Know the Sacrifice

 

Behind the tattered robe,

Is the greatest story ever told.

What He did for man,

Some people will never understand.

 

Those that do,

Know the Sacrifice.

Your blood dripped from the Cross.

It will never be lost.

 

It is captured forever.

Through the end of time.

It will wash the sin away.

No longer will we be held at bay.

 

"Lord why have you forsaken me?"

"My Son, it is meant to be.

We must cleanse the Earth of sin."

"My Son, sacrifice your self, it is time to check in."

 

His cries were heard through out the Land.

His death allows us to make a stand.

Glory to the man who saves us.

Glory to our Lord Jesus.

 

Never could I imagine the suffering.

The Pain that You felt

The blood running into your eyes,

It crushes my heart . . . . . . . makes me cry.

 

Looking to the Heavens

You were so helpless.

Knowing you were going to die.

Yet, you did not fight back.

 

You were on the cross

Your spirit not broken.

Your Father has spoken.

"You are not lost."

 

"My Son, come be with me.

That is the prophecy.

That is what is meant to be,

You will be my legacy."

 

By Kevin Gwyn @ prayer vigil 3/26/2002 ÓCopyrighted 03/29/2002

Who Is This Man?

 

Who is this man?

He is called the Messiah.

He came to deliver us.

The Son of Man, He is Jesus.

 

They say You are the King of The Jews.

We know You are the King of all.

That day You felt so small.

But we knew You stood tall.

 

Your time has come, it is okay to cry.

You knew You were going to die.

You knew You were going to be betrayed.

You were in the garden and You prayed.

 

You knew what You had to do.

Which was to die for everyone.

No one wanted to help.

Nothing but scars and whelps.

 

He healed so many at his expense.

He was accused and had no evidence

The truth is all He had for his defense.

Still, He had to suffer the consequence.

 

They hit You.

And called You names.

Your tears fell like the rain.

How could your people be so insane.

 

So much dissension.

The crowd had every intention.

The people needed to repent.

But Jesus, did not resent.

 

They flogged You.

They spit on You.

What could you do?

They knew Your soul was true.

 

The thorns pierced Your skin.

You knew you could not win.

You did this for me.

To the cross, You carried my sin.

 

They drove the spikes through Your wrists

You were in so much pain.

Yet, You did not resist.

This was your destiny.

 

They slashed You with a whip.

Broke open Your back.

All they did to You was attack.

As Your blood did nothing but drip.

 

His blood washes away our sin.

His blood did not go to waste.

His tears dripped from his chin

Jesus searched his soul deep with in.

 

Jesus, they could not keep You down.

God took away Your frown.

You rose in three days.

Jesus, thank You for giving Your life away

 

By kevin gwyn Ó Copyrighted

04-10-2002

Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God —Matthew 5:8

………………………………………..God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our "inner sanctuary" be kept right with God, but also the "outer courts" must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our "outer court" is stained. If we want to maintain personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will become unacceptable for us.

A practical help in keeping your personal purity unblemished in your relations with other people is to begin to see them as God does. Say to yourself, "That man or that woman is perfect in Christ Jesus! That friend or that relative is perfect in Christ Jesus!" O. Chambers

That the last part may be difficult at times for me. To see God as He sees them can often be a daunting task. Lord give me strength and vision to see all people the way your Son saw them when He was on the cross. Amen

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6.33

Content?

He must increase, but I must decrease —John 3:30 NKJ

I get up this morning feeling I am supposed to write. So I began to read and read. I read some thing's over and over. The first thing I read this morning was Oswald. The first thing I see is John 3:30 can't tell you how many times I have read that. So that wasn't it. So I read all of John 3 then I go to Philippians 4 (that is what I heard) The I go back to the devotion and John 3:30 leaps of the page and then it comes together. I hear Holy Spirit say "that is your problem" to be content I have to increase in your life!

Philippians 4:11 Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. 12 I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. AMP

Sometimes it is so simple and we make it difficult. I can tell you for me when I am wrestling with the darkness, I am not content and I don't have peace. Today I have peace. Amen!

