Knowing the Boundaries

Knowing the boundaries. If I don't know me, it is impossible for me to know you.

For me, boundaries are tough and I have crossed over them many times. I find for myself that when I operate within boundaries in relationships I tend to stay out of trouble. Someone once said, "The difference between a pest and a welcomed guest is an invitation." I will give you an example. How many times has something happened in a relationship say your wife where she says "I don't want to talk about that right now and you keep pushing the issue. You have crossed the boundary in to area where you were not invited. I can't tell you how many times in my early days of marriage did d I do that to Kelly and all it did was make her shutdown even more and make me angrier. I was the uninvited pest.

God's word tells us how to communicate effectively. Speak truth in Love because truth spoken out of love is religion and that is ugly. We often times see someone and we feel that we need to speak into them and we might not have the relationship built yet but we cross that boundary and unintentionally push them a way instead of building trust first. It is just like selling a car or anything for that matter. No one is going to buy from you until you have built a repore with them and you are not going to buy anything from anyone who says "Can I help you" But you will if the person builds a relationship with you first.

Nugget: We must realize that every time we violate any principles of communication, we reduce the effectiveness of our message. Ignoring the principles sends a message to the person with whom we wish to communicate that says, "You are of no value." Rarely do people reject real communication. It is our rude, ill equipped, condemning, or negative approach to communication that people reject. When we value people, we put forth the effort necessary to communicate in a way that will be acceptable and effective.
Truth in Love

My mom is in Keller and once again she just pops up unannounced and sends me an email saying maybe we can get together. This is old and I am tired of it. It still hurts I have lived here for seven years and she has only stopped by to see us one time for a couple of hours on her way to do something else. What irritates me this time is the fact that I talked to her on the phone last Friday and she didn't even tell me she was coming down. I just don't get it. So let me give you an example of me being judgmental here and how it could affect me and then my wife

I think she comes down here unannounced so she doesn't have to make any long term plans with me. I am not her favorite. MY walk with the Lord is over the top so in her eyes I make her uncomfortable. When she comes to Keller it is all about her and her cousin and it doesn't matter if she sees me or my family. She comes unannounced knowing that I will be busy and can't see her. (Just like the last two times she came to Keller.) That way it will not interfere with her time with her cousin. When my wife called me yesterday and read me the email from my Mom …….. II have to tell you I judged and I got pissed. I don't even want to see her. But she is making an effort so I will accommodate, but I still don't like. So when I judge my mom and attach the why I have now cause my own pain and that affects my wife.

Kevin

The Critical Eye

My wife told me tonight that she is seeing a difference in me and how I talk about people. What I mean is this. Have you ever read an email to your wife or told a story but you say it the way you think that person meant it. Just like reading an email. The person who typed it could be typing with a nice tone but because you felt it meant something else (you judged) you read it with maybe a hint of sarcasm in your voice. Or maybe you got really loud. We tend to put our own voice on it. I really hate it when I do that, but I am getting better. My critical eye is getting healed. This leads me to Chpt 8 in the book.

The Critical Eye……….. How I see you is a reflection of how I see me.

Proverbs 26:17
you grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business. The Message

 

I don't find myself as critical as I used to be. The chapter is referring to our need to find fault in others or to point out their shortcomings. You know ………. throwing stones.

 

Nugget: Just because we see the need in another person does not mean we have the right to invade the individual's life. Our first goal should be to love the person and make him or her feel safe while owning his problem. If people do not feel safe with their problem, they will feel they have to cover it up. They will not respond positively to our inquisition (on quest this is where we say you have to love them right where they are) we actually force people in to denial by our rejection and condemnation. Quote from the book

 

Nugget: Just when I think I am getting better I read this. When I am delivered from a critical eye, I will see people as God see them. I will always know the Spirit of God can work in them to solve every problem and conquer every obstacle. You see, our confidence in people is directly related to our confidence in God. When we see the best in them, they will see, believe, and live the best God has to offer. Qoute from the book

 

Thanks Kevin

Matthew 7.3

Matthew 7:3
And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?NKJV

I had a guy tell me one time ….. He said God; please show me the log in my eye so I can see the speck in my brother's eye. Things are changing in me. I am seeing more and more situations where I would normally make judgments and now I do not. The truth is I did not even know I was doing it and nobody else did either. If they did then they did not say anything to me. Or better yet they did not know I was doing it either so they could not say anything, I had someone tell me today that this person had a good heart. The first thing that came to my mind was "how does he know what kind of heart he has?" We think that is not judging, but it is. What if he had said that person has a bad heart? We most likely would have thought that he is being judgmental. Only the Lord can judge the heart. Not man.

I just had a thought, when I go on Quest to serve it is very important to stay out of the Lord's way. I think I do a good job at that. Most of the time we will say "what is Holy Spirit saying or ask what does Holy Spirit say. It is so much easier to stay out of His way on an event than in real life back home. I say all that to say this. I sometimes get frustrated with people when I try to help them when in reality I am trying to fix them. The best thing that I can do is what I do on Quest. Stay out of the LORD'S way. The best way that I can lead someone in to a Godly transformation is to model that for them. Jesus with Skin on ….mercy, grace, love, and acceptance. Whew! Oh it gets better .. So if we are to be Jesus with skin on then that means that we want to be like God …. Right? The problem is in our concept of God (From the book)
you see, you become like the god you believe in. The voice of condemnation that you hear in your heart is not the enemy or God but it is self-criticism. Something I never thought about, that the book touches on is this. If we are experiencing condemnation in our hearts then we can't help but express condemnation to the world around us. If we feel love and acceptance we will give love and acceptance.
The last half of Matthew 10.8 says "Freely you have received, freely give" One of the reasons people do not give the love of God is freely is that they have never freely received it. So here is the big nugget out of this chapter for me.
Accepting the reality of God's love for me delivers me from the need to find fault in others. My sense of security is now the product of a relationship with God in my heart. As I relate to God from my heart and experience the empowerment of love and acceptance, I will be more apt to model that Love to other. I also will point others to God in their instead of pointing to their behavior. Now I can love you instead of blame you. Thanks for reading, Kevin

