resource is God alone.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Kingdom Currency

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“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23 NASB)

This verse compares the “weightier provisions” of God’s Law with the currency of the tithe. I am struck by the NASB’s wording regarding these weightier things, calling them God’s provision for us. The combination of wording and the object of comparison makes one think that the currency of God’s Kingdom is the weightier things of God’s Law: justice, mercy, faithfulness, love, righteousness, grace, goodness, etc.

The actions of the faith lay up treasures in heaven for us, Beloved. God has given these to us for our use. These are not to be hoarded, but produce the greatest treasure when liberally spent / applied to life.

Where do you need to overcome fleshly tendencies and spend a little Kingdom currency today? Hear that! The register of the Father, chiming heavenly sounds of rejoicing with each deposit to your account.

“”Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 NASB)

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Inhale Life

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“The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 NASB)

“For the word of God is living and all-efficient, and much sharper than a double edged sword, and it pierces to the separation of soul and spirit and of joints, marrow and of bones, and judges the reasoning and conscience of the heart.” (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

The Word of God is truth that is described as a double edged sword. It is said to separate joint and bone from marrow.

Bone is a stabilizing foundation. It holds the body together and aides one to stand and sit, their joints allow ease of movement; but bone is also a type of dead, petrified material. The marrow, which is housed inside the tube of hollow bones, is the source of blood cells that enable us to utilize oxygen and other nutrients, thus giving us life. Out of death comes life!

The Sword of the Word separates or reveals in us that which brings, gives, and aides life, from that which is or produces death. That process, Beloved, often hurts, because it requires us to die to our mortal self, so we can live eternally in Him. God’s Word works God’s good in us by increasing, stabilizing, and vitalizing Life in us.

The Word of God is His Breath of Life to our mortal souls. Inhale often

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Focus On Light: The Qualified Heir

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“… joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. …” (Colossians 1:9-14 NASB)

Here’s the Good News, Beloved. If you and I are sincerely and wholeheartedly walking with God in His Light as brought to us in Christ, we are saints in Light, and through that walk, we are qualified as joint heirs with Christ – qualified to receive our part of the inheritance that is set up for the children of God.

Often, we as mere mortals hear the word “inheritance,” and we think possessions and position. That is part of it, Scripture tells us so. Jesus has gone before us to prepare for us a place in which to dwell forever more. There we will have no more darkness. The gold, silver, and precious stones we value highly now will pave the streets and make up the walls and doorways. We will no longer hunger, thirst, get sick, cry sad tears, or die. We will dawn the riches of God and rule with Christ. That’s an inheritance beyond belief. But our inheritance is MORE THAN THAT. It is “PERSON” – PRESENCE.

God is our first, most vital need and necessity. We were made for Him to love and enjoy forever; and we were made to love and enjoy Him. In Him we are perfected, made complete as our person and purpose are fulfilled, finished, made whole in the fulfillment of His desired end. So our greatest inheritance is our forever union with the Triune: made One, complete in Him.

What is it that God says we can’t see or have in this life? We’ve covered it before: probably many times. In Exodus 33, Moses asked God to show him His glory. God agreed, telling him what to watch for: His goodness, His Names proclaimed before him, His graciousness and compassions, all of these reveal His Glory. Then He allows Moses to see His haunches once He passed by him, while he was carefully tucked into a crevice behind the Master’s hand, for he could not look Him face to face and live.

I believe that, for us to see God’s face is to see Him as He is, full strength, and our flesh senses would be overwhelmed by His pure, full-on glory. Seeing God as He is in our flesh bodies would cause such a rush of adrenaline, it would overwhelm our delicate chemistry, killing us instantly. Thus God holds us back until we are as He is, enabling us to handle that excitement.

Right now, we see God as if “in a mirror, dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NASB). We know Him from afar with a finite mind that struggles to comprehend the incomprehensible. But one day, Father will lift His Holy hand, and we will see Him face to face, just as He is. That is the inheritance I look forward too.

Beloved, God is our fulfillment. All we long for is realized in Him. Hungry for love? No need to look for it in all the wrong places. God is Love. Draw near to Him with all that longing, and see your need met as never before – and know we see but a fraction, imperfectly in this life. The full, comprehensive, understanding of His love awaits the heirs arrival Home.

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time-He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and DWELLS IN UNAPPROACHABLE LIGHT, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:13-16 NASB)

Feel impoverished and in need. God is our greatest riches, and we are heir. If we have Him, we have our NEED. One day, that unapproachable Light will open up to us who are practicing now to be children of Light -children of righteousness.

