Lessons learned

If the Lord sees fit to take you down a certain road in order
for you to learn an important lesson

 "such as learning to trust Him" and we mess up,

Not to worry,

He will bring you back to that same road until you get it, over, and over and over and over.........until of course, you tell Him you quit.



copyright 12/30/2014

The Gift

Blessed be this joyous morn,
Commemoration of your day.
A day of new birth; the day
Salvation came to earth.

Glory to be you oh Lord,
Look at what you've done.
You gave us hope; the birth of life,
In the the gift of your Son. 


copyright 12/25/2014

Choices

Darkness is the absence of light.  

Light is revealing. 
Darkness is concealing.
 
Jesus is our freeing light,

While evil fights 

To holds us to the night. 

There are choices we must make.

You and I, alone, 

Where will we call home?

Where will our hearts come to dwell?
Near the light,

or…Bound to the night?

copyright 12/15/2014

Keep On Movin On

 

Though the path you take seems terribly narrow, often steep and slippery, your mentor and guide encourages you to endure to the end.

He lets you know, if you hang in there, that the reward is worth the steadfast commitment. 

He also knows what lies ahead, and that if you were left on your own, you would surely give up before reaching the intended goal. 

Quitting guarantees failure!

On the journey there are courses you must take.  There are concepts to learn on how to combat the enemy.  You learn whose fight it really is in order to dissuade the forces of evil against you.

How much easier the road ahead would be if you allow the One you follow to teach you without resisting Him. Allow the Lord of the universe to clear the way before you, then peace will accompany you on your way. Don't allow circumstances to control your life. Give those circumstances over to your God and He will turn them into victories.

If there needs to be a do-over He's really good at that too.

Above all else:

Never Give Up!

Matthew 10:22  "...but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." 

                      

Keep On Movin' On

Keep on movin' on. 

No stoppin' for the world.

Can't you see, there's liberty. 

When you keep on...

Movin' on? 

Miles away from home you say,

Not seeing your way clear. 

Feeling alone, your heart is prone,

To give in to the fear   

Keep on movin' on. 

No stoppin' for the world.

Can't you see, you'll be free,

When you keep on...

Movin' on?

Lookin' inside you will find,

There's little to hang on to. 

Lookin' at me I fail to see,

Anything good I do.

If you travel on thru thick and thin,

The mystery is made clear. 

It's Jesus in you that makes you new,

And the struggle disappears.

Keep on movin' on. 

No stoppin' for the world. 

He is sure to win over your sin. 

When you keep on, callin on,

Fallin' on Him. 


copyright 12/14/2014

                                                      

Pausing To Consider

There are those who find the clouds quite dark and foreboding,
They see the rain as altogether melancholy and sad.

Others see the clouds as works of art, with different forms and shapes to sooth while rhythmic drops of rain make us glad.

Oh, child of God who moves among these hallowed things,
let us pause to consider with our hands raised to heaven,

That whether the sky is dark or bright, it is a good thing to remember, it was with joyous expectations given.


copyright/12/2014

Who Can You Trust?

When you call for a cab do you put the cabbie in the back and take over at the wheel because you're just not sure he knows what he's doing? You're just not sure the cab driver knows how to get you to where you want to go?

When you go to the Doctor's office, do you grab the instruments from the hand of the Doctor because you don't trust that he has your best interest at heart? Do you get angry at the Doctor for not helping you, when you refuse to even listen to what he has to say?

Ridiculous? .... Not so much.

 Do you lay in bed at night not able to sleep, worrying that the sun will fail to rise the next morning?

Do you get anxious when the moon doesn't appear, that it has gotten lost in the maze of galaxies and constellations?

Even more ridiculous? 

If you hadn't noticed, you do place yourself in the hands of many people and man made things everyday. People and things such as-- Doctors, lawyers, technology, yes, the cab driver, electricity, water coming from a faucet and many other things that you accept and trust will be there for you when you need them. Even when the computer breaks down it may be frustrating, but you know you can either get it fixed by a trusted technician or just buy a new one. 

Most of you will have to concede that God does a pretty good job with the sun, moon and stars and... you know, stuff like that.

But, wait a minuet, do you actually trust yourself with man more than with God? 

How ridiculous is that?

If We Could See

 Shall not all the host of hell tremble before your might displayed, 

standing watch o'er your children as they work and as they play? 

Your child sees not as you, for you are wisdom enthroned.

You see all of what we see, as well as what is to us unknown.

The plan well-laid to bring us down you instinctively behold.  