James 5.12

The Saga continues and then ends. Amen

I got on the Job this morning around 7:30 and I waited patiently for my cabinets to arrive and they did not. I called the cabinet shop and talked to the man who had been helping me and he said they were built but that was all he could tell me. He said he would talk to the owner and call me back. After about 30 to 40 minutes I called back and the owner answered. We had a very pleasant conversation and my cabinets arrived around 11.30 and they were installed. We had more issues but the owner did what he needed to do to fix the situation. I was nice and so was he. I did what I said I was going to do. There were some other issues but they all got fixed. I ended up going back to the cabinet shop this afternoon to pick a piece of material they forgot. They handled it right on the spot and did not charge me. I told the owner I was still going to continue to do business with his company and I also told the other gentleman that he was forgiven for his bo boos and everything is back to normal. It was a learning experience for me. It is all good

The nugget today is this "when we judge, we are no longer motivated by our hearts, the wisdom of God's word, the voice of God in our hearts, or the love of God in our hearts. Instead, we are led by our attempts to be the God of our own world. And this limits us to the wisdom of our judgments.

Being free form judgment allows your yes to be yes and your no to be no. Has anyone read James lately? James 5:12
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgment.NKJV

There are many things we can do and say without passing judgment----- and one of the most gracious things we can ever do is give a person the opportunity to establish a new track record

Thanks Kevin

Another test comes my way

Another test comes my way. I am in the middle of a Kitchen remodel. I have been planning the schedule for weeks. Finalized the schedule Monday or so I thought. The cabinets were supposed to be installed Wednesday morning then Wednesday afternoon and then this morning (Thursday). I finally had to go down to the cabinet shop to find out what is going on. The man who was actually in charge of my job dropped the ball. I have to say I was pissed … to the point of cutting off my nose in spite of my face. This is where I bring in the first nugget of wisdom from the book.

Nugget: All it takes to break free from the destructive cycle of judgment is to refuse to judge, to refuse to attach significance to the actions of others. When another person's actions affect you negatively, simply ask if there is a problem. Don't assume, and don't attach significance. When you can learn to observe rather than judge, you can stop the pain before it becomes suffering.

So what happened? By the cabinets not getting installed it through everything I had scheduled into a mess. Nevertheless it all worked out and the customers are happy. Cabinets will be installed in the morning and the rest of the granite will be installed Monday afternoon. I wanted to be mad at this man, but that is what he is …. A man, enough said. The first time I met him he recognized my FTS hat and he wants to go on a Quest. What Kind of man would I be if I let him have it? He knows he screwed up and it was not just my job either. So I will email him and call him to tell him that he is forgiven

I have to tell you at one point today or twice maybe three times I was ready to end this business relationship, but I am not. At this time this is where I was adding significance to the judgment I was handing down and I could see it and it was ugly. I am sowing into this business, the owner is lost and I have giving him a bible…. A Spanish bible. I will not let the enemy divide this relationship because there is freedom on the horizon. So I will continue in this relationship even if something happens tomorrow, because will any of this matter ten years from now …. No.

Matthew 7:17-20
A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.NLT

 

They will indentify me by my actions and they will know I am a man of integrity.

Amen!

Tough day

Tough day,

I got to experience this judgment crap first hand. I had set up an appointment to have my Daughter Rebekah's truck to be worked on at Christian Brothers Automotive, but Rachel my oldest daughter who had a bad experience with CBA decided that she would take the truck somewhere else. That pissed me off! What she did was wrong. I assessed that she did this out of disrespect of me and my authority of my household. I judged her motives without talking to her first. So all day I did the negative self talk thing. You know how that goes. "I can't believe she did that to me" " who does she think she is" "I am the one who bought that truck not her" Maybe since she took matters into her own hands she should pay for the repair herself"

Oh it gets better …………… I judged my wife as well. I just assumed she didn't back me up when talking to Rachel. There were a lot of other things I thought as well. My point is, by the time I got home I was made at Rachel, mad at Rebekah's and mad at my wife. I had an attitude and I brought it all on myself.

Self inflicted pain. All of the negative self talk, I am not good enough at being a dad a husband. I had myself worked up into frenzy and my precious wife received the brunt of it.

After we talked it over and I vented and found out all the details and how she did defend me, I felt like a complete idiot. Why? Because I fell into the trap of judgment and attaching a "WHY" and significance to the issue at hand today. I reaped what I sowed and it sucked crap.

I learned this evening that I had to be willing to surrender my opinion before I was able to move forward or see it from the other side. My wife's side.

Thanks Kevin

A little nugget out of the chapter "fixing you is killing me"

People who are focused on their faults never escape those faults.

Matthew 7.1

Matthew 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.NKJV

 

Matthew 7:1-2
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.The Message

 

 

I have noticed that as I read this book I am very judgmental ………. Of everything. Now that I recognize it, I can head it off, but it is still difficult. I see it for what it is. I see areas of my life where I had no idea that I was being judgmental. An example would be this: Have you ever thought or said to someone "I know why you did this" that is being judgmental , You or me do not know why someone did what they did.

So how many times do we Judge God? ……………. Think about that statement for a moment.

You have circumstances that have happened in your life and you would tell yourself or better yet convince yourself that God brought or allowed these things into our lives for some purpose. Of course, subjectively determining that purpose would cause us to decide WHY God allowed it. In other words we would have to judge God. I don't know about you but that just doesn't taste well. I have often wondered myself WHY God allowed something in my life not realizing that I was being judgmental of the Lord.

Thanks for reading

Kevin

Jeremiah 17.9

 

I am reading in a book that is very good. I am actually going to write several little nuggets that the Lord is keying on me in this book. The parts that I have underlined that are significant to me. I have also found that when I go back and read chapters that I have already read. I find new nuggets. This book is about a whole new way of thinking. Thank you Lord

 

Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?

NKJV

 

Nugget 1. One of the things that really jumped out at me was how the author puts a different twist on Jeremiah 17.9 He says "God is the only one who can truly know the heart. When people assume to know why, then their reactions are not based on reality; they are based on judgment. That judgment causes confusion, pain, and loss. My added thought is when we add this judgment then the depravity starts to swirl around as well.

 

Nugget 2. The moment you attempt to determine "WHY" another is doing what he or she is doing, you have giving it significance. Keep in mind that nothing has the power to hurt you until you attach significance to it. Another's person actions are only as significant to you as the judgments you pass on them. The judgment you make is based on your decision about why that person did what he did. The degree of pain or insult you experience from the actions of another is based solely on the judgment you pass. And the judgment you pass is your assumption of why he did what he did.