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. HE HAS ENABLED YOU TO SHARE IN THE INHERITANCE THAT BELONGS TO HIS PEOPLE, WHO LIVE IN THE LIGHT. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,” (Colossians 1:9-13 NLT)

Thus concludes our study on this subject. I pray we each go forth and prosper in the Kingdom of His true, pure, and glorious Light.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Focus On Light: The Fruit of Love

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“…I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. ….” (1 John 2:7-11 NASB)

One thing we find in the Light is fruit born of the Spirit. When we are in the Light as He is in the Light, Light is what we are, and what is seen is the image of God: His nature, His essence, His glory. The fruit brought into view through this passage of Scripture is love.

By way of reminder, the first thing to know is that God IS Love. He loves us, not because of what we do or who we are. God loves because love is His WHO. To fail to love would be for Him to be untrue to His very nature, which would be to live a lie. God never lies. Lying is evil and evil cannot remain where God is found. Therefore, all He thinks, feels, and does toward us is out of love: an action of love.

Even in His discipline, God wishes none to perish, but for all to come to repentance; into relationship with Him. Father loves us so much, He sent His very Son to die for ALL so we may repent and find Life in Him. When discipline comes, it is His love leading us to repentance, so we become incompatible with evil, just as He is.

When we receive Christ, all of God’s Who comes in the power of His Spirit to reside in us. He grafts His Who to our who, empowering us to BE as He is. We can be His Light by possessing His Who as our own. We possess Him by allowing Him full possession of us. Our surrender allows the grafting to take and come to life, uniting our who to His, thus, making us one with Him, able to bear His likeness.

The proof of our true and abiding relationship is seen in the fruit we bear to His glory, thus revealing us as the Children of God. That glory is the Light of His Presence shining through us, and the first fruit produced is Love, for that is who God is. The grafting that gives us Life makes Love our who, too, so we look like our Father. Therefore we cannot say we abide with Him in His Light, but hate the brother that abides there with us. To do so is to live the lie. And that is evil.

If we are in Christ, grafted into God, we possess True Light, and Love is who we are. Love NEVER fails, falls short, or falters in reaching its intended destiny.

Surrender your all and watch God come to Life in you.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Focus On Light: The Holy Lamp

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“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5 NASB)

One final, extremely vital point from this 1 John 1:5-7 passage that links with today’s Matthew 6:22-23 passage: God has no partnership with darkness.

When we receive Christ as Savior, committing to follow Him as Lord, the Spirit brings the Light of God’s Presence to live in us. We become the Temple of the Living God, sanctified and set apart to Him. There, the Spirit Light dispels the dark within us, making us fully righteous: the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

Eternally, this happens instantly, but mortally, there can be and usually are areas of our lives that take longer than others giving way to the Light. This scripture teaches that our journey to the Kingdom takes us through fire that burns away wood, hay, and stubble, leaving the precious unsinged. (I.e.: our impatience will give way to the godly fruit of patience, but may have to take us through the fires of testing to get there.) God patiently works with us in these areas, but His work requires our cooperation. That cooperation begins with recognition of the entry point darkness uses to gain access to our lives.

“”The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23 NASB)

Our eyes are the entry point for light and dark. Scripture tells us that the world caters to our lustful desires, seeking entry into our lives with its darkness.

“…all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ….” (1 John 2:15-17 NASB)

The darkness of this world gains place in us because of our flesh, eyes, and pride, but the access point is the eyes. We see something appealing, our flesh immediately wants it and our pride has to have it. The desire enters through our physical and spiritual eyes.

At times, our fleshly mind will think of some desire as seen by our internal eyes, and our physical eyes will start looking for it, while our pride eggs it on. (I’ve got to have it! I deserve it!)

To clarify our eyes, clearing them of lustful desires, we must seek first the righteousness of God and His Kingdom purpose. Trading our desires in so we can possess His protects us from every lust.

Now note Matthew 6:23.

“If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

This reminds us to beware the false light. Our flesh, eyes, and pride can be tricked into believing a lie to be true. Thus, we see that it is vital for us to draw near to God, so that His Light in us can reveal and dispel the dark that is disguised as something that looks right and good, but falls short of God. God can and will grant us discernment so we can know the difference, but we must get our eyes on Him and draw near.

Keeping our eyes on God as our top priority and first, most vital need and necessity, is vital to our possession of His Light. This requires that we remember that we are the Temple of God, Holy and set apart as His place of residence. Every time we give in to sin, refusing God and His Light, we treat the holy as inconsequential. (“…the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:17)

Through our eye that sees the Holy as insignificant, a darkness enters that can quench the Spirit of God. We can push the Spirit back, out of the way, to have our will. It’s called “choice”, the right of which is a gift from God. We are free to choose good or evil, blessing or curse, His Light and Truth, or the world’s dark and falsehood.

