Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our house to yours,

We wish you a wonderful Merry Christmas as we all celebrate the season of the Savior’s birth.

Christmas is about loving God and loving others.

When I think about Christmas I can’t help but see the two commandments Jesus told us to live by.  These commandments seem to sparkle especially bright during Christmas time.

Think about it....  As we celebrate Christmas we celebrate the love we have for Jesus Christ.   And as we celebrate the remembrance of the greatest gift to mankind, we give gifts to others.

We in the Spirit of the season, love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and that overflows to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

This giving of cards and gifts some say come from the magi (wise men/kings) who followed the great star to Bethlehem to bestow gifts to Jesus but I am pointed in another direction when it comes to gift giving.

This custom,  I believe was, influenced by Jewish festivals such as the festivals of Purim where there was deliverance from death.  During these festivals, even to this day, food and presents are given to one another and to the poor.

We too celebrate the deliverance from death (eternal death) through our Savior Jesus Christ who came as a baby, born of a virgin.

  Jesus speaking of himself said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“Not long after this, the LORD sent this message to King Ahaz:  “Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will crush your enemies as I have promised.  Ask for anything you like; and make it as difficult as you want.”  But the king refused, “No,” he said, “I wouldn’t test the LORD like that.”  Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! You aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience.  You exhaust the patience of God as well!  All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign.  Look! The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel- ‘God is with us.’”  Isaiah 7:10-14

Christmas.  It is a season where we celebrate our deliverance through Jesus Christ. 

  Celebrate the joy of deliverance! Merry Christmas!

Dressed in Light

WHEN WORDS SEEM INADEQUATE.

When things of God are revealed it can feel a bit like being Lucy, who found a place called Narnia when she stepped into wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ book “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.”  And “sometimes” when we try to share what has been revealed to us we see by people’s facial expressions, it is difficult for them to fully appreciate what we are sharing even though we share or may share the same Spirit. 

I guess it is like when a person falls in love.  They might be able to express in words to a confiding friend about the love they feel but find words never seem to adequately color the sentiment and depth of their personal feelings of love.  The person we might confide in may have an “idea” of the love we are feeling but they don’t know “exactly” what you are feeling. 

Conveying those feelings, emotions, and truths is difficult.  And it can be the same way when God speaks to us.   The way in which He speaks to us often has great magnitude behind it but when trying to share and express the magnitude of those truths with others, it can be difficult to get across.

For the The word of God says,

“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.” Proverbs 14:10

The Spirit of God makes the words of the bible come alive in us and without Him the bible's words are just words on a page.  When I tried to read the words of the bible before I received Christ, the words were confusing and difficult- not to just comprehend but apprehend as well.  BUT after I received Christ, I read and understood things that I could not before.  Spirit started me off in the book of Romans.

The Spirit of God gives understanding and power to His words. 

Think about Pastors who are fired up about the Word of God.  Pastors often seem to get a heavy dose of what they are to teach on Sunday from God.   They often get more out of the message then we do because God was the one who spoke to them directly about the message.  I find it true with us as well when we spend time with the Lord and he guides and directs us in the Word of God giving us deeper insight, understanding and revelation. 
 

“… Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.  It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:18-19

Through the reality of God, our Hope, we are ushered into new and deeper understanding, understandings that we ourselves could not fabricate or come to tuition on our own.

I also find when sharing these truth/insights with others, the natural mind/eye hinders understanding.

In the natural/human mindset we can't seem to gather all the puzzle pieces the Spirit has given and put them together to makes sense to us in such a powerful way.  The natural mind can't make sense of the words and when shared they may even sound far fetched, down right crazy and impossible.
    

So should we stop sharing our insights?  Of course not because the very insights you receive from God may one day encourage others in the Lord as well.  There are times I am very glad I have shared what I have received from the Lord because these truths sooner or later are revealed to them and we can appreciate these truths along with them. 

Of course when you come out of those wardrobe revelations… and someone asks, “What is going on with you?” and you reply “You would never believe me, if I told you.”  It’s always nice to hear, “Just try me.”

That is why I am sharing this truth with you now.  But if your reply is not “Just try me” read no further.

HOPE

I was coming to the end of this short study on “knowing God.” based on Philippians 3:10-11 when God brought up the word- HOPE. 

I really hadn’t given much thought to HOPE before… I knew simply GOD is our HOPE and HOPE wasn’t some kind of “wishful” thinking but honesty I hadn’t meditated on HOPE too deeply.  But where I found Hope…there wasn’t just God but THERE WAS GOD.   HOPE we find God is to be known and experienced in our lives.
  