The last few days I have been chewing on this quote. We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God's sight. Oswald Chambers

 

The Mountain top

This is part of Oswald Chamber's Devotion this morning. ……………………………….The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. "Abraham believed God. . ."

3 For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." 7 "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. 8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin." . When I read this I can't help but think of all of the men and women that have gone through Quest and Heart Quest. All of the men and women who continue to walk in there healing. Sometimes you just have to go to a place where you can receive and NOT have to give. You have to go to a place where a table has been set and all you have to do is pull up a chair and eat. A place where you can have an encounter with the Living God! These last 70 days have been a whirlwind for me. I have been in 70 days of prep work and serving on back to back Quest. What I got to be a part of is something I will never forget. Thank You Jesus for giving me the privilege of walking with all of these men

Now you understand what I meant when I would say

"Radical obedience ALWAYS precedes the miraculous."    

Thank you for receiving all that the Lord has for you.

Kevin

You a stumbling block?

2 Corinthians 6

³ We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. ⁴ In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.

6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.

You never know who is watching besides the Lord. Just praying over your lunch at a restaurant could be all that someone needs.

Road rage with a Jesus sticker on your vehicle maybe the straw that breaks the camel's back for someone else.

Just some thoughts for the day while you are driving.

 

Remember

Hebrews 10:32 Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. 35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

 

I don't know that there is anything I can add to this. I think sometimes we forget and just need to be reminded.

Have a great week and may you find favor in then Lord

The little dog part 4

The Little dog part 4.

I digressed; I went downhill in 2012 with my dog. Without me realizing I resorted back to some old behaviors and before I knew it she was acting all weird again. I was done; I wanted to get rid of her. I could not see that it was me again! (WHEN DOES A DECIEVED PERSON KNOW HE IS DECIEVED?) What I mean is I called one of my customers who rescues pets and told her I give! I am getting rid of her. That was back in late October. She made a suggestion that I call her trainer so I did. The trainer made two suggestions to me. So right then I had a choice to make. How bad do I want this relationship restored? For me I was very skeptical of the suggestions. I thought I knew better (Pride WHAT COULD THIS PERSON TELL ME THAT I DON'T ALREADY KNOW? I HAVE TRAINED DOGS BEFORE!!! ) within three days of doing what the trainer said to do I made major progress with Pin Pin. Now she sits when I tell her to sit. She stays when I tell her to stay. Eats when I tell her to eat. I can put food on her nose and she will not eat it until I say eat! It is really very amazing. My dog loves me! "Pin Pin" that is what I call her now is my dog. She follows me everywhere. She obeys me when I give her commands. I think for me it is all about having a teachable spirit.

The truth is I could have gone to many people about this problem and I have before, but this time I spoke to someone who knew what they were talking about, but I still had reservations. I thought "what is the worst thing that could happen? I almost felt like Holy Spirit was giving me direction and I listened.

So in this story the dog trainer was the Holy Spirit and I listened to her instruction instead of getting advice from every Tom, Dick and Harry or Sally. So many times we as men or women seek what we think as Godly counsel when In fact we are looking for someone to agree with our pain so we can justify it. I you speak to enough people you will get 50/50 answers. What we need to do is seek Holy Spirit and listen and when he tells us something we don't want to hear, something that may actually wound us, then know it is for our own good. The worst thing to do is go around and tell a bunch of people this is what the Lord told me. So some can say ….. "I am not so sure that was the Lord" that creates doubt.

Listen to Holy Spirit. You know His voice and then trust what you are hearing. I am not saying don't check what you are hearing. I am saying don't check with 15 people just check with 1 or 2

This is what the Lord says: Jeremiah 17:5 "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, (OR THEMSELVES I added this part because that is what the Lord showed me one day) who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild at Heart

So I am reading in Chpt 7 of "Wild at Heart". There is an author by the name of Neil Anderson. He says, "Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving; you will never get there, feelings take time to heal once the choice has been made to forgive."