It is vital in this moment, and with every breath hereafter, that we learn to seek God for His true Light, so we can see clearly to evaluate the light that is in us, knowing that if the light in us is dark, proving to be false, that light is indeed dark. I believe the reason for this is because a truth is more difficult to receive when a falsehood must first be rejected and cast away. Pride and flesh will fight it. Therefore we must be diligent and determined.

A few questions to aid our evaluation of the Light that is is in us: What is your eye set on? Does that stir the fires of your flesh, or the Spirit of God within you? Is your pride lifted up and made haughty? Or are you awestruck and humbled before The Father? Do the work, Beloved, and SHINE!

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Focus On Light: The Cleansing Power of Light

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“… if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7 NASB)

Before pressing on from this passage, we must take a moment to acknowledge the cleansing power of walking with God in the Light of fellowship. When we walk in the Light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with God and with God’s people. In this place, the cleansing of Christ in us is made evident. And the continual cleansing of Christ in us becomes part of our everyday walk with God, who takes us deeper into Him with each spiritual step forward, placing in us the freedom from sin Christ bought for us to possess through Him.

Fellowship with God is one proof of cleansing, because God, who is Light and is Good, cannot mix with darkness – or evil. Light DISPELS (banishes, eliminates, or pushes away) the darkness (evil).

There is a statement made of the disciples that I believe fits here. It always grabs me and leads me to pray it for my life.

“Now as THEY observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and BEGAN TO RECOGNIZE THEM AS HAVING BEEN WITH JESUS.” (Acts 4:13 NASB)

When we live in the Light as God is in the light, our relationship with Jesus is evident. Our lives reveal us to be a person after God’s own heart, in Christlike personality, choices, and purposes. The way we talk and behave becomes evidence of our close walk with Him.

None of us will draw in close enough to see God’s face on this side of Glory. As long as we are in these flesh bodies, the spirit of flesh will have its stubborn battles, contending against the Spirit of God. But I believe that the Father will never stop wooing us deeper into the Light of His Presence, where freedom from sin increases to us through Christ our Lord.

Freedom from sin and sins effect on our lives is vital for our health and wellbeing, and to our witness and effective service. Come into the Light of fellowship with Father, in the power of the Spirit through Christ our Lord, and be free.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Finding Our Independence Day

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“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15 NASB

Forgiveness is very important to me. Since the day God showed me that my choosing to forgive another is for my own sake, just as we see Him choose to forgive Israel in Isaiah 43:25, He has called me to be a voice, encouraging true forgiveness. Choosing to forgive protects who we are, preventing our becoming something we don’t want to be, and it secures the course of our life for the good we are set to achieve.

Today, as I read this passage, Father brings to mind the movie, Independence Day. In it, we find a character portraying a military veteran who is believed crazy because of his story about once being kidnapped by aliens.

In the movie, our veteran is the hero who gives up his life to bring down the alien enemy. Before that, what we see is a man who is eat up by his experience. Drunken most of the time, he loses work, becomes the laughing stock of the town, and is near to losing his eldest son who is embarrassed and fed up with his dad’s drunken inadequacies.

When it comes time and opportunity for our hero to prepare to be part of the fighting force against the alien attack, we discover the true reason for the man’s drunken failure, as he announces that, since his kidnapping, he’s been looking for opportunity to delve out some payback. This fictitious character is a perfect example of why it is important to forgive “for my own sake,” which truly works for the sake of everyone around us.

Unforgiveness does great harm to our ability to have good relationships. It can hinder our ability to be the people of worth God desires for us. It can and will destroy our effectiveness in life, making us of little use to a God of Love. Unforgiveness can cut our life short in our pursuit of some sense of retribution. And, the thing I learned from God is that choosing to forgive protects us from falling short of loving others in sacrificial ways.

In our story found in the Independence Day movie, the thing that led our hero to sacrifice His life was less the want of payback he professed desire for and spent many drunken days looking for. Sobering up so he could do the job required of him, in those final moments, it is not desire for payback that leads to his decisive sacrifice. Instead he found the desire to protect the lives of those he loved.

That is what I discern in the proclamation of God found in Isaiah 43:25. He forgave for His own sake so that He would stay the course of protecting the people out of which His Christ would come. For the sake of fulfilling His purpose in providing saving grace for the world, He chose, for His own sake, to forgive Israel, even though their sin against Him begged for payback.

God may get us to the right motive for our last breath effort to love others, but what a waste that comes from the moment we choose unforgiveness to the detriment of our character, hindering our path to the fulfillment of the purpose of our life. Don’t let unforgiveness steel your in-between opportunity for a life worth living. Choose the love that forgives for one’s own sake, and find in that your Independence Day victory over bitterness, anger, drunkenness, etc.