Psalm 62:5-7 “I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor come from God alone.  He is my refuge and where no enemy can reach me.”

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

HOPE & US

LOOK: Hope (God) resides in the inner man of the believer (in Christ).  The inner man, the soul, of the Christian is rooted IN Christ.  The Christian soul is anchored IN Christ.  Christ surrounds the soul.  Christ protects what is most essential- the man’s soul.

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who can kill only your bodies- but can’t touch your souls!  Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Hope is not found in the unbeliever or in the things of this world.  Our Hope is God who is Spirit and the Spirit lives IN us.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.”  (Does this not speak of Hope living IN us?)

HOPE, FAITH, LOVE

I found hope permeates.  Like yeast that is worked into the pliable dough of our life by God’s love it causes faith in the inner man to rise to the occasions in life.  (Trusting in God's love makes the dough of our life pliable causing hope to be worked into our life causing our faith in the inner man to rise to the occasions in life.)

What happens when one doesn’t have Hope, the assurance of God’s love, and faith?  There is nothing to eat… there is nothing to satisfy them.  That is why Jesus, who is our Hope is said to be the bread of life.

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Hope is life and it is the same as saying, GOD is LIFE.

1Corinthians 13:7 says, “It (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.” 

GOD enables us through HIS LOVE.

Hope, love and faith changes us, transforms us, ministers to us and makes us recognizable as God’s children- Children of HOPE.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16 

How does he bear witness?  God's who is Spirit bears witness on our lives because he is who our faith, hope and love.  He reveals who we are and whom we belong not to just the world but to ourselves.

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” Acts 17:28

God sees what is in the inner man... Jesus SAW “in” a person or people.  Jesus didn’t look at the outer appearance of man but saw what was on inside of the man. 

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

Matthew 23:25-28 Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside also will be clean.  Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

So what does God's offspring look like to God?

THE VISION-

As I was writing about hope I unexpectedly saw in a vision the “essence” of a person.  The human/mortal/flesh body was not present but the “inner man/ essence/ spirit/ soul was…  These slender bands of light ran on the surface of the soul/ essence/ inner man as he reclined in the Lord (A picture of one trusting in God.)  He was being transformed in light from head to foot.  God Himself clothes the inner man with IN Faith, Hope, and Love- IN Himself.  

He did not just create our physical being our but spiritual being as well and he clothes and takes care of both- even though one is temporary and one is eternal.
 

God is light and he is transforming us (Christians) as individuals of light.
  

The Spirit then reminded me of this verse about Jesus.  

 “Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”  John 1:4-5

What happens when you extinguish something?  It becomes no more but God doesn't extinguish the smallest hope. Why do you think God never quenches the smallest hope- the littlest measure of faith?

Before anyone of us came to the faith in JESUS- we prayed in Hope to whom?  Why? Who placed that little seed of faith in us.  God would answer and place a marker of light in our dark landscape- even if it was in the desert.  Sure we would easily forget the answered prayers but God would show his faithfulness in hopes we would finally come to Him.  God gives us a choice to come to know Him who is life over meaningless and death.  But how many of us rode the train meaningless?  How long did it take?  Hope is reachable right now as long as people have breath in their body. Hope is life giving light but hope is no where in Hell.

    

1 John 4:4 says, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Think about Colossians 2:4 "And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For (as far as this world is concerned) you have died, and your (new, real) life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, Who is your life, appears, then you will appear with Him in (the splendor of His) glory."
  

IN THE GLORY

Since this vision I have been like a bee harvesting nectar from this truth- God has continued to expound on the vision with other scriptures:

Psalm 97:11 says “Light shines on the godly and joy on those who do right.”

Jesus said to us as His believers, “You are the light of the world- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.”  Matthew 5:14-15

Don’t hide your light in the weakness of your flesh, which is a temporary basket that holds the inner man but let the light that covers the inner man LIVE.  You do not represent yourself but God Himself.  You are clothed in Him- His Glory.

Just think Jesus who knew no sin temporary clothed himself with our shame.  He took up the cross in our nakedness that we might be dressed in His glory.

Think of how Hope, Love and Faith in God strengthen you.  Think of whose glory is in you and covers your inner man.  You are ambassadors to whom?

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” Ephesians 3:16

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

“And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man.” 1 Corinthians 15:49

 

COMPLETE IN CHRIST  

"If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life." 2 Corinthians 5:3-4

These mortal bodies- weak- hold a greatness deeper then we can understand.

