Colossians 3:13

"Forgiveness always seems so easy, when we need it, and so hard when we need to give it." anonymous

Why are you so angry all the time? That was the question my wife asked of me the other day. My response was "I am not angry that is just the way I talk!" My wife knows me very well…. Sometimes too well. I sent her a phone message the next day that said "I don't know what is going on but if you hear anything let me know ….. I need help. She comes home that evening and says "I think you have un forgiveness towards your brother. " You know you are hearing the Lord when someone tells you something and it just makes your insides turn. I truly though that I had forgiven him over the last instance. When he came to the DFW area and did not stop off to see me. This is what I know about forgiveness. Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us. Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured. We don't naturally overflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we've been wronged. I have always been quick to forgive but evidently not this time. It has poisoned me and I don't like it. So today I choose to forgive me brother. Tomorrow I will have to choose to forgive me brother. That does not mean that what he did was right it just means that I forgive him.. I am not going to write out a prayer, but the Lord knows my heart. Please forgive me.

 

I have sent my brother an email to start the process

Colossians 3:13

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

Luke 6:37

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (NIV)

Matthew 6:14-16

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)

Mark 11:25

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (NIV)

More of Him less of me

Proverbs 27:17 As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Had someone tell me on the phone yesterday that they were seeing more of me in the last month and less of God. The sad thing is that what was said was true. In some ways, I was seeing that myself but did not want to believe it. Thank you Jesus for putting men in my life that will speak life into me and not death.

Galatians 5:7 you were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?

I was reading my testimony last night and the enemy was saying you need to re write this because it is a lie. In my mind I thought "WHATEVER" I know who I am. It is so easy to be taken out of your game and not even realize what is happening. It is so easy to believe the lie, whatever the lie may be. This morning I spent 30 minutes reading…… all of 2 Corinthians. I read it all because I wanted to write something to send out. I got nothing. I was very frustrated. It was only when I stopped searching that I received something to write. I opened up an email that I had received back on July 7^th and this is what it said.

Philippians 1:20-21

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Can it get any clearer than that? I must die so I can live ……. Are you dying or are you living?

Kevin

Surrender 12

As I am spending time this morning being quiet I just keep hearing "Surrender"  I have had some struggles as of late with the same issue that has plagued me for years.  I am free from this, but there are times that I choose not to be free.  When I choose that path I don't have peace.  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??????

 

 

Still wounded

Hello All,

It has been a while since I have written anything. So I have a question for you?

When does a deceived person know he has been deceived? I have been deceived at least I feel that way. I have allowed myself to get so busy (Buried Under satan's yoke) that my time with the Lord has suffered. This has caused everything else in my life to come undone. I really thought I was doing well. I really thought I had dealt with everything. Can you say PRIDE! A month ago my mom came to dfw to see her cousin and would not give me 1 hr. of her precious time for lunch unless her cousin came along. She was here for a week. Last night, I had a meltdown. Once again a family member came all the way from Amarillo to DFW to a sports function and did not let me know they were coming. I had to see it on Facebook. (I really hate Facebook) So I sent this person a scathing text message and so he responded with a worse text than mine. In my mind I am thinking I am so done with my family on my side. Nobody talks to each other anymore. I just don't give a rats ass anymore!

James says be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

I didn't listen, I spoke and I became very angry. I became the very person that I despise. I became a Pharisee instead of being Jesus with skin on. The Lord showed me that I am still carrying a wound from my family. The sad thing is my family could all be killed in a plane crash or something and the wound would still be there. I thought I had dealt with all of this, but was shown last night that the wound is very much still there.

I am starting to see a common denominator here and it is me. I saw it last night when I talked to my friend Charlie. When I call him and he is spending time with His dad I get jealous. Why? Because he has a great relationship with his dad and I don't with mine. My wife has great relationships with her family and I don't (same thing happens) I think right now my best relationships with my family are with Nichole and Beau. So obviously I have work to do.

James says in 3:16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

And the Lord speaks. When I am looking for James 3.16 …….. I open up the bible to this verse and see it first.