Devotional Series, Health, Holy Habitation

Soul Cleansing

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The following is a teaching done by my friend, Sara. It is powerful and freeing. You will need about an hour for it, so bookmark the page where you can find it when time permits. You will not feel the hour a loss. BLESSings, Beloved.

Soul Cleansing

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Awestruck and Set Free!

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“When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.” Luke‬ ‭5:8-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (Read Luke 5:1-11 NLT)

This passage, along with others, like Isaiah 6, reveal to us two things that happen when a person experiences the very PRESENCE of God. One is that we are AWESTRUCK by His glory. The other is that we are brought to repentance by the contrast in character we realize when we draw near to God.

When we draw near to God, we are humbled before Him, thus, we bow down. When we experience His essence, we want more of Him and less of “me”. When we draw near to God, we automatically resist the devil and all that is not God, finding in that surrender the Victory of Christ and the burning coal of freedom from sin.

“Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”” Isaiah 6:5-7 NLT

Be in awe of the Father. Let the burning coal of the altar of Christ touch you for cleansing. Be sanctified and, set apart in Christ, go forth into the purpose of God for you, filled with and empowered by His Spirit Flame.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

FREELY!

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“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” Matthew‬ ‭10:8‬ ‭NASB‬‬

This passage is talking about the tangible evidences of God’s BLESSings to us, how we are not to hoard those things God freely gives, but share them – FREELY.

Thinking on this, my marriage comes to mind. You have probably heard that marriage is a 50/50 proposition or partnership. I found that belief often leads to discontent in marriage, feeling we’re not getting our fair share. I find 100/0 a better mindset for me.

Every blessing I have comes freely from the Father, including my marriage. I have found God faithful when I give 100% into my marriage while trusting God for any return. I am never disappointed.

When my eyes are set on what God will do, I more readily see His hand in every return for the good I do. And I am well pleased that most of that return comes through the obvious love, care, and support of my husband.

Give all, freely, trusting God, and get ready for a harvest that thrills and amazes.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Going Home

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Listening to the song “Home”, by Chris Tomlin, got me to thinking about our journey to get there. The life we are living right now is that journey. We’re on the road, and God’s Word is the map.

Every step, every breath, every heartbeat, every thought, every word and deed: each one puts foot on the next brick in our path. Our choices in each step determines whether we walk with God in each moment, and the type of deposits to our eternal treasury.

The cool thing about life with God is His provision for us when we miss step, make bad decisions, and get off track with Him. My husband has a saying for times when a wrong turn or a missed exit finds us lost or looking for the way back. He says, “It’s okay. All roads lead home.”

No matter how lost we get, a series of correct turns (right choices) will get us where we need to be. It’s the same with God. As soon as we realize that we walked away from Him on our journey home, repentance includes making right choices that get us back on course with Him.

We all get off track from time to time. Thankfully, God does not allow baggage in heaven’s gates. All the wood, hay, and stubble will be burned away. We can’t take it with us, Beloved. But the closer we stay to Him, the more treasure we will find waiting there for us. Every day is a day to sing glorious traveling songs by a life lived well, as we are going Home.

https://youtu.be/YIb4NC5ikYo

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Fruit Bearing Truth

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“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NASB

Throughout my life, this passage has brought teaching on the fact that we cannot bear eternal fruit apart from our union with Christ. This is a very true teaching that is vital to understand. But as I look at this today, my mind settles on the promise of this verse.

The one who abides in Christ and he in the one, that one bears much fruit! Period. The end.

If we truly are in Christ and Him in us, there will be eternal fruit evidenced in our lives. If there is no fruit – the ever growing and glowing image of God shining forth from us as born out of the Spirit – there is reason to question our true alliance.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation, Trust

Only Fear Falling Short of Rest

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“…Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.” Hebrews 3:18-19, 4:1 NASB

Entering God’s rest: it is a vital posture for us to obtain if we are to move safely through the harsh environs of this world. Two things hinder us from entering the rest God has for us to possess:

One is disobedience. When we fail to obey God, we are constantly fretting because of the hurt and turmoil that comes as a consequence of sin.

The second hindrance to entering God’s rest is failure to truly trust God; which, in itself, is sin. Symptoms that tell all we are not truly trusting God include:

⁃ An ungodly fear, that denies the goodness of God’s Sovereignty and unfathomable wisdom, failing to acknowledge His vision for things we can’t know or truly understand. Fearing the unknown, instead of trusting the God who knows all.

⁃ Anger, as in a temper tantrum over not getting our way: thinking we know best how a situation should go and not trusting God’s better judgment from His station of all knowing wisdom.

⁃ A hopelessness that says we or the situation are beyond God’s power to help, protect or to work good in it.

⁃ Depression that traps us in said hopelessness.

⁃ Trying to fix what we feel God failed to accomplish, as if we know better than He what is good, right, and needful for eternal purpose.

