What Is Your Will In Christ?

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:7-14 (NKJV)  I apologize for the length of this, but this was very much on my heart and I really ne...

There are moments my Lord, when I am alone with you that my passion runs high for the God of my creation and my mind struggles to imagine what my eyes cannot see. Moments when my heart races at the thought of what it will be like to be in the house of my Father - The place where your heart rules over hearts seeking your own and the enemy is no more. That place where all that exists is holy and pure and fashioned from the beauty of your heart - a place that evil never touched. These are moments when my mind wonders and I consider your everlasting greatness and immeasurable power. Moments when my mind can't resist the desire to see the God of all the universe whose throne sits high beyond the stars. Moments of longing when it struggles to imagine what no man could conceive. But in those moments when my imagination strains to create the image that no man knows, my heart speaks fondly of the God it would recognize in an instant. The face is gentle, it is that of a loving and all knowin...

  Lord, In your great presence I am far too small to be counted. I’m a mere speck under the foot of a towering giant. I’m an ordinary grain among the sands of the oceans. And you Lord, are the waters of the seas that move me at will. I’m helpless against you and wholly dependent on your mercy. I’m common and short of greatness, destined for obscurity. But by loving grace alone I’m now chosen to become more. Through the fire of your spirit I’m refined and made molten. Shaped by your own Holy breath, you call me now special. With praise and thankfulness I am transformed to have worth And with others I’m now cast as a part of the Kings cup. Now, so honored to bring sweet wine of loving gratitude to your lips Let my praises forever exalt your glorious wonders, For against you there are none worthy to compare. You’re the source of all that is good, righteous and holy. Your vast compassion, beyond the explanation of men. You lift up the humble and soon humiliate the proud. You alone stan...

"Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD."    Jeremiah 31:20 (NKJV) An easier translation of the same verse: “Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the LORD. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him." Jeremiah 31:20 (NLTV) Contrary to what many may seemingly take for granted, true love isn't always only pleasant to us in our current state. Sometimes it can be a little rough to bear. This may sound somewhat disturbing to some, but it's a fact and something that we really need to get a good hold on in our understanding. At times, true love is required to correct - to discipline, to move, for the good of the target of its affection. I make no mistake in my understanding that God is perfect love, but I well understand from scripture...

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, g racious in all His works.  The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, t o all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;  He also will hear their cry and save them.  The Lord preserves all who love Him, b ut all the wicked He will destroy.  My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, a nd all flesh shall bless His holy name f orever and ever."   Psalm 145:17-21 (NKJV) In the hour that I call out to the Lord in earnest, my soul quickens as I sense the weight of His presence and I'm reminded once again that I'm truly never alone. It's not a lack of attention toward me on the part of the Lord that leaves me feeling the loss of His presence, but mine toward Him if I ever feel alone. I remember that as a teen, privileged for a time to attend a Christian school, hearing words similar to this; "If you ever feel that the Lord has left you, turn around - He's right where you left Him ...

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1 (NKJV) At the risk of sounding like the proverbial broken record, I can't help feeling the urge to repeat a common theme of a number of my previous posts. I feel driven to repeat it especially in these last days when the continually changing circumstances around us may leave us searching for the low hanging fruit of easy comfort in words that may tend to soothe us, but lack the proper context that they were intended by God to be carried in.. What I say here is more intended toward those that have not exercised diligence in consuming for themselves what the Lord has given us in scripture, scripture that has the ability to bless us in so many ways when rendered as The Author intended. Not the least of these is the ability to spot inaccurate, and even boldly spoken, false teachings of the day. Keep in mind that the enemy...

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:7-10 (NKJV) There's nothing in this world more important than some of those things that many people seem to ignore, or even mock attention to. We watch as the cares, concerns, and passions of current society so often, far overshadow the simple, ever-living, truths of The God of creation.  And to those of us who're aware of the true reality that rules above our lives and days on this earth, what we may see around us here may seem disheartening to us at times - but it doesn't change the reality that reigns beyond this sho...

  We often stop to think about our own circumstances - our own wants and needs. Our own desires are continually within a hairs breadth of our current thinking... How often though, do we give any thought to what Jesus wants - to what He's allowed Himself to desire with a costly passion? Do those thoughts guide the response to Him that we're living out? When Jesus began His ministry in human form on earth it was with the desire to please His Father. He knew what He wanted and He already knew beforehand what it would cost Him. The price was very high, but wrapped up in that desire to please His Father was another desire also - because what the Father loves with such passion, the Son loves passionately as well.  As Jesus ministered to the people that came to hear Him along with the others that He encountered during those 3 years of His adult ministry, He demonstrated His love for His Father by His obedience, but He also demonstrated the love that He had for people. It was and is a...

Lord my God, I only wish that my heart and mind could fully describe your greatness, the pure beauty of your character, and your awesome power - the complete essence of the precious, loving, wonder and righteous, terrifying, power that you are. My attempts to capture you fully though, even in my thoughts, let alone my words, are merely an attempt at what is humanly impossible.  "A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:6-8 (NKJV) In the midst of all of the troubles and distractions facing humanity - all of the chaos, distress, worries, desires, and needs, above all of the noise of it, there's a voice calling out constant and unwavering. It's the voice of the God who created man...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it ." John 1:1-5 (NKJV) Rights and entitlements...   . .. - things that consume the majority of the secular mindset. My rights, my stature, my deservedness, position, possession, portion, and place seemingly have an overwhelming priority in the minds of current society.  Self, selfishness, and self exaltation - these things and the interest in them helped condemn the species of mankind from very early in his history. Yet the lesson of their cancerous effect and inheritance is seemingly never learned by mankind as he continues to allow himself to be exposed to, and strive after, the very things that have the potential to ruin him endlessly ... and permanently....

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."  John 1:10-13 (NKJV) A comment was made recently that rekindled my thoughts about the variety of fathers that children experience growing up. Whatever type of earthly father we may have had growing up, it's awesome to know that we, now belonging to Him through Christ Jesus, have the perfect and permanent Father that we were created by Him to have. There are very many who have grown up without an earthly father present. And those might lament the absence of a father to nurture, teach and guide them to maturity, while others may have had a father that made them wish at some point that theirs was one of those absent. Abandon...