You have to get to the point of acknowledging the hurt, seeing that what has happened mattered. Then we choose to extend forgiveness to that person. Forgiveness says "it was wrong, it mattered, and I release it to you.

Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

I know I have been touching on forgiveness a lot and it maybe bothering some of you. If it does then ask Holy Spirit why?

I have to ask myself the same question.

Walk in your healing today!

Boiling water

"Once a dog has been scalded with boiling water he will even fear cold water"

Jesus desires to heal our wounds. So many times we choose not to let Him heal them because it is not the easiest road to take. Humility and self-denial is the path that leads to healing and spiritual maturity. It is the decision to make another person's well-being more important than your own, even when that ex-wife, ex daughter in-law or anyone in your life that has brought you great sorrow.

Pride cannot travel this path, but only those who desire peace at the risk of rejection. It is a trail that leads to humility and abasement. It is the road that leads to life.
(From the Bait of Satan)

There is that word choose or choice. That is what this whole thing is about. Are you going to let Jesus Heal you. Are you going to go to that person that you have an offense with …. Travel down that road or are you going to sit on you pity pot and declare that he or she owes me for what they did to me or for what they did to my sister or brother. You know we also have to decide not picking up an offense for someone we know that was or is being treated badly.

Colossians 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

So you have a choice today, are you going to do what your Father in Heaven tells you to do or you going to walk in disobedience?

Your forgiveness may be the very thing that leads that person to the Lord. Who are you to deny that?

Yell a loud NO!

James 4:7"…let God work His will in you. Yell a loud "NO" to the devil and watch Him scamper. Say a quiet "yes" to God and He will be there in no time.

I read this and wonder if we really take this serious? Think about this scenario for a moment………… (And this goes for me as well) You are sitting on your couch and you get a knock on your front door. When you open the door it is a scantily clad woman who wants to come in and do a little dance for you. She was sent by the enemy. So are you going to yell a loud "NO" to the enemy and watch her scamper? Slam that door shut in Jesus name? I would hope so. This is the same scenario that happens with our computers or walking in the mall or going places where we should not be going, bars, casinos. You have to be prepared for battle before you go into battle. One of the first lines of defense is "NO"

Then take the though captive to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Think also about this. There is power in your words. There is life and death in your words

Life or Death

 

Proverbs 18:20 Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest. 21 Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose. MSG

Often times I wonder do we fuel our own unforgiveness by the words we speak over that person and by the words we speak over ourselves? Case in point. How can I forgive the man, he is married to my ex-wife? Look at the pain he has caused in my life. I will never recover from this! He has ruined our children. If am I constantly calling him names. He is Worthless, look what that A#@#$#$#@ did to me, He is going to get what is coming to him, I hope he dies, I think you get the point. Our words give life or death. It is your choice on what happens. What does James say (any one read James lately?) Do you curse your boss? (You wonder why you don't get a raise) What about the coworker that is lost? Are you Jesus with skin on? Or are you an ASS! It is all about choice. Do you want them to know Jesus or are your actions denying them?

James 3:5-6 it only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

I leave you with this. Over the last few days as you have spoken to others or spoken about others what did you say? What did they hear from you? You either pierced their hearts with poisoned tip arrows or gave them life giving words.

You want to forgive someone? Then I believe you have to start with the words you speak over or about them.

You have to think about the agreements that you are making. Who are you agreeing with? Jesus or the enemy.

My father of my grandson has had some problems but I refuse to speak badly of him. He knows I know just about everything he has done to my Princes. I love him and I am Jesus with skin on even when I don't see him. He is going to be in my life forever and I have a choice to speak life into him or death. I choose life. I choose wisely.

If I speak death then I am just carrying the match to set the forest on fire.

Today I choose to give life!

 

The Trap

I really feel like I am supposed to post some stuff about the spirit of offense and walking in unforgiveness. So below is actually a post from back in July 2012

 

The Trap,

Ever been trapping? Anyone who has ever been trapping knows that it takes one of two things to be successful. It must be hidden in the hopes that the animal will stumble upon it, and it must be baited to lure the animal into the traps deadly jaws. This is what satan does and he is more deceptive and cunning than any human on this earth. It is his job to trap you that is his only focus in my opinion.