“For in Christ the fullness of God lives in the human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ…” Colossians 2:9

We struggle with this idea of being complete in Christ because we don't truly understand and we let the flesh dictate the things of the heart instead of the Spirit.  We even let Satan come steal, kill and destroy what God wants to sink from our heads to our hearts.   We may seem incomplete because have lost certain abilities we once had or never seemed to have but those things are temporary.  We may seem incomplete because we may not live up to societies opinions of how we should live, such as norms or standards.  (Look at John the Baptist, he being named and chosen by God did not do things as the ways of the world.)  We may seem incomplete due to circumstances that have happened in our life but those things in Christ are gone.   In Christ we are complete.  The Soul/Inner man/ essence IN Christ is complete.   We look to God the author and finisher of our faith.  We look to Him who is our Hope.  And we trust in Him who is full of compassion and love.  And through our focus on Him, He receives the glory, which He mercifully and graciously bestows on us as His children.  Just as the sun's light is reflected on the moon and stars.
  

^" You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:5  

Skip down to 8-9

"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Be sober knowing your completeness in Christ. Be sober in the Spirit of Christ.  Don't let life manipulate you.  For you are thoroughly equipped IN God- His clothes/skin.  

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 “That is why we never give up.  Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long.  Yet they produce for us a glory that vast outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

1 Peter 1:23-25 “ For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. ²⁴ As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

The Word of the Lord.... remains forever in you. For the the Word of God was inspired by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God lives in you and clothes you.  God's WORD clothes you..  Think of Jesus in Revelation are there not words are on his clothes? 

All Scriptures is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Yes this flesh will die but we will live on…   

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:53

THE SPIRITUAL BODY CLOTHED

“I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:6

Is that not what God is doing right now in us?  He is strengthening and covering us with HIS SKIN and HAS PUT HIS SPIRIT IN US.   And we know for certain Jesus is LORD.

Jesus speaking to one of the churches in Revelation 3:17-18 says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

When I looked these things up I found “naked” means the soul/essence is without the coverings of God.  “Poor” means to be destitute of Christian virtues and eternal riches. White clothes or garments are translated in clothes of “light” or “dazzling white clothes”.

This should send goosebumps up your arms. 
 

Keep in mind Ezekiel 37 and Revelation 3 as you read this. “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now then when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:11-12

 We are clothed in Christ who is light.  Light that is faith, hope and love in GOD/ Jesus Christ.  Being clothed in Christ is very important for there is no way to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

The importance of wearing the right clothes as you move from this life to eternity.

“So the servant brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for the wedding.  ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ And the man had no reply.  Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:10-14

Taken note of REVELATION 19

LAST WORD
GOD as we draw close to you and submit ourselves to you, help us by your Spirit ( The Holy Spirit/ Spirit of God/Christ) to discover more and more of who you are.  Help us have an intimate relationship with you GOD.  GOD be our HOPE in all the rooms and corners of our life. We allow you to be the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our FAITH and LIFE.  GOD help us discover and live in the strength and comfort and wisdom and liberty in your LOVE.   Help us to love you with all our heart, mind, soul and all our strength.   

JESUS is coming.  I know you feel the same way I do.  You don't want Him to show up and you not know Him more intimately.  You don't want Him to be a stranger to you.  We know God is deeper and further then our understanding but as long as their is breath in my body I want to seek after Him.  I don't only want to be dressed in your righteousness, JESUS, but I want to know you more intimately.  I want to shine your glory in my life regardless of the situations that come because I know you are with me and you can be trusted in every aspect that comes in this life.  I don't want to be a person that says, "I trust you but I can't trust you with this part or that part of my life because I am afraid what will happen."  As long as I find you in every aspect of my life I surrender it all to you.  Thank you for being with me.  Touch those who need your touch this day and I thank you Father for your willingness to share these deeper truths and encouraging us in Jesus Christ.  Amen. Amen. Amen.

Hope

 The Spirit of God has been speaking to us about the importance of  “Knowing God”.   Knowing and growing in God is to have hope, to grow in hope, and to be empowered by hope. A man without hope has forgotten or made himself a stranger to his Creator. 