 

Now keep in mind that these two nuggets come out of the first 22 pages that I have read. I am over have way through this book. It is my opinion that this is one of the best books I have every read next to The Bait of Satan and the Bible of course. This book is really speaking to me and Kelly. It is a whole new way of thinking for me and her. I have never realized or gave it much thought that when people judge me that I might actually believe their judgment. Or when I judge somebody that they might believe what I have judged about them. It is a lot deeper than that.

 

Kevin

 

 

 

 

Ezekiel 8

As I have read several versions of this passage the one that really spoke to me was this one out of the message. I have been here before. The whole passage is about Idolatry, this version actually refers to Asherah the sex goddess that makes God so angry. What really got me was the last part of this passage.

 

8:18b They fill the country with violence and now provoke me even further with their obscene gestures. That's it. They have an angry God on their hands! From now on, no mercy. They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening.

 

What I am seeing here is this. Idolatry, a warning to stop this now

 

Ezekiel 8:1-18
In the sixth year, in the sixth month and the fifth day, while I was sitting at home meeting with the leaders of Judah, it happened that the hand of my Master, God, gripped me. When I looked, I was astonished. What I saw looked like a man—from the waist down like fire and from the waist up like highly burnished bronze. He reached out what looked like a hand and grabbed me by the hair. The Spirit swept me high in the air and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple's inside court where the image of the sex goddess that makes God so angry had been set up. Right before me was the Glory of the God of Israel, exactly like the vision I had seen out on the plain. He said to me, "Son of man, look north." I looked north and saw it: Just north of the entrance loomed the altar of the sex goddess, Asherah, that makes God so angry. Then he said, "Son of man, do you see what they're doing? Outrageous obscenities! And doing them right here! It's enough to drive me right out of my own Temple. But you're going to see worse yet." He brought me to the door of the Temple court. I looked and saw a gaping hole in the wall. He said, "Son of man, dig through the wall." I dug through the wall and came upon a door. He said, "Now walk through the door and take a look at the obscenities they're engaging in." I entered and looked. I couldn't believe my eyes: Painted all over the walls were pictures of reptiles and animals and monsters—the whole pantheon of Egyptian gods and goddesses—being worshiped by Israel. In the middle of the room were seventy of the leaders of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in the middle. Each held his censer with the incense rising in a fragrant cloud. He said, "Son of man, do you see what the elders are doing here in the dark, each one before his favorite god-picture? They tell themselves, 'God doesn't see us. God has forsaken the country.' " Then he said, "You're going to see worse yet." He took me to the entrance at the north gate of the Temple of God. I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz, the Babylonian fertility god. He said, "Have you gotten an eyeful, son of man? You're going to see worse yet." Finally, he took me to the inside court of the Temple of God. There between the porch and the altar were about twenty-five men. Their backs were to God's Temple. They were facing east, bowing in worship to the sun. He said, "Have you seen enough, son of man? Isn't it bad enough that Judah engages in these outrageous obscenities? They fill the country with violence and now provoke me even further with their obscene gestures. That's it. They have an angry God on their hands! From now on, no mercy. They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening."The Message

Deuteronomy 12

⁸ "Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please ⁹ because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. ¹⁰ But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you're living safely in the land, ¹¹ you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.

I felt this is for me as I was reading I felt that I am doing as I please in several areas of my life. Why? Because I have not arrived at a place of rest in my life. I wonder, what is my Jordan River?

Have you arrived at your place of rest? Do you know what your Jordan is?

Lamentations

Are you going through a hard time in your life? I am reading in Lamentations where I have not been in years. I am reading about what Jeremiah is going through. To give you the jest of chapter three …. Jeremiah starts out by saying in verse 1-3 I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord's anger.
2 He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.
3 He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. Lamentations 3:1-3 (NLT)
So my question would be this is there something going on in my life or in your life that would make you feel this way? As I read verses 1 thru 21 It is very harsh and from reading it, You can see that Jeremiah is going through a lot but never does he blame the enemy. It would be real easy to blame the enemy for what is going on in my life or in yours. We are always so quick to blame the enemy for things that are happening in our lives. The car breaks down, I am under attack, The water heater blows, I am under attack. I get in a fight with my wife, I am under attack. Something I love to do has been taken away. For me, I love to hunt, but I have been landlocked from my property for almost 4 years. It hurts, but that doesn't mean I am under attack. Please, We have to grow up and take responsibility for our own actions. And quit blaming the enemy for everything that goes on in our lives. As I read on I see where He starts to praise God. 22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT) This is just good right here can I get an Amen? Now for the best part.
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
28 Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord's demands. Lamentations 3:25-28 (NLT)
For me what I see here is get quiet, get away, go spend time alone with Him. After everything that Jeremiah has been through he is saying God is faithfull, He is our inheritance and His love never ends, but most important He is saying get quiet. So here is my question? God is calling me away is He calling you away? Do you need to spend time with Him. Is your life kinda not going as good as you hope? Then maybe you need to get away for a while. Maybe your life is great and you need to get away just to get some answers to some questions you may have.

Thanks for reading and be blessed today.

Give them heaven to day

Kevin

 

Teachable Spirit

Proverbs 17:10 (NLT)
10 A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.

Teachable Spirit … Teachable people, however you want to say it, is that you? I went to see Marylin yesterday (Our marriage counselor, we see her occasionally for tune-ups, we have been seeing her for eight years) you always hate to hear "how many times do I have to tell you this before you get it?" The sad thing is …… I do get it. What does it say in James?
4.17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
There are men in my life who speak into me, that have said certain things to me concerning my children and I agree with them. I say things like "I know I know" "your right I need to do that" Here lies the rub. I still think that what I know is better than what is being told to me. Do you ever agree with someone about your life or actions and then not do it? You agree just so they will shut up? I was reading this morning about Teachable people. Here is what it says.

You can tell him the same thing over and over again, but you will get the sane response every time."

How do you know you're teachable? Below are five good clues.

1. You know you are teachable when people give you input.
   When you are not teachable, people don't generally risk telling you stuff. Why should they? If you react abrasively any time someone instructs you or corrects you. Don't expect to get any input from others.
   