18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

If nothing changes

Then nothing changes

Kevin

Hosea 10:12

Hosea 10:12 I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'

Last month in July I wrote several writings about unforgiveness, we all know that we have to forgive because the Lord forgave us. I am often amused at how the Lord works in my life. How he prepares me for things to come. And I don't even see it coming. It's like I don't get the hint even when it is spelled out right in front of me. Some of the biggest forgiveness that I've had to walk through is forgiving my ex-wife for cheating on me. There was a time a couple years ago where Robert (Robert is whom she had the affair with and then married) he wanted to buy my 1971 Chevy nova. I said sorry it's not for sale. Now you have to understand that we are good friends now because I chose to walk in forgiveness. About a month later during my quiet time the Lord showed me that I needed to give Robert the nova. I have to tell you that is not what I wanted to do. In fact I said "seriously???? Did you forget what he did??????? All I kept hearing in my spirit was "do you want to be free? Well that is kind of a no brainer answer. Still though I had plans for that car, I wanted to fix it up and have my own hot Rod. For me given Robert that car was like the icing on the cake of my forgiveness for him. I mean, think about this for just a moment. I gave the man who stole my first wife for me a car! That sure as crap was not my idea. I knew the Lord was speaking and I made a choice. When I chose to do what the Lord said and walk in obedience. That was when I got complete peace over what Robert and Karen did. Remember that the forgiveness I have for them does not mean that what they did was okay! Now fast forward to last week and when I got my house broken into. I'm sitting in my chair this morning listening to this song I came across yesterday on the radio. Here are some lyrics below

I can't believe what she said
I can't believe what he did
Oh, don't they know it's wrong?
Don't they know it's wrong?

Well maybe there's something I missed
But how could they treat me like this?
It's wearing out my heart
The way they disregard

This is love. This is hate. 
We all have a choice to make

Oh, Father won't You forgive them?
They don't know what they've been doin' (oh no)
Oh, Father, give me grace to forgive them
Cause I feel like the one losin'

Tenth Avenue North "Losin"

Those people who broke into my house last week knew what they were doing but at the same time they didn't know what they're doing. The same with Karen and Robert. It makes me very sad in my heart that the two people who broke into my house are hurting that bad or better yet, they are the Lost. My prayer is that they will become followers of Jesus. Below is who I want to be. This morning when I was reading in Hosea this Scripture stopped me dead in my tracks. Actually I was stunned, I don't ever remember reading this passage before. You reap what you sow.

Hosea 10:12 I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'

 

 

Read James lately?

As I am reading in James this morning in chapter 1, I get to James 1:9 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. I have usually done fairly well in this area until last Tuesday. I came home to find that my house had been broken into and many of my personal belongings were gone. This is not the first time I had been ripped off. So it was very hard to take. I have to tell you there was no slow to speak and quick listen, I was pissed! I was angry! I stayed angry for two and half days. I hoped that they would come back so I could put them in the hospital. Not very Christ like behavior. My wife on the other hand was slow to speak quick to listen and did not get angry. She looked at me and said it's just stuff. Now as the dust of this experience has settled I feel in my heart that I am walking with forgiveness to the people who broke into my house. Understand that to forgive them doesn't mean what they did was okay it just means I have chosen to not let that situation control me anymore. I wonder how I would react if they knocked on my door and brought my stuff back? Would I still turn them in or would I be Jesus with skin on. I would hope that I would be Jesus with skin on. So this is what the Lord has shown me for today.

 

 

If nothing changes

Then nothing changes

Isaiah 43

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

 

Well it has been one week since my house was broken into. I think I have gone through every single kind of emotion that there is. What is the good that has come from this invasion? Forgiveness? Not the first couple of days, the first couple days were anger and resentment, hatred, why Kelly and myself, why were we chosen? We may never know the answer to that question. As I watched my wife remain calm I was very angry. Now I can truly say that I have peace and forgiveness in my heart. Kelly made a statement to me. She said "it's just stuff." Everything that was stolen can and will get replaced. So what is the good that came out of this? Several of my friends have checked their insurance policies and now they have the proper coverage for their jewelry. That will prevent the same type of loss from happening that happened to us. My home is now protected by an alarm system. The alarm company that I hired said that 87% of all people who have called them, called them after they had been broken into not before. The sad thing about this whole ordeal is I should have had video surveillance installed three years ago when my saw was stolen out of my garage on a Saturday afternoon. I was too cheap to spend $350. Had I had done that I would've had the perpetrators on video. Tuesday morning when I walked into the master bathroom I remember seeing my wife's wedding ring in the little tray. I remember thinking if my house got broken into these rings would be stolen, and then I finished brushing my teeth and didn't give it another thought. So was that Holy Spirit warning me or was it just a passing thought? Sometimes it is hard to discern what my voice is and what is Holy Spirit's.