These are but a few symptoms of failure to truly trust, thus failing to enter God’s rest.

The greatest hindrance to entering God’s rest is failure to believe His promises and the truth of His self-revelation to us found in His Word.

By God’s Word, I know that God is good, He works for my good, and He is always faithful. I know that truth about Him, but when I fail to believe and trust these truths, I go my own way and try to fix things I only think I fully see and know the truth of.

Taking God at His Word and trusting His promises are vital to our obedience and trust. Without these foundational blocks seated firmly under our feet, we stumble and fall more readily into the things that keep us from His rest.

Faith that God can do what needs done often sees what we believe is the best solution or what we desire most to happen and seeks Him for that. There is nothing wrong with seeking God in this way. The only wrong is when we do so without complete trust in Him.

Trust in God recognizes His Sovereignty, with faith in Him to work a good I may not understand in the moment. Trust knows God is faithful, loving, caring, and working our destiny for eternal purpose. Even when things don’t go the way we hoped, trust remains strong in the Lord, and His rest is our waiting room while we watch with earnest expectation and hope of seeing His good bring all into His glory.

Trust rests in God being God and working His good, not in our idea of what “good” should look like. No one and no thing can disturb the rest of one whose trust is securely set in God and His righteousness.

Enter His rest, Beloved, and be at peace beyond the comprehension of a world in turmoil. Like Paul, May our only fear be in failure to please God, thus missing the rest He has for us.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation, Worship

PRAISE FOR THE ONE

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Praise tells the cosmos that God is sovereign, almighty, worthy, victorious, right, good, and on the throne of the heart of the one who praises Him alone as God. Praise increases hope, enters His help, dawns His glory Lives His story, and fills His worshipers with Himself, His power, His authority, His surity, bringing the unity of ONEness with Him in the Christ who bridges and the Spirit who teaches, bringing all into the Divine Will.

Oh how beautiful the Glory that makes ONE as God continues His Life story through those who believe, receive, and become His worshipers. How BLESSed we are to be His worshipers, Beloved.

Go forth in the Spirit of Truth and Shine, with every breath, every step, every move, every desire honoring our Father as Sovereign in us, giving way to the Spirit of the Triune, who alone can empower true worship in us and who alone can protect that peace-filled abundance, undisturbed by any thief who would dare to steal, kill, or destroy the voice of True Worship.

(c) Darlene Davis

6/22/18

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Surefooted

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“The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19 NLT

Wow! I am so excited for this Promise from God. What a glorious Word for us who desire more than anything to please our God.

Think about it. Scripture teaches that though we make our plans, it is God who directs our steps (1). His Word instructs us to know that He assures our heart (2). Then this verse assures us that our God makes us “SUREFOOTED”!

~ Surefooted – unlikely to stumble or slip. CONFIDENT and COMPETENT. ~

Wow. Through faith in God, who directs our path and assures our hearts, we can press forward with surefooted fervor, confident and competent to accomplish the glory of God in the path of His choosing.

Through faith’s assurance, we can press on in Christ, despite the accuser who would cause us doubt and fear, whether demon or those who work as Satan’s advocate. Beloved, from experience, I know this assurance of heart that comes when my foot is where God wants it. So can you. Seek Him in faith today, then press forward in trust to do the good He inspires in you.

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” (Hymn – Trust and Obey, written by John H. Sammis)

1. Proverbs 16:9 AMPC

2. Romans 8:28; Colossians 4:12; Hebrews 10:19-22; 11:1-2; 1 John 3:18-22

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Place of Refreshing

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“so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:32‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Good morning, Beloved.

One of our greatest privileges as a part of the Christian fellowship is for each of us to be a place of refreshing for others. It can be a challenge to achieve that, but it is a goal worth striving for.

I see this as our being a safe place where godly love and acceptance is found; where people can be real with us while knowing they can find encouragement, rest, and wise counsel. Even as I type this out, I know that I still have some work to accomplish in being this for those I love and spend time with. How about you?

Father, grant us wisdom and Spirt-power to be found in Christ, knowing how and when love produces a safe place of refreshing, and when love needs to flip tables.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

A Transforming Trip Through 2 Timothy – Part 4

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BE STRONG IN THE GRACE that is in Christ Jesus.

Wow. Chillin’ over that! God’s mercy and His grace makes me excited.

Mercy!

Mercy covers us, a blanket of Jesus’s blood flowing over every part, parcel, nook, and cranny. Jesus paid the price we owed and the blood that flowed covers us who believe and receive Him, covering the ugly of sin so God the Father can look on us and we can have a relationship with Him. God’s mercy through Christ makes us the righteousness of God in Christ.

Grace!