2. You know you are teachable when you see measurable growth and character development in your life.
   When good things start to happen in your life, you know you are doing something valuable with the info that you are getting. You know you are teachable when others advice produces tangible results in you.
   
3. You know you are teachable when you don't have to answer back to your critic with a defense. Example: finding yourself in a situation where you are speaking into someone, giving people input about a specific situation in their life. Something difficult that they have been struggling with and they receive it with an open heart. They just listen. The problem is when you do this and the person says "Now, hold it right there, you just hang on for a second. You don't understand ……….' I really dread those conversations, People who are receptive to God's transforming truth are the ones who flourish in life
   
4. You know you are teachable when you don't have to return the favor.
   The classic symptom of an unteachable spirit is after listening to someone's honest, loving counsel, you say, "Fine now let me tell you something." You got an unteachable spirit on your hands when he can't humbly receive your words and say "Thank you for telling me."
   
5. You know you're teachable when over time you hear something different for a change.
   If people have been telling you the same stuff for years but still see the need to remind you about it again, you're not teachable. You should be over that by now and on to the next lesson.
   

 

Wisdom is not something we know; it is something we do. Only when we allow God to give us teachable hearts will he show us what we need to know in order to change what we need to do. The biggest fool of all is the person who knows from God what to do and who won't do it. That person is not teachable.

 

Kevin says, "Maybe you are just flat walking in rebellion and what is rebellion? Disobedience and what is disobedience? Sin!" nasty stuff here.

 

 

How have you experienced one (or more) of these test statements in the last few weeks? If you read this and didn't once ask yourself, "Am I like that?" You may be in trouble. Take these questions before the Lord and say "Lord, show me--- teach me." Teachabilty means you are open to changing what the Lord reveals to you.

That was a lot of typing

Thanks for reading

Kevin

James 5:12

James 5:12 reads "Above all, my brothers, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned."

As I was reading today in my devotion, there were questions asked of me that I could not answer correctly. One of the questions was

You always speak the truth from your Heart?

I have to say no. I lied to my wife last night about what time I got home. The reason I lied was because I was jealous. You see … I am in a blended family. When I got home she was back their visiting her kids. (They are suppose to be our kids, but we still separate them) She wasn't there to greet me when I got home. (Which is something I love and she knows that) I told her I had been home for thirty minutes when In fact I was only home for 20 minutes. She didn't know how long. The Lord has shown me as of late that I have struggled with Jealousy. I wanted to make her feel guilty. (Back on May 18^th I wrote in my blog about this same issue if you want to read what I wrote.
http://thevisionseeker.blogspot.com/2010_05_18_archive.html ) so we talked this out last night and it was good and there was some discovery and some healing.

Anyone read James lately? (NLT)
16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

So you ask, what is the point to all of this? It was only a little white lie. Well……. What does the Lord call it? Lying! Kevin, you are a liar! It is kinda like telling someone that you shot that 10 point buck from 300 yards standing up when in fact you were sitting down in a blind from 50 yards away. Why do we do that? I know why, but do you?

One more point, I have a guy who works with me off and on. He is Buddhist of all things. I will find myself sometimes blessing the food while he has gone to the bathroom at the restaurant. Sometimes I will bless the food while he is at the table. What is up with that? He is a good man just confused. I am planting seeds and doing a little watering. We will see where it goes.I think that falls under: Keeping your oath even when it hurts

Thanks for reading

Kevin

The uncritical temper

June 17th

The uncritical temper

Judge not, that ye be not judged. Matthew 7:1.

Jesus says regarding judging—Don't. The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual. Criticism is a part of the ordinary faculty of man; but in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism. The effect of criticism is a dividing up of the powers of the one criticized; the Holy Ghost is the One in the true position to criticize, He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into communion with God when you are in a critical temper; it makes you hard and vindictive and cruel, and leaves you with the flattering unction that you are a superior person. Jesus says, as a disciple, cultivate the uncritical temper. It is not done once and for all. Beware of anything that puts you in the superior person's place.

There is no getting away from the penetration of Jesus. If I see the mote in your eye, it means I have a beam in my own. Every wrong thing that I see in you, God locates in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-20). Stop having a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every man's case about which we know nothing. The first thing God does is to give us a spiritual spring-cleaning; there is no possibility of pride left in a man after that. I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

 

You know… sometimes I just have to laugh. I looked at my phone this morning and saw it was the 16^th. I opened my book and read the 17^{th thinking} it was the 16th. It just laid me wide open. Lord help me to see the plank in my own eye so I can see the speck in my brother's eye. I think what the Lord is showing me with the past events going on is that I have a critical temper. I feel the plank in my eye is the critical temper. I don't need the measuring rod in my life. The fact is hurt people hurt people and I need to give God the glory when looking past the offense. I am far from perfect. IAs I have read this Devo over and over this morning, I see where this critical temper is in many areas of my life. Hmmmm I guess I am worse off than I thought. Cheer up!

Thanks for reading this morning

Here is what it says in Romans the message version

Romans 2:17-23 (The Message)
17 If you're brought up Jewish, don't assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you're an insider to God's revelation,
18 a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines!
19 I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God's revealed Word inside and out,
20 feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God.
21 While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I'm quite serious. While preaching "Don't steal!" are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you?
22 The same with adultery. The same with idolatry.
23 You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law.

 

Greater is he that is in me than he who is in the world

Old Wounds

Old wounds

I have been signing my emails lately with the phrase "there is no future in the past" Little did I know that that would be more for me than I realize. I always hate when something gets brought up and you realize that even though you forgave that person, the wound is still there. I thought I dealt with it … as a mater a fact I did and I got peace as well at the time. It has come back. I got a word from the Lord Friday night as I was driving down to Fredericksburg. A friend of mine is always sending scripture. I don't mean just one scripture but 10 to 20. Sometimes a whole chapter. Anyway what he sent me Friday night was this.

⁸ He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;
  he who cherishes understanding prospers.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
  and he who pours out lies will perish.

¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
    how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

¹¹ A man's wisdom gives him patience;
    it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Verse 11 is what just hammered me. I just looked at it and said "Lord, are you freaking kidding me?"