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,” Psalms 43:5

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. Jeremiah 17:5

A man without hope has made and let the things of this world convince and persuade him to be his hope.  For what happens when those things fail him?
 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

“And He (Jesus) told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man was very productive.  And he began to reason to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’  Then he said ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.  And he said to His disciples, ‘For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ” Luke 12:16-23

A man without hope does not know “who” Jesus is.
A man without hope does not know the Father who is hope.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”  John 14:6

 

The Affects of Hopelessness
For a king without hope is of tired coals. Even though the breeze livens it, it doesn’t produce flame.  Even though it glows temporary red it quickly forgets.  He is adorned with a royal breastplate but inside he is poisoned by thoughts of cowardest.   Prodded and poked like a cage lion, his rage if any is brief for he sees no point.  Hope to him is like the morning steam ghostly rising off the waters into the skies.  Life has all but become meaningless. Words of wisdom on a page do not help him.  He might as well be blind and as dumb as a stump that produces nothing.  He might as well be a poor blind man who sits in a pitch-black room as the roaches eat his sandwich.   He might as well have no mouth to eat for he can no longer taste what is good.   The spite of hopelessness makes him brash as a careless drunk.  Those who surround him are poisoned and stung by his tongue. They have tried to pour goodness into his life but there is a giant hole in his cistern that is never satisfied. He is deaf to the bells that signal his walls being breached and he has no strength to reach for his sword. He was a beautiful dogwood tree in spring that now has turned to a weedy cedar that steals all the water around him until nothing grows. He is a man without a lasting legacy.  He is a continual patched ceiling with no fixed roof.  He is a man who puts on clean clothes but never takes a bath.  Seeing no hope in the rules and worlds of men, He has given up the pursuit to the catch the elusive word “peace”.  He looks only to himself and says,  “It is hopeless I will act accordingly to the understanding of my hardened heart.”

“But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:12

Maybe they saw it as hopeless because God wasn’t their source of hope? But I am reminded with God even a stump has hope.

“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot- yes, a new branch bearing fruit from the old root.” Isaiah 11:1

This shoot is Jesus.   Some of us know what it means to be a stump and know when our stomp was awakened to new life in Jesus Christ.   This hope ushers into a life in the Spirit of God and in the Spirit of God brings forth the fruits of the Spirit.
 

“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control….” Galatians 5:22-23

Look at those gems that so well characterize hope.

Transformed into Vessels of Hope “with”  and “in” God

“There are three things that will endure- faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

As I have allowed God to speak to me about hope, I saw hope not as just something that helps the Christian endure in this life but how hope is tighten woven together with faith and love in God.   Faith, hope, love… they change and transform us.  They become our spiritual make-up.  Faith hope and love are like bands of light that form our eternal structure. I don’t know how this is completely I just saw a vision of this as I was writing… a figure being transformed - their person was being covered over with tiny bands of light.

The Spirit then reminded me of this verse about Jesus.   “Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”  John 1:4-5

No wonder why 1 John 4:4 says, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

No wonder why Jesus said to us believers, “You are the light of the world- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.”  Matthew 5:14-15

If we are a Christian, our life should bear witness to the light now living and growing in us.

It is that hope, faith and love that God is pouring into us that comes out.

These things may seem elementary but examine them more closely.  Through your relationship with Jesus Christ, God is building you up in the inside by His Spirit.

Look at these carefully with me.
Faith: Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus/God is the author and finisher of our faith.  He not only created us but also completes us.  He makes what was once worldly – Heaven bound.

Love:  1 John 4:16-17 says “We know how much God loves us, we have put our trust in him.  God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect….”

Trust in just another way to say hope and not just that but look at what it is saying here. What is doing the work and completing the work of our spiritual being?  It’s God’s love in us.  It is God’s love transforming us.  God is pouring in his goodness and “building” us up in faith, love and hope in Him.

Hope:  Psalm 62:5-7 “I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor come from God alone.   He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.”

We have to position ourselves before God- mostly often quieting what is going on inside ourselves so we can hear Him.   I find reading and meditating on His word or a scripture is helpful.  Some position themselves with a song. The fact is it is difficult and impossible to receive anything from God if we ignore Him, don’t let God speak to us or do some in vain religious routine.  Just as David says, “God is our hope. He is our salvation and he “clothes” us in his honor -that is not made in the things or attitudes of this world.

Caught up in Hope or the busyness of this life?
The floods of life come and do they ever leave a mess of mud and muck behind. I was talking to a friend who neglected to clean out his drainage ditch and when the rushing storm waters came down off the hill from his neighbor's house, they quickly overtook the neglected drainage ditch... They flooded his garage and lapped up against the front door of his house. They then went around the side to the backyard where muddy watery muck spilled over into his swimming pool- transforming the clear blue water into a brown mess.  My friend said, "This all could have been avoided if I hadn't neglected to clean out the drainage ditch.”

The busyness of life can cause us to neglect a lot of things in life including our relationship with God.
God promises his foundation is high enough so when the floodwaters come that they won't bring down the house sitting on it but what if we allow and neglect the maintenance around that foundation.  What if we allow life to cover the foundation with its busyness until the foundation is unrecognizable? Can you build on something that you can’t see?