Offense is one of the most insidious, nastiest, most deceptive kinds of bait there is and we have all encountered it at one time or another in our lives. Offended people choose to live this way and they produce much fruit. It is just not the edible kind. Many signs of being offended are, hurt, anger, jealousy resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred (which is murder) and envy. I would say if you have any of these symptoms then most likely you are walking in offense. Most people who are offended do not even realize they are trapped. They are so focused on the wrong that was done to them. They are in denial. The most effective way for the enemy to blind us is to cause us to focus on our selves. What do we called it when we focus on ourselves? Would that be PRIDE? Holy Spirit says in James 3.16 for where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

Jesus said in Luke 17.1 it is impossible that no offenses shall come, but woe to him through who they do come.

Psalm 55:12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. It is those who you care about you that hurt you that hurt you the most.

2 Timothy 2: 24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

I have questions …. How does your fruit taste? If I went to your spouse and asked if you are hurt and offended or walking in unforgiveness, what would they say?

Are you living with a victim mentality? Do you defend your position on the matter?

Are you prideful? Pride will keep you from admitting your true condition. Out of the mouth the heart speaks.

Parts of what I wrote today came out of chpt one of the Bait of Satan. Choose to be free today!

 

Last question are you walking in unforgiveness and if you are how long are you going to be that way before you forgive?

The right words

Matthew 10:19 When you are arrested, don't worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

So many times I want to speak before I am supposed to. Instead of pausing for a moment. What does James say? Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. There is so much wisdom in that verse. Sometimes I believe what we want to say is more important than waiting on the Lord and I have to say, that sometimes what the Lord wants us to say is nothing.

So today really focus on what you are going to say. If you pause you most likely will not put your foot in your mouth and wound someone with your words. Today let the Lord speak for you.

Bless you today.

The Rock eternal

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

I just got back off of Quest where 20 men gave their lives to the Lord! What an awesome time to watch the Lord show up and show off like He always does. I am always amazed at the transformation that I get to see over the five and half days of the event. For myself I got more freedom. Wednesday morning I received the below passages for myself. Since the event is over I know realize that they are for everyone who walks with Jesus in there heart.

14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2-14

27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him

Remember Hearing God is not something you do. It is who you are!

God speaks to us as we already are. Not where we are right now.

Walk in peace

Here I am!

 

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me' —Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God's call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. O. Chambers "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).

Right now my spiritual attitude and the condition of my ears are in a good place. I just amazes me how one tiny hiccup (sin) can quench spiritual attitude and make my ears deaf!

Un-confessed sin, un-forgiveness, bitterness and judgment to name a few.

How is your attitude and ears?

Are you hearing the Lord or do you feel He is quiet?

 

Confronting or Running

Matthew 18: 15 "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won't accept the church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

I have never been able to understand why people hurt people, but they do. Where does it happen the most? In Church! You go to church and you are approached by someone who says "did you know that so and so is going around saying these things about you?" Someone is spreading lies about you and you might not even know this person or better yet it is someone that you thought was a friend. What do you do? Scripture is very clear on this and it is a very hard thing to do. I have had to do it and I have had people approach me as well. On an event that I went on back in 2007 we had a motto or creed you might say. It went like this. " If you have a problem with me, then come to me!" So many times it is so much easier to just run away from the problem. What does that solve? It solves nothing, but what it does do is create unforgiveness, bitterness and all that crap that goes along with running away and not facing your problem head on. Thank the Lord I have people in my life who love me enough to tell me if I have said or done something to hurt them. I would hope that you love that person enough to tell them the same.

We are suppose to love our neighbor …. Right?

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT)23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

So what is Holy Spirit telling you right now? Are you going to confront or you going to run.

We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be. Conformed to His Image, Oswald

Philippians 1:21

My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. "Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!" (Philippians 1:21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.) Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God's will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God's gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably. Oswald C.