I have to tell you part of me on the inside said, do you remember what he did to me and how he talked to me and how he made me feel like a freaking idiot … dumb ass or whatever. Then I have to remember what my book the Bait of Satan says. (Too much to write) Anyway my wife says, have you forgiven him and while I was answering I hear Holy Spirit say NO! So I said No I guess not, dammit! So this is a good thing but I don't like it. The fact that I have to forgive this person over again is very irritating. Nevertheless it has to be done. Here is where the rub is I am supposed to love him, but I don't want to. I know this man is very wounded and has been for a long time. I feel I have forgiven this person …..AGAIN!!! I had to forgive my x wife over and over as well as her husband for the first couple of years after the divorce for stealing her from me. So I know I can do this …. It will just be a process.

Thanks for reading

1 john 4.4

^4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
^5
They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
^6We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

 

I just came to me the power of memorizing scripture (which is something I know already) I felt this morning that I need to send out a text to the men's group about what part of the sword (scripture) are you memorizing today. Then I thought, Lord what do I need to meditate on? Then I hear "He who is greater in me is greater than he who is in the world" I think sometimes we don't want to believe that.

 

Scripture says that He dwells in our hearts through faith. Scripture says if you are rooted and grounded in LOVE then. I believe only then will you be able to understand the depth, width, height and the length that the LOVE of Christ which passes knowledge. That you will be filled with the fullness of GOD!

 

How much planner does it have to get?

Ephesians 5

Yesterday while watching Robert Morris on the computer I became much convicted. He was talking about Ephesians 5 we all know that one.

²² Wives, submit to your husband's as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

 

It stirred something in me. Robert asked "what is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?" H. S. said that I am still walking in rebellion. He who knows what to do and does not do it that is sin to him.

So what do we have here really?

Rebellion, jealousy, pride not praying with my wife like I should

Here is the bottom line, Holy Spirit says when you draw near to me I will draw near to you.
What kind of relationship do you expect to have when you are separated from the Lord? You have to stay intimate. How do you expect to be intimate with your wife if are not intimate with the Lord?

At War with God

War with God,                                 

This really spoke to me and I just wanted to share it with you because it is powerful. The first sentence of this article just nailed me. It is sad when you know the right thing to do and don't do it. I believe that is called sin! Take it a step further, Rebellion.

Lord I come to you right now and confess rebellion, I confess jealousy and Lord I ask that you take these from me or show me where they come from. I am ready for these things to be gone in my life. I am ready for your correction.

Amen

If the Lord puts me on your heart would you call and pray over me.

Thanks Kevin

I know the article below is long so if you want me to email you the document just let me know.

At War with God (James 4:4–10)

The root cause of every war, internal and external, is rebellion against God. At the beginning of Creation, you behold perfect harmony; but sin came into the world, and this led to conflict. Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), and lawlessness is rebellion against God.

How does a believer declare war against God? By being friendly with God's enemies. James names three enemies that we must not fraternize with if we want to be at peace with God.

The world (v. 4). By the "world," James means, of course, human society apart from God. The whole system of things in this society of ours is anti-Christ and anti-God. Abraham was the friend of God (James 2:23); Lot was the friend of the world. Lot ended up in a war, and Abraham had to rescue him (Gen. 14).

A Christian gets involved with the world gradually, as I pointed out in chapter 4 of this study. First, there is "the friendship of the world" (James 4:4). This results in being "spotted" by the world (James 1:27) so that areas of our lives meet with the approval of the world. Friendship leads to loving the world (1 John 2:15–17), and this makes it easy to conform to the world (Rom. 12:2). The sad result is being condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32), our souls saved "yet as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:11–15).

Friendship with the world is compared to adultery. The believer is "married to Christ" (Rom. 7:4) and ought to be faithful to Him. The Jewish Christians who read this letter would understand this picture of "spiritual adultery" because the Prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Hosea used it when rebuking Judah for her sins (see Jer. 3:1–5; Ezek. 23; Hosea 1–2). By adopting the sinful ways of the other nations, and by worshiping their gods, the nation of Judah committed adultery against her God.

The world is the enemy of God, and whoever wills to be a friend of the world cannot be the friend of God. Neither can he be if he lives for the flesh, for this is the second enemy James named.

The flesh (vv. 1, 5). By "the flesh" is meant the old nature that we inherited from Adam, that is prone to sin. The flesh is not the body. The body is not sinful; the body is neutral. The Spirit may use the body to glorify God, or the flesh may use the body to serve sin. When a sinner yields to Christ, he receives a new nature within, but the old nature is neither removed nor reformed. For this reason, there is a battle within: "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want" (Gal. 5:17, niv). This is what James terms "your lusts that are in your members" (James 4:1).

Living for the flesh means grieving the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us. "Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to live in us longs jealously?" (James 4:5, niv, margin) Just as the world is the enemy of God the Father, so the flesh is the enemy of God the Holy Spirit. There is a holy, loving jealousy that a husband and wife have over each other, and rightly so. The Spirit within jealously guards our relationship to God, and the Spirit is grieved when we sin against God's love.

Living to please the old nature means to declare war against God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). To allow the flesh to control the mind is to lose the blessing of fellowship with God. Abraham had a spiritual mind; he walked with God and enjoyed peace. Lot had a carnal mind; he disobeyed God and experienced war. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom. 8:6).

The devil (vv. 6–7). The world is in conflict with the Father; the flesh fights against the Holy Spirit; and the devil opposes the Son of God. Pride is Satan's great sin, and it is one of his chief weapons in his warfare against the saint and the Saviour. God wants us to be humble; Satan wants us to be proud. "Ye shall be as God," Satan promised Eve, and she believed him. A new Christian must not be put into places of spiritual leadership "lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6).

God wants us to depend on His grace ("But He giveth more grace"), while the devil wants us to depend on ourselves. Satan is the author of all "do-it-yourself" spiritual enterprises. He enjoys inflating the ego and encouraging the believer to do it his own way. In spite of Jesus' warnings about Satan's plans, Peter fell into the snare, pulled out his sword, and tried to accomplish God's will in his own way. What a mess he made of things!