Grace is the power of God. That power flows to us through Christ, granting us strength and ability to do righteousness. With that defining parameter, note Ephesians 2:8-10.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB

God sent his grace to empower us with faith to believe, so that by the faith powered by Him, we might receive the free gift of mercy in Christ. It is not something we can boast about obtaining, for it is all powered and provided by God, who has a work to accomplish through us as recipients of grace.

This call to be strong in God’s grace is two fold. We are to be strong recipients of His grace, strong in our personal relationship with Him, which is by grace. And we are to be strong in the work God desires to accomplish through us as His witnesses, His ambassadors, His bond-servants.

“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NASB

Realizing our need of God, we surrender to Him who grants grace to empower our righteous deeds and actions.

“”I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5 NASB

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation, Prayer

A Transforming Trip Through 2 Timothy – Part 3

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Kindle afresh the gift of God within you. Apparently, according to 2 Timothy 1:6, when the exuberance of our ministry and the gift of God in us is dulled, there is something we must do to rekindle that fire: that zeal. To even begin to understand what Paul is speaking of, we need to see the context of this verse.

“I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith, the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness, a faith that first lived permanently in the heart of your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am fully persuaded, dwells in you also. That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the gracious gift of God, the inner fire that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands with those of the elders at your ordination. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake, but with me take your share of the suffering to which the preaching of the Gospel may expose you, and do it in the power of God.” 2 Timothy 1:5-8 AMPC

Apparently seeing Paul’s experience of suffering for the faith, I’m sure coupled with his own experience of persecution, raised up a spirit of fear in Timothy that caused his faith to wax and wane, thus hindering the work of God’s Spirit in Him. We cannot tap into the power of God when fear and doubt get a grip.

Today, Beloved, we evaluate our ministry in Christ, our zeal of service and the fire of our gifting. Are we serving in the fullness God has for us, or has some fear, some hardship, or some worldly desire robbed our faith, our trust, our belief, thus dulling the work of the Spirit in us? Take time today to renew your commitment and flex those faith muscles that trust God for each step and every breath. Kindle afresh the gift of faith within you, the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” (Vs. 7)

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Seven Healing Balms for Exhaustion Part 3

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Exercise

Sometimes our “tired” is due to sitting too much. This happens to me. When I’m I’m stressed or depressed, and overly tired, I tend to sit too much, desiring to meet my need of rest. The thing is, sitting too much can actually hinder the body’s ability to rest well or to sleep well, and it increases depression. Thus, the encouragement of God’s Spirit to give focus to exercise is good wisdom.

Beginning with prayer and worship:

Prayer and the worship of the Triune God is a spiritual exercise that works wonders in a tired, body, mind, heart, spirit, and soul. Leaving issues at God’s feet lifts weight off of weighed down shoulders and stressed knees. Praise and worship strengthens the heart, lifts and eases the mind, and brings renewed vitality to life.

Work that body:

God made our bodies to move, lift, walk, bend, stoop, and work. When we fail to do that, a sundry of disease processes move in: inflammatory diseases, bone and joint maladies, heart, lung, and vascular disease, to name a few. Then we can add to that depression, appetite issues, insomnia, and more. And let’s not forget the excess weight, increased fat stores beyond the need of a healthy body, and decreased muscle mass and tone.

Exercise works our bodies, putting a good stress on it that strengthens function. A good work out and frequent movement increases endorphins that lifts mood, curbs hunger, and increases energy. Thus it makes sense that the Spirit of God would instruct me to get serious about this area of my health journey in this difficult season of life.

I cannot tell you the number of times hunger and out-of-control appetite has quieted or completely stilled with a good, brisk walk. Exercise actually increases energy levels and aids sleep. So, exhausted friend, let’s “Keep it moving!” (Deron Buboltz, Grow Young Fitness Motto)

13 Unexpected Benefits of Exercise

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Seven Healing Balms for Exhaustion: Part 1

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This morning God led me to Jericho our town, praying for myself and others who are in a very deep seated exhaustion. As I did, He gave me thought for 7 areas of focus to empower rest and heal energy. Thus, the first of what will likely be seven posts outlining these things that are necessary for a life of strength.

SURRENDER!

First and foremost, I must live a surrendered life. Specific areas He pointed out include:

Concern for family and friends.

We have many family issues that are outside the realm of my control; and I am walking with several friends who are in the same boat. Only God can do anything about these things.

Worry and fretting drains energy. Though I don’t perceive worry and fret very often, my grief for loved ones is deep. I must take care to watch against enemy incursion, bringing these things up in ways that hinder surrender.

Diet! “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

I’ve been really working to surrender myself to the Lordship of the Father, bowing to His will and influence on my appetite and eating habits. He tells us through Paul’s experience that He desires to perfect His power by that power finding it’s place in our weak areas, thus doing its work in strengthening us. Power that sits, doing nothing, is wasted energy, unable to complete its course.