You search us out to quickly gather and to place into your fold.

For those who humbly call upon your great and glorious name,

you wipe the tears and speak of love to soothe their grief and pain.

If we could see the angels clothed for war in vast array,

we would more courageous be, regardless of the fray.

We would from this time forward have eyes to clearly see,

the God who watches over us; who rescues you and me.

copyright 12/3/2014

 

Those Foolish, Foolish Israelites

                                           

                                 Based on Numbers 13,14

                           Those foolish, foolish Israelites!

There they were, just a little over three months out of Egypt, standing on the very borders of Canaan. Wow, what a trip! They had so far witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, literally walking right through the piles of water rising on each side, hissing as if to devour the whole lot of them. If that were not enough, every step was on solid, dry land.

I don’t think science or special effects could duplicate that Godly maneuver. 

They had drunk the crystal clear water that burst miraculously forth from a rock. Last I checked, rocks don’t contain water.

From the very beginning of their journey, the presence of God led them in the form of a towering pillar of cloud. By day it sheltered them from the desert’s scorching sun.  Then just like clockwork, as the evening air began to cool, this marvelous cloud became a pillar of fire for warmth and light through the darkest hours of the night.

Nature itself was responding to the call of God to serve mankind.

They were spectators of God’s presence at the foot of Mount Sinai as He spoke through black smoke and fire. They trembled at the claps of thunder and shrank in terror at the sound of His voice.  It was almost as if the thunder was clapping at the presence of God Almighty; not in fear, but with the power of joy.

The Amalekites marching troops attacked Israel, but were soundly defeated as long as Moses lifted his arms in an act of surrender to the mighty Jehovah who fought for them. 

Moses' surrender to God brought victory? Now that's something else the thunder could have clapped about.

As dew upon the grass, the heavenly manna fell to sustain them day after day.

A physical demonstration that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Deuteronomy 8:3.

Soon the land that flowed with nourishment and prosperity lay before them; now the Lord would surely discover whether all those object lessons, calculated to win the hearts and trust of His chosen, would be enough.

Nature was obedient. Would man also respond to the call to trust Him, to follow His instructions and directions?

Moses sent 70 of his finest men into the land that was promised, just as God had ask him to, to explore it and see what would soon be theirs.

They came back after 40 days with the report. 

Was the soil good?  Yes, very good!

Were there abundant crops? Yes, the crops were huge in size and abundant!

Were there fortified cities?  Oh yes, very big ones!

Were the people strong?  YES, there were giants in the land! We were like grasshoppers to them and to us!

When the 70 finished their report. 68 of them saw the giant difficulties, 2 saw a giant God. 

Those two, (Caleb and Joshua) wanted to claim what was already promised to the Israelites. The other 68 forgot what the presence of the Lord had previously accomplished on their behalf. Their focus was on their inability, forgetting God's ability. Looking through man's eyes, it seemed so impossible that the thought of returning to Egypt and slavery seemed preferable to proceeding.

This body of "believers in God," the Great I Am, did not realize that their future destiny lay in the choice of their next decision.

Would they trust in the power and promises of God or would the circumstances facing them confine them to wilderness wandering?

It’s easy to see from this vantage point that they made the wrong decision, but after thousands of years viewing and reviewing the miraculous workings of a superior God, are we still wandering around in a desert? 

Nature knows and responds to the voice of God immediately. Do you respond to God’s voice?  Do I?

How many miracles is it going to take for us to be able to say as did Joshua, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Joshua 14:8,9.

                        Oh, those foolish, foolish Israelites!

copyright 10/4/2014

Peace They Say

Shall I declare peace in the midst of the sound 

of marching hooves and hastening chariots,

says our God? 

"They dressed the wound of my people as if it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace" Jeremiah 6:14

Look at the years of peace bestowed, 

and how we have mistreated such a gift. 

We have turned consummate blessings into chaos, 

and winked at injustice as if it meant nothing.

We have disregarded the sacrifices of those 

no longer present to voice their dissent.

Honesty and integrity lay languishing 

in the streets of indifference. 

Our humble beginnings has turned into greed, 

and the quest for power. 

We look for brotherly love, but in its stead find 

mocking, derision, hatred, and malcontent.

In the land of the free, 

that has not known an enemy's invasion,

For a people who live in freedom,

not knowing what it means to leave 

dwelling and possessions... 

...will find themselves pleading for the God they have forgotten.