One of the problems in our churches today is that we have too many celebrities and not enough servants. Christian workers are promoted so much that there is very little place left for God's glory. Man has nothing to be proud of in himself. There dwells no good thing in us (Rom. 7:18); but when we trust Christ, He puts that "good thing" in us that makes us His children (2 Tim. 1:6, 14).

Here, then, are three enemies that want to turn us away from God: the world, the flesh, and the devil. These enemies are left over from our old life of sin (Eph. 2:1–3). Christ has delivered us from them, but they still attack us. How can we overcome them? How can we be the friends of God and the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil? James gives us three instructions to follow if we would enjoy peace instead of war.

Submit to God (v. 7). This word is a military term that means "get into your proper rank." When a buck private acts like the general, there is going to be trouble! Unconditional surrender is the only way to complete victory. If there is any area of the life kept back from God, there will always be battles. This explains why uncommitted Christians cannot live with themselves or with other people.

"Neither give place to the devil," cautions Paul in Ephesians 4:27. Satan needs a foothold in our lives if he is going to fight against God; and we give him that foothold. The way to resist the devil is to submit to God.

After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and killed her husband, he hid his sins for almost a year. There was war between him and God, and David had declared it. Read Psalms 32 and 51 to discover the high price David paid to be at war with God. When he finally submitted to God, David experienced peace and joy. This too he recorded in Psalms 32 and 51. Submission is an act of the will; it is saying, "Not my will but Thine be done."

Draw near to God (v. 8). How do we do this? By confessing our sins and asking for His cleansing. "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." The Greek word translated purify means "make chaste." This parallels the idea of "spiritual adultery" in James 4:4.

Dr. A.W. Tozer has a profound essay in one of his books, entitled, "Nearness Is Likeness." The more we are like God, the nearer we are to God. I may be sitting in my living room with my Siamese cat on my lap, and my wife may be twenty feet away in the kitchen; yet I am nearer to my wife than to the cat because the cat is unlike me. We have very little in common.

God graciously draws near to us when we deal with the sin in our lives that keeps Him at a distance. He will not share us with anyone else; He must have complete control. The double-minded Christian can never be close to God. Again, Abraham and Lot come to mind. Abraham "drew near" and talked to God about Sodom (Gen. 18:23ff), while Lot moved into Sodom and lost the blessing of God.

Humble yourselves before God (vv. 9–10). It is possible to submit outwardly and yet not be humbled inwardly. God hates the sin of pride (Prov. 6:16–17), and He will chasten the proud believer until he is humbled. We have a tendency to treat sin too lightly, even to laugh about it ("let your laughter be turned into mourning"). But sin is serious, and one mark of true humility is facing the seriousness of sin and dealing with our disobedience. "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17).

Sometimes we hear a believer pray, "O Lord, humble me!" That is a dangerous thing to pray. Far better that we humble ourselves before God, confess our sins, weep over them, and turn from them. "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word" (Isa. 66:2). "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit" (Ps. 34:18).

If we obey these three instructions, then God will draw near, cleanse us, and forgive us; and the wars will cease! We will not be at war with God, so we will not be at war with ourselves. This means we will not be at war with others. "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever" (Isa. 32:17).

Put the government of your life on His shoulders, and let Him become the Prince of Peace in your life (Isa. 9:6).

 

1 Peter 2.9

When I woke this morning the first thing I heard was draw near to me and I will draw near to you. So, why do I fight it? I have no idea and it is very frustrating. So why not be joyful that I heard the Lord this morning? What do you think that is? I know this, that whatever is going on in me right now I don't like it. I feel like I am on the hot seat, but I don't know what that hot seat is. ……………… Now that I pondered that question a moment it is jealousy. I am getting worn out. There is something every day that gets touched. Just yesterday I noticed it trying to raise its ugly head again with Kelly and Rachel. She asked me if I minded them going shopping, which I said "go ahead". What I noticed was the whole time she was gone I wanted to look at porn because I was annoyed and it should not be that way. Lord help me in this area because I do not know what to do and it saddens me even right now and it brings me to tears.

I sit here thinking back to a time where I was once where I had to say the scripture below

1 Peter 2:9 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the manliness of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

This is what Jesus did. He called you and me out of the darkness and into his light where there is no sin and we have to choose to stay in that light. In the light there is only one kind of Jealousy and that is righteous jealousy. God is jealous for me and He wants all of me.

I have something else but I will put that in a separate post, it really spoke to me.

Be Blessed today and walk it out

Kevin

 

James 3:16

(NLT)
16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

I would like to say that I enjoy going through the rough patches in my life, but I don't. I have been sifted and it has not been fun. There is however glory to be had and I received it. There is a good possibility that the root to my porn issue (which is the symptom) is close. Ten days ago when I went to see Marylin (marriage counselor) in her office the Lord showed me that I had jealousy in my marriage. He showed me that I was jealous of Kelly's kids. At the time I did not know exactly what that looked like, now I do. There were events that transpired over the weekend in my home. These events included Jacob, Rachel and Rebekah in no certain order. Monday I typed up an email to send to my wife. When I read it I decided that I would not email it to her. After I wrote it I received an email inviting me to lunch Monday. So what I did was email it to this person that I was going to have lunch with. I knew we would talk about it at lunch. While we were talking the Lord gave him the scripture in James and I was just taking back. That is exactly what has been going on with me. We can talk about pride but it is the jealousy and the pride that brought satan to where he is today. I don't want to be compared to him.

The truth of the matter is this. I have not just been jealous in my marriage of Kelly's kids, but of my parents as well and as I look back it is in a lot of areas in my life. I can tell you this …. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to me. So what do I do with this new revelation? I am still chewing on it.

There is more to come on this matter, because the verses before and after have really spoken to me as well. This I know …. Right now I am not content in many areas of my life like I thought I was………….. That is okay, one step at a time.

Kevin

Another thought ……. So if you are jealous and selfish you will have disorder and evil of every kind in your life. That just does not sit well with me. But it is true.

When I am jealous (now that I know what it looks like) it is not even controlled chaos, it is total and complete disorder, I am mad, angry, passive aggressive, dishonest. Can we just say it … I am asshole and a good one at that. That evil … that's the porn. My Achilles heal

2 Peter 1

This whole devotion spoke to me this morning, especially the middle part. I know for myself that there are times when I am excited about the morning time with the Lord and sometimes it seems like it is just a habit. I don't want that in my life. That is where the last sentence comes in. I want my life to be simple … like a child

Kevin

 

May 12th

Make a habit of having no habits

For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful. 2 Peter 1:8 (R.V.).