I am learning this surrender. It is a hard lesson, realizing that my greatest strength is truly my weakest vulnerability without surrender to God’s power perfected in me.

Wise use of time and energy.

I can’t stand seeing things around my home so neglected. It really bothers me. It’s oppressive, robbing of joy, which robs of strength. This is another area in which I simply must surrender to God, trusting my times and epochs to Him (Acts 17:24-28).

Right now my time and energy is needfully focused elsewhere as I take care of my husband, whose greatest desire is for me to take care of me. I simply must surrender the dust to God, knowing He empowers time and energy for all things in due season. Stressing it only wears me out and robs of true rest, the joy of the Lord, and enjoyment of my husband in these days.

Next post, part 2, Diet.

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Love Wins!

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When Fear Steps in the Ring……. LOVE WINS!

We have battles in this life of some sort every stinking day, Beloved. Our minds – emotions- tongues – are a battlefield. When we are heading to do something important to King and Kingdom, you better believe the devil is going to toss a wrench. So if we aren’t battling our flesh, we are battling demonic and worldly influences.

Beloved, when we are in a long night (an impossible situation only God can fix), such battles are fierce, and fear readily climbs into the ring of life. Scripture tells us that perfect love casts fear out (1 John 4). What is perfect love? Here’s what I believe.

Babe, God IS Love. That is His nature. God is perfect Love and His Love is working it’s perfection when it is received, possessed, and made full use of by us. I believe He created us as a place for Love. He desires for His Love to meet our need of it.

Fear most often comes to rob of trust in God’s Love. We are made to feel like we have to earn Love by being good enough for Him. Fear constantly tells us we can’t be good enough. And you know what, if it’s true His Love is earned, the devil is correct, we can’t be good enough. But – OH, THANK GOD! – that is not truth!

Truth is that God Loves us because He is Love. His love for us has nothing to do with our “do”, and everything to do with His “Who”. When we allow Him, who is Love, to abide in us with confidence that nothing we do will lose His Love, our battle with fear is finished, and we are strengthened to fight the true war: the good fight of faith that allows all He is to fill us and seep out our every pore to make all we are to possess the image of all He created us to be. Jesus in “me”, alive and well.

Read 1 John‬ ‭4:7-21‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Battles: The Afters

Devotional Series, Holy Habitation, Prayer

Surrounded

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A Day of Prayer in April post

PRAISE THE LORD, BELOVED! We are coming against the strongholds of long night stressors that challenge our faith, working with the intent of preventing us knowing, trusting, and following our God as a people at rest in His hands, even in the darkest, most fierce storms.

This song, “Surrounded,” by Michael W. Smith, is the perfect starting place for our battle against the long night in our lives and the lives of those we love. The prayer thoughts for this song include:

⁃ the importance of praise.

Praising Father God, our Triune Deity, is our first, most vital weapon in any battle. God is enthroned upon the praises of His people. Praise expresses understanding of His sovereignty, His might, His greatness, and our recognition of our dire need of Him: our love for and reliance on Him. We are more apt to rest the need in His capable hands – surrendering all to Him, from a position of worship.

⁃ the importance of trusting His Presence.

Remembering God’s faithfulness to His promises that tell us He is always with us, fighting for us, and He will never – NO NEVER – leave nor forsake us, this is our second, most vital weapon in the long night season. Our strength, courage, and perseverance flow out of this trust.

⁃ the importance of realizing where He is standing.

We acknowledge that, though we feel the pressure of the enemy around us, we are first and foremost surrounded by God, even though we may not see Him. He promises to be beside us, grabbing us by the hand to protect and empower us. But also, like Elisha’s servant, we need eyes to see the army of God that surrounds the enemy surrounding us (2 Kings 6).

Think about this position, Beloved, us being in the center with God, Who is also surrounding us with His hedge of protection, as well as Him standing with His army to surround the enemy attacking us. That enemy is trapped between our faith in God and His faithfulness to us. An enemy cannot escape their loss that comes from this glorious combination: faith in God’s faithfulness. I believe that’s the reason Elisha prayed his servant’s eyes open: to strengthen his faith in the battle, that the barricade of faith not be weakened by unbelief and fear.

Thus we begin…

Surrounded: Michael W. Smith

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Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

Saved From The Empty Life

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“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. ….” 1 Peter‬ ‭1:18-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Good afternoon, Beloveds. We had such a glorious visit with our second daughter and two grandkids. We enjoy them so much. Sunday brought the privilege of seeing a niece marry her guy. Today we said farewell to the kids, hating to see them leave and ready for them to return long before they will. Hubby returned to work at a job he loves. I had a dental appointment: a nicety that reveals God’s provision for us through Johnny’s work. Life goes on.