So I will leave you with this thought. Have you called your insurance company to make sure you have the correct coverage because if you don't and you get burglarize then it is on you.

Walk in peace and forgiveness today!

Deuteronomy 10.16

Good day all!  Are you walking as a son or daughter of the King today?   I have been battling an attitude over the last few days.  It is really bad when you know that the issues that you have is your fault and no one else’s.  There is no one to blame, you can try but it does not work.  It just keeps coming back to you.   A lot of us like to blame their problems on the enemy.  We want to give the enemy credit when it is our fault.  We blame the enemy so we don’t have to look at ourselves.    I open up my Oswald Chambers devo this morning.  (It is the Utmost for His Highest with a journal; I have been reading out of this book since 01/06) some of the pages are blank and some have thoughts on them; today had a thought from 2008. 

When I open it up today the journal said “what do you want me to unlearn today?”  I just paused and stared.  A few minutes went by and  I turned to my bible and began reading in Deuteronomy.   I read chapters 5 through 10.  When I got to verse 10:16 I stopped,    

Deuteronomy 10:16 “Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.”

I have had a clear message this morning

Deuteronomy 1:21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’   22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’  23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. 24 They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land.’ 26 “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. 27 you complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!” ’ 29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.  31 And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’   32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

Boy is there ever a lot of good things in this passage.  I Heard Deuteronomy last night in my mind during a phone conversation.  First time I had heard that word in several months. When I woke this morning I felt I should read in Deuteronomy so I started with chpt. 1

I am going to list several points.

Verse 21 and 22 -                                                                                                                          God has place something before you, you know it is God, you heard God and he says don’t be afraid or discouraged.  So what do you do?  You decide you need to pray about it.  Really?????   God spoke you obey, why do you need to pray about what the Lord has already spoken or shown you? It is just like going on Quest, why do you need to pray about spending 5 ½ days with the Lord?  This goes for serving on quest as well.  Do you have to pray about serving the Lord?  If the door is opened to you then walk through it and don’t throw out excuses.  It is like this; if you are being called to go to serve in the mission field, then GO!  The Lord will direct your path and he will protect you while you are away!                                                                                   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.  It is also referring to taking a sabbatical three times a year I feel.  That is for another day of writing

23 – 25 so what did Moses do, he listened to man.  God had already spoken, but he listened to man and sent out the scouts.  The scouts reported good things, but it wasn’t good enough and so they made up more excuses for why they didn’t want to do what the Lord said.  THEY REBELLED!                    
Jeremiah 17.5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, 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.  7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They wanted to do it there way and in their timing and even though the Lord had brought them through the wilderness and out bondage they walked back into bondage because they would not trust the Lord.                                                                                                                 Deuteronomy 1:32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day

I will finish with this, trust the Lord and do not operate out of fear.  If or when you hear the Lord then do what He says.  If He opens a door then walk through it. 

Trust Him!  This was as much for me as it is for you!

Matthew 5:46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. 

When I came to the statement “If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?”  My first thought?  Am I really that much different?  The enemy wants to say you are not any different, but I say I am.  So when I take this attitude with sales people on the phone or curse the person who pulls out in front of me, it sure is not being very loving. How about this,  you are loving towards everyone, but when you are home you are not.   That is a part of me that I do not like.  I heard a statement the other day that I have been chewing on ever since I heard it.

“you are not a sinner saved by grace, but a Son who is to live redeemed”

So what does it look like to live redeemed?  I think that fruit looks like being kind to everyone, even those who persecute you.  Walking in forgiveness and not holding an offense with anyone.  Learning to love people right where they are and  not where we want them.

Not just being a Christian, but being a follower of Jesus.

So …… are you different or just like everyone else?