Usually our words and actions will show there has been a lack of “maintenance” in our relationship with God.  We lose sight of what we have been given and in so doing… we never take the time to discover fully and build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, which God the Father has graciously given.

Other times we can be diligent in our devotional time but still feel this sense anxiety, nagging, and since of oppression.   I think being thankful for the little things is a great start.  Thankful for who God is and how he thinks about you.  "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you," saith the Lord, "Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."  John 14:27
 
Hope in God is like a romance.
In all marriages sometimes we fail to connect.   With God we can do this.  Sometimes we as the bride of Christ fail to see who we are really "married" to? 

Sometimes we don't put much effort into our marriage and we all know what happens when we don't put much into the romance department.

What if your spouse suddenly got tired of you?  What if they stopped trusting in you?  Only wanted you to be around a small-allotted amount of time or were too busy for you.  What if they only wanted you when they needed something?

What if they no longer sought you out for love, physical attention and companionship? What if they decided they knew all there was to learn about you?  And they never asked you what your interests and wants were?  They just took you for granted? 

Now think…  If you say God is your God and you are to love your God but you take Him for granted, is He really a God you love? 

How can anyone be encouraged, captured and caught up in the God of Hope if we don’t spend time with Him?

I know God/ Jesus knows when we take him for granted because he says, 
 

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen from your first love. Turn back to me again and work as you did at first.  If you don’t, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the church.”  Revelation 2:5

Then sometimes we haven't done anything to be distant from God.  We just feel like he is distant from us.  Life seems to be taking it's toll.  We seem to be in the crowded train station of life pushing our way through the crowd that is going the opposite direction but we can't seem to see God so we panic or become uneasy.   That is when we just need to sit down and be quiet.  We need to ask God show to us a refresher of who we really are to Him?  Show me Lord what you really think of me? Remind me.  
   
God tells us to love Him and that is good.   And... I find He isn't hesitant when we just need to hear He loves us and is with us.
 

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38

"I command you- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

"So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God then a whole flock of sparrows." Matthew 10:31

When we allow the mess of life to clutter the foundation on which we are to stand, how will we really see the clear foundation of our hope in Jesus Christ?  How will that affect our mindset and actions?

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,” Hebrews 6:19

Illustrations of Hope
Hope in God is like people caught up in the goodness of Christmas season.  There is a wonder and joy in the air as many good things fill the days between now and December 25th.  Good things such as goodwill and charity towards others that have less, the smells of the seasonal goodies being cooked and shared, the sparkling Christmas lights, the music that fills the air, the family/ friend gatherings, the exchange of gifts (that probably originated in Jewish celebrations where people exchanged gifts to remember what God had done), the Christmas parades, concerts, shows, candle light services, - the wonder and joy of the Savior’s birth seems to sprinkle and season the days leading to the Savior’s birth.  People are caught up in the Christmas season.   In God we are caught up in hope, which brings out goodness in our lives.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13

Hope is like a rope tow on a snow slope. You grab on to it and it pulls you up the slippery snowy slope of life.  Hope is like a ski lift where you “position” yourself in front of the chair and it comes- you sit and it carries you up the mountain. Hope is like a kite with its arms spread out wide in surrender, catching the wind that takes it higher and higher.
 

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 

 

Hope is to live by.

"... he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope." 1 Corinthians 9:10 NKJV

Hope is not far from us.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being.’[ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”  Acts 17:24-28

We are His offspring of hope.

The God of Hope Leaves His mark.
I find God is not even far from those dictated by human understanding, for when one cries out in situations they consider direr, Hope Himself answers…. but because they are dictated by human understanding Hope is often lost on them.  I have found however something…. every time our God of hope answers in both Christians and Non-Christians, God leaves or deposits a marker, a stepping stone, a monument in the human soul to refer back to.  God leaves them in the deserts of peoples lives to the mountains tops of people’s lives.  Why does God, do this?

So man has no excuse that they didn’t have a choice to know Him.  So man has no excuse and says God never extended His hand.   God is not responsible if a person continues to dig a hole.  It’s a person’s choice not to surrender his/her shovel and not to ask for help out of that hole. Some go right back into that hole like water finding the lowest spot.  They have a choice to embrace the God who reveals the life saving and changing hope through Jesus Christ or not.

Hope and Heaven and Hell
This thrusts us into a deeper topic of heaven and hell based on our acceptance or not acceptance of Jesus as Savior of our life.  This statement may not be politically or religiously correct but it wasn’t God who came up with political or religious correctness.  God is not politically or religiously correct He’s just CORRECT.