When we begin to form a habit we are conscious of it. There are times when we are conscious of becoming virtuous and patient and godly, but it is only a stage; if we stop there we shall get the strut of the spiritual prig. The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so practised that there is no conscious habit at all. Our spiritual life continually resolves into introspection because there are some qualities we have not added as yet. Ultimately the relationship is to be a completely simple one.

Your god may be your little Christian habit, the habit of prayer at stated times, or the habit of Bible reading. Watch how your Father will upset those times if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes—'I can't do that just now, I am praying; it is my hour with God.' No, it is your hour with your habit. There is a quality that is lacking in you. Recognize the defect, and then look for the opportunity of exercising yourself along the line of the quality to be added.

Love means that there is no habit visible, you have come to the place where the habit is lost, and by practice you do the thing unconsciously. If you are consciously holy, there are certain things you imagine you cannot do, certain relationships in which you are far from simple; that means there is something to be added. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there anywhere where you are not at home with God? Let God press through in that particular circumstance until you gain Him, and life becomes the simple life of a child.

 

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV)
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

Mercy and Grace

 

Sometimes my heart feels so displaced

My faith feels like it has gone away.

All I can do is get on my knees and pray.

God, I just ask for your Mercy and Grace.

 

Lord, it is you that I look too.

I raise my hands to praise You.

I reach to the Heavens and sing.

The Heavens declare You the King.

 

Lord, I breathe You in.

Take away my sin.

I look to You for peace.

It only comes from him.

 

Your faithfulness is so true.

I only look to You.

Your arms surround me.

You are the power, this I see.

 

So many times, we want it our way.

God says, "you must pray,

And I will help you in my time.

Have faith, everything will be fine."

 

Do not rush your life,

You are not going anywhere.

If you leave,

You will be with me.

 

Lord, when I reach out,

Your presence makes me want to shout.

I tell everybody I can about You.

I know now, that is what I am to do.

 

I will witness and I will be true.

Everybody needs to know you.

If they do not.

I will keep trying, that is what I will do.

 

I will only do this for You.

O'Lord, I exalt You

Lord, I give you all of my praise.

Your word is the only thing that is true.

 

By kevin gwyn @ prayer vigil 3/27/2002 4:45 am ÓCopyrighted 3/29/2002

Micah 7:8-9

It has been a very long and hard week. I fell and got back up. It is like everything blew up in my face this week. Issues at home, me walking in a passive aggressive behavior towards my wife. Not really getting a day to recoup from Quest in Michigan, because I had to go immediately to work as soon as I got back. (three of the hardest physical days for me in the last 6 years) I went to work for a friend of mind building an arbor. The customer we worked for was a total jerk. Worst person I ever worked for. By the third day I was ready to chunk it all and beat his ass into the ground.

I said to another person who has not been on quest but knows about quest this comment. "It would be just like God to put this man on a quest that I would be serving on"She said"how you would deal with it" my comment was to love him right where he is at. She said would you be able to do that? I said "right now with it this fresh, I would probably pull out of the event, but then the Lord wouldn't let me".

Long week, but I am coming back. The passage below is on my dash and deems appropriate to me at this time as I draw near to him and he will draw near to me

 

 

Micah 7:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.

 

Habakkuk 3

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT)
¹⁷ Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. James 1:2-4 (NIV)

As I was led to this passage this morning, it made me think. If everything was stripped from me like Job, Would I still love the Lord? I believe I would. Would you? Here is the deal though, you may never know unless he takes you there, and if He does then praise Him.

That is where the next passage takes you. When you are stripped or you feel your world is crumbling where do you run? Do you run to the Lord? Do you run somewhere else? Porn, alcohol, food or whatever?

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I don't know where you are right now, but where ever you are it is right where He wants you. You have a choice. You can run to Him or ……………. Well it is your choice

It has been an incredible week. I have seen smiles come from brokenness.

This Michigan Quest is almost over, but the Quest for the Lord is not. Thank you Lord for letting me be a part of you Glory

Thank you Jesus when you made the way when you said "it Is DONE!"

While I am singing

At 10.23 am today as I am worshiping the Lord during our time today on Quest, something happened. While I am singing ……. Verbally singing I hear the Lord loud and clear over my singing.

He said

"I love you Kevin" That is the first time I have ever heard Him say that to me. It brought me to tears.

Thank you Jesus!

I have always told people that God loves you, but have been uncomfortable in doing so in my heart. I mean, I did it because that is what the word says.

Now it will come from the heart and I am pumped and I love you

 

Kevin

 

1 Timothy 2

This happens a lot to me. My bible reading comes from the scripture that my devotion is based on. It could be Oswald Chambers, or Men of Integrity, 90 minutes in Heaven. Just where God leads me. So this morning I was lead to Oswald. This morning was about living for God even when you don't feel like it or you are not inspired. 2 Timothy 4:2 (NASB95) 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. It means for the staff, to get on the bus when you know you have so much to do and maybe you feel like you shouldn't be going. So now it is all about trusting the Lord and walking it out. That was really good. So I decided to read in 2 Timothy 4 this morning. (Now remember I am serving on Quest this week) So I went to 2 Timothy (so I thought) The Lord landed me in 1 Timothy and it starts off "Pray for all Men"

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NASB95)
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

When I first read this I thought "why didn't I get this in the beginning of this prep work?" Because it was not time yet. This is what I think Holy Spirit is saying that we as staff really need to press in the next few days in prayer for the men on this event. Second that we need to press in and pray for the staff as well so the questers will see us as Jesus with skin on. They see a staff that walks in peace and in Unity. The biggest thing is the men that are on this event that are lost. The men who got it in their head but not in their heart. The men who think they got it and they don't. I hear the number 7 for what it is worth.

One more thing to add, has anyone read James lately?

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religious service is worthless (futile, barren).
27 External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world. James 1:26-27 (AMP)

So after pondering verse 2, I was taking back to James 1.26-27, this is a life passage for me. Let me explain.