This is from what I wrote on Dec.  11^th 2011

If you don’t change ……… then nothing changes.       I have written about this before, so I am writing again about it. I am 50 lbs. over weight.  I have chosen not to do anything about it!   My eating habits are horrible and I have no discipline in these areas of my life.  I am not complaining, because that will not accomplish anything, it is really about the first line in this paragraph.     I just need to get off my butt!  I guess it is just not bad enough yet.            If I don’t change………. Then nothing changes.                 That goes for every area of my life.    Scripture says your body is a temple,   1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,   20  You were bought with a price [purchased with preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body. ^[1] This is my Goliath!  Sometimes I feel this is how my life is supposed to be.  Well that is a lie strait from the enemy and I refuse to believe that.  If I don’t do something then in a couple of months I will weigh more..

 I am here to tell you that I did not change.  I continued to stuff my face, gorge whatever you want to call it.  I continued to put on the weight 11 more pounds.  ON February 12^th 2012 I stepped on the scales and weighed 268lbs.  That is the most I have every weighed in my entire life!  Something inside of me just snapped.  I am here to tell you that today I stepped on the scales and I weigh 217.8 lbs.  Thank you Jesus!

What I have learned is I started to get this hopeless attitude about my weight and I have found that I can have this attitude about other areas of my life where I struggle.  So once again it is all about choice.  I became overweight because I like to eat and I would eat even when I was not hungry or continue to eat when I was full.  That was my choice and the devil didn’t make me do it.

I changed …. Then I changed1   How did I do it?  I stopped eating fast food completely and I stopped drinking Dr Pepper.  I take my lunch everyday.  Even when I am home  I lay out what I am going to eat and stick to it.  I stopped eating bread and I drink over 100 ounces of water everyday.  so be encouraged that you to  can lose the weight if you need to.  It is not a special diet. 

It Is Choice!!!

Be blessed today!

---

Colossians 3:12-17
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.NASB95

I read this and I see Humility … actually I see lots of things for me.  As I reflect on everything that the Lord has put out this week on unforgiveness, bitterness walking in offense.  I find the biggest thing I struggle with is taking on an offense for someone who has been hurt by someone else.  One of my friends had something happen at her job last week.  I am thinking,  how dare he treat her that way?  I find myself right now,   when I hear his name I get angry because of what he did to my friend.  I saw a comment on my wife's face book by this person last night and found myself having utter disdain for him.  I find myself not ever giving to his ministry again!  

Really?????? 

Do you ever have one of the moments where you just sit there and know that the Lord has just got your attention.  I hear "You have been writting all week and it took until this morning for you to hear me?"   Right now it just hit me and I am broken because of my judgment and anger towards this man.  A man who has absolute ministered to me over the years.  Yep a man who is flawed just like me.  Who died and made me JUDGE?

Okay I just got my cage rattle this morning….. diidn’t see that one coming.  I have to say that sometimes I feel the Lord is sneaky, but it is always good.

Lord I repent for the anger, bitterness, unforgivneness and for being the judge. Please forgive me.

I pray favor over M… for his ministry and for his family in Jesus name

PS My friends wife is still in a coma please pray for her

I was reading through some old blogs that I wrote a few years back.  It seems this week is about unforgiveness, bitterness and being offended and today is about old wounds.  I am having to ask myself is there someone I am needing to forgive or that I have picked up an offense somewhere?  At this moment I am hearing nothing, but that can all change at the drop of a hat.

Old wounds

I have been signing my emails lately with the phrase “there is no future in the past” Little did I know 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.  

Present day:  Here is what I know, I believe in my heart that I have truly forgiven this person because I can't remember for the life of me who it was I am talking about in the above discussion.  That is  not to say that something might come up and remind me later of who this is and the enemy may tell me that "see you have not forgiven this person"  Then I take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ and know that I have forgiven that person.  I would say this,   if you say "I think I have forgiven this person,"  then I would say that you have not.  You know in heart if you have forgiven him.  You hear this saying in church all of the time.  The wound is healed but there is a scar and the scar still hearts if you rub it.  I think that is crap!  You are either healed or not!  the blood of Jesus is not selective it covers everything!  I say that if the scar still hurts then YOU keep picking at it.  In other words you have a victim mentality.

Peter asked Jesus,  " 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 

22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  In an 18 hour day that you are awake that is forgiving someone every 14.03 minutes.  I heard someone say once.  I dont pray for an hour everyday but I don't let an hour go by without praying.  something to think about.