Hell is the exact opposite of hope. Think about it…. What is birthed, nurtured, and matured in hope? If you don’t know- they are things such as joy, peace, love, goodness, faithfulness, and a sound mind?

Hope is reachable now but these good and wonderful and amazing things will be ripped and stripped away in hell.  These good things will be absent in hell because hell is absent of God who is hope.
 

Recipient of God's love

"To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:19

Nothing edifies the soul more then accepting and being recipient of God's love.

A submitted soul living and growing in the knowledge of God's love builds a house on a solid foundation.  This love that not only builds but restores a house and repairs a house.

The real heartfelt knowledge of God’s love establishes one's soul in Christ.  Promotes growth in ways the soul will probably never fully understand.    God’s love gives a wisdom that renews the chambers and hallways and rooms of our heart.  It grows and promotes affection for others.  It gives the warmth of grace where once only hardness fossilized the attitudes of the heart.  It bestows virtue by means of understanding the Lord of one’s life.  It waters with a blessedness that rust and moth and even time itself cannot touch.  God’s love preserves the soul as the petals of the heart seek and face the light of His love.

In short God loves helps us do all these things....
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:7

The more we accept God's love, his Lordship and his authority as overseer of our life the more we can live in His love. 

His love emboldens an individual- not in himself/herself but in Christ Himself.

What is understood in the understandings of man as obligations of faith are carried out not in some kind of chore or rule but the freeing Spirit of God.  It as if the religious laws have disappeared because we accept God love that enables us to endure all things.       

God’s Spirit helps us live in the moment instead of our own thoughts of the moment.   Not by some human plan but God's plan.   Someone say that is crazy to relinquish control to God but I say if God knows what is best for me- then God's will be done.  Romans 8:28  says "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  

Besides who are we fooling by thinking we have control.  Do you really in the scope of things have control?  And what happens when you try to control?

Spirit and Truth- It is not us but Him....

In high school a couple of my friends and I went on an overnight hike up in the mountains.  We camped next to this lake and when we awoke and emerged from our tent the lake was still and it perfectly mirrored the majesty of mountain standing over it.  

I find some of the most powerful times we can have with the Lord are times were we have just quietly submitted ourselves to the Lord.  Where the waters of our soul have become still like that lake in the mountains.  Where the waters of our thoughts mirror God’s loving majesty standing over us.

“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19

We all have to ask ourselves everyday, where is our heart looking?

Example: I find when we have a powerful time of singing, worship and praise together... it is very organic. It is very genuine and very sincere.   It is often very spontaneous in how things are carried out, gifted and given -as souls are yielded to the Spirit of God.  And though things are spontaneous, they are somehow still orderly.  The time is not filled with disorder but harmony.   It reminds makes me of a tapestry or a patchwork quilt.  One might be singing with ordinary words, another words of angels, another utterances of praise, one words of prophecy, some dancing, some bowing, some with hands raised high, some hands spread out low as giving an offering and then you have the musicians and singers who are also playing and moving according to the Spirit.  All different yet we see each piece is sewed and threaded together in the Mastery of the Spirit of God.  Again this wasn't birthed out of some human plan but God's plan as we submitted ourselves to Him and mirror what we receive from His majesty.

When we strive for “some” affect.... because we had or someone else had previous success we resort to shallow “fleshly” thinking- where we are not submitted to God’s Spirit.

Success only comes when God works through the vessels and hearts of those vessels.

"And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow the religious customs of the nations from which they came. And this is still going on among them today.  They follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the laws, regulations, instructions and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel." 2 Kings 17:33-34

How often do Christian denominations and churches follow "religious" practices they have passed down from generation to generation instead of truly worship the LORD?  They do it "this" way because that is the way they have always done it. 

"Religious" practices do nothing for the soul.  I do not mind people thinking about former days -especially if it stirs them up in the Lord but there are these days as well.  For the word of God mentions times when people no longer called on God and stirred themselves to take hold of Him. Note Isaiah 64:7 

Live in these days as well as you remember the faithfulness of the Lord, looking forward and anticipating what else He wants to do in our lives.  

"He" not us... (think about Psalm 23) 

How we forget and allow ourselves to be thought of less of by circumstances and actions of others when God has called us into his kingdom and for  “such a time as this.”

 As the body of Christ, the Apostle Paul says we shouldn't hold on to the past or live in the past.

I find no maturing and knew revelation of Christ can be built upon just living in the past and even more foolishly deciding that we have already apprehended all there is to know of God.  Paul says he's forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead that he might walk deeper in the call that Jesus Christ apprehended him for.