Isn't it just like us to have to have a crisis in our life before we have a come to Jesus meeting? I would like to think that I stay close enough to Him that this does not have to happen. I would be fooling myself to think that. Reality is there are times when I think I know better than the Lord on what is happening in my life. I think to myself, that is not an open door and I will shut that door myself. Then the door will open again, because the Lord is gracious and I am stubborn. Below is what I have written before which I think falls under the same lines as what is being talked about above.

When I choose that path most of the time it is because I think I can handle the situation on my OWN!  Then the question comes up that is always asked of me.  "how is that working for ya?"I hate that question because my answer is always,  "it isn't!"  I say all of that to share with you a little nugget on surrender. Surrender is always a tough one for me as well.  What is the worst thing that could happen if you surrender?

Here is what  François Fenelon the Archbishop of Cambria said in the 17th century.  He was the spiritual advisor to Louie the 14th.  He said this in a letter to the King about surrender.  There is more in the letter but this is the main point.

Let me tell you what real surrender is.  It is simply resting in the love of the Lord, as a little baby rests in his mother arms.  A perfect surrender must even be willing to quit surrendering, if that is what the Lord wants.  We renounce ourselves, and yet, God never lets us know when it is complete.  If we knew, it would no longer BE complete, for there is nothing that bolsters the ego quiet so much as knowing that it is fully surrendered.

Surrender consist, not in doing great, heroic deeds about which self can brag, but simply in accepting whatever God sends, and not seeking to change it.  Surrender is the source of true peace.

I have noticed for myself that when I have completely surrendered.  (at least when I think I have)  I feel at peace.  When I think I have surrendered something but I am restless about it and  I don't have peace,   then I am still holding on to it.  I don't like that. 

The more you look at what you are not;  the less you become who you are!

Kevin Gwyn

Any thoughts??????

Where the Battle is Won or Lost

Another great Devo

Where the Battle is Won or Lost

'If you will return, O Israel,' says the Lord . . . —Jeremiah 4:1

Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God's presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there. I should never say, "I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I'll put God to the test." Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all. In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.

After I read this I just can't help but wonder if it is time to take a sabbatical? Scripture alludes to taking a sabbatical three times a year. Exodus 34.23 Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord, and the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out the other nations ahead of you and expand your territory, so no one will covet and conquer your land while you appear before the Lord your God three times each year. This passage is about getting away and the Lord not letting your enemies get the upper hand while you are a way.

So I have questions for you. When was the last time you went away to be with the Lord? When was the last time you actually got with the Lord on a problem and waited for the answer?

This is a very hard thing for me to do. No reading …… no praying ……. Just go to the secret place with your question and get quiet and listen. Try this, because it is not easy. Get on your knees or in your chair or on your floor. Cell phone off, landline off, TV off and computer off. Where it is dead quiet in your home and go to the Lord and listen. Try this for 15 to 30 minutes. Very powerful. I find for me when I do this I will actually go into some type of trance. (if that makes since) Maybe sleep? I always hear the Lord though.

What works for you? Let me know.

Be blessed today!

The Season

I had a dear friend of mine ask me a question Saturday. He said, "What season are you in?"

I did not know how to answer that question. I said I would have to get back to him on that. I have been thinking about that a lot since Saturday. We are all in different seasons of our lives in different areas. We may be in one type of season in our marriage and a different type in our jobs. I can say for me I am in a new season with my daughter Nichole. A healthy season of healing. Some of us maybe in a new season in our life that we are afraid and don't like. God knows what he is doing though.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

The last thing I want to share is this. As I was going through my bible this morning and I landed in Isaiah 61. (This is while I am searching for Ecclesiastes)

Isaiah 61:6 you will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches. 7 Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.

As I read this I knew it was a word from the Lord, because I started to weep. I have really been feeling as of late that 2013 will be my best year yet. I feel that this word is saying get ready. I am going to double your business. No more shame and dishonor from the temptations of pornography, I have retired from that area of my life. I am a warrior priest and the priest of my home. I feel that in 2013 there will be more men and women and children to minister too ….. more opportunity as I stay retired.

You cannot give away what you don't have!