Be Blessed today

Kevin

 

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 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!

You hurt?

2 Timothy 2:23 again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. This is what I read yesterday and I thought about it all day and when I woke up this morning I was still there. I had to read it again. What I kept hearing was “unforgiveness” I thought …… Who? It is not who but how. How do you be kind to someone who has hurt you or your family, how do you teach? How to you be patient? How do you gently instruct someone who has hurt you? Someone who has deeply wounded you? I don’t believe you can do any of that when you are walking in unforgiveness. People that hurt us are usually more wounded than we are. Hurt people hurt people that is a fact. Forgiving someone is a very powerful thing. Forgiving someone does not mean that what they did was okay. It means that you have stopped giving them the power over you. It means “Lord when (name) stands before you on judgment day, please forgive them for what they did to me or my family and Lord I pray blessings over them in Jesus name.

When we walk in unforgiveness we are holding a judgment over them. WE WANT JUSTICE! The Lord said revenge is mine says the Lord. You realize that when you hold that judgment against that person you will never be free. There is only one judge and you are not it. There is always going to be pain in your life, but you choose to suffer, IT IS YOUR CHOICE!

Only God has the right to judge. He alone knows why people do what they do. We do not know, nor is our place to judge why. In many cases, people do not even know why they do what they do, Jeremiah 17.9 The heart is deceitful above all thing and is desperately sick; who can know it? When people assume to know why, then their reactions are based on judgment, and not reality. That judgment causes confusion, pain and suffering (quote for How to stop the pain)

Three questions

Are you judging the people that hurt you?

Are you walking in unforgiveness?

How is that working for you?  How is that noose around your neck?  You are the only one that is tightening it!

Remember if nothing changes then nothing changes

Be Blessed today

Kevin

Surrender 2 Corinthians 1.9

2 Corinthians 1 9…………………………we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. ¹¹ And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

I am reading this morning in 2 Corinthians….. I must have read over this three times and I just kept coming back to this passage.  I realized I am just running on my own juice.  I try to turn everything over … at least I think I do, it is wearing me out.  My wife asked me yesterday “how do we get more balance in our lives? You work all the time; I work all the time..  What do we do?”  I had no answers.  It made me sad on the inside.    I went to church yesterday.  The message did nothing for me.  In fact I did not even want to be there.  I could not shut my mind down and I hate that.  That is how it is all of the time right now.  I cannot shut my mind down long enough to hear God.  I did hear Him yesterday though.  I heard him through Marcus Brecheen.  Marcus said   “I surrender the things that I should be responsible  for and take responsibility for the things I should surrender.” 

That line right there really resonated in my spirit

From a previous post:       Jeremiah 38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender  to the king of Babylon’s princes, (or whatever is going on in your life right now)then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.   Here is what I know for me.  My life is so much calmer when I surrender.

Surrender is always a tough one for me, 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!

So here is my question or questions for you.  Ask Holy Spirit right now.  Stop what you are doing and get quiet.  Lord, please show me what I am trying to control or change instead of surrendering and giving it to you.  Lord what am I trying to change in their life that is not my job to change?

Be blessed today.

Acedia

So,  I am reading in this book ……. A book that is taking me over two months to read.  (Only because I am reading two to three pages a night.)  “Are you a fan or follower” very good book.  Sunday night I am reading and come across a statement that a man prayed one time.  It said, “God, I thank you that tonight I haven’t seen anything I want more than you.”  Can I say that I am not there today ….. Have not been there in a while.  That is okay, because I am getting back to that point.  The word says if you will draw near to Him He will draw near to you.  That is a promise.  Do you believe that?

I find it very “God” timing that what I read Sunday night has everything to do with what I wrote Sunday morning.  What a jolt!  We have all heard of the seven deadly sins.  This list was comprised by the early church leaders.  There is not an actual list in the bible.  One of the sins that I want to touch on is sloth.  We all think of sloth as being lazy, but I found something very interesting, something I did not know.  The term sloth was taken from the Greek word Acedia  “ἀκηδία” which means “describes a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world. It can lead to a state of being unable to perform one's duties in life. Its spiritual overtones make it related to but distinct from depression”

A better way to describe it would be spiritual apathy.  This is where you get to the point where you know God loves you and that he sent His son to die on the cross for you but yet you just shrug your shoulders.