You and I cannot walk deeper in the call/purpose/the love unless our revelation of Jesus Christ deepens in our heart not just our mind.   That we might know how wide, how long, how high, how deep his love really is....  For in Christ our Father has glorious unlimited resources for us to gain a greater confidence in him, to be encouraged, to grow and mature, and have a growing relationship with Him which is made possible by His Holy Spirit.

Remember what Paul wrote:  [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death….” Philippians 3:10

It is not by might or power but by His Spirit! (Note Zechariah 4:6). Those lost in the world cannot receive from His Spirit because they aren't looking for Him and don't have Him living inside of them- for when we gave our lives to Christ He not only changed our heart but gave His Spirit to us as well so we might (by our choice) become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly. 

Jesus says, "I am the truth, the way and life, no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.   I have found this statement to be more then true.

No one can receive from God deeper building revelations of God unless they give their lives to God.

 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 says  "But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, more ear heard, nor have entered the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has reveal them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even  so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." 

God wants us to have a deeper growing revelation of Himself so that we might live in the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  I am reminded of all .... Ephesians 3:14-20

To think that the Creator of all the universe wants to share this with us is amazing yet so many ignore this fact. 

I read this morning- there is no such thing as chance. "For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways." Note: Isaiah 64:4-5

It is important to wait for Him.  To thank Him, to do right,  and remember in thought and deed the ways of God.  All very difficult and even impossible without the assistance of God in one's life.  

How often does God do the same thing the same way every time… even during our personal devotional time with Him?   For He makes all things new does he not?

Our devotional time may start with us submitting to Him but from then on out it is Him that is guiding and directing.  And sometimes this can be frustrating because just about the time we think we know how God works it seems He changes it on us.

 I have found God doesn’t like when we try to fit Him in a box in our mind.  I think He doesn’t want us to put Him in a box because He doesn’t want us to live in a box.   After all we are to live/abide in Him and His Love.   We are to discover nothing is impossible with God but with a box you are limited to the possibilities and you are limiting God as well.

God wants us to know that He works in many ways- not just in the ways we think He works in.   

Have you ever seen the wind caught in a box?  Me either.      

     

So trust Him…. Let God work and He will reveal more of Himself to us and as we mature in His wonderful loving revelation of Himself -we will manifest Him in ways we didn't think possible because He was allowed to have control.  We come open handed, no agenda, no presumption, submitted and seeking Him with anticipation.  All eyes and hearts on Him, who is our hope, strength and all and all.    

How I ponder these things in my heart and am thankful for them.

To Know Him- Continued

“Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.  Cry out for insight and understanding.  Search for them as you would lost money and hidden treasure.  Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.  For God grants wisdom!  From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly.  He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity.  He guards the paths of justice and protects those who are faithful to him.  Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair and you will know how to find the right course of action every time.  For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.” Proverbs 2:2-10

From knowing to knowing.

We can all “know” the mechanics on how to do something through how-to-books, tutorials, YouTube videos and so on but if we do not apply the knowledge in experience- the knowledge just sits there in our heads.

We can listen to someone tell us how to ride a bike but unless we actually try riding a bike we won’t “know” how to ride a bike.

I find that true with the knowledge God gives us.    God doesn’t want us to just “intellectually” know about him and his wisdom and store it some mental grain elevator never to be used or eaten but he wants us to take that wisdom and apply it to our life through the situations and circumstances and trials in our life.   

Have you ever thought about as God’s people asked God why, what, who, when, where and so on...  was God’s faithfulness not also being tried and tested as well in the human soul?

What is being poured into the human soul? What is being cast inside the human soul in the furnace of life? Who’s likeness are we being formed into as we trust in God?

“… And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more…” Note: 2 Corinthians 3:18

Quick note:

We must live our lives in a manner that won’t bring sorrow or quench His Holy Spirit for we receive God’s wisdom and power through the Holy Spirit. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:30, John 16:13-15, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 & 5:19

Look how beautifully the Lord has dressed them.  They live in the Lord and the Lord lives in them.  Look and see how the Lord takes care of them.  Look and see how the Lord takes cares of them as they trust in him.  The Lord will not let evil overtake them. Look at the simple soul who trusts and holds tight to God – they glorify Him in their life.  Look how God clothes them.  And how they glorify Him in ways they didn’t even imagine.