A nation that Jehovah saw fit to bless 

in the time of its innocence, 

Now faces the result of setting up the golden idol of self. 

Let us now humble ourselves and repent before our God 

lest the hour of opportunity passes, 

and the day of Thanksgiving is over.

copyright 11/28/2014

Sounds Of The Heart

   You might think it strange that I

love the melody my soul makes 

when it is at peace,

not unlike the melodious silence

experienced when snow dances

and falls gently to earth,

or perhaps the symphony of golden

fields of wheat in flowing waves

of quiet splendor.

                                  Can you hear the anthem of the setting

sun when it casts its brilliant hues 

and fades into night?

My heart, when in tune with the heart 

of God, hears the metric sound of His

steps of love in my life.

Then, and only then, can I take part

in the hallowed chorus of all things

animate and inanimate.

 copyright 11/25/2014

A Spiritual Reality

In Old Testament times, if you accidentally killed someone, the best thing for you to do was to hop the next chariot and head out for the closest city of refuge. There was no time to lose; no time to plan or pack or even notify family or friends. This was indeed a life or death matter, and the life on the line was now yours. 

The designated city of refuge was the only safe place available where the avenger could not take your life in payment for the one you had taken, even though it was not your fault. It was lawful for a member of the slain's family to take your life if you dilly-dallied around long enough to be caught outside the parameters of safety.

The city of refuge is a physical demonstration of a spiritual reality. 

Jesus is our city of refuge.

Even though the city of refuge directive was set up by Moses to protect the innocent, with Jesus, the guilty has only to ask for forgiveness and it is granted.  That forgiveness puts a wall of protection between the one forgiven and the enemy [the devil]. As long as you dwell in the presence of God nothing can harm or alarm your soul when your mind is stayed on Him. The physical body may endure hardship, pain, suffering and even death, but the soul is guarded with a vengeance in the hand of the Almighty.

In the Old Testament the innocent had to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, then they were declared free.

When Jesus [your, and my, high priest] died on the cross, His death declared all the forgiven as free.  And all who would hence forth ask for forgiveness would be free as well. 

You are free from the enemy's hellish desire to destroy. You may be maligned, ridiculed, and attacked from every side, but the peace that passes understanding still remains in your heart.  Choose to remain in the City of Refuge and recognize that the City has become your Savior, Jesus Christ.



copyright 11/23/2014

Words Of God

Look at how the words of God have endured,
far beyond the monuments of men and hands.
No storm has toppled it's tower, or battering ram it's gates.

Mark the troops assigned for it's destruction. 
the array of hellish powers bent for it's demise.

Though scoffed at and ridiculed and declared to be dead,
they still stand. The living power of the breath of God 
still captures the stoney heart and raises it to meet its'
Creator, above and beyond this worlds grasp,
for His words are immortal. 

Those words will stand unmoved awaiting fulfillment;
waiting for their power to be unleashed in everyone
who is willing to claim them as promises from God.

What is it that keeps me from boldly moving forward,
using those words for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ?
What is it that keeps you from boldly moving forward?


Are we afraid of God, or are we afraid of man?
 


copyright 11/21/2014

Memories

The memories of the heart, unlike the memories of the mind, store precious moments of love and glee; times of wonder and growth.

The mind tends to recall the slights and hurts of life, storing them for future reference; others of which we would rather put away in a box unvisited.

In the memories of the heart God drops treasures of unknown jewels. Some of those jewels, unexplored, and those made known as jeweled stepping stones for tomorrows wisdom, so we don't add to what the mind recalls as things to be forgiven.


copyright 11/17/2014

A piece Of Divinity

If a piece of divinity dwells in the heart,
Then it matters not the perception,
For you still remain His work of art. 

It is where you meet to learn and pray;
the voice of another is not heard,
Where the wars of strife cannot stay.

Conversing with the Father of lights,
Brings joy to the darkest hour,
And victory to the toughest fights.



copyright 11/15/2014

Enter In

Lord of Lords

and King of Kings,

How can I cling

to earthly things.

When far beyond 

what man can see,

Awaits the home

designed for me.

Clap your hands

oh wooded hills,

And shout for joy

you whip-poor-wills.

For canyon floors

await the stream,

Of grace and life

and peace it brings.

No one knows

the heart of God,

Save for those

who give Him laud.

As man or beast

or summer rain,

Raise their heads

in glad refrain

To see the Prince

upon His steed,

Who beckons all

that have been freed.

Enter in 

no more to roam, 

Enter in 

to your new home.

                                                    copyright 11/8/2014