The Passion has gone 

Jeremiah 2:2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.

Then It came an absolute word from the Lord to me.  It said “Your Honeymoon with the Lord should never be over”  It cut me like a knife.

So what do you do?  What do I do?  Revelation 2:4-5 ⁴ “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!^{[a] 5} Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Enough said!

Kevin

Matthew 7:20   Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

My heart has not been in a great place for some time.  I have been very busy (Buried Under Satan’s Yoke) It has been all I can do to spend time in the word because I have too,   not because I want to.  So what happens is my attitude changes and my fruit becomes sour and my dog returns back to her old behavior and is afraid again.  Every day this week when I would come home she would be on her bed terrified.  I wouldn’t say a word to her.  I would then get her to go outside, while outside I would check her bed and there would be a big a pee stain just like the old days.  I really hate admitting this but I have a problem and I don’t like it.   My way is not working,  I didn’t think I was doing it my way, but every time I get like this it is because I am jealous, angry, self-centered to name a few which means I am doing it my way.  I will leave you with a question for yourself and Oswald Chambers’s devo that also rattled my cage this morning. 

How is your fruit tasting today?

Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the uttermost farthing. Matthew 5:26.

“There is no heaven with a little of hell in it.” God is determined to make you pure and holy and right; he will not allow you to escape for one moment from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. He urged you to come to judgment right away when He convicted you, but you did not; the inevitable process began to work and now you are in prison, and you will only get out when you have paid the uttermost farthing. ‘Is this a God of mercy, and of love?’ you say. Seen from God’s side, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure and spotless and undefiled; but He wants you to recognize the disposition you were showing—the disposition of your right to yourself. The moment you are willing that God should alter your disposition, His re-creating forces will begin to work. The moment you realize God’s purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will tax the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide it now—‘Yes, Lord, I will write that letter to-night’; ‘I will be reconciled to that man now.’

These messages of Jesus Christ are for the will and the conscience, not for the head. If you dispute the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will blunt the appeal to your heart.

‘I wonder why I don’t go on with God!’ Are you paying your debts from God’s standpoint? Do now what you will have to do some day. Every moral call has an ‘ought’ behind it.

---

Matthew 26:35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

As I am reading this morning,  I came to this scripture.  I just sat there and stared at it.  For the first time in a long time I had to ask myself “How many times do I deny Jesus in one day?”  Peter did it three times.  I remember watching the Passion of the Christ and thinking about how Peter denies Jesus in the movie.  I remember thinking “how can he do that to Jesus?”  Then I thought “I do it all the time!”  with my tongue,  my eyes, my actions.  It made me very sad when I really thought about it.

Don’t worry, I don’t have a stick in my hand ….. I’m not beating myself up.  It is just an eye opener

Be Blessed today!

Prepare your field

Luke 11:8-10
I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.NKJV

So I am reading this morning and I am thinking about the one thing I always pray for when I pray. I always pray for favor in everything, people, places and his work in his business. There is a little story in Facing the Giants. It came to mind this morning as I was reading. It is so true. When I think of how many doors He has opened for me in the last year, Doors that in no way could have been opened by anyone including myself. Doors that were opened in spite of myself and my actions …. Astounds me.

Prepare for Rain

The story happens when Mr. Bridges walks in to Coach Taylor's office and gives him a word out of Revelation 3:7-8.  "………………………..  This is the message from the one who is holy and true,  the one who has the key of David.  What he opens, no one can close;  and what he closes, no one can open:⁸ "I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. After he leaves the Coach's office, Grant gets up and goes out into the hallway and stops Mr. Bridges and He asked him if he believed that God gave that to him.  Mr. Bridges said, "Yes I do"

Then He tells the story about the two farmers who desperately needed rain, both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his field to receive it.  Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?  Coach Taylor said, "the one who prepared his field for it".  Mr. Bridges then said, "Which one are you?  God will send the rain when he is ready; you need to prepare your field to receive it.

 

Here are the questions: Are you preparing your Field?

 

Are you still praying for that door to be opened?

 

Have you giving up? I say keep knocking!!!!!