Looking at our days that are filled with family, friends, work we enjoy, love, laughter, celebration, and, yes, caring for health needs and much, much more, we are indeed blessed. However, I see all of these things in the lives of people who refuse God’s eternal gift in Christ, so I wonder, what emptiness did Jesus save us from? How is our lives full in Christ, while theirs are considered empty? I believe it is two things:

One: the barn issue.

Remember the parable Jesus told of the man who filled up his new barns with great wealth, only to die and it all be for naught? We can’t take it with us, so all our progress here is nothing where eternity is concerned. We work for nothing, when we do it without Christ. It is worthless to us once we die and of no benefit to eternity.

“… “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”” Luke‬ ‭12:13-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And two: it’s a treasury issue.

Remember the teaching of Paul on building with wood, hay, stubble, gold, silver, and jewels? He’s talking about those who are God’s, building our lives. Focusing on building a life that fails to have an eternal purpose to it is like building with things that burn. All we do in that state will burn away and be as nothing as we enter His Kingdom bearing works apart from Christ. It is worthless, unable to reach eternity with us.

However, all we do as unto the Lord, for His glory, having eternal purpose and relying on God is the gold, silver, and jewels. These treasures not only are stored in a heavenly bank, but they don’t burn up in the transition from our earthly existence to our eternal. These are saved alive with us, because they are eternally sourced to the glory of God.

“…The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:10-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All that we do in Christ, with the glory and purpose of God in our founding it, that goes with us, producing a reward for our eternal transition that will not be taken from us. In Christ, life is eternal: and life done well here, as pleases Him, makes us full and complete, nothing of true worth left behind.

delight, Devotional Series, Holy Habitation

The River of God’s Delights

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“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.” Psalms 36:7-8 NASB

Wow! Last night God pointed me to this passage for us to consider this morning, and as I looked at it again, seeking Him with my, “What?” – all I can say is “WOW!”

If we could live by faith under the wings of God, trusting His desire for us without getting all wrapped up in our own wants, what would “drinking from the RIVER of His delight” look like on us? I can’t even fathom the richness of the things that delight God. I can’t even fathom the joy of such a discovery, but, WOW! …to discover the beauty of drinking from His delights. …to KNOW Him more by learning to receive it. Wow.

Father, bless us today to begin this journey of crawling in under Your wings, drinking our fill of Your abundance, and receiving with comprehension Your supply from the flowing river of Your delights. In Jesus, amen.

delight, Devotional Series, Holy Habitation, Trust

Delight: the Secret Pathway of Perfecting Grace

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“Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord…. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.” Psalm 37:3-4 AMPC

To delight is to take great pleasure or joy in something. God wants to be our greatest delight. That’s hard to do if we fail to realize and experience Him in our day by day, moment by moment. Thus, I believe verse 3 is vital to our ability to delight in God to any degree of His desire for our delight; and verse 3 is best expressed in the AMPC Bible’s defining parameters for Trust being to lean on, rely on, and be confident in Him who is our delight.

When we truly trust in the Lord it is easier to know Him in our day. Trusting in Him as He desires means we LEAN on Him as our greatest support for all challenges faced in life, beginning with each breath we breathe. We RELY on Him, not only for supply of every resource and energy need, but for the very timing of His provision, knowing that He will increase perseverance to us as we await His provision with hopes assurance. And that perseverance flows out of our CONFIDENCE in Him, knowing that He will not fail us, but as we patiently wait with trust in Him, He often does above and beyond our ability to desire, or even to discern the need. In times of waiting, He is working a growth in us that increases our discernment of Him and His ways, so faith grows stronger and relationship more sure.

This growing, vital relationship of delight works completion in us. We were made for this vital, love relationship with God and we are incomplete apart from Him. Not only that, but scripture teaches that God’s Power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMPC). That does not mean that God is somehow weakened without us. I believe that it means our God has chosen us for vital union: that He desires to delight in us as we delight in Him, being made complete together. He chooses that our relationship add strength to both He and each individual one of us as our union becomes all He planned from the concept of time.

I see God’s Power being perfected in us to be like flexing muscles. God’s Power is perfect because He is perfect in Himself. But power that sets doing nothing is useless. The strength of His Power defines and fulfills itself when in use. So as we delight in Him above all else, fully choosing to act on our great need of Him, trusting in, leaning on, relying on, and being confident in Him, our need completes His provision as He completes us, thus accomplishing perfection in the actualization of His eternal plan for a relationship with us, His people.

When we feel like there is something missing, Love, and the desires of our heart go unsatisfied, the first place we must look is to check the source of our greatest delight. Delight in God trusts Him with a fervent surrender to our need of Him that leads to perfection.