Verse 26 to me says talking the talk, maybe throwing a few stones, being religious

Verse 27 to me says, when you minister outside of your home you better be ministering inside of your home, because if you are not then you wife and children will be the widow and orphans and the ministering that you do outside of your home will be worthless (futile, barren) So as a staff member of this quest. Minister to your family before you leave and be fessed up. Amen Kevin

Luke 12

On April 13^th I wrote about being an unworthy slave.

9 "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
10 "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.' "

So, today I am reading Luke 11 and move into 12 when I come across this,

Luke 12:35-38 (NASB95)
35 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.
36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.
37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
I need to focus on being the unworthy slave and be ready when he comes.

The other thing he gave me this morning was verse 22-25

Luke 12:22-25 (NASB95)
22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life (life translates to soul), as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
23 "For life (soul) is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span?
AMEN! For me this verse speaks says "let the chips fall where they fall toady and tomorrow. What I get done I get done. I am not in control anyway.

I also believe the verse 35 is for the staff of Michigan Quest.

35 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.

Be Blessed today and walk it out!

Kevin

Oswald Chambers

It is always interesting how God works. I opened my devotion this morning to April 27^th after looking at my calendar to see it is the 22^nd. So I guess I was supposed to read this day. Anyway I think the devotion speaks for itself.

Are you seeking great things for yourself? Not seeking to be a great one, but seeking great things from God for yourself. God wants you in a closer relationship to Himself than receiving His gifts, He wants you to get to know Him. A great thing is accidental, it comes and goes. God never gives us anything accidental. Nothing is easier than getting into a right relationship with God except when it is not God Whom you want but only what He gives.

If you have only come the length of asking God for things, you have never come to the first strand of abandonment, you have become a Christian from a standpoint of your own. 'I did ask God for the Holy Spirit, but He did not give me the rest and the peace I expected.' Instantly God puts His finger on the reason—you are not seeking the Lord at all, you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus says—"Ask, and it shall be given you." Ask God for what you want, and you cannot ask if you are not asking for a right thing. When you draw near to God, you cease from asking for things. "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." Then why ask? That you may get to know Him.

Are you seeking great things for yourself—'O Lord, baptize me with the Holy Ghost'? If God does not, it is because you are not abandoned enough to Him, there is something you will not do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God, and why you want it? God always ignores the present perfection for the ultimate perfection. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy just now; He is working out His ultimate perfection all the time—"that they may be one even as We are."

 

After I read this then He gave me the other scriptures to go with this devotion. Very fitting don't you think. Be blessed today and walk it out. Kevin

 

^8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4

 

5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh," says the Lord. "But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go." ' Jeremiah 45:5 (NKJV)

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. "Philippians 4:11-12 (AMP)

2 Corinthians 2:6

It has been a very busy week and I am tired. Three different times this week I have been lead to Luke 17. This morning as well. I did not see what He wanted me to see. I was a little depressed about it. I went to the store and when I came back I started over. This time I got out my quest list and started to pray for them and I was reading over their emails when I came across one that I needed to respond too. Which lead me to 2 Corinthians 10:5 which we all know,

Corinthians 10:5 (DARBY)
5 overthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ;
But it was verse 6 that I had never noticed before. It leaped off the page.

2 Corinthians 10:6 (NKJV)
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

1556 ἐκδικέω [ekdikeo /ek·dik·eh·o/] v. From 1558; TDNT 2:442; TDNTA 215; GK 1688; Six occurrences; AV translates as "avenge" five times, and "revenge" once. 1 to vindicate one's right, do one justice. 1a to protect, defend, one person from another. 2 to avenge a thing. 2a to punish a person for a thing.

 

I thought this was really good. You take that thought captive and what happens? You avenge, you get revenge, you protect and defend your mind from the enemy. Holding everythought captive is walking in obedience. Hmmmm

Be Blessed and walk it out

Kevin

Luke 17a

"Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? 'Father, get me out of this'? No, this is why I came in the first place. I'll say, 'Father, put your glory on display.' " John 12.27-28 msg

 

As I was reading this morning in Luke 17 again at the verse where Luke 17.33^

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

The word life is translated from the Greek word psuche it changes the whole meaning when you put soul in there in place of the word life
5590 ψυχή [psuche /psoo·khay/] n f. From 5594; TDNT 9:608; TDNTA 1342; GK 6034; 105 occurrences; AV translates as "soul" 58 times, "life" 40 times, "mind" three times, "heart" once, "heartily + 1537" once, and not translated twice. 1 breath. 1a the breath of life. 1a1 the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing. 1a1a of animals. 1a12 of men. 1b life. 1c that in which there is life. 1c1 a living being, a living soul. 2 the soul. 2a the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul etc.). 2b the (human) soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life. 2c the soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body).

 

      "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.

       "If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me. John 12.24-26

 

Just a little something to think about

Kevin

 

Luke 17

As I was praying this morning and asking where should I go.  I was led to
Luke 17:7-10 (NASB95)
7 "Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'?
8 "But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'?
9 "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
10 "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.' "

 

After reading I realize that this scripture is not only for me but for everyone.  We all have a choice every day. Now it is your choice and my choice to be the unworthy slave.

 

Lord, 

We are all unworthy slaves and we thank you.  Lord I ask that you would bless and stretch who ever reads this.  Guard their hearts, their minds and their souls.   To get everything that you have for them,  To leave nothing to chance but to stay focused on you.  I bind the enemy up.

In Jesus name

Psalm 35

Psalm 35:22-25 (NIV)
22 Lord, you have seen this. Don't be silent. Lord, don't be far away from me.
23 Wake up! Rise up to help me! My God and Lord, stand up for me.
24 Lord my God, when you hand down your sentence, let it be in my favor. You always do what is right. Don't let my enemies have the joy of seeing me fall.
25 Don't let them think, "That's exactly what we wanted!" Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up."

Yesterday, I watched the movie Flywheel with my wife for the seventh or eighth time. Those movies always make me tear up. Holy Spirit is always moving. Anyway there is a part in the movie where he chooses not to defend himself. Most people in his situation would have. He chose to be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry. He walked away and asked the lord in prayer to defend him because he could not. Other witnesses came forward and defended him.

My point is how many times when we are persecuted do we choose to let the Lord defend us? Or do we choose the flesh way out instead to prove we are right? Hmmmm something to think about.

 

Be blessed today and walk it out

Kevin