Look at the peace that adorns their humble sincere façade.  They are intimately acquainted with God knowing he is constantly watching over them and involved in every detail.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit

This reminds me of Jeremiah 17:7-8, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 8:11-14, Isaiah 11:2-5, Psalm 121:1-8, Psalm 23:1-6, Psalm 46:1-11, Matthew 5:3, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 22:1-14, Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:6-7,

Peter writes: “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life.  He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!”  2 Peter 1:3

His divine power at work in our heart

Paul’s writes,  “And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”  Ephesians 3:17-19

His divine power is the intimacy we have living in our heart….  And in the heart the things of hope, faith and love grow.  And there they season and flavor the thoughts of the mind which produce godly words and actions.

Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

Quick note:

Experience:  (I won’t belabor this point.)  Definitely we know experience brings credibility of God in our life.  Experiences with God build intimacy between us the creation and our creator.  

The experiences we have are not just for us but also for others. 

For Romans 10:14-15 says: ^“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? ¹⁵ And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Quickened by the Holy Spirit.

As we mature and grow in God we find instances of “quickening”.   Quickening as I have come to know it is a godly spirit driven thought or urging that doesn’t come off the top of our head or our intelligence.  It is a word or truth or unveiled truth/revelation either heard in the ear or mind or seen in a vision of the believer.  It is used to warn, educate, direct, remind, encourage, correct, heal and empower.   You didn’t come up with it on your own.  It didn’t come from our “immediate intelligence.” It just showed up.  And when we think about it we know we can’t take credit for this because of how it came but it is just another reminder that God deserves all the credit and He is alive and working in us.

Quickening: Is for you or the one God wants you to minister to.

I am reminded of Peter in Acts 2 where is quotes Joel 2:28-32.  The Holy Spirit has been poured upon the believers of Jesus Christ.  The believers started speaking in languages they didn’t know -about the wonderful things God had done.  Some people wondered how this was possible for these people to speak their specific language when they weren’t even from the same region they came from.  Others started to mock the speakers saying these people were just drunk.  It just sounded like their language.  But Peter stepped forward and corrected them and the Holy Spirit dropped in his mind the scripture from Joel.  Think about it, out of all the Old Testament Peter picks that one scripture.

Often when we quietly and humbly seek God for help, He quickens our soul with a word just for that moment and season.

 David wrote, “I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD according unto they word.” Psalm 119:107

I remember feeling overwhelmed recently and God whispered, “Don’t worry, just pray.” Instantly a peace came over my soul.

So what does the concordance say about the word “quicken”?  

“Quicken” means: “to make alive”.  When I think of that phrase I think of the word “manifest.”  We a believers in Christ are to manifest God.  

1 Corinthians 12:7 says “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”  

To quicken means

1.           spiritual power to arouse and invigorate

2.          to restore to life

3.          to give increase life: thus the physical life

4.        to endued with new and greater powers of life 

We know this is only made possible because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11

God quickens us to share a word with others and because it came from Him, the hearers have assurance that what we have said is true.   “…. It was not only with words but also with power for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true…” Note: 1 Thessalonians 1:5

Sometimes God quickens us to action or to do something.   

I remember a pastor told us a story of him and his family driving on a mountain road.  A man directing traffic told him to stop in this specific place but then God told the pastor to move the car to another place.   It was only a few moments later a big truck lost its brakes and came roaring down the hill and through the very place him and his family were told to park a few moments before.   If they had not moved, they would have been plowed over by the truck.

Even right now as I write this blog God is giving me instruction and insight.  He is stirring up and invigorating me and inspiring me with his word.  I have never gone to bible school or college.  It is He, the Holy Spirit, at work in me that is teaching.

Spirit and truth

How can you worship someone if don’t know them.  Have you ever wondered about that? 

I am reminded of Romans 1:21 “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.  And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like.  The result was that their minds became dark and confused.” 

Jesus said “But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.  The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way.  For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth,”  John 4:23-24

When we think of  “worship” we tend to think of it as “praise and worship”.  I remember going to church before I was saved and getting nothing out of praise and worship – and the reason I didn’t get anything out of it was because I didn’t know God.  I didn’t know the truth of God and God’s Spirit was not living in me.  So how could I have worshipped God in spirit and truth?

I have been finding in life that “worship” is more the “praise and worship” - it is a way of life.    Worshipping God is realizing and growing in whom God is… He is to be feared, respected, loved and we are to abide/live/and trust in His Spirit.  And in knowing Him we gain peace beyond our understanding, vitality in our being, strength of heart, comfort, and joy. 

One last thought:  Worshipping God in spirit and truth is to love God.  God gives us this commandment to love him but the commandment is not so much for him as it is for us.

If we know God who is love… and his love sustains and empowers us then to know Him has great power does it not?

Love is partnership between you and God:  His love helps us bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. His love never fails.  Note: 1 Corinthians 13:7